Every season for the past four or five years, Marlins owner Jeffery Loria has said that if his team “does not make the playoffs, they have fallen short of the front office’s expectations.” While that might have been considered an unrealistic goal given the budget the past few seasons, using that criteria to analyze the team’s productivity the past few years means that the Marlins have fallen well short of expectations.

In an attempt to make sure this team at least competes within their division during the upcoming season, the Marlins’ front office core has made significant moves that have dramatically improved their roster.

While bringing in names such as Jose Reyes and Mark Buehrle, the success of the Marlins in 2012 will most likely depend on players that have been on the roster for several years, such as Hanley Ramirez and Josh Johnson.

An injury-plagued Marlins team struggled in 2011, however the new Miami Marlins might only be five keys away from making the playoffs and becoming a contender once again.

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