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3 Teams that won the off-season and how it affects the Miami Marlins
The five teams that had the best off-season and how it looks going forward
There are some positive news on the Miami Marlins rotation...finally. The Fish had a slowand mostly uneventful off-season, but what about the other teams? How did their off-seasons go? How does this affect The Fish's chances to return to the playoffs in 2024. Let's take a look at the biggest winners.
The three teams who "won" the off-season and how it affects the Miami Marlins
3. KANSAS CITY ROYALS
Who would've thought that the small market Kansas City Royals would be one of the highest spenders this off-season? After losing 106 games in 2023, the team went all-in to contend this season. That's highly admirable and something that The Fish can learn from.
Kansas City upgraded their weak rotation by signing Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo. They also upgrade their lineup by signing RF Hunter Renfroe. They're in a weak division, as the AL Central may in fact be the worst division in the Major Leagues. They made the necessary changes to challenge for the division crown (pun intended) in 2024.
They're not big spenders, yet instead of giving up and doing nothing they went out and got things done. They also extended franchise SS Bobby Witt Jr. to a franchise-record deal. If only the Miami Marlins followed the same principle and went all out to win now. That's definitely something that we can learn from Kansas City's off-season.
Kansas City might not win the division in 2024, but I certainly expect them to be in contention to doing so.
NEXT: ANOTHER AL TEAM
2. NEW YORK YANKEES
The team that the Miami Marlins beat in the 2003 World Series had a pretty good off-season. The Bronx Bombers badly needed to upgrade the lineup and that's exactly what they did. They made one of the biggest splashes of the off-season, by acquiring LF Juan Soto from the San Diego Padres.
If the blockbuster trade wasn't enough, they then proceeded to improve the rotation by signing Marcus Stroman to a team-friendly deal. Stroman wanted to pitch for his hometown team and got his wish, while the Yankees got their discount.
You can argue that third base and the bullpen could use help, but acquiring a generational hitter and a high upside arm can do a lot for them. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if they won their division, though the Baltimore Orioles look good as well.
The Miami Marlins don't have the resources that the New York Yankees have, but with a better farm, a trade for an lite bat would've been possible. Remember, the San Diego Padres previously traded for Soto as well. The Fish won't have to worry about the Bombers, unless the team makes a World Series run and faces them there.
NEXT: A NATIONAL LEAGUE POWERHOUSE
1. LOS ANGELES DODGERS
Could there have been anyone else at that spot? LA entered the off-season with major starting pitching questions, those questions were resolved rather effectively to say the least. Elite Japanese pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto is now on the team. I still question that 12 year deal, but you can't argue with a bold splash such as this.
Yamamoto was only one major starting pitching acquisition, Tyler Glasnow was another. They even signed him to an extension. That was very good, but pales in comparison to what they did to improve their lineup. They signed SP/DH Shohei Ohtani to a record deal. The Ohtani deal is especially huge, it was first reported as a 10 year/$700 million deal, which raised quite a few eyebrows at the time.
Shohei Ohtani is a two-way player and will be joining their rotation in the 2025 season. In the meantime, he will be the team's DH and face of the franchise along with some others. It's an added bonus that they stole him away from the Los Angeles Angels, a team that's run so bad that it almost feels like a crime to kick them while they're down.
The Los Angeles Dodgers had arguably the best off-season of any team. They addressed their biggest need, improved their team, will likely receive more money by advertising and promoting Ohtani and put an exclamation point on being LA's team.
It's going to be tough to beat LA if the Miami Marlins make it to the playoffs and face them. We can only hope that their recent NLDS issues continue to keep them from a deep playoff run. In the meantime, we can only hope to have ownership that spends the same way on the team.
Next. 3 Players the Miami Marlins.... 3 Players the Miami Marlins.... dark