Even though they waved the white flag on their season back in May, the Miami Marlins still had something to compete for in their final home series — a chance to play spoiler to the hated Atlanta Braves, who are in the thick of a playoff battle in the National League.
Instead, the Marlins (57-99) fell to the Braves, 5-4, on Sunday, dropping two of three on the weekend. Overall, they finished the season at 30-51 in their home slate of games.
It was a disappointing end to a season that never got off the ground for the Marlins, who lost their first eight home games and first nine overall. Now, one year removed from a playoff appearance, they find themselves staring down yet another rebuild with a disinterested fanbase and potentially searching for a new manager.
The on-field product is a concern for the team during any rebuild, but even more important in South Florida is inspiring a fanbase watching its second total reboot during owner Bruce Sherman’s tenure.
When Sherman took over in 2018, the Marlins were dead last in attendance from 2018-2021. Only the open revolt of Oakland Athletics fans against their ownership has saved the Marlins from the bottom of those standings the last three seasons.
It remains to be seen if the team will ever draw in Miami, which has long since proven itself an untapped baseball market. The 2023 World Baseball Classic drew over 30,000 fans for its knockout rounds in Miami, and the 2024 Caribbean Series saw even better numbers in February.
But the Marlins still haven’t found a way to tap into that market.
In April, 2023 NL Manager of the Year Skip Schumaker requested the club terminate the final year option on his contract that makes him a free agent at the end of the season. There is still an opportunity for the Marlins to re-sign Schumaker, but rumors have circulated about his candidacy for the Chicago White Sox job.
Schumaker, in his Sunday postgame media availability, was grappling with the realization he may have managed his last game in his home ballpark.
“It’s kind of a weird moment in my career because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the end or not, but I’m super grateful that I was given the opportunity.”
Regardless of who manages the team next year, a significant portion of the offseason will be spent figuring out which assets from the team’s midseason fire sale will contribute next year.
Connor Norby, who arrived at the deadline in the deal that sent Trevor Rogers to the Baltimore Orioles, suggests he can be a cornerstone of the team moving forward.
“[Norby] is going to be a very good player,” Schumaker said, “for a long time.”
Norby has been one of the best hitters in the Marlins lineup since he was called up from Triple-A Jacksonville in August. He flashed his impressive power on Sunday with an opposite-field solo home run off of Dylan Lee in the sixth inning.
What stands out about his future with the team are the remarkable strides he’s made defensively at third base. Norby has played second base most of his career but made two stellar defensive plays at third on Sunday, including a 5-3 double play that ended a bases-loaded threat at the top of the first inning.
“If I’m going to learn third, the best way is to play third,” Norby said. “It can be easy to just say, ‘Yeah, let me go play second. I’m comfortable there’ . . . [But] if I’m going to play third for the future, I need to keep getting better at it and keep learning.”
Norby and the Marlins finish their season with a six-game road trip that starts Tuesday. They’ll play three against the Twins in Minneapolis before closing out the year north of the border against the Toronto Blue Jays.
