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Sean Millerick

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Blog Entries posted by Sean Millerick

  1. Sean Millerick
    When it came to the Miami Marlins calling up Joe Mack, it was only a question of when. 
    But sending down Agustin Ramirez? For many, the only question being asked right now is what in the world the Marlins are thinking. 
    Ramirez displayed 20/20 potential last season from the catcher position and was in the NL Rookie of the Year conversation right to the very end. Offensively, he was as exciting advertised with an oWAR of 1.2 and an excellent eye at the plate. An already good player, with plenty of skills that could be tapped into. 
    Unfortunately, none of those skills were behind the plate. Ramirez batted .231 with 21 HRS and 16 SBs in 2025...and was a negative WAR player. You have to be shockingly bad defensively for that to be the case and Ramirez was indeed shockingly bad. That trend continued in 2026 as the Marlins continued to throw him out there hoping he would grow into a league average defensive catcher. Thus far, the only aspect of big league catching he hasn't been terrible at is the newest aspect of big league catching. Ramirez has been elite at getting his ABS calls right. Beyond that, though? He's been a defensive disaster. 
    Mind you, all of this has been happening while the Marlins other bad at catching catcher has been hitting like an All-Star. The combination of Liam Hicks torrid start at the plate and Ramirez's horrid defense behind it has paved the way for Joe Mack's big league debut. In the offseason, the thinking was Ramirez would slide over to either designated hitter or first base when Mack arrived, while Hicks would alternate between multiple positions. Sending Ramirez down entirely though never entered the equation. On the surface, it seems fairly crazy. 
    Unless...the Marlins are considering a trade. 
    Well that, or some behind the scenes disciplinary measure that has played a role. Absent being put in professional timeout though, the trade scenario is a fascinating one. If the Marlins really don't think a Ramirez that only plays designated hitter has long-term value to the organization, then it could be that the front office reached the point where they decided to keep alive the illusion that he could be a catcher by having him have be slightly more successful at it back in the minors.
    And while he's working on that...the Marlins can start working the phones. 
    If they can get a first baseman or third baseman? An outfielder that can actually hit lefty pitching? Really, anything else that comes with a little bit of control that better positions the Marlins to win right now? That's arguably worth more to Miami now if Hicks really has leveled up and Mack's elite defense does translate to the majors. 
    Admittedly, this is probably reach. Gus is probably coming back in a month. Either after thirty straight games as a catcher working on his craft or as a first baseman learning a new position. 
    But don't sleep on the trade chance if the Marlins stay in the race with the big league roster as currently built. 
  2. Sean Millerick
    Two quality starts against the world champions later, perhaps the Miami Marlins are beginning to trust their starters a little more. 
    Then again, one of those was a Sandy start, and that's never been the problem. It's the rest of the staff that has been causing headaches. Sometimes it's been on account of being legitimately unable to make it through six or more frames. More often than not though, Marlins starting pitches have just flat out not been allowed the chance to face that dreaded third turn through the batting order. If there's been one consistent source of frustration for Marlins fans so far in 2026 (Austin Slater is now the Mets problem), that would be it. 
    Granted, the numbers do suggest the batter has the edge the third and fourth time through. As is the case with just about every starting pitcher, everywhere. When looked at on the singular game level, this approach makes sense. It especially would in say, a playoff series, or even in a world where baseball's regular season resembled the NBA or NFL format where the off days outnumber the gamedays in any given week. 
    However, as you might have heard, the MLB season is a marathon, not a sprint. Which makes it more than fair to wonder just how long the Marlins bullpen can stay effective if they are forced to fire this many bullets this early in the season. If Miami's relievers are routinely asked to pitch innings the starter normally would, it would seem to only be a matter of time before they run out of gas. And if that happens when it's clear that the starting pitchers that keep getting pulled had gas of their own left in the tank most nights? That's the kind of thing that could haunt Miami all summer long. 
    So why not split the baby on this one and just bump one of the Marlins many starters into the bullpen? 
    Obviously, you wouldn't want to do this with a rookie starter. Josh Johnson did start his Marlins career doing this but only as a September call-up after a full minor-league season of brushing up on those starting pitcher skills. So this would need to be one of the veterans- Janson Junk, Max Meyer, Chris Paddack moving over. Which isn't a new idea, of course. Marlins fans have been clamoring for that since the first weekend of the season. 
    Basically, this is a pitch for piggybacking. Junk was extremely effective in this role last year, and would be the natural choice if it wasn't for the fact he has multiple quality starts himself. Still, his early work in 2025 serves as proof of concept. Ideally, the outings wouldn't be of the 4 to 5 IP sort Junk logged during that stretch, which would effectively burn them for nearly as long as that day's starting pitcher. But if the Marlins could have someone who could throw 2 to 3 IP depending on pitch count two to three times a week without compromising any of their high leverage bullpen arms? 
    That sounds well worth considering, and possibly vital to making sure the Marlins best relievers have something left for the playoff push.
  3. Sean Millerick
    Nearly one month in the season, it is finally happening for the Miami Marlins: 
    Something like the version of the team Peter Bendix intended for fans to see is about to take the field. 
    That's the biggest takeaway from the return of Esteury Ruiz, not to mention the subtraction of Austin Slater, from the 26-man roster. Keep in mind that Miami actually traded for Ruiz all the way back in December, sending Adriano Marrero to the Dodgers in exchange for the former AL stolen base king. Miami doesn't move any of their assets lightly.
    More to the point though, some might forget just what a massive chunk of Marlins offseason upgrades Ruiz represented. By the close of 2025, it was just him and Christopher Morel in terms of offensive additions- the signing of Pete Fairbanks as closer was the only thing making for a merry holiday. Yes, Miami did make their big offensive splash with the Owen Caissie trade not long after the calendar turned. Even so, that's still 33% (check out those math skills) of the offensive improvements for a team that really needed to improve offensively coming from Ruiz. 
    Now, is that overstating things slightly? Perhaps. After all, Bendix and the Marlins had plenty riding on a fully healthy Kyle Stowers and a fully present Jakob Marsee to drive Miami's offense to new heights in 2026. Caissie was a Top 50 prospect. Not unfair to hope for a big boost from that, even if it wasn't what most fans wanted to hear. 
    Still, it's clear that Ruiz was a major part of the offseason plan. So much so that it was really looking like he might actually beat out fan favorite Griffin Conine for that final roster spot, and not just serve as injury depth. And given how aggressive the Marlins have been on the basepaths so far in 2026? 
    It's easy to see how he might very quickly become a secret weapon for the Fish. 
    Provided he gets on base in the first place. 
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