A new name. New uniforms. A new stadium opening in less than five months. Such is life for the rechristened Miami Marlins, who have won two World Series titles in their 19-year history, twice blown up those championship teams and now find themselves ready to make yet another splash in the National League East. So far this offseason, the ultimate low-budget club has held contract talks with St. Louis Cardinals star first baseman Albert Pujols and also has been linked with both free agent shortstop Jose Reyes and veteran left-handed starter Mark Buehrle. What kind of world are we living in where the Marlins, cursed with an apathetic fan base thanks in large part to their own ineptitude, are trying to steal players from bigger-market teams like the New York Mets and Chicago White Sox? One in which buzz does more than anything to cut through that apathy.
It is virtually the opposite approach taken by the Nationals, who opened their own new stadium in 2008 but for two years populated Nationals Park with a collection of youngsters and retreads who lost 100 games in back-to-back seasons. Back then the Nats considered players like Aaron Boone key pickups in free agency. It wasn’t until they added slugger Adam Dunn for the 2009 season on a relatively cheap two-year contract that Washington drew any attention for an offseason signing. Now, of course, the Nats have one of the sport’s best prospect pools, and it’s not hard to imagine a contending team at Nationals Park within the next two years.
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But Miami — which has never had a payroll north of $61 million — might be ahead of them. And if the Marlins are really serious about building a contender in their new stadium, they appear intent on doing it the old-fashioned way: blending star power with an intriguing mix of young talent developed in their own system. Considering Miami has no player signed beyond 2015 — and just $14 million allocated for 2014 — it can take a chance on two or three big names and not cripple itself financially over the long term.
– Brian McNally
