This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola¡¯s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MIAMI ¨C How do the Marlins find ways to improve after a 2024 season that didn¡¯t go as planned?

Is it by looking externally for help? Will it take hiring people from other organizations to maximize the potential of the existing roster? Is a cornerstone bat, a veteran presence or just complementary pieces needed?

President of baseball operations Peter Bendix has been considering all of the options and will continue to do so as the Winter Meetings get underway this Monday in Dallas.

¡°I think that another way that we can make our team better is giving opportunities to some of our young guys and making sure that we have a chance to see them play and see what we have in them,¡± Bendix said. ¡°We have a lot of really young, hungry players that we saw really positive things from in the last two months of the season, and we need to see what we have with those players, because there's a lot of talent on this roster. So there's a lot of ways that we can get better. It's Dec. 5, so there's still a lot of time left in the offseason, and we're not taking anything off the table.¡±

Key Events

Sunday: Hall of Fame Classic Baseball Era Committee results released
Tuesday: MLB Draft Lottery
Wednesday: Rule 5 Draft

Club Needs

Offense. Offense. Offense. Bendix had been vague about how Miami might go about improving upon the NL's lowest-scoring lineup from last season, but he may have tipped his hand Thursday morning. Bendix is eager to see full seasons from midseason acquisitions Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers and Derek Hill. He also namedropped rising prospects Agustin Ramirez, Deyvison De Los Santos and Jared Serna as players whose offensive potential he is excited about. Bendix acknowledged being mindful of the talent already on the roster while looking to add externally. It¡¯s quite the balancing act.

Potential Trade Candidates

A year ago, left-handers Jes¨²s Luzardo and Braxton Garrett as well as right-hander Edward Cabrera were the subject of trade rumors. That's unlikely to change despite injuries limiting them in 2024 because of their talent and status (all three are arbitration-eligible with multiple years of club control remaining). Bendix remains ¡°hopeful and optimistic¡± about Garrett but didn¡¯t provide a further update on the southpaw¡¯s health.

Would the Marlins consider moving corner infielder Jake Burger, who finished one shy of his second consecutive 30-homer season? Or could Burger be someone the organization wants to build around as a pre-arbitration player?

Prospects to Know

Since catcher Ramirez, corner infielder De Los Santos and left-hander Robby Snelling were highlighted in late October, De Los Santos has joined Ramirez on the 40-man roster and will receive an automatic invitation to big league camp. It wouldn't come as a surprise if Snelling, who completed his 2024 season at Triple-A Jacksonville along with Ramirez and De Los Santos, joins them as a non-roster invite.

Nick Fortes is likely to be the primary catcher to open the season. Will Jhonny Pereda, who spent 11 seasons in the Minors before making his Major League debut in 2024, remain as Fortes' backup until Ramirez (MLB Pipeline's No. 96 overall prospect) is ready? At the moment, De Los Santos (Marlins No. 4 prospect and the Minor Leagues' 2024 home run leader) is blocked by Burger, Norby and Jonah Bride. Snelling has just one Triple-A start on his resume, but Miami's No. 5 prospect was the headliner of the Tanner Scott trade and showed off his frontline potential after joining the organization.

Rule 5 Draft

The Marlins would be able to pick third, and their 40-man roster is at 39 after they released right-handed reliever Mike Baumann on Monday. MLB Pipeline recently came up with 11 Rule 5 Draft candidates. Miami protected its three ranked prospects who were eligible for the Draft: De Los Santos, middle infielder Serna (No. 10) and left-hander Dax Fulton (No. 26). Miami didn't select anyone in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 Draft last year, but the organization did pick five in the Minor League phase.

Burning Question

Will the Marlins trade from their pitching depth?

Controllable starting pitching is a commodity, and Miami has 11 of those arms on its 40-man roster. It still wasn¡¯t enough in 2024, as a franchise-record 20 pitchers started for the Marlins because of a multitude of injuries. As previously mentioned, clubs will likely inquire about Luzardo, Cabrera and even ace Sandy Alcantara. It's up to Miami's front office to determine whether trading from MLB depth is the best way to improve. Due to the aforementioned injuries, the Marlins pivoted and dealt from their bullpen depth at this year's Trade Deadline.