The Marlins still have a lot to prove, but the broad direction of the franchise is starting to look different than it did a couple of years ago. That’s the case even if the usual spring-training promise has mostly gone unfulfilled, with the exception of the shortened 2020 season and the 2023 team that finished about .500 before getting swept by the Phillies in the Wild Card series.
The 2023 season matters here because it came right before Bruce Sherman hired Peter Bendix as president of baseball operations. Since then, the discussion around the Marlins has shifted from whether they can chase a quick fix to whether they’re actually laying down something sturdier.
Bendix has drawn both support and criticism, and that makes sense. He has not been perfect, and not every move has hit.
But he also has not been recklessly chasing short-term wins at the expense of what comes next. The result is a front office that has taken strategic risks without blowing up the club’s future in the process.
That approach has shown up in the dugout, too. Bendix’s first managerial hire, and so far his only one, came in November of 2024 when he brought in Clayton McCullough.
At the time, hiring a first-time manager raised plenty of eyebrows. So far, though, it has worked out well.
The clearest sign is the team’s record over the past two seasons combined. McCullough has had regular-season success, and that matters because, no matter how the organization wants to frame itself, playoff teams still have to win enough games to get there.
The Marlins may not fit the description of a “storied” franchise, but the two World Series titles are part of the picture. And if this group is going to add another October chapter, the foundation has to start with steady improvement in the regular season. That, at least, is something this season has continued to suggest.
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This Unlikely Marlins Hero Delivered One Of 2006s Best Finishes
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