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.

The Marlins surprised the baseball world by making the postseason in 2023. Now what?

“I'm also hyperaware that you better back it up the next year,” said Skip Schumaker following his 2023 National League Manager of the Year win. “We better start winning games consistently. It can't be just one year.”

New president of baseball operations Peter Bendix is tasked with helping Miami recreate that success without ace Sandy Alcantara and possibly All-Star Jorge Soler. The Marlins have already made several moves, but there is still work to do. There’s no better time than the Winter Meetings, which begin on Sunday in Nashville, Tenn.

“There’s a lot of really dynamic players on the roster who can do a lot of different things,” Bendix said during his introductory press conference. “There’s a lot of good pitching, and that’s hard to find. There’s a lot of young players that are really exciting, [and] that’s hard to find. And that’s a great foundation to build from. And so, just trying to learn as much as I can about these players, learn kind of what makes them tick, and really just assess the strengths and weaknesses of the roster.”

Here's everything you need to know ahead of the Winter Meetings:

Key events

• Sunday: The Hall of Fame Contemporary Era Committee will meet and release the result of this year's ballot. The eight candidates are Cito Gaston, Davey Johnson, Jim Leyland, Ed Montague, Hank Peters, Lou Piniella, Joe West and Bill White.
• Tuesday: MLB Draft Lottery
• Wednesday: Rule 5 Draft

Club needs
The Marlins have just one catcher (Nick Fortes) on their 40-man roster after non-tendering Jacob Stallings, so they must add at least one backstop via the trade or free-agent markets. Bendix said that the most important role of a catcher is to handle the pitching staff, then worry about hitting. The duo of Stallings and Fortes combined for the second-lowest OPS (.570) in the Majors in 2023.

Miami also needs a solution at shortstop. In 2023, the Marlins’ shortstops posted the lowest OPS (.578) in the Majors. Down the stretch, they relied on utility players Jon Berti and Garrett Hampson. Though Miami acquired Vidal Bruján in a trade with the Rays in mid-November, Bendix was noncommittal about the 25-year-old being the front-runner at short. Perhaps the club will roll with a combination of internal options like Bruján, Berti and No. 5 prospect Jacob Amaya.

Potential trade candidates
To give the 2023 roster a boost for the postseason hunt, the Marlins parted with a handful of top prospects ahead of the Trade Deadline. The farm system took a hit as a result, so for the second straight Hot Stove season, any upgrade to the lineup might once again have to come by trading Major League-level starting pitching.

Just like Pablo López before him, right-hander Edward Cabrera has been the subject of trade rumors. After posting a promising 3.01 ERA in 14 starts in 2022, Cabrera struggled so much with his command in '23 that he was demoted to Triple-A Jacksonville on Aug. 1. The 25-year-old, who has no Minor League options remaining, has frontline stuff that makes him enticing trade bait. He has also yet to hit arbitration and has five years of club control remaining. With a healthy Trevor Rogers as well as Trade Deadline acquisition Ryan Weathers, has Miami had enough of Cabrera’s inconsistency to consider him expendable?

Southpaw Tanner Scott, who emerged as one of baseball’s top relievers, has just one year of club control remaining and could be another trade possibility. If the club wants to vie for a postseason spot again, having a closer to secure wins would help. Should 2024 turn sour, the Marlins can always deal him at the Deadline.

Prospects to know
With Alcantara out for the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, the Marlins will need a collective effort from the entire pitching staff to fill the void. Add No. 3 prospect Max Meyer to the mix. 

It will take time for Meyer to regain form after missing all of 2023 as he rehabbed from his own Tommy John surgery, but don't forget the right-hander boasts a plus fastball/slider combination. Down the road, he could end up as a late-inning bullpen arm. For now, he should be a starting option. 

Two other prospects to look out for are outfielder Dane Myers (No. 13) and reliever Anthony Maldonado (No. 24). The toolsy Myers was drafted as a pitcher by the Tigers in 2017, but converted into a position player prior to the '21 season. Acquired by the Marlins during the Minor League phase of the '22 Rule 5 Draft, Myers burst onto the scene in '23 and got his first taste of the Majors. Of late, he has been getting additional reps with Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Winter League. Maldonado, whom the club protected ahead of the Rule 5 Draft, would provide a right-handed option in a left-handed-leaning bullpen.

Rule 5 Draft
For the second straight year, the Marlins left first baseman Troy Johnston (No. 21) unprotected prior to the Rule 5 Draft. Johnston, 26, was the Marlins' 2023 Minor League Player of the Year after belting 26 homers and leading the Minors with 116 RBIs between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville.

The other top prospect who the Marlins left unprotected is shortstop Nasim Nuñez (No. 16). The 2023 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game MVP and an Arizona Fall League participant, Nuñez has “plus plus” defense (70 grade) and speed (70 grade). With the bat, Nuñez has yet to consistently figure it out, posting a .627 OPS with Pensacola in ‘23.

Miami's 40-man roster has two open spots. In the 2022 Rule 5 Draft, the club selected reliever Nic Enright but returned him to the Guardians before he made an appearance. The Marlins have found success in the Minor League portion of the Draft in each of the past two years, selecting infielder Charles Leblanc in '22 and Myers in ‘23.

Burning question
How can the Marlins prove 2023 wasn’t a fluke? I addressed this in Monday’s newsletter, so have a look in case you missed it.