MLB Weekly Wrap: Anybody know what the Marlins are doing?

Even though the offseason is in full swing, there is no shortage of news throughout the National League East. The Braves, Marlins, and Phillies will probably be bad again. The Nationals are looking to achieve their third straight on-paper championship, and the Mets, they actually look to be in good shape (I never thought I would say that).

We all remember the fiasco that was the Miami Marlins last year, when they fired manager Mike Redmond in May and threw general manager Dan Jennings down to the top step of the dugout. We all remember the disaster of signing a bunch of players to a bunch of money in 2012, and jumping ship halfway through the year.

Are they about to do it again?

A franchise that has been through three radical fire sales in just 23 years of existence is making waves once more. The Marlins just signed 2B Dee Gordon to a 5-year, $50 million deal. They also just inked free agent pitcher Wei-Yin Chen to a 5-year $80 million deal.

Not to mention the fact that Cliff Lee and Doug Fister are some names being thrown around as hypothetical trade candidates.

There's the old adage that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is defined as insanity. We'll have to see how this go-round works for owner Jeffrey Loria.

But wait, before we move on. CHRIS JOHNSON!

Now we move on.

Apparently the Philadelphia Phillies don't have much hope for the upcoming season, as our friends at The Good Phight have sunk to comparing the abilities of an aging Ryan Howard and a sheet of plywood. (Hint: the sheet of plywood performs remarkably well in the comparison.)

Yoenis Cespedes is reportedly weighing a pair offers from the Orioles and the Mets. Baltimore has laid a multi-year deal on the table, while it is believed the Mets' offer is a one-year contract. New York's offer would be appealing to the slugger only if he thought he could gain more money on next year's free agent market. The Braves were mentioned briefly as a potential suitor in the one-year deal category, but let's be reasonable.

If you go back to 2012, Denard Span and Ben Revere were the Minnesota Twins' top two centerfielders. Span was traded to the Washington Nationals, which would seem to clear the way for Revere to take over. Eight days later, Revere was gone too.

Now, Revere replaces Span again, but it doesn't look as if he will be traded eight days later. Span signed with the San Francisco Giants, leaving a void in center for Washington. They sent disgruntled setup man Drew Storen to the Toronto Blue Jays for Revere last Friday to fill that gap.

Washington has dealt out some money of its own in the past week, avoiding arbitration with players with significant roles on the team. Wilson Ramos, Stephen Strasburg, Danny Espinoza and Anthony Rendon all reached agreements with the organization.

The Nationals also made sure that Jennings will continue to be around, as they hired him as a special assistant to general manager Mike Rizzo.

Until we meet again.