Marlins president implores fans to 'give us a chance'

The latest phase of the Miami Marlins' rebuild is complete after the team traded All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto to the Philadelphia Phillies. Now, all eyes in south Florida are on the future.

Despite the ongoing teardown that began during the 2017-18 offseason when the Marlins dealt Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and Dee Gordon, the club's president of baseball operations, Michael Hill, doesn't think the 2019 season is a total write-off.

“I would tell our fans to just give us a chance," Hill said, according to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. "So many people have written off the Marlins and really haven’t taken an opportunity to take a deep look at what we’re building. When you have a lot to do, it’s going to take time and we understand where we’re at. But we’ve been able to add a tremendous amount of talent over the last 18 months."

Hill also said the team has added 38 prospects and high-upside players since the Derek Jeter-led regime change, and prior to that, the prospect cupboard was mostly empty.

The haul Miami received from Philadelphia in exchange for Realmuto included some of that new talent. Jorge Alfaro is expected to slot in as the team's starting catcher this season, and right-hander Sixto Sanchez immediately became the most highly touted prospect in the Marlins' farm system.

In October, the Marlins signed Cuban outfielders Victor Victor Mesa and Victor Mesa Jr. to minor-league deals, both of whom could make an impact at the major-league level.

Still, the Marlins are coming off a 63-98 season and aren't projected to be much better in 2019. It's been a while since they last sniffed the postseason, too, and the team hasn't posted a winning record since 2009. Miami also hasn't appeared in a playoff game since winning the 2003 World Series.