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Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
By most accounts, the Marlins have had a pretty uneventful off-season so far. They haven’t signed any free agents of note. They haven’t made any trades. So is it possible that Miami is having a great offseason? At least one Major League Baseball columnist seems to think so.
Marlins quietly having a great offseason. After poaching superscout Jeff McAvoy from TB, sources say Mike Berger leaving Arizona for VP job.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 26, 2013
Jeff Passan, an MLB columnist for Yahoo tweeted out earlier that the Marlins are stockpiling a different type of talent than many fans are accustomed to seeing. While many general managers focus on obtaining the best possible players available, Marlins GM Dan Jennings and owner Jeffrey Loria (because we know he meddles in everything) seem to be convincing quite a few front office guys to join them in Miami.
I like both of these moves for the Marlins. Both Arizona and Tampa Bay have a history of winning lots of baseball games on a tight budget. Jeff McAvoy, in particular, is a great find for Miami in the scouting department. It is no secret around baseball that the Rays have an excellent track record of finding talented players and grooming home-grown talent into major league success. If McAvoy is able to replicate that in Miami, that will be a steal.
Passan didn’t just stop tweeting after congratulating Miami’s off-season so far. He went on to say that the Marlins could have the talent to win some games soon.
If Jeffrey Loria is giving Dan Jennings the sort of autonomy that he didn't with Larry Beinfest, Marlins could have talent in place to win.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) November 26, 2013
No one seems to know exactly what Beinfest did to fall out of Loria’s good graces, but it wasn’t pretty. Now that Beinfest is in the past, I have heard a lot of good things about Dan Jennings and am hopeful that Loria will let him do his job. If the Marlins can establish a winning culture in the front office, it will bleed over onto the field.
I am excited about these two hires, and am expecting good things out of this front office. Now it is time to see if they can secure a free agent or two to help the Marlins for the future.
Let us know what you think in the comments below, and make sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest Marlins news and conversation.