JUPITER, Fla. -- The Marlins are in the process of building an organization from the bottom up, and Dan Straily hopes to be an integral part of the process.
The 29-year-old right-hander has seen a similar blueprint work first-hand before, and he envisions that happening in Miami. Straily also made it clear that the young, restructured roster is not about to roll over, and he's not losing sleep over the former Marlins traded over the winter, especially those who lobbied for a trade.
"I'm glad they're gone," Straily said in a not-so-veiled reference to Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich. "If they don't want to be here, then good for them. Then, they can continue their career elsewhere.
"I got it. It's not like I was upset or insulted. It's no secret our starting rotation last year, we didn't exactly carry the team around. I get that. That was pretty much the talk of it. As a guy who is in the rotation, it motivated me when I hear that kind of stuff to continue to really focus on bettering my game."
Straily has been on the go since the Marlins opened Spring Training on Wednesday at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex. He threw a bullpen session that morning, then was excused from camp to attend his arbitration hearing in Phoenix.
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A source confirmed to MLB.com that Straily lost his case and will make $3.375 million in 2018. He had filed at $3.55 million. The hearing was on Thursday, and Straily was back with the club on Friday.
Now that the hearing is over, Straily is focused on the season. And he made it clear: He is ready to lead by performance and example.
"I'm excited to be here with some younger guys and finally get a chance to really kind of mentor and try to help guys come into the big leagues for the first time," Straily said. "It's something I really enjoyed in Cincinnati. I enjoy that role."
Straily also knows a thing or two about teams that shock the world. He began his career in Oakland and was part of the 2012 club that improved by 20 games to win the American League West before winning the division again in '13. He also pitched for the 2015 Astros, who improved by 16 games and won the AL Wild Card Game. After being acquired from the Reds in '17, Straily enters his second season with the Marlins. He went 10-9 with a 4.26 ERA, pacing the team in innings (181 2/3). Straily is ready to take on a leadership role for a rotation that promises to have many new faces over the course of the season.
The Marlins made unpopular moves in the offseason, trading Stanton, Dee Gordon, Marcell Ozuna and Yelich.
Since last year, the organization has brought in more than 20 prospects.
"I really, I guess, kind of agree with what happened," Straily said. "All the moves they've made. I really feel the pieces they've brought in, this might flip around a little quicker.
"I'm not saying like today, but this might flip around quicker than a lot of people realize because of some of the players they were able to acquire back in those trades."

Manager Don Mattingly said it's important to have the players on board for the process the organization is going through.
"It's good," Mattingly said. "I think, for all of us, from an organizational standpoint, you really want it from the guy helping you out at the door, the guy selling tickets to the top, all the way through our organization. You want people that are here to build a championship mentality, and a championship model that the people of South Florida are going to be proud of. Obviously, you want your players to feel that way."
Straily certainly does, and he believes his team will surprise a lot of people.
"I don't think it's a race to the bottom," he said. "No one that comes through this room will happily be willing to lose a baseball game. That's just not how it works in this room."