Once again, the Marlins are their own worst enemy

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The Miami Marlins have been having one of the weirder offseasons in baseball so far, which means that it’s business as usual for the crew in South Florida. It’s still extremely early in what is always a long and cold winter without baseball, but as usual, Jeffrey Loria and his antics are doing a good job of keeping people occupied and entertained — provided you aren’t a Marlins fan, then you’re probably incensed with what’s reportedly going on with your favorite baseball team.

Jose Fernandez is one of the brightest talents to ever come from the Marlins’ system, and after he managed to successfully return from Tommy John surgery by making eleven solid starts with a 2.92 ERA and a 2.24 FIP, you’d think that a normal and competent baseball team would figure that this would be a solid piece to build your franchise around. However, these are the Marlins we’re dealing with, which means that if they don’t fit the Marlins mold (which is, apparently “Express your love and undying support to Jeffrey Loria at all times”), then they’ll try to trade you. So now there are rumors that Fernandez could be on his way out of Miami via trade. While it seems slightly unlikely at the moment, since these are the Marlins that we’re talking about, a trade could very well happen and we’ll probably see Miami give up one of the most promising talents in baseball for no good reason.

Meanwhile, another good player who could be on his way out for no reason other than “the crazy owner doesn’t like him” is Marcell Ozuna. Ozuna had a breakout season in 2014, and while he tapered off in 2015, it didn’t help that he spent a lot more time in AAA in 2015 than any outfielder who is clearly major-league quality should have. It’s still clear that Ozuna has the potential to be a solid outfielder for the Marlins, and former GM/Manager Dan Jennings saw that. Unfortunately, in a scenario in which Jennings was set up to fail, his support of Ozuna was one of the main reasons why he lost his job. It probably wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility that Jeffrey Loria put in a “Please, pretty please: Don’t play Marcell Ozuna” clause in Don Mattingly’s contract. But, one more time — these are the Marlins that we’re talking about, which means that anything is in the realm of possibility. The pettiness and incompetence is staggering, but it isn’t surprising when it comes to Loria’s Marlins.