What a difference a year makes. No, seriously—think about how it felt to be a Miami Marlins fan on this date in 2017.
Despite generating some buzz early that offseason with the pursuit of a top-flight closer, the club was wrapping up its business relatively quietly. Yup, wrapping up, because this was before Major League Baseball owners tried to collude against free agents, analytically driven general managers challenged the sport’s economic system, or whatever you believe is currently going on. Rosters had mostly been settled.
The Marlins neared spring training with a franchise-record payroll, thanks to veteran pitching additions like Edinson Volquez and Brad Ziegler.