Everyone knew it was going to be a tough season for the Miami Marlins. The team traded away nearly all their good players in the winter. And with J.T. Realmuto currently sidelined, the team’s biggest attraction for fans is probably Starlin Castro.

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As you might expect, fans are exactly clamoring to see Castro headline a team these days. As a result, the Marlins played in front of their smallest crowd ever at Marlins Park on Monday.

Important distinction: It was the smallest crowd in Marlins Park history. The park opened in 2012, so we’re not going that far back. It might not be the smallest crowd to attend a home game for the Marlins.

That’s hardly a consolation here. If the Marlins have played in front of fewer than 7,003 fans during their history, that’s not exactly a thing to brag about.

The fans who decided to spend their time elsewhere didn’t miss much, as the Marlins lost 4-2 to the New York Mets.

That lack of fans at the game is not great, but it’s made even worse when you consider Derek Jeter told investors he believed attendance would take a step forward this season. Those projections may have been … optimistic.

The Marlins were far from the only team to have attendance issues Monday. The Chicago White Sox game was sparsely attended as well.

There were a couple reasons for that. The team moved the game time, it was freezing cold and the crosstown Cubs had also cancelled their game. People in Chicago didn’t expect the game to happen. When it did, they weren’t exactly itching to skip work and spend the day outside.

Even with that, the White Sox announced a larger paid attendance.

More people may have paid to see the White Sox on Monday, but there were far fewer people at Guaranteed Rate Field than in Miami.

For the White Sox, at least there’s some hope on the horizon. The team’s rebuilding effort is close, and fans might come out to see the club’s standout prospects later in the year.

The same can’t be said in Miami. The team just started its rebuild, and there aren’t as many elite youngsters in the organization just yet.

That makes for a less than desirable situation for fans. And if you thought things were bad now, just wait to see what happens when the team trades Castro later in the year.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik

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