Miami Marlins rivals finally improve their OF

We started the day by finding out that the Miami Marlins may not be making a major trade after all. We also saw The Fish's free-spending division rivals suddenly spend like a small market team again. It's quite a time to be alive and follow the game. The Philadelphia Phillies now finally improved their OF. They signed new LF or RF Max Kepler for 1 year/$10 Million.

Miami Marlins division rivals improve their OF.

Max Kepler is a solid signing for the Philadelphia Phillies. He's not a superstar, as his .253/.302/.380 batting line from 2024 shows, but he was a bit better before. In 2023, he batted .260/.332/.484, with 24 home runs and 66 RBI in 130 games and 438 AB. He also had 24 home runs and 66 RBI. His best season came in the "juiced ball" 20219 season. That season, he batted .252/.336/.519, with 36 home runs and 90 RBI in 134 games and 524 games. He was worth 4.0 WAR.

The Miami Marlins could've used Max Kepler actually, and at that price it's odd that it couldn't happen. Of course, if Kepler was looking at a 1 year "prove it" deal, it makes sense why The Fish weren't in on him. Kepler's natural position is RF, but it is already taken by Nick Castellanos. Kepler can technically play in CF too, but a move to LF just makes more sense. Brandon Marsh will likely play in CF, as he's better defensively than Kepler.

Are the Philadelphia Phillies a better team now? Yes, I'm pretty sure of it. They are going to be competing with the Atlanta Braves for the division next season. The Miami Marlins will hopefully be able to be a .500 team and hopefully go for more. The Washington Nationals look like a .500 team to me at this time, and the New York Mets can compete for a Wild Card spot, but the state of their pitching is so bad, that I wouldn't be surprised if they're going to be worse than people expect. As far as Kepler's former team the Minnesota Twins, they keep declining.

The Miami Marlins need to start improving as well.