Miami Marlins OF in 2023

Free The Miami Marlins outfield was collectively bad in 2022. The only positive was CF Bryan De La Cruz, but he’s not projected to be as good in 2023 and he doesn’t seem to be the answer in CF. CF is the premier defensive position in the OF, so it makes sense that we’ll be looking for a good defender for the position above all else. The corners are for power, or at least good offense. How will out OF look like in 2023?

The Miami Marlins OF might look very different in 2023.

Let’s get the bad part out of the way… Avisail García and Jorge Soler aren’t going anywhere. They were so bad in 2022, that teams won’t trade for them and because we’re paying them large enough salaries, they’re not going to be benched either. The hope is that they earn their salaries at least a little bit, or make themselves good enough to trade. Soler can potentially be moved from LF to DH, but Avi has RF locked down.

Bryan De La Cruz was so good in the second half, that I think he should definitely be in our lineup as a starter. In case you forgot, he batted a phenomenal .306/.336/.537, so despite Steamer’s projections, I think that he can be good. Unfortunately his -0.3 dWAR means that shifting to a corner makes more sense for him. De La Cruz in LF and Avi in RF is a very likely Miami Marlins corner OF in 2023.

CF has a lot of solid options. The Fish are expected to pursue trades involving starting pitching, so there’s some options out there. Can the Miami Marlins land Cedric Mullins? How about Michael A. Taylor? Fans won’t be excited for the latter, but his 2.4 dWAR is elite. There’s also a trade for Adolis Garcia or the signing of Cody Bellinger that could make sense. If all else fails, Jesús Sanchez might get another chance, though many fans will be initially upset. A trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks and their many OF’s is available as well.

What do you think? Who should be in the Miami Marlins OF in 2023? How do you think it will look?