2023 MLB Season Recap: Miami Marlins

The Marlins seemed poised to benefit from MLB‘s new schedule format this season — and that’s exactly what happened. Miami won 84 games in 2023, the team’s highest win total since 2009. And, the Marlins also managed to make it back to the MLB Playoffs for the first time in a full 162-game season since 2003. Here’s our recap of the Marlins’ 2023 season.

The Offensive Numbers

Stat	Figure	MLB Rank
Runs Scored	668	26th
Home Runs	166	22nd
OPS	.722	19th
Whiff%	24.5%	9th
Hard Hit%	38.0%	23rd

The Pitching

Stat	Figure	MLB Rank
Starters’ ERA	4.09	8th
Relievers’ ERA	4.37	21st
Strikeouts	1,490	5th
Whiff%	27.8%	2nd
Chase%	30.4%	4th

The Good

We’ll start our 2023 Marlins recap with what went right for Miami this season.

The strength of the Marlins was their pitching. No, Sandy Alcantara was not at his best this season — which we’ll get to in a bit. However, several other young hurlers proved their worth in 2023.

The Marlins rotation ranked in the top ten in terms of ERA, thanks in large part to the steady performance of players like Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, and Eury Perez. Luzardo was a rock for the Marlins, as he struck out 208 over 178.2 IP and posted a very respectable 3.63 ERA.

Jesus Luzardo whiff map 2023 — It was a terrific season for Jesus Luzardo, who induced a ton of whiffs out of the zone, but also up as well.

Former first-round pick Braxton Garrett logged a career-high in innings pitched (159.2 IP) and threw quite well, and Eury Perez looked like the Marlins’ ace of the future after he was promoted mid-season. The 20-year-old struck out 108 over 91.1 IP and flashed elite stuff, including a high-90s fastball and unhittable breaking stuff.

The Marlins did, however, limit Perez’s workload throughout much of the summer and a left SI joint inflammation knocked him out late in the season.

Eury Perez whiff chart 2023 — Perez looked like an ace in the making last year. Hitters were unable to hit his changeup, slider, or curveball with much success at all. And as can be seen in his whiff map, he can pound down with efficiency.

Bullpen-wise, the Marlins had three different lefties — A.J. Puk, Andrew Nardi, and Tanner Scott — all put up strong results. The 28-year-old Scott was a star, as he struck out 104 over 78 innings and took over as the team’s closer late in the season.

The offense was powered for much of the year by Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler. Arraez hit .354 to win his second batting title in a row, while Soler rounded back into form after a rough 2022 and blasted 36 home runs.

The two were joined by Josh Bell (.270, 11 HR in 53 G) and Jake Burger (.303, 9 HR in 53 G) in the summer.

The Bad

Things did not go well for two of the Marlins’ major acquisitions from this past offseason.

Infielder Jean Segura hit .219/.277/.279 over 85 games before he was dealt to Cleveland at the Trade Deadline. Veteran starter Johnny Cueto, meanwhile, spent a good chunk of the year hurt. When he was on the mound, the results (6.02 ERA, 17 HR, 39 K over 52.1 IP) were not good.

Miami also didn’t receive much help from David Robertson, who was acquired from the Mets in the summer to be the team’s closer for the stretch run. Robertson walked 12 and gave up 12 runs over 21.1 IP as a Marlin and was eventually removed from the closer’s role.

We did promise to circle back to Sandy Alcantara, who remained an elite ground-ball pitcher and chase machine. However, he gave up 22 home runs over 184.2 IP, six more than in the 228.2 innings he threw during his 2022 NL Cy Young campaign.

Sandy Alcantara home runs 2023 — It’s not a shock to see where all the home runs were hit off of Alcantara. Many were right in the heart of the zone, in what was a strange season for the Marlins ace.

Alcantara’s first half (4.72 ERA) did not go great but he did rebound during the second half. Unfortunately for the Fish, Alcantara went down with a UCL injury late. The 28-year-old underwent Tommy John surgery in October and will miss all of 2024.

What to Look For in 2024

As we noted in our 2023 Marlins season recap, Sandy Alcantara won’t be available for 2024. With Alcantara out of the mix, the Marlins will need their young pitchers in the rotation to show up yet again.

Luzardo, Garrett, and Perez are all locked in the rotation provided each is healthy. Edward Cabrera spent much of the year in Miami’s rotation but struggled badly with command. Former NL All-Star Trevor Rogers will be a key piece, but Miami will need him healthy. The lefty only made four starts in 2023.

Should Miami need additional help, Max Meyer will be a name to watch. Meyer missed all of 2023 due to Tommy John.

As for the offense, Luis Arraez and Jorge Soler packed a punch. But by that same token, the Marlins scored just 668 runs, the fewest for a team that made the 2023 MLB Postseason.

Arraez is an elite leadoff hitter, and the Marlins have guys like Jake Burger and Jazz Chisholm that can be run-producers. However, Miami has to consider what to do with the infield for 2024.

Jon Berti provided serviceable results for the Marlins at short in 2023, but would Miami look for an upgrade? Plus, what will Josh Bell do?

Bell has a $16M player option for 2024. If exercised, he could be an impactful presence in the Marlins lineup like he was over the last two months of this past season — and maybe be more important should Miami not be able to return pending free agent Jorge Soler.