2014 Fish Stripes Marlins Offseason Plan: Introduction

The Miami Marlins are coming off one of the worst seasons in team history, so there is a lot of work to do in the offseason. Considering the fact that the Fish are also working on a limited budget, the team faces a difficult task to try and figure out how to improve the franchise without breaking their very limited bank.

But while president of baseball operations Michael Hill and general manager Dan Jennings work hard to figure out just what the Marlins need to do this offseason, Fish Stripes is already on top of that game. For the better part of this month, we will be discussing the 2013 Fish Stripes Marlins Offseason Plan, the third annual iteration of this site planning out the Fish's offseason. The first one was thrown off the mark by the Marlins' extravagant spending ways, while the second iteration was derailed by the opposite, as the Marlins looked to cut salary back to pre-Marlins Park levels in the face of supposedly mounting losses.

This year, for the first time in two years, we have known expectations for the Marlins' budget. It is expected that Miami will not surpass its $38 million payroll from this past season, especially now with the team handing out significantly less dead money to former players now with other teams. After a season in which the Marlins drew the worst second-year stadium crowds in recent memory and suffered their second 100-loss season in franchise history, it seems extremely unlikely that Miami would be able to draw interest from good incoming free agents. Combine that with a poor class from this year and Marlins fans should not expect wholesale improvements.

But the team is aware of club needs and will look to answer them this offseason. Here at Fish Stripes, we want to help do the same, which is why we are embarking on this third attempt to road-map the Marlins' offseason. In the coming weeks, here is what you can expect from Fish Stripes:

- Review of the roster's salary commitments and budget
- Reviewing where each player stands in terms of how likely they are to be moved this offseason
- A Marlins positional strength report, categorizing where the team is strongest and weakest in terms of the entire organization
- An overview of the Fish Stripes offseason plan, synthesized by yours truly
- An article detailing each part of the offseason plan, including its impact next year and long-term

You can expect this feature all of this month, along with a number of other bits of coverage here at Fish Stripes.

- Your typical Fish Bites links three days a week along with news coverage whenever available
- Marlins history coverage whenever an important date rolls around
- 101 Offseason Questions, a new feature this offseason to engage the Fish Stripes readership

You can expect all of this and more from Fish Stripes in the month of November. Stay tuned for more coverage starting today!