Alex Krutchik

Friday's series opener was a tale of two Andersons for the Marlins—while Tim Anderson recorded a season-high three hits, spot starter Shaun Anderson faltered in his debut with the club. The days of the Miami Marlins using the Washington Nationals as a punching bag seem to be over. After losing 8-1 to the Nats on Friday night, the Marlins are 0-5 against their division rival. In 2022 and 2023, the Marlins inflated their win totals by going a combined 26-6 against Washington. The Nationals, who came into Friday’s game at 32-36 and just two games back of the National League wild card, are experiencing their best season since beginning their rebuild in 2021. While still not world-beaters, they began their weekend series in somewhat dominating fashion, taking advantage of recent pitching call-up Shaun Anderson. The 29-year-old is filling the Marlins rotation spot vacated by Ryan Weathers, who was put on the 15-day injured list on June 8 for a strained left index finger. Anderson was traded from the Texas Rangers at the end of May for cash considerations where he made two relief appearances. But the right-hander hadn’t started a game at the major league level since he was with the San Francisco Giants in 2019. Anderson tiptoed through trouble in the first inning, with right fielder Dane Myers, second baseman Otto Lopez and third baseman Emmanuel Rivera completing a 9-4-5 relay to throw out CJ Abrams on an attempted leadoff triple. He then threw a scoreless second inning. uopv81_1.mp4 But the American Heritage High School alumnus imploded in the third. He allowed the first two batters to reach base before Lane Thomas struck a three-run home run off the left field foul pole. It didn’t get any better from there. Jesse Winker hit a single, Eddie Rosario hit a double, Joey Meneses hit a two-RBI single, and Luis García Jr. hit a single. Anderson did not record an out before he was pulled for Huascar Brazoban. The Nationals put up 10 hits and seven runs against Anderson, the final two scoring on Abrams' single. The lone Marlins run came in the second inning when Nick Fortes drove home Tim Anderson on an infield single. TA had a three-hit night. He’s 9-for-16 since returning from the bereavement list on June 11, raising his batting average from .188 to .221 in the process. View full article

Taking an updated look at the production that has come from major league players who've been acquired by the Marlins during Peter Bendix's first year as president of baseball operations. The lack of a big splash signing this past offseason made Peter Bendix a much-maligned figure in the eyes of Marlins fans. Coming off their first postseason since 2003, the first-year president of baseball operations made few moves to improve the roster, and whatever acquisitions he did make were mostly fringe pieces with not much expected impact. So far, the results have been...mixed. Some have found a solid role and perhaps a future in Miami past 2024, while others look to be in jeopardy of reaching the end of their major league careers unless they substantially improve. The Bendix acquisitions featured below are those who have spent the majority of the regular season on the Marlins active roster. Vidal Bruján Yes, we’re only three months into the season, but Bruján already experienced a rebirth of sorts from the beginning of the year to now. Traded to the Marlins from the Tampa Bay Rays over the offseason, Bruján didn’t look particularly good in spring training. He still made the Opening Day roster, due to a combination of needed infield depth and the fact that he had zero remaining minor league options, necessitating a waiver if the Marlins sent him to the minors to begin the year. Bruján's regular season looked like more of his spring in the first month. In his first 16 games of 2024, his playing time was sparse. He was mostly a late-inning substitute and made seven starts. With that inconsistent playing time, he hit .087 (2-for-23) with a double. Beginning April 26 against the Washington Nationals, Bruján began getting more consistent starts, and immediately turned his season around. The 26-year-old went 6-for-11 with two triples in his three starts that series. From April 26 until May 20—the span in which he had the most consistent playing time this season—he slashed .320/.378/.480. Defensively, he’s spent a lot of his time at shortstop, especially while Tim Anderson was on the injured list in mid-May with a back issue. His defense at shortstop has gotten progressively better, posting exactly zero outs above average in 162 innings according to Baseball Savant. 0ef5aac5-b2da082b-3518954e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 At third base, that number goes down to negative-four, despite playing just 67 innings there. Since Anderson’s return to the lineup, Bruján has mostly found himself at second base, with spot starts at shortstop and third base. Offensively, he has fallen back down to earth with his limited playing time, posting a .211/.286/.263 in seven games and five starts since May 26. Otto Lopez Lopez has been one of the biggest success stories for the Marlins in this young season. The Marlins acquired him in early April after he was designated for assignment by the San Francisco Giants. In seven games with Triple-A Jacksonville, he posted a .566 average (15-for-27) with four doubles, two home runs, and just two strikeouts. After being called up to the big leagues on April 15, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said he “doesn’t know anything about him.” It’s hard to blame him. Lopez had a meteoric rise to the majors that isn’t often seen, especially for someone who isn’t a top prospect. But Lopez still hasn’t cooled off from his minor league hot streak. With Miami, he’s slashing .295/.324/.421 in 35 games. He’s only striking out at a 16.7 percent clip, which is six points better than league average. His early-season run came to a peak when he hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning against the New York Mets on May 18. Lopez’s slash line in his first 16 games was especially eye-catching, posting a .321/.387.607. The Dominican righty has had 102 plate appearances so far this year. The league has had time to thoroughly scout and adjust to him, yet still, he has managed to maintain his production. Before being put on paternity leave on June 7 for the birth of his daughter, Lopez was riding a six-game hitting streak in which he went 9-for-22 with four RBI and a walk. Nick Gordon Gordon's role on the Fish has been well-defined: he is their starting left fielder against right-handed pitchers and a late-game pinch-hitter when Schumaker wants to gain the platoon advantage with his team trailing. Slashing .234/.261/.380, Gordon is producing slightly below his career norms, though he is on pace for 15 homers, which would be a new personal best. Like many members of the 2024 Marlins, Gordon has been prone to hitting balls on the ground. His groundball rate is 55.3%, compared to a 40.5 GB% in his breakout 2022 campaign. He would find more success be increasing his launch angle. Christian Bethancourt You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who had a worse start to his Marlins career than Christian Bethancourt. The catcher that the Marlins acquired from the Cleveland Guardians began the season with zero hits in his first 29 at-bats. But just before their first west coast road trip in early May, Bethancourt, made some adjustments to his swing, and started feeling himself in Oakland.A right-handed hitter, Bethancourt discovered the kink in his swing while taking practice hacks as from the left side of the plate with hitting coach John Mabry just before said road trip. The former Rays catcher was born a lefty, but said he became a righty in kindergarten. During his time in the Korea Baseball Organization in 2019, Bethancourt said he’d take practice swings as a lefty before beginning his right-handed swings. “They're big on using both hands and both obliques so you don't get hurt," Bethancourt said of Korea. “And then from there, I always take a few swings left-handed.” Bethancourt started to feel better at the plate for a few games without the results to show for it. But he finally broke out in the series finale against Oakland and into the series against the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves, going 6-for-14 with two doubles. Since then, he has cooled off a bit, but is certainly still clearing the low bar he set in March and April. Though, it would be hard to do worse. The 32-year-old is throwing out base-stealers at a 23-percent clip, which is right in the middle of 61 qualified catchers. But his arm strength (85.0 MPH) is top of the league, while his pop time (1.90 seconds) is tied for ninth. Bethancourt is under club control for 2025 via arbitration. His overall offensive output (.155/.200/.239 slash line in 77 PA) must get better for the Marlins to tender him a contract. Emmanuel Rivera Rivera essentially replaced Jon Berti when the latter was traded to the New York Yankees on Opening Day eve. Similar to Bethancourt, he was a glorified waiver claim acquired in exchange for cash considerations. Also similar to Bethancourt, Rivera has struggled at the plate. Specifically, his power has gradually diminished. The Puerto Rican corner infielder went from 12 home runs in 102 games during the 2022 season, to four homers in 86 games last season, to none through his first 45 Marlins appearances. Miami counted on him to put together quality at-bats against left-handers. However, his production this year is virtually the same regardless of the opposing pitcher's handedness. Rivera's glovework at third base is roughly league average. Tim Anderson Bendix's "big" acquisition (relatively speaking) was taking a $5M flier on Anderson, the former AL All-Star and batting champ whose production had cratered in 2023. Still just 30 years old, the Marlins hoped his prime had not entirely passed him by and improved health combined with a change of scenery could turn him into a starting-caliber player at a position of need. The bar was so low—by some measures, the Marlins had MLB's worst shortstop production last season. Alas, Anderson is proving to be a downgrade even from that. Through 48 games, Anderson has only three extra-base hits compared to 51 strikeouts. He showed brief glimpses of being productive at the start of the season and immediately following a mid-May injured list stint; aside from that, though, he's been severely lacking both plate discipline and power. Even during a miserable 2023 season, Anderson could do damage against fastballs (.307 batting average against them). That has not been the case as a Marlin (.211 BA). The pending free agent has dug himself a deep enough hole that it's difficult to see him drawing any interest from contenders at the trade deadline. The question is how much more patience the Marlins will have before turning over shortstop duties to younger alternatives like Bruján and Xavier Edwards. Declan Cronin Aside from established closer Tanner Scott, Declan Cronin’s 2.10 ERA is the lowest ERA among qualified Marlins relievers. Selected off waivers by the Marlins from the Houston Astros just before spring camp started, the expectations for Cronin were not high. He was entering a bullpen that included the aforementioned Scott along with Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender and Bryan Hoeing. But Cronin has been one of the more consistent pitchers in a bullpen that hasn’t lived up to the expectations they set for themselves after a strong 2023. The 26-year-old righty has mostly been used in low-leverage situations to success. But even with his limited opportunities in medium and high-leverage spots, he’s keeping hitters below a .200 average and a 2.00 ERA. Earlier this month, Craig Mish of SportsGrid said the Marlins are expected to capitalize on Cronin's impressive first half by trading him for young talent. Calvin Faucher Faucher came to the Marlins in the Bruján trade early in the offseason. The start of his 2024 season was delayed by a minor spring training injury, but he's been part of their big league bullpen since mid-April. An assessment of Faucher’s season this year would be difficult. While his 2.78 ERA and 2.61 FIP suggest the slightest bit of bad luck, a 1.46 WHIP—thanks in large part to a 4.4 BB/9—might be a predictor of future regression. Of his 21 appearances, 19 have come in the seventh inning or later. You may be surprised to learn that Faucher is the hardest-throwing righty in Miami's bullpen with an average sinker velocity of 95.7 mph. Burch Smith Smith was plucked from the Rays spring training roster after spending the last two years pitching in Asia. Largely an unknown name among Marlins fans, Smith has actually been one of the more consistent arms in the bullpen, albeit in low-leverage situations. The 34-year-old is pitching to a 3.81 ERA. His 49.5 percent groundball rate is in the top quarter of the league, utilizing mostly four-seam, cutter, and curveball. His line drive rate of 23.2 percent is the lowest of his career. View full article

Before Luzardo was a Marlins pitcher, he was a Marlins fan who rooted for Dontrelle Willis. Whether you called it Joe Robbie, Pro Player, Land Shark, or Dolphin Stadium, all Marlins fans can agree that it was dazzling to watch Dontrelle Willis every five days during his tenure with the Fish. Attendance at Marlins home games would spike whenever the lefty took the mound with his high leg kick and tornado-like twist before exploding towards home plate. Willis was called up in May 2003. He made an immediate impact with a 14-6 record and a 3.30 ERA. His 22 wins and five shutouts in 2005 are still the most in a single season in Marlins history. The then-23-year-old finished second in National League Cy Young voting that year, along with a 2.63 ERA in 34 starts. He also recorded a franchise-leading 15 complete games during his time in South Florida. One of those fans that was captivated by Willis is now the ace of the Marlins 17 years after Willis threw his last pitch for the club. Jesús Luzardo, a lefty just like Willis, grew up going to the ballpark just about 45 minutes from his home in Parkland (he called it “Pro Player”, by the way). Luzardo recorded a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts last year to propel the Marlins to a National League Wild Card berth. With 2022 Cy Young award winner Sandy Alcantara sidelined by an elbow injury, Luzardo started Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series, the first playoff game for the franchise at the end of a full-length season since Willis and the Marlins won the World Series in 2003. On Sunday, with the Marlins giving out Dontrelle Willis bobbleheads to fans, the 2003 NL Rookie of the Year was in attendance and spoke with Luzardo along with other members of the team. “I told them in the locker room, they all have better stuff than me,” Willis relayed to the media. “And they didn't believe it, but I'm telling you, man. It’s this myth that everybody thought I threw 97. I was like, check tape. I threw 90-91. But I was impactful with my movements.” Sunday wasn’t the first time that Willis and Luzardo had spoken. While Luzardo was still a member of the Oakland Athletics a few years ago, Willis, who grew up in the Bay Area, reached out to Luzardo and offered advice. Naturally, that line of communication has stayed open since Luzardo was traded to Miami in 2021. “I'm so proud,” Willis said. “I knew he was gonna be a star. We talked in Oakland. Sometimes you need to get out of a situation to get a breath of fresh air. Him being back home, he's really emerged as a leader. I hate that his name is in trade talks. I can relate to that. So he's been talking to me about that. Stay away from the noise. Don't be in traps.” “I mean it’s awesome to hear," Luzardo said. "Especially for me, growing up down here, I was a big fan of his...It was just a blessing to hear something like that coming from him, someone I highly regard.” jt9xx9.mp4 Luzardo, now 26, was less than 10 years old during the D-Train’s time here. Hearing any advice from a childhood hero is something he does not take for granted. “Not everyone gets a chance to talk to someone they looked up to when they were young,” Luzardo said. “So it’s something that I like to take advantage of, talk to him as much as possible, and get his opinion as much as possible.” Luzardo can’t lift his leg as high as Willis did, though he did try as a child. But one thing that he was able to take from the two-time All-Star was his ability to stand strong against all challenges. “He wouldn’t back down to anyone,” Luzardo said to the media after Sunday’s game. “And I think that’s something that they instill a lot here as Marlins. But it’s something that I take pride in as well.” Willis, now a studio analyst with FOX Sports, said this current period of his life is what defines his career the most. He's flattered to see people doing his signature leg kick in street baseball games and hear from current major leaguers who grew up watching him. "Having the impact and listening to ballplayers that are good now as they talk about how their parents took them to Marlins games means the world to me," Willis said. "It transcends money. It really does. I really enjoy hearing those stories." View full article

Xavier Edwards is back with the Marlins after dealing with a foot infection that sidelined him for two months. Xavier Edwards is finally back with the Miami Marlins. Edwards entered spring training vying for a spot on the major league team, fresh off winning a Triple-A batting title and helping with Miami's postseason push as a September call-up. But a severe foot infection sidelined him just one week into Grapefruit League action. What was originally expected to be a short-term injury eventually worsened to the point where he missed the first month-and-a-half of the regular season. The 24-year-old began the year with the Triple-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on May 7. He picked up right where he left off in 2023 by slashing .365/.411/.481 in 13 games and 52 at-bats. On Friday, infielders Tim Anderson and Otto Lopez going on the bereavement and paternity lists, respectively, gave way to Edwards' call-up. His first day back in Miami prior to Friday’s series opener against the Cleveland Guardians, Edwards said the last three months have been “a journey.” Edwards said the first few weeks was “a lot of sitting around” while he had an IV hooked up to him. Once he was able to get it out of him, he slowly built himself back up and started lifting at the Marlins’ spring training facility in Jupiter. Edwards said the biggest hurdle to getting back in game shape was conditioning and getting his speed back. But he said he started feeling like himself again a couple of weeks ago, and the numbers show it, collecting four doubles, a triple, and three stolen bases in 13 games with Jacksonville. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker even penciled him in as the leadoff hitter Friday while anchoring shortstop, a position Edwards had not previously played as a major leaguer. “I think he deserves a shot at it,” Schumaker said prior to Friday’s 3-2 victory. "He's earned it. It's not like we’re waiting and seeing. He's earned the right to get a start up here at the big league level, at shortstop. And so the next few games, I think you'll see him playing shortstop.” Edwards was drafted as a shortstop by the San Diego Padres in 2018. Schumaker was the first base coach for their major league team. “I love playing shortstop,” Edwards said. “I just kind of got away from it for a long time because the teams I was with prior kind of got me off the position a little bit. But I’m excited to be back over there.” Although a bulk of Edwards’ time in the field has been spent at second base—in the majors and minors—he said he spends each offseason practicing shortstop, as it helps him with arm strength and footwork. “At second base, unconsciously, your feet can tend to get lazy, just because the throws are so short,” Edwards explained. “I know I can't do that at shortstop. So I try to practice there every offseason, but this offseason, particularly, I spent a lot of time there.” Edwards was tested a few times on Friday. He had a couple of throws that were wide left to first baseman Jake Burger. But he made up for it in the sixth inning when he dove to his right on a 102 mile-per-hour ground ball off the bat of Josh Naylor and fired a strike to Burger. f4dd872f-bdcc7fe2-8db589fe-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 “Well, he had a couple of plays, but he made them, so I'll take it,” Schumaker said. “I only like talking about the plays you make, and he made them all. So I thought it was a great night. Really good diving play, obviously, to the backhand side. And Burger has not played a ton at first, but a really good pick by Burger, too. So yeah, I thought they both played really well tonight, defensively.” At the plate, Edwards went 0-for-3 with a walk. View full article

The Miami Marlins are winning late games again. This time, it was Josh Bell coming up clutch with a walk-off single in the 10th. MIAMI, FL—Things are starting to feel a little bit like 2023 in Little Havana. The Marlins shot themselves in the foot with a 7-24 start in the first month of the season. But Miami is now 9-9 in May, with four of those wins being walk-offs. The Milwaukee Brewers were the latest victims of the Marlins’ late-inning heroics. Down to their final out with Nick Gordon at second base in the ninth inning and losing 2-1, Otto Lopez hit a bloop single to right field to score Gordon and give the Marlins hope. After Tanner Scott danced around a leadoff walk and sacrifice bunt in the 10th, he escaped with the tie still intact. After being shaky to start the season, Scott’s ERA is down to 1.80 and hasn't given up an earned run in 13 games dating back to April 14. The Marlins small-balled their way into a scoring threat when leadoff hitter Christian Bethancourt laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the placed runner in Vidal Bruján to third base. Then, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz were intentionally walked. That set the table for Josh Bell. After putting up miserable individual numbers in March/April, Bell has enjoyed an extended hot streak. He scored the first run of the game for Miami when Gordon drove him home in the seventh. Here in extras, he connected on a curveball on the outer half of the plate. The bulky switch-hitter—batting lefty in this situation—shot a ball through the right side to deliver the win. It was his 25th RBI of the season, tying Bryan De La Cruz for the team lead. tox16a.mp4 “At first, I was just thinking to get the ball in the air, get the ball to the outfield. But then when I found myself with a two-strike at-bat, I'm just trying to put the ball in play,” Bell said. The vibe in the Marlins clubhouse was noticeably more cheerful than it was after their rare wins in April. “It feels good," Bell said. "Feels like last year. You know, hopefully we can turn the ship around, start playing Marlins baseball. The vibes right now feel just like last year. Our starters are going to put us in position to win games. Bullpen is gonna keep us in that position. So the offense has to do its job. We're fortunate enough that three runs was a winner tonight.” Speaking of the starters, Marlins starting pitcher Ryan Weathers picked up where he left off after his last outing in Detroit in which he threw eight scoreless innings. Like his start against the Tigers, he carried a no-hitter rather deep into the game. Except, instead of his Detroit outing where his first hit conceded was a single to start the sixth inning, Weathers’ first hit allowed on Monday was a home run to Andruw Monasterio. Weathers tried sneaking a changeup low and in to the right-handed batter, but he missed and threw it down the middle. It was Monasterio’s first home run of the year. Weathers allowed two consecutive walks with one out in the sixth. Christian Yelich, the first walk allowed, stole second base and advanced to third on a bad throw by catcher Nick Fortes. With Willy Adames at the plate two batters later, Yelich successfully stole home as Fortes threw the ball back to Weathers. Yelich collided with Fortes, and Fortes stayed on the ground in pain for about a minute before he was able to get up. He remained in the game, but was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. vvb91o_1.mp4 But those were Weathers’ only mistakes on Monday. His secondary pitches—sweeper and changeup—accounted for 11 whiffs on 19 swings. He allowed two hits, walked three, and struck out eight. Despite the chaos of that sixth inning, he showed composure beyond his years. “He’s able to calm down now on the mound, and that's growing,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He's gonna be really good. And it's just fun to watch young guys grow up in the league. I've seen him for a number of years now, and the difference between the San Diego days and right now is night and day.” But still, Schumaker recognized the 24-year-old the Marlins acquired from the San Diego Padres last year has even more room to develop. “I think people have to remember: he is still growing,” Schumaker said. “He's a young starting pitcher in this league. And he is still learning and still growing. He's really good. He's always had stuff. He grew up the right way, he prepares, he's the one guy that I trust 90, 100, 110 pitches because he works so hard. He's a horse. But he's starting to really pitch.” The Marlins have won six of their last eight games, with four of those victories coming by one-run margins. They'll face off against the Brewers again on Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. View full article

Skip Schumaker was very candid in talking about Sixto's ongoing first-inning struggles. Marlins catcher Christian Bethancourt said it perfectly after Sunday’s 7-3 loss to the New York Mets: “(Sixto Sánchez) gets in trouble in the first inning, and after that, he pitches like Pedro Martinez." Okay, maybe the Pedro comparison is a step too far, but you get the sentiment. Since being inserted into the Marlins rotation at the beginning of May, Sánchez has been brutal to begin most of his starts before settling down into a solid pitcher from the second inning onward. In Sánchez’s most recent start Sunday, he needed 40 pitches to get out of the first inning. The 25-year-old gave up four runs in the first frame that lasted just under 20 minutes. Sánchez would pitch three more innings, allowing zero runs, three hits and one walk on 45 just pitches. In his five starts this year, Sánchez is sporting a 19.80 ERA in the first inning. In innings two through four, he’s recorded a combined 1.98 ERA with three total walks. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who is usually a staunch defender of all of his players when speaking to the media, gave a public challenge to Sanchez after Sunday’s loss. “That's unacceptable in the first inning,” Schumaker said. “So, if he wants to start at this level, he's going to have to be better in the first inning. It just is what it is." This is the first season Sánchez has pitched at the major league level since 2020 when he was the top prospect in the Marlins' system. In March 2021, he suffered a right shoulder injury. A pair of surgeries and numerous setbacks related to that kept him out of action until last year when he threw a single inning with Double-A Pensacola. Schumaker said he and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. spoke with Sánchez underneath the stands after his rough first inning. Following a trend that has plagued him in past starts this year, Sanchez came out of the gate with a fastball sitting in the high 80s before ramping it up to the mid 90s later on. Schumaker said he asked Sánchez if he was feeling healthy, to which Sánchez said yes. That’s when Schumaker challenged the right-handed pitcher to show him that he can be better. But the deficit was already too much. “At this level, it's tough to come back from four runs every single time,” Schumaker said. “And he's not giving his teammates a chance to win.” Sánchez also hasn’t been inducing the swing-and-miss stuff that he was known for before his injuries, in large part because of the lack of separation in velocity from his secondary pitches. Per Baseball Savant, Sánchez's whiff rate has been cut in half from 24.7% in 2020 to 12.8% this season. “If you don't have swing-and-miss at this level, then you have to be elite on the ground,” Schumaker said. “You have to produce all kinds of ground balls. He's been about league average or just above league average with that, which is really good. But you know, not many guys are gonna swing and miss at this level at 87 (miles per hour) because everything else kind of blends.” Schumaker was asked, specifically, if the team is able to identify or explain why Sánchez falters so much in the first. But he is just as confused as everybody else. “Ask him. I'd love to know,” Schumaker said. “Because we tried more pitches in the bullpen, we've tried less pitches in the bullpen; we've tried more in the weight room, less in the weight room; more in the training room, less in the training room. So we have to figure it out, collectively. I've said this before. The changes that we're trying to do are not working, so we have to keep trying to find something.” While Schumaker still believes in Sánchez, time may be running out for what was once the most electric prospect the Marlins had. “I'm not going to give up on him,” Schumaker said. “We're not going to give up on him. But he's not a top prospect anymore. Like, it's time to go. If he wants to start, he's gotta figure this part out.” Sánchez told the media that he believes it has to do with his arm positioning and having a better warm-up routine. But whatever it is, there doesn’t seem to be a simple answer. “I think it's just about that first inning, making sure that I'm giving my team an opportunity to win,” Sánchez said. “I think it's something that I have to be prepared to go out there and compete. And that's what I'm going to keep trying to do.” Sánchez's rotation spot is due up next on Saturday against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Down in Triple-A Jacksonville, right-handers Max Meyer and Roddery Muñoz—both of whom made starts for the Marlins earlier this season—would both be fully rested and eligible to be recalled if the club chooses to make a change. View full article

A few days removed from destroying the Marlins dugout in frustration, the 26-year-old pitched perhaps his best game of the year. Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers came into Wednesday’s game receiving some of the lowest run support in the major leagues, with his offense averaging 1.46 runs per game, according to Bally Sports Florida. The trend continued again in Wednesday afternoon’s 2-0 win against the Detroit Tigers, with Bryan De La Cruz’s two-run home run in the first inning being the only offense to speak of. But those two runs are all Rogers and the bullpen needed. The 26-year-old lefty tossed five scoreless innings while striking out six. He allowed just three hits and walked two. Most of that traffic came in the third inning. Rogers walked Carson Kelly to begin the frame, and hit Andy Ibáñez with a pitch after recording the first out of the inning. He struck out Wenceel Pérez for the second out, but walked Mark Canha to load the bases. After getting a visit from Mel Stottlemyre Jr., Rogers came back and struck out Gio Urshela on three straight changeups to escape the jam. Rogers came back with a 1-2-3 fourth inning, and worked around a leadoff single in the fifth. One of the keys for Rogers was his fastball velocity increasing as the game went on, after having trouble with maintaining it in his previous starts this year. "It was the first time that he wanted the ball back in the sixth inning," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said to the media after the game. "So just to show you how he's feeling and confidence he's gaining. It's a really good job by Mel and the pitching staff, obviously, of game-planning, and then getting Trevor back to where he needs to be." 15534e97-89c65e36-27a3fb6e-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 After his last outing in which he gave up four runs in 3 ⅓ innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, Rogers said he identified some issues with his mechanics where his throwing hand felt disconnected from his body, especially when his planting foot hit the ground. After Wednesday's outing, he said the changes he made in the last few days had him feeling much better. "It was a big part of the results today," Rogers said. "Really just maintaining my posture down the mound and getting more extension. I had better extension today...It was just really, really good. Mechanics were solid, just riding down the mound a lot more efficiently and really getting my fastballs in today, consistently, (which is) something that I've been lacking recently." Marlins starting pitchers—Sixto Sánchez, Ryan Weathers and Rogers—allowed zero earned runs in 17 ⅔ innings in Detroit this week. Declan Cronin got five outs, and was pulled for Andrew Nardi after allowing a two-out single to Kelly in the seventh inning. Nardi, struggling with inherited runners this year, needed just three pitches to get Riley Greene to pop out to third baseman Jake Burger. Calvin Faucher and Tanner Scott then delivered the 1-2 punch in the eighth and ninth innings. It was the first time Scott had pitched on back-to-back days since April 29-30. Following a trend that has plagued the Marlins this year, the offense couldn’t tack on more insurance runs after the first-inning outburst. The infield single from Jazz Chisholm Jr. and the subsequent home run by De La Cruz in the first inning were the only two hits Tigers starter Casey Mize allowed in six innings of work. The Detroit bullpen threw three scoreless innings and allowed just two singles: one to Nick Fortes, and another to Jake Burger. View full article

Rogers' struggles continued as Miami dropped Friday's series-opener to Philadelphia. Trevor Rogers was certainly hoping for a better outing than his last, giving up eight runs in 2 ⅓ innings against the Oakland Athletics last weekend. That bounce-back would not come on Friday night as Miami fell to Philadelphia 8-2. The 26-year-old lefty couldn’t get out of the fourth inning in Miami’s loss to Philadelphia as he allowed five runs (four earned), mostly to the bottom half of the Phillies lineup. When Rogers returned to the dugout after being pulled, he slammed his glove and hat to the ground, and knocked over water cups on top of the Gatorade cooler. "I think there should be a lot of pissed off people," Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. "Nobody wants to get their ass kicked every night... I think anger is good, at times, because it builds adrenaline, it means you care. I think if you're just going through the motions and checking boxes, it's just another game, so to speak, you're not made for this." It was an uncharacteristic moment for the normally even-keeled Rogers. "We’re a good group of guys in there," Rogers said. "We’re all just pissed at how things are going so far. When we hit, we just can’t pitch. When we pitch, we just can’t hit. We just can’t put a nine-inning game together." Nick Castellanos, mourning the passing of his dog, Tiger, cranked a solo home run to right center field to open the scoring in the second inning. Johan Rojas then drove home Edmundo Sosa with a single to center field. Rogers danced around trouble in the third after allowing J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper to reach base to start the inning, thanks to a 6-4-3 double play and a lineout to third baseman Jake Burger, but he struggled again in the fourth. Rogers allowed the Phillies' 6-7-8 hitters in Whit Merrifield, Sosa, and Cristian Pache to reach base (although Merrifield reached on a Burger error). Pache’s double would score Merrifield to make it 3-0. Rogers then struck out Rojas, but when the lineup flipped back over, leadoff hitter Kyle Schwarber drilled a two-RBI single to make it 5-0 Philadelphia. In all, Rogers allowed nine hits (three of which were doubles), two walks, and struck out three. He has now given up 17 hits in his last 5.2 IP. "Me going out there and laying a goose egg like that didn’t help things," Rogers said. "I just gotta be better. That’s kind of what p***** me off the most. I can’t give my team a chance. That’s kind of where you saw the frustration there." Meanwhile, the Marlins' offense had no answer for Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez. Coming into Friday’s game with a 1.72 ERA in seven starts, Suarez pitched seven shutout innings and allowed just three hits and two walks and struck out nine. The only Marlins runs came in the eighth inning on a Josh Bell double to left field. Christian Bethancourt was the only Marlin with multiple hits on Friday, going 2-for-3 with a double. After starting the season 1-for-38 at the plate, he is on a modest three-game hitting streak, going 5-for-11 with two doubles in that span. Miami fell to 20 games under .500 at 10-30. Coupled with a Colorado Rockies victory over the Texas Rangers on Friday, the Marlins once again hold MLB's worst record. Trevor Rogers suffered his sixth loss (0-6) while Suarez improved to 7-0. It has now been 393 days since Rogers has earned a win. The Marlins will take on the Phillies on Saturday at 4:10 pm at loanDepot park. Jesús Luzardo is likely to return from his three-week IL stint to make the start. He will oppose RHP Taijuan Walker. View full article

Dane Myers picked up Jazz Chisholm Jr. in Tuesday's Marlins win after the center fielder's late-game ejection for arguing balls and strikes. Jazz Chisholm Jr. was watching from the top step of the Miami Marlins clubhouse Monday night when Dane Myers came to the plate in the 10th inning. With Bryan De La Cruz standing on second base with one out in a tied ball game against the Colorado Rockies, Myers hit a single through the right side of the infield just past a diving Elehuris Montero at first base. The walk-off hit snapped a seven-game losing streak for Miami. The 28-year-old outfielder was a defensive replacement for Chisholm in center field after Chisholm was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the seventh inning. Down 5-0 at the time, home plate umpire Jansen Visconti called a first-pitch strike from Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner that was just below the strike zone. Five pitches later, on a 2-2 count, the right-handed Feltner threw a front-door slider to the lefty Jazz that barely touched the black on the inside part of the plate. Still tailing away at the time it crossed home, Chisholm took exception to the call and exchanged words with Visconti. Visconti allowed Chisholm to say his peace as he walked back to the dugout, turning his head back towards home once more before getting back to the bench. After a warning from Visconti, Chisholm kept complaining, and he was ejected. As he left the dugout, Chisholm threw a piece of equipment on the field. “Me and this umpire don't have a good history anyway,” Chisholm said after the game. “I just feel like it's every time with this guy.” Chisholm only played in 97 games last year while dealing with multiple injuries. The prior season, he played 60. The emphasis this offseason was for the 26-year-old to stay healthy so he can contribute as much as possible. But it also means keeping his composure so he can stay in the game. “I said it last year and I’m going to say it again: we need him in the game,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. This year, Chisholm has only missed one game. He is batting .239 with four home runs and a 104 OPS+. He has doubled his walk rate from 6.8 percent last year to 12.1 percent this year. His strikeout rate has also dropped three percent to 27.4. “He’s a big part of our club and he’s been doing great,” Schumaker said. “Righties and lefties for me. Taking good at-bats against lefties…He’s been out early working. As far as early work, as far as the hitting side.” But still, Schumaker was less than pleased with his starting center fielder missing key at-bats late in a game. “The borderline pitches, he can’t get upset about it,” Schumaker said. "I know it’s tough, it’s in the moment. You never want to get punched out on a borderline pitch one way or the other. But I don’t want our culture or our identity to be that we're going to argue balls and strikes that are close pitches.” This was the fourth ejection of Chisholm's young MLB career. All four have been related to borderline strikes called against him. Chisholm’s spot came up again in the bottom of the ninth down 5-1. With bases loaded and one out, his replacement in Myers hit a two-RBI single up the middle to chip away at the Rockies’ lead. “But I don't want one pitch to ruin a whole at-bat or a whole game where that at-bat could come up again, and it came up twice," Schumaker said. "Luckily, Dane had a really great game, and it kind of covered him. Good teammates cover up mistakes sometimes. I bet you he will say, ‘I made a mistake,’ I’m hoping. And you learn from it. Hopefully he learned from it, because we don’t need him out of the game.” 5mkcqe.mp4 Chisholm said he thanked everyone in the clubhouse during the team’s quick postgame meeting: the bullpen, the position players, and of course, Dane Myers. “I just feel like a win like this could really get us going, man,” Chisholm said. “Like I told them after the game in our little win meeting that we have after every game: ‘That is how you play team baseball. That's how you go get it.’" He then joked: “I mean, if I had to get thrown out every game, I’ll do it for the boys.” View full article

Following Saturday's loss, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker vented about his team's frustrating miscues. It simply was not supposed to look this way. When the Miami Marlins lost ace Sandy Alcantara to a torn UCL and slugger Jorge Soler declined his 2024 player option, the expectation was that the team would take a step back, but not bottom out. On the eve of Opening Day, FanGraphs projected the Marlins to finish 81-81. Even the most critical of pundits had their win totals in the high-60s/low-70s range. Now, the Marlins are 6-22, a historically bad pace. It’s not even the end of April and their playoff odds, per FanGraphs, have cratered to 1.0 percent entering Sunday, compared to 28.8 percent the month before. You’d be remiss not to take into account the Marlins’ injury luck. During spring training, they lost starting pitchers Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, and Eury Pérez, and relief pitcher JT Chargois. Of these pitchers, Cabrera is the only one to have returned. Just in the past week, the Marlins lost reliever-turned-starter A.J. Puk to fatigue in his throwing shoulder and ace Jesús Luzardo to discomfort in his throwing elbow. Both are on the 15-day IL. The injury bug has also bitten Jake Burger, one of the better hitters the Marlins had in the first couple weeks of the season. He has been sidelined for the last two weeks with a strain of his left intercostal muscle (though he is expected to begin rehab games soon). “Obviously this is not what we envisioned coming out of spring training,” Skip Schumaker said Saturday. “We've had some injuries, but a lot of teams have had injuries.” While many criticized the front office for not being proactive during the offseason to build off of last year’s postseason appearance, the 2024 Marlins are beating themselves with sloppy play more so than lack of talent. Bad mistakes on the basepaths, poor decisions in the field, and all-around bad offensive play have consistently plagued the Marlins. On Saturday, that poor play came to a head. The Marlins lost 11-4 to the Washington Nationals, largely because of things they did to themselves. “We just haven't played clean baseball,” Schumaker said. ”And we've had some tough losses. Days we hit, we don't pitch. Days we pitch, we don't hit…Today was probably the sloppiest of all of them, honestly.” Starting pitcher Edward Cabrera allowed five runs in the loss, and you can make the argument that almost all of them could have been prevented with better defense. The first run came on a passed ball in the third inning that allowed Jacob Young to score. It was a changeup in the zone that appeared to glance off Christian Bethancourt’s glove. r7u4gt_1.mp4 The fifth inning is where it all came apart. Cabrera allowed a single and a walk to open the frame. The third batter of the inning in Nick Senzel bunted the ball back to the mound, and Cabrera threw over to third base to get the lead runner Trey Lipscomb out. Third baseman Vidal Bruján tagged Lipscomb instead of simply touching the base on the force play and trying to throw out Senzel at first base on the double play. Senzel, a slow runner, was about halfway up the first base line when Brujan received the ball. “It was a firm bunt,” Schumaker said. “So that is a go to third, redirect, try to get the double play. That part is a mental mistake. Mental mistake of not mixing up your looks. That's mental for sure. Errors are going to happen. We got to somehow play cleaner baseball, there's no doubt, but errors will happen. That is part of the game.“ QVlNOUtfWGxnR0RBeGJDMWM9X1VGTlFVRk5YQlFFQVhGc0JWZ0FBQkFaWEFBTUdCd1FBVmdBTVVnSlJWMUVFVVFwUw==.mp4 Eddie Rosario, the runner at second base, stole third during the next at-bat. Jacob Young then hit a ground ball to Emmanuel Rivera at first base. Rivera threw home but catcher Christian Bethancourt was just a hair too late on the tag. Cabrera walked CJ Abrams, setting up a bases-loaded opportunity for Jesse Winker. Cabrera hung a curveball middle-middle, and Winker hit it to the home run porch in right field for the grand slam. "The mental stuff, the baserunning, where to put the ball, where to put the bunt down, how to field the bunt, all that stuff, that is mental stuff, that is gameplay,” Schumaker said. The Marlins are in the bottom five of the majors in batting average (.221), slugging percentage (.323), and runs per game (3.3). When you add bad baserunning, like Jesús Sánchez failing to return to first base after he rounded second on a hit-and-run that resulted in a flyout to right field in Friday’s loss to Washington, the precious few baserunners the Marlins get are not scoring. “I'm sure they're pressing because they don't want to keep getting out,” Schumaker said. “If I was in that scenario, I'd be pressing too, so I get it. That's human nature. They want to win. It's not for lack of effort. I mean, again, (Tim Anderson) and all those guys were in the cage, it felt like for hours today, and working with the staff and up and down the lineup. We hit the ball hard, no love a lot of the time.” Luis Arraez leads the team's qualified hitters with a .301 batting average and has been looking like himself since a slow opening series against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The next-highest is Bryan De La Cruz, hitting .252 and leading the team with five home runs. Christian Bethancourt began the season 0-for-29 before an RBI single Saturday. Free agent signing Tim Anderson is hitting .222 with a .507 OPS, a continuation of his severe 2023 struggles rather than the rebound that Miami forecasted. “Just not the game or the type of team that we are," Schumaker said, "I know that. They know that. They're as frustrated as anybody. But they’re big leaguers. So we flush it and try to get them tomorrow.” View full article

The Miami Marlins found themselves at the wrong end of another loss, this time in blowout fashion. Edward Cabrera held up for as long as he could. With just one run of support from his offense through four innings, Cabrera was flying through the game with one of his more efficient starts of his young career. He allowed just one unearned run on a passed ball along with two hits and zero walks. He struck out four and needed just 54 pitches with 34 strikes. Tied at 1-1 in the fifth, Cabrera allowed a single and a walk to open the frame. He helped himself with a 1-5 putout to throw out the lead runner at third base on a bunt back to the mound, but that was about all the positivity the Marlins would get that inning. Eddie Rosario, the runner at second base, stole third on the next at-bat. Jacob Young then hit a ground ball to Emmanuel Rivera at first base. Rivera threw home, but catcher Christian Bethancourt was just a hair too late on the tag (he lost control of the ball when applying the tag, anyway). 1ff9f491-c8f0a5de-384fe6dc-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Cabrera walked CJ Abrams, setting up a bases-loaded opportunity for Jesse Winker. Cabrera hung a curveball middle-middle, and Winker hit it to the home run porch in right field for the grand slam. In a matter of 10 minutes, this pitchers’ duel between Cabrera and Nationals rookie pitcher Mitchell Parker was now a blowout. "When you are playing sloppy baseball like today—the fifth inning was just not who we are," manager Skip Schumaker said. "Started off with a couple of walks, but the hit back to (Cabrera) that should have been probably a throw to third and then redirect to first for a double play ball. We go for a tag play. That's kind of a mental mental error there." "Overall that inning just was not who we are and what we're capable of," he continued, "and we need to flush that quick. The only way to work through that stuff is to keep working." Now with a clean slate on the bases, Declan Cronin came in relief and danced around two walks and a hit-by-pitch of his own to get out of the inning without further damage. Cronin would give up a run in the next inning. Kent Emanuel, called up from Triple-A Jacksonville Saturday morning, allowed three earned runs in a three-inning mop-up role. The offense, again, did nothing to help the cause. They scored one run in the first inning when Mitchell threw a wild pitch to Tim Anderson that allowed Luis Arraez to score from third base. They wouldn't score again until the ninth inning when they were down 11-1. Bethancourt, mired in an 0-for-29 slump to start the season, got his first hit with an RBI single to deep center field. Otto Lopez then hit his first major league home run: a two-run shot to the grassy batter's eye in center field. This was the Marlins' second straight loss to the Nats after beating them 11 times in 13 tries last season. There is now a seven-game gap between them in the standings. Their four-game wraparound series continues on Sunday afternoon. View full article

After five years in the Marlins farm system, Anthony Maldonado was called upon in an emergency situation and met expectations. Anthony Maldonado had a strong case to make the Marlins major league roster coming out of camp. The right-handed reliever allowed just one run in seven spring training games and six innings. The 26-year-old was instead sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville, where he continued to produce solid numbers with a 2.31 ERA in 11 ⅔ innings. Up in Miami, pitchers were dropping left and right. Already without starters Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, and relief pitcher JT Chargois—only Cabrera has returned so far—the Marlins then lost A.J. Puk to shoulder fatigue and Jesús Luzardo to elbow discomfort. Luzardo, the team’s ace while Alcantara recovers from Tommy John surgery, complained of stiffness in his elbow the day before his start on Friday. On short notice, this meant that not only did the Marlins need to call up Maldonado for his fresh arm, but he’d be starting against the Washington Nationals as well. Maldonado was a starter at Bethune-Cookman University for three years (2017-2019), but had spent his whole professional career adapting to a relief role. "Honestly, I was really excited for it,” Maldonado said after the game. “The coaching staff talked to me. (They said) just treat it like I'm coming out of the bullpen. I didn't try to warm up like a starter, I did my own routine. I liked it a lot.” Whatever the Wellington, Fla. native did to get himself ready worked well. In front of a large contingent of friends and family, Maldonado threw three scoreless innings while allowing just three hits, zero walks, and striking out two. Maldonado, who was drafted by the Marlins in the 11th round of the MLB draft in 2019, said he will always remember walking off the mound after inducing a double play to end the third inning and seeing his loved ones cheer for him. “I didn't know where the family section was, but I hear them going crazy,” Maldonado said. “And looking up and seeing my friends and family and fiancé cheer meant a lot. I gave them a point so they knew I saw them.” It was the second time Maldonado completed three innings in his professional career, with the last instance coming with Double-A Pensacola in 2022. “He stuck with his strengths,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “And that's the slider. Slider is real, played a little bit with the cutter, he has enough fastball to keep you off guard. But I think lefties, righties, it doesn't matter. He's got a real slider. We knew that in spring training.” lyfijl.mp4 It was in spring training where Maldonado tinkered with the grip on his fastball. Sitting around 92 mph, it behaviors more as a sinker now, which helps to set up his slider. He also throws a changeup and cutter. On Friday night, he threw one of each. “(The fastball) was a work in progress, and I think it got better every outing,” Maldonado said. “My last two outings in Jacksonville, the fastball was really good and I was really getting confident with it, throwing it a lot more. My last outing in Jacksonville, I didn't even throw a slider—I was all fastball and cutter. And I thought that really helped to make the slider more effective if I have other pitches to protect it.” Both of Maldonado’s strikeouts Friday were on the slider, one to right-hander Joey Meneses and another to lefty Joey Gallo. He induced six whiffs on 15 swings with that pitch. It was not his first pitching time in loanDepot park, however. Maldonado threw a scoreless inning and struck out two batters for Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami in front of 35,399 people. That experience, combined with his solid outing Friday against major league hitters, gave him the confidence that he can compete at this level. “You always picture this moment when you're a young kid,” Maldonado said. “But I think it was better than I imagined...I would say it proves myself right that I do belong here. There's definitely stuff to improve, but I’ll go from here and continue to get better, and work hard and see what happens.” View full article

After being one of the best teams in high-leverage situations last year, the Marlins bullpen continues to be a weak spot in 2024. The Miami Marlins bullpen that was largely responsible for the league-best 33-14 record in one-run games last year suddenly looks, well, human. One day after closer Tanner Scott blew a save in a 9-7 loss to the Atlanta Braves, George Soriano and Andrew Nardi combined to allow three runs in a high-leverage scenario in the seventh inning, blowing Miami's lead. It was a scene that Marlins fans became familiar – and quite frankly comfortable – with in 2023: Nardi enters the game with runners on base while clinging to a small lead. On Monday night in the seventh, after Soriano allowed a run to reduce the Marlins lead to 3-2, it was Nick Ahmed and Mike Yastrzemski on first and second base with two out in the seventh when Nardi entered. Nardi, who allowed just five of 40 inherited runners to score last year, allowed two consecutive RBI singles to turn the 3-2 Marlins lead to a 4-3 deficit. “We have to obviously get the roles figured out in the bullpen. I'm not doing a good job of putting the guys in the right spot, obviously, because we're not completing the game with a win,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said, while noting that a couple of relievers were down for the day after pitching back-to-back games over the weekend (likely referring to Tanner Scott and Anthony Bender). “But that's going to happen, and these guys are going to have to be in roles that maybe they're not used to.” Prior to the bullpen implosion, Edward Cabrera, who was making his season debut after missing the latter half of spring training with a right shoulder impingement, had about as good of a return as he could hoped for. After struggling with command throughout his young Major League career – and even in some of his rehab starts – the 26-year-old allowed one run with only one walk and five hits in six innings on Monday night. He's just the second pitcher besides Max Meyer to finish six innings for the Marlins this year. The Dominican right-hander threw 19 first-pitch strikes to the 22 batters he faced, and had 62 strikes to just 29 balls. "If we get that out of Cabbie (Cabrera), we're going to win a lot more games," said Schumaker postgame. Cabrera notched 10 strikeouts, the first time a Marlins pitcher has hit that mark this season. He used virtually his entire pitch mix to do so: three curveballs, three sliders, two changeups, and two four-seam fastballs. Cabrera using his slider as a put-away pitch is notable, as he only got seven strikeouts on that pitch last year while using it 8.2% of the time. “I've been working on that pitch for a while already,” Cabrera said through a team translator. “But it feels good once you have success in the real game on the mound. Having control of all your pitches is something very, very exciting for any pitcher.” The Marlins’ struggles against left-handed pitchers continued, as Giants starting pitcher Kyle Harrison kept Miami at bay aside from a three-run second inning that included an Avisail Garcia solo home run and a two-RBI double from Bryan De La Cruz. The Marlins then couldn’t do anything against the Giants bullpen, getting just two hits and zero runs in three innings against San Francisco relievers. Schumaker was ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning. Giants left-hander Taylor Rogers began jogging in from the bullpen even though Bob Melvin had actually signaled for right-hander Camilo Doval. Schumaker was upset because Doval was granted additional time to warm up without being issued a pitch-clock violation, umpire Laz Díaz said after the game (per pool reporter Daniel Álvarez-Montes). After repeatedly arguing, Díaz tossed him, with bench coach Luis Urueta serving as acting manager for the rest of the contest. Miami fell to 3-14, the team's worst 17-game start in franchise history. They will look to earn their fourth win of the year on Tuesday night at loanDepot Park against these same Giants. Ryan Weathers will get the nod against flame-thrower Jordan Hicks. View full article