For the 2023 campaign, the Marlins have reportedly acquired two-time All-Star and 2015 World Series champion Johnny Cueto to the roster.
In stark contrast to last year, Sandy Alcantara, the National League Cy Young Award winner was a member of the Miami Marlins rotation who was fairly solid overall. By adding the newest hire, they are now strengthening that rotation in free agency.
The Marlins are currently going through a drawn-out reconstruction and are not projected to be contenders. That doesn’t alter with the addition of Cueto, as such senior teams are frequently built from scratch.
Considering that the deal is only for one season, the former Kansas City Royals ace will be back on the market in 2019. But according to MLB fans, the Marlins may be in for a long season.
The addition of another starter does feel a little unsettling because Alcantara and other players were mentioned in trade speculations last season. Additionally, it doesn’t make much of a difference for the Marlins.
They can recruit older players to what will probably be one of their final stops before retirement, but they are not in a position to attract big-name free agents.
The act of doing this has no real drawbacks. In a maximum of two years, the money is removed from the books. In most cases, it’s also not a lot of money.
Additionally, if they play well, they can trade them to a competitor for more prospects at the deadline. The same thing is likely anticipated by the Marlins, who need prospects to continue their rebuild.
Expected win total for the Miami Marlins in 2023
Last season, the team had a .500 records or worse. They were 69-93 and ranked fourth in the NL East. Because the Washington Nationals were so awful, they were only saved from last place by their performance.
There’s a good chance that a number of victories won’t alter much. The Fangraphs Zips projections model, on the other hand, predicts that they will finish the season with a record of roughly .500 and 81 victories.
Even while that would be an improvement over last season, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them revert to their old habits and trade even more players who aren’t part of their long-term ambitions. They would view the world very differently as a result.
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