4 Reasons the Marlins Are Actually Terrible Enough to Set Modern MLB Loss Record This Year
By Parker White
It's roughly the quarter mark of the MLB season, and for the most part, it's still too early to totally write off teams from competing and potentially vying for at least a Wild Card spot. One thing is for sure, however: the Miami Marlins are the worst team in baseball, and could go down as the worst team in MLB history.
Miami holds a putrid 10-31 record, and there's nothing about the current construction of this team that'll get fans excited. Maybe they'll put some things together at some point this summer, but they have just 10 wins now and are on pace to lose roughly 120 games.
The record for most losses in a season is held by the 1899 Cleveland Spiders with 134, and in more recent vintage, the 1962 New York Mets lost 120. Here are four reasons the Marlins are terrible enough to set the modern MLB loss record this year (sorry, Spiders, you're safe).
4. Best Players Are Old Backups
Curtis Granderson, Martin Prado, Neil Walker and Starlin Castro are all big league players who can help teams win. But they can't be your four best hitters and play on an everyday basis. Brian Anderson and Jorge Alfaro have a chance to be solid players, but they can't carry an offense. The old heads would be better as platoon players or bats off the bench, but because the Marlins don't have much big league talent, this is what they have to run out on a daily basis.
3. Lackluster Pitching
To be fair, the Marlins have a couple arms in their rotation, like Caleb Smith and Sandy Alcantara, who could have bright futures. However, neither are proven and ideally they'd be your No. 3 or No. 4 starters. Outside of them, manager Don Mattingly doesn't have a lot to work with, and the bullpen is a train wreck. You need pitching to keep yourself in a ballgame, something Miami doesn't have.
2. Going to Sell at the Deadline and Be Worse
Even though the Marlins are terrible, they have some pieces that will intrigue teams when the trade deadline rolls around. It's clear Miami is going to be a seller, so anyone who's getting paid real money or has talent will likely be moved which means they'll be worse. As the saying goes, if you're not likely to be part of the next "great" Marlins team, then why are you here? That'll certainly help their chances of losing well over 100 games and contending for the worst record in big league history.
1. Historically Bad Offense
It's not unusual to see teams who struggle to score runs, but the Marlins are doing so at a historically bad rate. Miami ranks last in baseball in runs scored...by a lot. They've plated only 105 runs through 41 games, and the next lowest are the Detroit Tigers with 140 runs. As a club, they have an OPS+ of 65, which is on track to be the worst in the modern era. Their home run leader is Jorge Alfaro with five, and they have two players (Starlin Castro and Curtis Granderson) tied for the RBI lead with 11. They have no fear-factor for opposing pitching staffs, and I can't see that changing as the season continues.