2005 Record: .512 (83-79), 3^rd place in NL East

2004 Record: .512 (83-79)

Who’s Out: A.J. Burnett (P), Jeff Conine (OF), Damion Easley (SS), Juan Encarnacion (OF), Alex Gonzalez (SS), Todd Jones (P), Paul Quantrill (P), Paul Lo Duca (C), Carlos Delgado (1B), Ron Villone (P), Juan Pierre (OF), Luis Castillo (2B)

Who’s In: Alfredo Amezaga (SS), Joe Borowski (P), Wes Helms (3B), Miguel Olivo (C), Mike Jacobs (1B), Reggie Abercrombie (OF), Randy Messenger (P), Scott Tyler (P), Renyel Pinto (P), Franklyn German (P)

Notes: For the second time in a decade the Marlins all but gutted their team, sending off big namers like Delgado, Encarnacion and Castillo in favor of cheap young blood and cash savings. The Marlins are looking toward the future and are spending their time breeding their future stars—kids that, with any luck, will be playing for the Marlins in a different city and new stadium a few years from now. Aside from rookies like Mike Jacobs and Reggie Abercrombie, the Marlins have also secured some of the top potential stars from the draft pool: last June they drafted eight of the top 96 high school and college players. No one expects the Marlins to have a repeat of either of their World Series seasons this year (least of all the Marlins themselves), but if they do a good job training their young players they could realistically have an incredible team in just a few short years.

Labels: 2006 team profiles