Are the Marlins ready to rip out of the gate? Nope.

[Slacker Mills]

Preseason is the best. Everyone is tied for first place in the regular season standings. How are the Marlins looking? Well. somebody has to take off the rose-colored glasses.

Catcher. The Marlins fielded the worst in the game in 2023. The answer was to send Stallings packing and spend $100K for a replacement in Bethancourt. He's played for half the teams in baseball over the last decade, and none of them wanted to keep him. Last season he was beaten out by Rene Pinto at Tampa Bay. Who is he? Exactly. The best hope for the Marlins is Will Banfield, who will be hitting homers at Jacksonville.

First base. Josh Bell has been another hot potato. After miserable stretches with San Diego and Cleveland, his obese contract wound up in Miami last year. He accepted his $16.5 million option for this season (much to the team's chagrin). Some will say that he was a godsend for the Marlins last year. I guess you can say anything. I'll say that he'll lead the team in bouncing into double plays and nothing else this season. I'll include Jake Burger here because nobody wants him at third base. He showed a modicum of talent with the bat last year, and has concealed it completely this spring.

Second base. Luis Arraez gets a whole bunch of hits. He will also get a whole bunch of money next season, which is his final arbitration year. With absolutely no shot at the playoffs this season, the Marlins would be wise to send him to Boston for a young catcher in Kyle Teel and a sparkplug in Cedanne Rafaela. He's also clogging up second base, the destination for his much faster clone in Xavier Edwards.

Shortstop. Up is the only way to go for Anderson, right? I mean he set the stage for a comeback last season by earning the distinction of being both the worst offensive and defensive performer among regulars in all of baseball. I hear you. Spring doesn't matter. Good thing. ;He's been absolutely awful.

Third base. I don't even know if the skipper has an answer for this one. I guess you could play Berti there. I also guess you could find a way to trade for Noelvi Marte, who is on suspension for the first eighty games of the season. I have no doubt that Marte could put up better numbers in half a season than Berti in a full season.

Outfield and DH. Soler's premium bat is gone. Well, guess what? Adam Duvall just signed with Atlanta for $3 million and could have been a Marlin! His power numbers are comparable to Soler's and he can actually run the bases and play very good OF defense. And all of that for less than a quarter of Avisail Garcia's salary. How did this opportunity go wasted? Jazz Chisholm will be a very good player if the strike outs can be limited. He will be fun to watch even if he does go on whiffing. Jesus Sanchez might be good this year and I'm betting he will be. It's time to bat him third in the order against RHP. And De La Cruz. His durability allowed him to lead the team in RBI, but the OPS+ says the team is putting up with very poor defense in the name of less than ML average offensive production. Not good.

Pitching. Don't say spring doesn't matter to the Fishonfirst crew! They are putting Puk and Weathers on the All Star team already! Based on what, you ask? I have no idea. Then again, I'm crazy too. I think Sixto Sanchez will be far more productive as a starter than either of them. Why? Start with the fact that Sixto has a better fastball, change, and slider than either of them. I like Luzardo and Cabrera and Perez to have solid seasons. I like Trevor Rogers to be even better. When Braxton Garrett returns, I'm looking for excellence too. He gets no credit for his amazing work last season, probably because he's a soft-tosser. His five-to-one K/W ratio was absolutely extraordinary. My appraisal here proves I'm not a total pessimist.

I see clouds over the bullpen, however. Tanner Scott is lost until he demonstrates otherwise. Nardi is not himself. Bender is hanging every breaking ball and needs to get that fixed. Soriano is way under-rated and could be a nice surprise. Maldonado has gotten past early spring jitters and looks great. Puk and Weathers will be needed in the pen sooner than later.

I know, I know. I said exactly what you all were thinking.

 

 

 

[Ely Sussman]

Puk is the only player on the team who has significantly altered my opinion of him this spring. Until he arrived at camp, there wasn't a true way of gauging how useful his additional pitches would be (the pitches he shelved when working in relief). But now, he's showing that he can locate them and use them in complementary ways.

The unknowable element is whether he can physically handle an extreme uptick in workload.

[Ely Sussman]

And regarding Duvall, I would have absolutely topped that Braves offer and given him Avi's job.

[Slacker Mills]

Bad feeling about Perez and his elbow. Bad feeling about Rogers too. He was at 94 in his last start and 91-92 today. Something not right there. 

All the Marlins really had was their talented rotation. With that gone, there was a Grim Reaper sighting at Loan Depot Park this afternoon.

Other notes: Big Boy Jake Burger is about as lost at the plate as anybody I have ever seen. His only chance of reaching base is to not swing. Didn't think Josh Bell had a step left to lose, but you time him with a sun dial.