Marlins Morning News: Stanton breaks through

Marlins News

Final result aside, Monday was a productive day for the Marlins in Jupiter, as Giancarlo Stanton hit his first home run of Spring Training and Edinson Volquez impressed again on the mound.

After throwing 3.1 innings, striking out two, and allowing only one run yesterday, Volquez was pleased with his final outing before leading the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic.

With so many Marlins heading off to the international tournament starting later this week, the opportunity is there for the numerous non-roster invitees on the team to make an impact and impress manager Don Mattingly.

Apparently the sale of the Marlins is now in ‘when’ territory, not ‘if’.

Despite the injury problems and inconsistencies since being drafted in 2014, Miami still has high expectations for pitcher Tyler Kolek.

The identity of the potential buyers the Marlins are talking to is being kept a secret, but Derek Jeter may just be involved.

Around the League

Chris Sale made his spring debut for the Red Sox yesterday, allowing one earned run over two innings against the Astros.

Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta is entering a contract year, but is more focused on helping Chicago repeat as champions than on boosting his free agent stock.

Japan and Cuba are two of the favorites to win the World Baseball Classic, and they open up the competition facing each other.

Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir was taken out in the second inning against the Rockies yesterday after he suffered the ill-effects of a sore hip.

Jason Heyward had been struggling to adapt to a new swing he was working on this winter, that was until he broke an 0-for-15 slump yesterday afternoon with two hits.

David Price feared the worst last week after undergoing MRI exams on his pitching elbow, but the problem is just muscular.