More decisions

Part 2 of our VFTB series about major decisions facing the Marlins in the months ahead

SECOND IN A SERIES

As mentioned in Part 1 of this series yesterday, on the eve of Opening Day, I wrote about the importance of the 2023 season for Bruce Sherman’s Marlins.

Now, as we begin the month of June, forget about this being a big year. It really comes down to a big 2 months.

The games between now and the August 1 non-waiver trade deadline will go a long way toward telling the story of this pivotal year and maybe even the club’s future.

Following last night’s walk-off win over the Padres, the 29-27 Marlins are tied for the 2nd National League Wild Card spot. Securing a trip to October over 162 games would require beating out nearly all of the big-spending Mets, Phillies and Padres and others like the Cardinals and the surprising D-Backs and Giants the rest of the way.

That’s why, if the Marlins are still reasonably in the hunt in the days and weeks ahead of the August 1 trade deadline, the Marlins’ front office will have no choice but to be aggressive buyers if they are to ever convince the fans of South Florida this team and this ownership are to be taken seriously.

But there’s more to it than the front office merely sitting back to see how well the team plays between now and August 1. The club has countless important questions it must answer between now and then to determine how to maneuver at the deadline as leadership sets the course for the future.

Yesterday, we began to look at some of those matters—Avisail Garcia’s future, what the Marlins might do with their rotation behind Sandy Alcantara and Jesus Luzardo and what Jazz Chisholm’s short- and long-term future could look like.

Today, and in the days ahead, VIEW FROM THE BLEACHERS will examine a few.