The Marlins Go All-In on Baseball’s New Rules

Yet when Marlins General Manager Kim Ng had a veteran to trade this winter, she did a very unusual thing. The franchise that dealt away Gary Sheffield, Mike Piazza, Josh Beckett, Miguel Cabrera and Giancarlo Stanton — and so many other stars — made a deal in hopes of a win-now payoff.

After going 69-93 last season with the lowest batting average in club history (.230), the Marlins acquired the American League batting champion, Arraez, from the Minnesota Twins for Pablo Lopez, a dependable right-handed starter. To replace Lopez, they signed Johnny Cueto, a 15-year veteran coming off his best season since 2016.

“We feel like we’re ready to win,” said Berti, an infielder-outfielder whose 41 steals led the majors last season. “We’re ready to take that next step forward. We’re going to miss Pablo — great guy, great teammate, great pitcher — but we were able to add some more length to our lineup, obviously, with the batting champ.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/26/sports/baseball/miami-marlins-luis-arraez.html