We all need to buy into what the Marlins are doing this offseason

Could the Marlins win more games in 2020 with the current roster of players? What if the team doesn’t make another move this offseason?

What if the Miami Marlins opened the 2020 season with the players on its 40-man roster? Would there be enough victories this coming year for fans to notice a marked change in how the franchise has progressed? Would it be enough for fans to come to Marlins Park as a destination on a weekend?

Would fans see the blueprint team CEO Derek Jeter unveiled prior to the completion of the sale of this team from Jeffrey Loria is actually working? I hope so and so do many writes who cover this organization on a daily basis.

"As I wrote five months ago here on Marlin Maniac, “No one said running a Major League Baseball team is easy, especially when you have no experience other than the days when you put on a Yankees uniform and were hailed as one of the greatest to ever play the game. The Marlins being sold to Jeter was considered a “rockstar“ move – one that would bring the love of the game back to South Florida.”"

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The attendance figures have not changed in the past two seasons as the patrons lined up to the tune of just over 10,000 per contest. Given the Marlins lost seven more games in 2019 over 2018, that’s commendable.

Now, the talent on the field must pick up the pace a bit and show it is ready to compete for more than just a place in the basement of the National League. Also, if there is a reason to believe this team can make progress next season, the Washington Nationals were 24-33 after May and sinking in quicksand in the division. The Marlins were 19-37, within striking distance of the eventual World Series champs.

It can happen, and the front office now has players who can hit the ball added to a roster that smacked just 143 home runs last season. Give the starting rotation a little more run support – the team hit .241 for the season, and you could see a move at least one place in the standings.

And as I’ve talked about many times, I was one of the ones who wanted to run him right out of the city as soon as he started making changes to a potent lineup. But now, as a writer, not a fan, I see the changes for the better, even if high-profile players like Christian Yelich are realizing their potential in other uniforms.

Miami is once again a team in the baseball not for selling its players, rather wanting to acquire more players without having to let go of it minor league capital, something it has not had in some time. The minor league system is one of the best in MLB. The pitching staff – at least starting five – could be one of the best in years. There has been so much doubt in a franchise that hasn’t had a winning record since 2009. My daughter was two-years-old at the time.

"“It comes with the territory of perennial losing and a lack of organization. Jeter and president of baseball operations Michael Hill are creating an environment that will produce a winning culture in the near future,” I added. “They are not a team with a large payroll, and cannot afford to spend the way the Yankees or the Red Sox or even the Dodgers have done in recent years.”"

But small victories in adding Matt Kemp, Jonathan Villar, Jesus Aguilar and potentially Yasiel Puig will make them more competitive.

This is the start of the Marlins’ future. A crafty group of young arms led by Sandy Alcantara. A lineup that will be better than last season with a full season from Brian Anderson and fans who are starting to buy into the process. It’s not a quick fix, but its’ being fixed.

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Whether we really see it now isn’t important. The fact we will see it in the future, in July, August, and September is when fans and writers can really judge how good this team will become and how much better it already is in this third year of Jeter’s change for the future.

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