With the start of Spring Training baseball a little more than a month away, the free agent market’s biggest names - Trevor Bauer, DJ LeMahieu, George Springer, and former friend J.T. Realmuto - are still yet without homes for 2021.
The recent trade by the New York Mets to acquire star shortstop Francisco Lindor and veteran hurler Carlos Carrasco puts them side-by-side with Atlanta for on-paper supremacy in the National League East.
With the Marlins entering year four of the Jeter-Sherman-era and coming off an encouraging 2020 season that saw Don Mattingly take home Manager of the Year honors in the National League, 2021 looks to be another year of defining this club’s core for when it finds itself competitive again.