Marlins rivals plan to do something big to compete

There were some disappointing news with the Gold Glove awards. It affected both the Miami Marlins and the Philadelphia Phillies, as none of the nominated Philly players won any Gold Gloves either. As we look at some news that already happened, Philly is back in the news with some interesting words from their Chairman John Middleton. This plays into my previous thoughts on that team.

Miami Marlins division rivals are planning to make up for a disappointing end to their season.

The Miami Marlins are not going to spend much this off-season, we all already know that. The Philadelphia Phillies on the other hand are likely going to at least try to make a big splash. As I already mentioned, I don't really see them as having a championship winning core. They don't have good bullpens, and their rotation is hanging on an aging ace in Zack Wheeler.

As good as Wheeler is, he's not going to keep it up for long as he's entering his decline phase. Father Time has been undefeated so far. It also doesn't help that their defense has been pretty lackluster and that their OF is not that of a contending team.

Philly is at $259-$270 million already on the books for their 2025 payroll. Their luxury tax number is actually at $281.5 million, which is already at the $281 million third level luxury tax number. It's unclear how much higher they're really willing to go. John Middleton however has good news for the team's fans:

"Given where we are in contract cycles and minor league people coming up, I expect the player payroll to be higher [than this year] rather than lower."

He added:

“for the right player, I have a high degree of confidence that [president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski] and I would go over the third limit.”

Does this mean that Philly will be after the likes of Juan Soto? It sure looks this way, though I don't expect them to sign him. I don't really see them making any real change to the roster, though I'll be interested to see what actually will happen. I expect them to maybe add an OF, but it will not be Juan Soto. Either way, it's worrying for the Miami Marlins, who are likely set for an underwhelming season.