After being acquired from the Astros in July of 2021 in exchange for reliever Yimi Garcia, De La Cruz quickly became a prominent figure in the Marlins' offensive makeup. He debuted for Miami two days after that trade, made the Opening Day roster in 2022, and jumped into a full-on everyday role in 2023. The more at-bats he takes, though, the more it seems his trajectory might have already reached a plateau. De La Cruz possess decent raw power and can pounce on pitches in his wheelhouse, but he has proven to be a mess on anything thrown to the outer-third of the plate. He has a .301 OBP in his last 268 major-league games, and his outfield defense is already starting to look dreadful at age 27. While he should again play a lot in an improving lineup, which perhaps gives him a safe floor, there's no need to chase De La Cruz in the same wayward fashion he chases sliders. Read Past Outlooks