This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MIAMI -- The excitement was palpable at Friday’s Marlins FanFest presented by ADT, as more than 15,000 fans attended the annual event at loanDepot park following the club’s first postseason appearance in a full season in 20 years.
And yet there also was a hunger for more, as evidenced by several fan questions to president of baseball operations Peter Bendix during a “State of the Marlins” session. Many wanted to know the latest on free-agent pursuits, as well as how to advance past the National League Wild Card Series. It quickly became clear that the culture that manager Skip Schumaker is building had set a higher standard moving forward.
“The goal is to win a World Series,” Schumaker later told reporters. “There's one organization that's happy last year -- that's the Texas Rangers. Everybody else is trying to figure out how to get to that position, including us. If you think about Spring Training messages, a lot of clubhouses are going to say the same thing, ‘We are trying to win a World Series.’ And that is the same thing that we're trying to do.
“I think a lot of guys got a taste of it, which is exciting, and they want to get back -- they know what the experience looks like now. I don't think there's a tougher environment than Philly in the playoffs, and they got a taste of it. You can't hear yourself think a lot of times there. And I think once their offseason happened and they're looking back on it, they probably can't wait to get to experience that again. That's the goal, and that's what we're looking forward to getting to.”
Trying to not only recreate but top 2023’s success won’t be easy, but there are factors working in Miami’s favor.
While the Marlins have yet to sign a free agent to a Major League deal, Schumaker is optimistic because nearly the entire roster outside of ace Sandy Alcantara and slugger Jorge Soler, who remains on the free-agent market, is slated to return. Plus, left-hander Trevor Rogers and right-handers Max Meyer and Anthony Bender are on the way back from injury. The Marlins also will get full seasons out of Trade Deadline acquisitions Jake Burger and Josh Bell.
In contrast to last Spring Training, there won’t be the awkward introductory stage. The big league staff didn’t see too much turnover, so there already are existing relationships with players. And several key stars like Jazz Chisholm Jr. (center field) and Luis Arraez (second base) won’t have to worry about position changes in 2024.
“We have a lot of the same players that we had last year. … With a little bit more experience now,” catcher Nick Fortes said. “I think that just elevates everybody that we have even more, so yeah, absolutely. We've got an unbelievable staff, and we've got tons of bats that can do damage and get on base. And I believe in our staff as well.”