Merry Christmas to you all! There is not much to celebrate for the Marlins’ offseason so far, but we still have some hope as Opening Day is almost three months away. There is time, but are there any attractive players left available to help this roster?

Most of FA have already signed, so the logical way to improve the offense is via trade. Even so, a handful of useful Free Agents are still available. If Bruce Sherman dare to increase the payroll until, say $115M, some players can make a positive impact, mostly in the bullpen. The projected payroll sits around $95M, that means they can use $20M to bring SOMEONE. Here is what I would do in such scenario:

- Bullpen options for closer: Chapman, Hand, Knebel, Colomé, Familia. Here I think both Chapman and Hand will demand close to $10M/y, but at least there will be a closer.

- Other bullpen arms: Fulmer, Leone, Reyes, Oberg, Nelson, Britton, Chafin, Moore. Quality arms for several bullpen roles. Chafin, Moore and Fulmer might be too expensive after getting a closer.

- Infielders: Belt, Segura, Hosmer, Moustakas, Rios, Solano, Voit. A LH backup for Coop is needed at 1B (Hosmer, Belt); Segura and Solano fill the bill for splits vs LHP and contact hitters, can work by moving Jazz to SS. I’m always intrigued by Rios and I believe he just needs an extended chance.

- Outfielders: I wouldn’t bother with any of the names available, however, I would try to bring a defensive CF like Almora, Greg Allen or Davis under a minor league deal.

- Starting Pitching: Despite there is no need to bring a starter, some veteran depth can be useful. The Marlins already agreed terms with Chi Chi González, but I think there is something left in the tank for Brett Anderson, Anibal Sanchez or Pineda.

I am not sure if $20M will bring all the needed pieces, but certainly will make it closer to a competitive team. Most of teams are done already with their shopping list, meaning the best chances to make things better are via trades. In coming days another post will come suggesting some specific players to trade for.

Always open for comments!