3 NL East issues that can benefit the Miami Marlins in 2024

I have a lot of optimism for the Miami Marlins this upcoming season and excitement for some great giveaways as well! It's a good time to take a look at the NL East and see if maybe there's more reasons for optimism this upcoming season. There's three things that I'm seriously thinking about...

There are three issues that will affect the NL East in Miami Marlins favor.

3. HALF OF DIVISION RIVALS AREN'T A THREAT

There are five teams in the NL East: the Miami Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Washington Nationals and New York Mets. That means that The Fish have four other teams competing for the division. The latter two however are not trying to contend in 2024. That's a pretty big advantage. The NL Central for example will have every one of the teams there competing for that division.

Having two teams as basically just there means that The Fish only need to worry about Philly and Atlanta. Now the Mets are not going to be the new Oakland Athletics here, they're not tanking. They might even end up in playoff contention, though that doesn't seem too likely these days. They're certainly not trying to be terrible though, and with a couple breaks... who knows where they could end up. It's just not very likely.

We can be pretty sure that Washington won't be in playoff contention at all however. Philly and Atlanta aren't exactly easy to deal with, but at least not every team is likely to pose a serious challenge for The Fish.

NEXT: PITCHING QUESTIONS

2. THE SHAKY ATLANTA BRAVES ROTATION

The Atlanta Braves have a strong team, with arguably the best offense in the Majors. The rotation is a different story though... Spencer Strider is a solid ace, despite not having impressive ERA's in two of his three seasons. The rest is one big question mark. Max Fried only pitched in 14 games last season. His health was an issue, will he be fully healthy in his walk year? He probably will, but his inning count will surely be a factor in the upcoming season.

Even if you expect Fried to be back to his workhorse ace self, what can reasonably be expected from the rest? Charlie Morton is 40 years old and at some point aging is going to hit him. In fact, it could very well happen during the 2024 season. It's just rare to find 40 year old pitchers, who can still put up front of the rotation production. Chris Sale is an even bigger question mark. He hasn't pitched even close to a full season since 2019 due to injuries. He had a 4.30 ERA/3.80 FIP last season.

Bryce Elder is a back of the rotation arm and so is his surprising competition in Reynaldo Lopez. I don't see this rotation as that great at the end of the day. Spencer Strider is great, but his ERA doesn't always live up to his talent. Max Fried is coming off an almost completely missed year, and the rest are just question marks due to health or bottom of the rotation arms.

NEXT: MORE PITCHING RELATED ISSUES