Offseason Rankings: NL East #5 Miami Marlins

So far, outside of the New York Mets, no NL East team has made that big of a splash this offseason. Let's be honest, this division is not as good as some people give it credit for. I've been a NL East fan since I can remember, but I just don't see how they will compete in the big picture. The top 2 of this division are easy to choose, but the bottom 3 are tougher to separate.

The Miami Marlins are going to be the bottom feeders of this division, as they have for the past few seasons. In the 2013 season, the Marlins were 30th in the league in runs (tied for least runs scored in a whole season in history), batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. Let's just say that their offense was one of the worst offenses in MLB history in 2013. Add to that fact that they lost Logan Morrison to the Seattle Mariners, then it can be assumed that those number may still suffer next season even if Giancarlo Stanton hits 40 home runs. Very little can be expected from this team with a lineup that looks like this:

Stanton will have to carry the offense

C     Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B   Garrett Jones
2B   Donovan Solano/Rafael Furcal
SS   Adeiny Hechavarria
3B   Casey McGehee
OF   Giancarlo Stanton
OF   Christian Yelich
OF   Brian Bogusevic

Yeah, you see those names. This offense is doomed.

 In this offseason, so far, they have went out and picked up a good catcher from the World Champion Boston Red Sox, Jarrod Saltalamacchia. He adds a good arm behind the plate, and experience from a World Series team. I can't imagine how it will be for him going from a World Series title to the worst team in the NL East.

They also went out and nabbed Pittsburgh Pirate Garrett Jones, who is a lifetime .254 hitter with 103 home runs in just over 5 seasons in the major leagues. He is not a guy that will be able to carry this lineup, or be a top 3 or 4 threat there. Not a guy that is going to help much at all.

Then there was Rafael Furcal. Former rookie of the year, former fastest guy in the division with the Braves, and has won 2 World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals. Coming off of Tommy John surgery at 36 years old, I see Furcal playing more second base than making the long throws from his normal shortstop position. With his age, he isn't going to have the same speed that he had in his hay-day, but he will bring in experience that they are losing in free agency with Placido Polanco and Juan Pierre. Even with the guys that are coming in, I don't see this offense helping out the pitching staff, which is better for this team that the offense.

In the NL East, their pitching staff did strike out the least amount of batters than the rest of the division, had the lowest amount of quality starts, and the 4th highest WHIP (walks+hits per inning) out of the 5 East teams. I do expect Jose Fernandez to be a stellar performer in this rotation throughout the 2014 season. Their second best starting pitcher, Ricky Nolasco is gone to Minnesota, and they also lost starter Wade LeBlanc to the Angels. The Marlins do not have the star power nor the winning reputation to pick up any star pitchers to help the staff pick up their awful offense.