As Kim Ng enters Year 2 as GM, she knows Marlins have to do ‘whatever it takes to get better’
At this point a year ago, Kim Ng was standing behind home plate at what is now called loanDepot park. The focus was on the history of the moment, Ng shattering glass ceilings as the first female general manager in Major League Baseball history.
One year later, the spotlight still makes its way to Ng from time to time. Fans, usually young girls, routinely ask her for autographs when she’s on the field before a game. She knows many are looking to her as a role model, as an example of what can be accomplished.
“You’re bearing the torch for so many,” Ng said during that introductory news conference announcing her hiring 12 months ago.
She also knows she has a job to do, and her performance will bear more weight than just her standing.
Which brings us back to the present, where Ng knows there is a lot of work to be done as she begins her second with the Miami Marlins.
And like her first season, there are added hurdles along the way in addition to the general challenges of being a first-time GM in a new organization.
Last year, it was the COVID-19 pandemic. It limited face-to-face interactions during the offseason as she began to familiarize herself with the organization.
This offsesaon, it’s the state of the collective bargaining agreement, which expires on Dec. 1 at 11:59 p.m., making a lockout a possibility and thereby having the potential to impact free agency and player acquisitions.
“It couldn’t be easy. I knew that,” Ng said. “These are just things. These are the facts and we have to deal with them. Not easy, but we’ll get through them.”
The Marlins are coming off a 67-95 season, the sixth-worst record in baseball. The offense struggled on a regular basis and could never consistently support a young pitching staff that has the potential to be among MLB’s best. By year’s end, the focus zeroed in on giving prospects regular playing time with the intent of getting an extended audition for the 2022 season.
“Obviously,” Ng said, “it was a disappointment.”
The focus now is an aggressive offseason to make sure Ng’s second year doesn’t yield the same results as 2021.
Naturally, adding position players will be a priority after Miami ranked at or near the bottom of the league in about every major statistical category.
Catcher and outfielder would appear to be the priority based on the Marlins’ current roster construction, but in the end, offense is offense. Miami needs to find it wherever it can.
“When you look at our lineup, we just didn’t have the depth that we wanted,” Ng said. “We didn’t have necessarily the impact that we wanted. ... That’s something we’re very conscious of and it’s something that we’re going to be really active in looking for this offseason.”
It’s a contrasting approach from last offseason, during which Miami primarily focused on revamping its bullpen and was conservative in its spending. Seven of Miami’s eight main acquisitions last year were relievers: Adam Cimber, Dylan Floro, John Curtiss and Zach Pop via trade; Paul Campbell via the Rule 5 draft; and Ross Detwiler and Anthony Bass as free agent signings.
The lone position player they signed to a major-league deal: Outfielder Adam Duvall, who they traded to the Atlanta Braves at the July 30 deadline.
This time around, the bats are the focus. And with a new TV deal with Bally Sports in place in addition to a stadium naming rights deal with loanDepot, the Marlins have additional revenue at their disposal.
In the free agency realm, outfielders Nick Castellanos, Avisail Garcia and Starling Marte (who the Marlins traded to the Oakland Athletics in July after they couldn’t agree to a contract extension) are among those the Marlins have interest in, although discussions are merely introductory at this point.
Should they try to upgrade through trades, the Marlins can dip into their starting pitching depth to add a bat. Miami has three starting pitchers — Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Elieser Hernandez — entering arbitration this year. Trevor Rogers, a finalist for NL Rookie of the Year, has one rotation spot locked down. Ballyhooed prospects Sixto Sanchez and Edward Cabrera are expected to compete for Opening Day spots as well as Jesus Luzardo. That’s seven players for five big-league spots. Lopez and Hernandez would be logical options for trades if the Marlins can get the right deal.
There have already been reports linking the Marlins with the Toronto Blue Jays, a team that needs pitching and has excess catching depth.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes to get better,” Ng said on MLB Network from the MLB’s general manger meetings in California this week. “We are looking at free agents out on the market, but I think the pitching being what it is in the industry right now, I think our guys have a lot of value out there. If we can improve our club via that route, we have to consider it.”
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