Miami Marlins: Value and Roster Construction

Sep 30, 2015; Arlington, TX, USA;Texas Rangers first baseman Mike Napoli (25) is congratulated by designated hitter Prince Fielder (84) after he hit a two run home run in the third inning against the Detroit Tigers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

2016, Free Agency and Value

The Miami Marlins undeniably have a very solid core of position players that can lead them to a playoff berth in the near future. What they need is to address the two major issues above to actually become a contender.

Something else they need to is invest wisely in crafting a roster that will lead them to higher on the win curve in 2016.

The Marlins, in 2015, had 15.8 position player fWAR and 10.1 pitching fWAR, which adds up 26 wins. Replacement level is 48 wins, add 26 to that and it gets the Marlins 74 wins.

Which means the team underperformed their expect win level. Assuming that a team needs to win 90 games to make it to the Wild Card game, the Marlins need 16 WAR to get to that level. That is a very conservative number, as the Cubs won the second wild card with 97 wins this season.

The most expedient way to get there is by adding depth to the lineup and assuring that the rotation will not become a bunch of minor leaguers, as soon as something goes bad. In order to realistically contend the Marlins need a starting pitcher on the level of Jordan Zimmerman to slot behind Jose Fernandez as well as another middle of the rotation type arm.

On the other side they need to not trade Marcell Ozuna and have to find complimentary pieces for their intriguing players.

Signing Mike Napoli to be a platoon partner with Justin Bour and another OF to replace Ichiro as soon as he gets to 3000 hits would be a good start.

They should make Tomas Telis the backup or institute a platoon between Realmuto and Telis. Miguel Rojas is a good utility infielders and should retain his role.

Next: Conclusion