The Tampa Bay Rays have the ‘secret sauce.’ Can the Miami Marlins replicate it?

As Lewis Brinson’s ninth-inning popup landed in Ji-Man Choi’s glove Saturday, the Miami Marlins watched as the Tampa Bay Rays cleared from the dugout to celebrate in front of a sold out Tropicana Field.

The Rays had just won the American League East for the second consecutive season and the fourth time since 2008.

One day later, the Marlins would lose 3-2, the Rays completing the three-game sweep and going 5-1 against Miami this year.

The late-season series served as a reminder of where the Marlins are in their rebuild.

What’s happening in the other clubhouse also serves as a blueprint of what the Marlins can become if their rebuild hits its goals.

“Obviously they have a secret sauce that you’ve got to crack into,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said Saturday.

The Marlins are a low payroll team like the Rays, with both teams in the bottom five in baseball this year for total payroll.

They are a team that prioritizes a strong minor-league system like the Rays. Both teams have five top-100 prospects according to MLB Pipeline and both have been ranked among the top minor-league systems.

Both place an emphasis on pitching depth. The Rays rank fifth in baseball in team ERA this year and the Marlins are building a budding young starting rotation led by Sandy Alcantara and featuring rising youngsters in Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera and Sixto Sanchez with more in the upper levels of the minors.

The Rays have been able to translate that into wins and deep playoff runs.

“I think they are a shining example of a smaller-market club getting the very best out of every single one of the 26 players that they put out on the field,” Ng said. “I think that one of the most compelling things when I watch this club is that they are pedal to the metal. They are savvily aggressive, and they just play a really great brand of baseball. I think in a lot of ways for other clubs, they’re an aspiration. They’re not a flash in the pan, year in and year out, and I think that’s what everybody’s trying to get to.”

This includes the Marlins. They haven’t gotten there yet. They’ve had one winning season in four years since the Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter ownership group took over, going 31-29 and reaching the National League Division Series in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. They are 64-91 this season with seven games left, four against the New York Mets at Citi Field and three against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Expectations internally were high this season following the playoff run, but they withered away midseason, a 1-8 road trip through Boston, Buffalo (to face the Toronto Blue Jays) and Pittsburgh in late May and early June catalyzing their fall.

They’ve spent the second half of the season focusing on watching hopeful contributors of the future — Cabrera, Bryan De La Cruz, Jesus Sanchez and Lewin Diaz among them — get extended reps while attempting to play spoiler for the playoff contenders still on the schedule.

And then they get moments like Saturday, watching a team like the Rays clinch a division title, that give a reminder of the Marlins’ ultimate goals and the work they still have to go to attain them.

“It’s never much fun watching anybody clinch when you’re not going to get a chance to go to the postseason,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, “but I guess it’s something that our guys really should see because it is a special time no matter how you do it or how you get there. ... For us, it’s something that we’ve got to work towards, to be more consistent. [The Rays are] getting pretty consistent at it. Obviously, this year has been a disappointment for us for the standpoint of we were able to kind of break through in the short season last year, and I know he had a lot higher expectations than where we’re at.”

What stands out the most about the Rays to Mattingly?

“They are a challenge,” Mattingly said, “and it’s actually exciting getting to play them because you know how good they are. I think [Rays manager Kevin] Cash does a great job and their organization of building that roster to a point where it’s hard to get a matchup out of your bullpen. They’ve got a number of switch-hitters and guys that are flexible. They’ve got speed on the bases. They’ve got a number of guys that run — not necessarily a 30 or 40 stolen base guy but a bunch of guys that you feel like can get a bag on you, a bunch of guys that run and that make you pay attention. They hit the ball out of the ballpark. They walk. And then they match you out of the bullpen the same way. They have the righty-lefty combos. They don’t give you great matchups there either. They’re just a good club and well formed. They’ve been showing it over the past few years of the depth in our organization. They’ve had a number of guys go out and they just fill in the next spot. They make good trades. They’re fun to play against.”