This is a good point. A couple of those moves were gambles for which I was in favor, but lately the moves just have not gone the front office’s way. The drafting strategy for the Marlins is one that other teams have soured upon in recent years; high school starting pitchers are getting less and less popular, which actually may benefit the Fish in the future (they may become too undervalued by other teams). The cupboard in terms of the minors is bare because of the team’s high turnover, but the truth is that the prospects have never flowed in such great numbers until after a major fire sale.

As for the trades, I just don’t know. Sometimes they don’t go your way, and sometimes they do. The Marlins banked on two top-20 prospects in the Cabrera deal and unfortunately got the short end of the stick. The only clear loss at the time of the trade was the Willingham/Olsen for Bonifacio + others deal, though Jake Smolinski (one of the two minor leaguers who came to the Marlins in that deal) may still pan out.