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This week, I have seen two sides of the Marlins community. One side was full of hope and a belief in the process while clamoring for respect because they were the best team in the NL. The other side was in full-on disbelief about everything when the team struggled, which was to be expected.
Traditionally, a fan is supposed to celebrate and criticize, not analyze. I am a fan of the team, but I find it my responsibility to analyze the team and their decisions, not celebrate them. I like to find a creative thought and share it out to everyone to make you think, because ultimately it will allow you to enjoy the sport more. I will never tell you something I don’t believe nor something just to raise your hope in the team. I just tell you what I see or what I know.
With that being said it’s time to jump into the first 2020 Marlins Mailbag.
Q: Brian Twining (@grieserulz14) Could the Marlins possibly be buyers at the trade deadline to try & make a run?
A: I’ll start by saying, what position would they upgrade? Second base could be a hole for this year, but the future is in the pipeline so it would be a rental. Right field is filled by 3 different players and Jesús Sánchez hasn’t even entered the conversation yet. Starting pitching is filled with talent as it is so doubtful and the team wouldn’t want to give something for a reliever. My answer is no, but if the team were to make any trade I think it would be something like Garrett Cooper for a 4th starter for the future. I don’t see an investment into the win now, because I think the front office is satisfied where the team stands in the greater plan.
Q: Flashy (@BryceCarstensen) Do you think any other team could’ve lost 10+ players and had a 7-3 record.
A: Yes. I think the Orioles are an okay team and the Marlins just had a better series. It happens. Baseball is filled with streaks and while I think the Marlins played with a lot of emotion through the Orioles series, I think there were a lot of underlying ways they could have lost. The team was really decimated in the starting rotation and while they had 4 great starts to keep them afloat and I think if the story flipped into a loss of positional players we would be having a different conversation.
Q: Rob Uzar (BorRazu13) Do you see anything happening at the trade deadline?
A: Depends. You have to factor in what the team would want. Prospects won’t have had any new scouting reports for teams to analyze so you are operating under old information so I think they would have to be passionate about them. A big trade for me would be acquiring a future second baseman for a starter—similar to the 2019 Zac Gallen-Jazz Chisholm trade—but for a more MLB polished player. I think it’s something the team would think about.
Q: Fish Army (@FishArmy305) Why are the Marlins being this careful with Sixto? Is there some sort of underlying issue that we don’t know about?
A: The underlying issue would be a fear of losing their potential ace due to an injury. There was a slight concern about his build, but you can see that he’s transformed his body since the spring. It’s been two years since you have had anything about him injury wise and the team has just taken him slow at every opportunity. He didn’t even pitch in Spring Training because the team wanted to ease him into conditioning. I’ve been critical of the plan for Sixto Sánchez, but now I’ve changed my tune to developing the patience with his program.
Q: (@Trumpsboy21) When are the players affected by COVID-19 returning?
A: Protocol is they have to get two negatives which no player has achieved yet. Then you have to factor the time it would take to get back into game shape and get their timing back at the plate for the positional players. They have a homestand between Aug 14-20 that leads into a roadtrip until the 28th. I highly doubt any player would be available from the first home stand and I don’t think they will be ready for the road trip either. I don’t think the team will send a player seperate from the team to reunite with the team except maybe at New York on the 25th.
Pitching is a whole different story, because we haven’t really seen a player come back from it yet. They are doing makeshift bullpens, but even then you can’t get the proper work that you need before a game. I think the positional players come back first around the 28th while pitchers like Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith could be delayed a little further. These pitchers went from ramp to stop back to ramp then to stop again. The team won’t rush the pitching staff specifically the starters, because their bodies can’t continue to do this without risk of injury.
Contact Tyler (@KingOfBuffalo) on Twitter for a chance to be featured in future Marlins mailbags.