Let's examine the Marlins of the now and present: ( I gave a + where I expect to see improvement)

Starting pitching- no comment necessary. It is the primary strength of the team and wasn't depleted in any significant way.

1B +- We now have a viable substitute for any time that Cooper is hurt or facing a pitcher with whom he has had little success.

2B --The team will have a different All Star at this position and one who will overwhelmingly decrease strikeouts from this position.

3B+-This position is now fortified by a more than competent replacement in his prime with a young substitute in the wings with good hitting credentials.

SS+-With Wendle, the team fields a better hitter and a fielder with a similar skill level than our departed Rojas.

LF+- DLC is an improvement both offensively and defensively. We must remember that he was our best hitter in the second half of 2022 and deserves this chance.

CF++-This position should be solidified for years to come both offensively and defensively. Solved with common sense rather than a heavy expenditure of prospects or gelt.

RF+- Garcia simply can't help but be an improvement over his former self and has a lot of motivation to do so.

C+- As he showed in the latter half of last year, Stallings is not as poor a hitter as he showed in the first half. The man is known for his defense and Fortes is a much-improved catcher, with the better arm of the two. There is ample evidence to suggest that his HR power is forthcoming.

DH--Soler will be playing with a health body so improvement should follow but I evaluated the position as neutral rather than +. However, it should be noted that Mattingly did a horrible job in filling this position last year.

RP--Here is the next team need and Ng has several weeks and "saved money to spend" after her method of acquiring two better bats w/o depleting our owner's purse. It is my hope that she can spend it now for some obvious needs. I didn't give this category a minus simply because it can't be any worse than last year.

Some generalizations about Ng's off-season performance:

She has increased the offensive output in at least 2 (and maybe 3 with SS) positions.

She did not deplete the pitching staff and with 3 of them (Cabrera, Rogers, Luzardo) and now slated for full time, it gives every reason to be much improved.

Defense should be improved in LF, CF, 3B, and C (by default).

Team strikeouts should be lessened by somewhere between 100 and 200.

She waited to maneuver a trade of Sanchez until the team was in a position of strength before making a trade.

Yes, she probably gave up too much in this last trade, but she had to in all probability. Salas is an excellent infield prospect, but she also acquired more than enough other prospects of more immediate value. And don't forget Watson who also improved significantly as last season wore on.

It should be noted that she kept all other prospects and players from our second-string corps. And Berti as well.

She has spent little money up to this point and should still have the necessary funds to bolster our relief brigade.