Kuzul

Many of us knew and expected the Miami Marlins to be better in 2014.

But many of us couldn’t have predicted the Marlins to be five games over .500, have the best home record in the majors, the second-best run differential in the National League and be on top of the NL East division at this moment.

That’s the good news. The bad news is as well as the Marlins have played, there are flaws on this team that need to be fixed. After all, the Marlins are one of a handful of dark horses who are trying to pry their way into the playoffs. And if they stick around for another two months, upgrades are going to be needed.

Season-altering trades aren’t made until close to the July 31 trade deadline, but the groundwork for such deals usually begin around this time. Players are evaluated, intel is gathered and hypothetical trades are kicked around.

While the Marlins began the season with the second-lowest payroll in baseball at $47 million, owner Jeffrey Loria probably wouldn’t be opposed to adding payroll if this team makes a serious push for a playoff berth. When the Marlins have been in contention, he has loosened the purse strings.

Consider the following:

• With the Marlins in fourth place in the NL East and 4.5 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the lone wild-card spot, the Marlins traded future All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and two other players to the Texas Rangers for closer Ugueth Urbina.
• A month later, on August 31, 2003, the Marlins traded a pair of minor leaguers to the Baltimore Orioles for Mr. Marlin, Jeff Conine, hours before the deadline for adding players to the roster and having them eligible for the postseason. The Marlins needed to make this deal after third baseman Mike Lowell broke his left hand and was considered to miss the rest of the regular season. At the time, the Marlins caught the Phillies and were tied for the wild-card spot. As you may remember, the Marlins won the Wild Card by four games and went on to win the 2003 World Series. 
• In 2004, in an attempt to defend their title, the Marlins traded for outfielder Juan Encarnacion, catcher Paul Lo Duca and reliever Guillermo Mota from the Los Angeles Dodgers a day before the trade deadline. Less than 24 hours later, the Marlins acquired reliever Rudy Seanez and starting pitcher Ismael Valdes in two separate trades. In total, the Marlins gave up Hee-Seop Choi, Bill Murphy, Brad Penny, Abraham Nunez and Travis Chick. At the time of the trade with the Dodgers, the Marlins were 4.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves in the NL East and five games behind the Padres for the lone wild-card spot. 
• Four years later, the Marlins were back in contention as they sat 1.5 games behind the Phillies in the NL East and two back of the St. Louis Cardinals for the wild-card spot. In a minor but effective deal, the Marlins dealt minor leaguer Gaby Hernandez to the Seattle Mariners for left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes, who went 2-0 with a 0.68 ERA in 25 appearances.
• In 2009, the Marlins were just two games back of the Colorado Rockies and San Francisco Giants for the wild-card spot. Trying to bolster their offense, the Marlins traded Aaron Thompson to the Washington Nationals for Nick Johnson. 

Now that the Marlins look to be on their way back, they might not be afraid to pull off another trade to mask their flaws. It’s our job to figure out what they need and what kind of trades they should start considering.

Without further ado, from most important to least important, here are four areas where the Marlins should already be thinking about making a trade.

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Hey, the Miami Marlins are 1-0 and are in the first place in the National League East.

At this rate, they will go 162-0 and win the World Series.

Too much, too soon?

Yeah, it probably is, but that’s what happens when the Marlins score 10 runs in their season opener Monday to back a nine-strikeout, six-inning gem from 21-year-old pitching phenom Jose Fernandez. The win marked the first time the franchise has been above .500 since June 16, 2012 when they beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 in 15 innings.

While some might actually be naive enough to think the Marlins will go 162-0 and win the World Series, few are predicting the Marlins to go from worst to first, let alone get to .500. That said, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the 2014 season. Why else would one of the bigger dirty secrets in sports media is to write as many feel-good stories as possible in the offseason? Because no team can lose games when there are no games to be played.

But now that there has been a game played and won, some Marlins think there is a reason to be hopeful about 2014 despite losing 100 games last year and finishing last in the NL East three consecutive years.

I hope so, because this team is special,” Fernandez told MLB.com after the opener. “I see that. Not because we scored 10 runs (Monday). We’re going to lose a couple, but this team is going to fight. That’s the only thing we want. We want to go out there and fight.

Well, we’re not going to stop at one reason, are we? In lieu of Fernandez’s fighting spirit, here are three more reasons to be optimistic about the Marlins’ 2014 season.

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We’re less than a month away from when pitchers and catchers report to spring training, so it’s time to assess what the Miami Marlins need and who is still out there to be had.

But before we begin, let’s check the Marlins shopping list and see if there’s anything the Marlins forgot to buy.

An offensively skilled catcher? Check. The Marlins signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia to a three-year contract worth $21 million. 

A power-hitting first baseman? Check. The Marlins signed Garrett Jones to a two-year deal worth $7.75 million.

An upgrade at second base? Check. The Marlins signed Rafael Furcal to a one-year agreement worth $3 million. Furcal can also earn an additional $1.5 million in performance bonuses, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Fixing the black hole known as third base? Check. The Marlins signed Casey McGehee to a one-year pact worth $1.1 million. McGehee can also earn an extra $400,000 in performance bonuses. 

About the only item still on the Marlins shopping cart is a veteran reliever, according to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, especially after the Marlins nontendered Ryan Webb, who signed with the Baltimore Orioles, while Chad Qualls inked a deal with the Houston Astros. 

Looking back at last season, the Marlins signed Qualls and Jon Rauch and they had a few commonalities. For starters, both guys signed a one-year pact—Qualls on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training while Rauch joined the Marlins on a $1 million contract. The other commonality they had was Qualls and Rauch had experience in high-leverage situations—Qualls has 51 career saves while Rauch had 62—which might come in handy as Steve Cishek was penciled in as the team’s full-time closer. 

Now, the Marlins are probably looking to add a reliever or two in the same mold as Qualls and Rauch even though Rauch was designated for assignment six weeks into the 2013 season while Qualls (5-2 record, 2.61 ERA in 62 innings) exceeded expectations. 

Without further ado, in descending order, here are the best remaining available free agent relievers the Marlins could target for an invitation to spring training or sign to a major league contract.

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Now that the General Manager Meetings have wrapped up last week, activity has begun to pick up.

In the past week, starting pitcher Tim Hudson has a pending agreement to join the San Francisco Giants, outfielder Marlon Byrd inked a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies and catcher Carlos Ruiz decided to stay put with the Phillies. That’s three of ESPN.com’s top 50 free agents off the market. 

Moreover, rumors are swirling as we are a little more than a week away from the Thanksgiving holiday. For instance, Jay-Z and the New York Mets held a secret dinner Monday night to discuss free agent second baseman Robinson Cano, according to the New York Post. Last week, the New York Post had a theory the Miami Marlins could be a stealth bidder for Cano’s services because they are further along in their accumulation of young talent, and no owner has proven more impetuous in spending and selling off than Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria.

Basically, at this time of the year, you can’t trust everything you read. But because of that, we’re here to help decipher what is real and what is fantasy in the Marlins world.

From the least impactful to most impactful, we’ll play fact or fiction with the latest Marlins rumors.

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Imagine a scenario where the Miami Marlins calls Jay Z’s sports agency, Roc Nation, and tells him they are prepared to offer All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano the 10-year, $300 milllion contract the New York Yankees aren’t willing to put on the table. 

Roc Nation, surprised but skeptical because of what team is on the other line, decides to tell the Marlins they want $350 million for 10 years. Unfazed, the Marlins says that won’t be a problem. 

By Christmas, Cano signs with the Marlins, and the baseball world is stunned.

Believe it or not, the New York Post’s Joel Sherman thinks the Marlins could be a stealth bidder for Cano because they are further along in their accumulation of young talent, and no owner has proven more impetuous in spending and selling off than Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria.

In reality, this scenario is a pipe dream. There’s a better chance the Chicago Cubs will win the 2014 World Series than the Marlins have on spending more than $300 million on one single player. But if the Marlins did pull it off, no one would have seen it coming.

And that’s the point of this exercise, which is we will take a look at what big moves, from least likely to most likely, the “cash-strapped” Miami Marlins could realistically pull off this offseason. 

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Last week, we took a look as to what players might not be with the Miami Marlins in 2014. 

Today, based on who we think will still be here, we’re going to take a look as to what the Marlins starting lineup will be next season.

The rules are simple. The Marlins chosen to start next season must be under team control in some fashion for the 2014 season. This means guys such as Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco, who signed one-year deals  with the Marlins in the offseason, were not selected because they had little to no shot of starting next year, especially considering their current roles as bench players. Also, this means free agents such as Brian McCann, Robinson Cano, Jacoby Ellsbury and Matt Garza will not be coming to South Beach anytime soon.

While you might be very familiar with the names on this list, keep in mind these players have earned the starting nod either through outstanding production or merely by default. 

Without further ado, let’s present the starting nine for the 2014 Miami Marlins in lineup card fashion.

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Another banner month for the Miami Marlins.

Not.

After an 8-19 April, the Marlins managed to outdo themselves with a 6-22 May. Very impressive.

Included in that torrid month was a season-long nine game losing streak, and the Marlins never won more than three consecutive games.

And now, the report card is out on Marlins players for their miserable May, although a few did receive high marks. So delve in and, from worst to best, see what grade each Marlins received for the second month of the 2013 season.

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For a team that’s probably going to finish last in the National League East for the third consecutive year, the Miami Marlins don’t have many issues thus far. 

Ricky Nolasco has already been named the Opening Day starter—shocking. Jacob Turner, Nathan Eovaldi and Henderson Alvarez are still slated to follow Nolasco while Wade LeBlanc continues to make his case to be the team’s No. 5 starter after throwing four shutout innings Sunday against the Atlanta Braves. 

Among position players, second baseman Donovan Solano has hit .480 in 25 at-bats and Casey Kotchman is batting .435 in 23 at-bats. Kotchman is trying to win a spot on the team which, in his case, comes with the designation of starting first baseman if Logan Morrison isn’t ready when the season begins.

According to Morrison’s agent, Fred Wray, Morrison could be playing by April 15 after having surgery to repair a torn patella tendon in his right knee.

Meanwhile, with Team USA at the World Baseball Classic, slugging outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is hitless in seven at-bats, but he’s broken a windshield with a home run during batting practice.

Stanton’s teammate, closer Steve Cishek has two scoreless appearances, which includes the biggest out of Sunday’s 9-4 win against Canada when Cishek induced Tim Smith to ground out to second baseman Brandon Phillips to end the eighth inning with the bases loaded while preserving a one-run lead.

And as far as the kiddies go, they have impressed as well. Future ace Jose Fernandez struck out two in two scoreless innings in his only spring training appearance while the Marlins’ other star prospect, Christian Yelich, has been scorching hot as he’s batted .375 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 32 at-bats. Yelich has been so good, it’s prompted first-year manager Mike Redmond to sing his praises to MLB.com:

I’ll tell you, man, I love putting him in that lineup. Every opportunity I have to put him in there, I get him in there. He gives you a great at-bat. It doesn’t matter who he faces. Believe me, we go around and around [on where he’ll start the season]. That’s something that we’ll have to talk about.

But not everything has been rosy with the Marlins…

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Every New Year’s Day, we watch the ball drop in Times Square, tune in to the six million bowl games on TV and make at least one New Year’s resolution.

For the Miami Marlins, as well as the other 29 Major League Baseball teams, the goal is to win the World Series—or at least it should be. In order for that to happen soon—perhaps as early as the 2013 season, when no one expects them to win—changes must occur before Spring Training begins.

Some are cosmetic, others much larger in grandeur. 

If the Marlins apply these changes successfully, then a third World Series parade might not be out of the realm of possibility. However, if these resolutions fail, as is the case 88 percent of the time according to a 2007 survey of more than 3,000 people conducted by the British psychologist Richard Wiseman, then it might be generations before the Marlins have reason to celebrate.

So, before pitchers and catcher report to Jupiter, Fla., here are five changes the Marlins should make. 

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