Spring training standouts Dane Myers, Sixto Sánchez stay hot with performances vs. Mets

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL—As Opening Day looms, the fight for roster spots intensifies. There are limited opportunities remaining for players to demonstrate how they can fit on the Marlins' injury-depleted pitching staff or why they deserve to be in Miami's extremely crowded outfield. With a light day on the schedule for the regulars in big league camp, most of them stayed back in Jupiter and participated in games on the backfields. Three players who did make the trip to Port St. Lucie Sunday to face the Mets—one veteran and two "on the bubble" players—made their cases for breaking camp.

No matter how you look at it, Dane Myers is having an incredible spring. The 28-year-old pitcher-turned-hitter came into this game hitting .348 and somehow made his average go up with his performance. He went 3-for-4 with a home run to right field and two singles to center. And it's not like he was exploiting some random minor leaguer: all three of his hits came off the Mets' Opening Day starting pitcher, José Quintana.

Myers' home run came shortly after an adventurous inning in center field where he lost a ball in the sun and wind, crashed up against the wall, collected himself, grabbed the ball, fired to Javier Sanoja, who relayed it to the plate to cut down Starling Marte. 

Skip Schumaker on Dane's performance: "Dane is a really good athlete. You want [guys like him] to make our decision difficult. That's the goal when there's roster decisions, and he is absolutely making it difficult. And if it's not on the Opening Day [roster], then it will be the 'first guy up' type of thing. That's how much he's impressed us. He's becoming a really good offensive player.

"He hasn't played a lot on this side of the diamond. He has been a pitcher for a number of years. So for him to be able to do this is really impressive in a short amount of time. He became a big leaguer really quick after the transition. So he's been impressive. Great kid. Clubhouse loves him. So he's doing everything he can to make the team."

Despite the general perception that Avisaíl García will make the Marlins roster solely due to his pricey contract, he is in these games with something to prove. Having dealt with injuries and poor performance in each of his last two seasons, he could be on a short leash in 2024 if he doesn't meaningfully bounce back to his previous form.

Avi showed off some hustle and power on Sunday, beginning the day with a leadoff double down the left field line in the second inning, and finishing by reaching base two more times on errors forced by him scooting down the first base line and rushing the throws. He continued to show off his wheels as he went first-to-home in 11.83 seconds on a double by Christian Bethancourt.

After the game, Avi said, "I haven't been able to run that fast in a couple of seasons. It felt really good."

Skip Schumaker said of Avi's bounce-back spring: "He had a tough year last year. Right when he was starting to feel better, he got hurt. He was injury-plagued really the whole year. So, without (Jorge) Soler, we're looking for that right-handed power bat, and we're hoping that he can provide it."

Sixto Sánchez continues to be the feel-good story of the spring. He pitched another two perfect innings against the Mets, striking out his former teammate Starling Marte in the bottom of the fourth on a nasty slider. Facing mostly right-handed batters, he stayed away from his signature changeup, throwing it only once. He let that slider do most of the talking, throwing it ten times and getting two whiffs on five swings.

Sixto on getting back to his old self: "Once you see the results from that hard work, it gets you that boost to keep working hard...I'm very grateful for the opportunity to get back to The Show."

Unlike Myers, Sánchez is out of minor league options, adding more urgency to his roster audition.

Noah's Notes

• Braxton Garrett threw a live BP session today against Jake Burger and Jazz Chisholm Jr. Jazz struck out twice against him and threw his bat down in frustration after swinging at what he called a "disgusting" slider. 

• Jesús Luzardo pitched in a minor league game on the backfields. When asked why he didn't make the trip, Skip said that they didn't want the Mets to get a good look at him.
• That decision created room for LHP Luis Palacios to make his first career Grapefruit League start in Luzardo's place. Palacios has been with the Marlins organization since 2016, signing with them as an international free agent when he was just 16 years old.
• Bryan Hoeing starts Monday afternoon against the Astros in Jupiter.