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Miami Marlins: Fences Moving in for 2016?

By Ehsan Kassim |

The Miami Marlins enter August 10th at 44-68, 24-games below .500 for the season. This after the team made some moves they felt over the off-season should catapult them into the post-season.

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Not a lot has gone right for the team, as the team has seen many players suffer from either injuries or inconsistency. The offense has been abysmal, scoring just 400 runs across the first 112 games. That is the worst mark in the majors. The team’s 81 home runs is the third worst mark in baseball.

So how do the Miami Marlins improve their offense this off-season?

According to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, any offensive improvement from Miami is more likely to come from Marlins Park’s fences being move in, as opposed to any major upgrades player wise.

Perhaps the biggest decision to upgrade the offense won’t come in the form of a player or players. It may be the decision to move in the fences at Marlins Park. Upper management is open to bringing them in and lowering the walls. In recent weeks, architects have already examined Marlins Park to explore possible changes. If the walls indeed come in and are also lowered, the core group of players on the roster should see their power numbers increase.

It is interesting to note that the Miami Marlins did talk to slugger Giancarlo Stanton about this kind of move when it came to his contract negotiations last November. His input likely has a large say in the Marlins sudden decision to be open to this idea.

Talking about the fences being moved in as opposed to looking at the issues on the actual roster is a typical shortsighted Marlins move. As Frisaro notes in the article, the Marlins only feel first base is a position they need to upgrade at.

While some added power would definitely help aid the Marlins offensive struggles, the team is already not taking advantages of the gaps at Marlins Park to get more extra base hits. The team strikes out too much and walks to little, something the fences won’t solve. Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton are the only players that have posted a decent walk rate this season.

On the other side, the fences being moved in negatively impacts the Miami Marlins pitching staff. Jose Fernandez and Henderson Alvarez are going to be major question marks for the 2016 season, with both dealing with shoulder injuries. Jarred Cosart has not looked good this season and is dealing with his own health issues.

An already depleted staff would certainly negate any extra offensive value the team gets out of the fences being moved in.

I’m not against the idea of the Miami Marlins moving the fences in. In fact, such a move is not a terrible idea. But if that’s the teams main means of improving the offense for the 2016 season, they are going to be in the same position next season.

The team’s offensive shortcomings have to do so much more than just the lack of power.

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