The Marlins made Austin Kearns a part of their 2013 roster but released Chone Figgins and frankly, it leads to some serious head scratching.
Look, these aren’t the deals that will necessarily make a difference in the Marlins being competitive or not but it does display the team’s thinking a bit. In Kearns, the Marlins retain a guy who has had a poor spring. He is 4 for 37 (.108) with no extra base hits, 7 BBs and 13 Ks. In Figgins, the Marlins had a guy who was 8 for 26 with no extra base hits, 3 BBs and 3 Ks, and a stolen base.
Figgins numbers are arguably better than Kearns, but in Kearns the Marlins have a more known quantity. They know they are getting a guy who can come off the bench, pinch hit, play some left field and first base. In Figgins, the Marlins could be getting a guy who is as bad as Seattle thought he was, or they could be getting a reclamation project. Either way, the Fish are choosing to go with the devil they knew which, for Marlins fans, has to have at least some comfort. The question remains though, how exactly do the Marlins evaluate and assess player value?
Looks like I was wrong about Chone Figgins. Despite hitting .318 this spring with the Fish, he is not viewed as a valued asset over other options the Marlins have in house. He was released by the Marlins this past Wednesday, leaving the team with 42 players left in camp. That means that Figgins could not displace Nick Green, Kevin Kouzmanoff, Matt Downs, and Chris Valaika as an option. Figgins could also play the OF, but with a battle for CF ongoing between Chris Coghlan, Gorkys Hernandez, and Justin Ruggiano, it looks like the team doesn’t need help their either. Juan Pierre is good friends with Figgins, but not so much as to give up his time in LF. I was kind of hoping that Figgins would be an Emilio Bonifacio replacement, but it looks like the Marlins don’t need that. Figgins was a low risk move, as his contract was bought out by Seattle, so it is surprising the Marlins let him go despite solid numbers. That said, the bottom line is Kevin Kouzmanoff will likely win the backup 3B job as he can provide some pop and can also play some 1B.
I was not wrong about Christian Yelich, however – who was demoted. We all know Wonderboy can hit, can field, can do it all – but he hasn’t done it above single A. That is, until this spring when he was wrecking opponent pitching and having fun with the whole thing. He hit .364 with 5 homers and 14 RBIs. The scary thing is, this kid has not reached physical maturity yet. He has all the tools, right now, to be an everyday OF on this club but would have to sort things out experientially. Probably another factor in the Figgins decision was that if Pierre does go down, they can call up Yelich right away. That said, expect this kid to make his debut after the all star break and help propel the Marlins on a surprising run. Teams typically delay bringing up top prospects until mid-June to push their arbitration eligibility back another year – and that is really the final decision to be made on Yelich. He’ll head on up north to AA Jacksonville and play for the legendary Suns – along with Jake Marisnick and Marcell Ozuna. The folks in north Florida could be seeing the OF of the future for the Marlins come 2014 (minus Giancarlo Stanton, of course!).
Looks like the PR firm the Marlins hired aren’t doing a great job of advising their clients. The latest is this lawsuit over season ticket holders not re-upping their seats for next year. They paid $25,000 to sit along the 3B side, but declined to renew because of the addition of a billboard along the 3B fence they were sitting at protrudes about 7″ above where it was at the start of the season. They were contractually obligated to renew for this season at $25,000. Since the Marlins jettisoned their roster, it is likely these clients of the Marlins decided to cut bait, too. We’ll see if the judges agree but most likely this will create more agita for the franchise that was just trying to run out the clock on this latest trade. It would have behooved the Marlins to make a deal in silence and not let this publicity come to light – again.
Wade LeBlanc struggled against the Nationals, but he has been great all spring. In fact, Joe Capozzi seems to suggest, via dialogue with Mike Redmond, that the 5th spot is LeBlanc’s to lose. He is a lefty, and has pitched pretty well all spring, but against the Nats he struggled in keeping the ball down in the zone, something Redmond has been preaching all spring. John Maine may make a play for a spot in the rotation, if Jacob Turner doesn’t get another strong outing. In the very least, both Kevin Slowey and John Maine look to make the roster as long relievers with the potential to spot start. Alex Sanabia, as good as he is, may be the odd man out.
Nathan Eovaldi looks to be the #2 starter behind Ricky Nolasco, who had a strong outing last night against the Mets, throwing 101 pitches. Nolasco is the unquestionable ace of this staff, whether or not he lives up to that remains to be seen but he is relishing the opportunity, reports say. Eovaldi has great stuff and has been able to harness control of his repertoire so his progress looks really good. Henderson Alvarez still seems like a bit of a mystery to me, he gives up a lot of hits still. Jacob Turner will be fine – he is only 21 but has good poise on the mound. The only concern is his leveling off of his velocity, which seems to be stuck on only 91. If he can’t sort things out, the Marlins will replace him with either Slowey or Maine and let him work it out in AAA NOLA.
A couple of things are standing out to me while watching this game against the Mets today in Port Saint Lucie. Kevin Slowey has solid stuff. That 5th starter spot is going to be a tough decision with Wade LeBlanc, John Maine, Alex Sanabia, and Slowey in the mix. They might just have to keep all of them around to give the Fish more options for starting pitching if young arms aren’t quite up to snuff (Jacob Turner does seem to be coming around; Nathan Eovaldi looks like the solid #2 at this point; Henderson Alvarez remains a bit of an unquantifiable enigma at this point).
Chris Coghlan continues to put a solid bat on the ball, and hits to all fields with authority. He looks like he should be the opening day center fielder while Rugs works his way back into game shape.
Speaking of spraying the ball, Adeiny Hechavarria is not getting results, but he continues to put the ball up the middle part of the field. The kid has the tools to be an everday SS defensively right now, but his offense continues to need work. There is improvement in how he handles the bat and it seems his peak would be to become a Tony Fernandez like SS – who was his mentor with the Blue Jays.
Love @Peteypipes, but the guy is just not good enough to have on a MLB roster.
Chone Figgins should make this team no matter what. His experience will prove valuable along with guys like Juan Pierre and Placido Polanco in the clubhouse. These guys will help set the tone for the younger players in the locker room. Besides, the AB he had in the 9th inning shows what kind of a hitter this guy can be, and what kind of leadership he could bring – he drew a 17 pitch walk.
Christian Yelich is going to be called up this year. He has 4 home runs and his approach is extremely advanced for a hitter his age. He has a smooth, lefty swing which the announcers for the Mets likened to a young Shawn Green, which is a very nice comparison – but Yelich projects to have better offensive numbers. The kid is just cool and has star quality. He probably will be at AA Jax just long enough to get Jake Marisnick back and it will be hard to keep Yelich out of the 305 area code for long. Enjoy him while you can Jacksonville.
Kevin Kouzmanoff should make the roster for his forearms alone. He looks like he is in good shape and has a solid enough approach at the plate. Would be a nice backup to Polanco or could platoon with Figgins.
Casey Kochman should win the opening spot at 1B. Will Joe Mahoney make the roster or be sent down for more PT?
The Marlins spring is really getting some notice around baseball. This is a team that has purged payroll, yet again, and has reverted back to a youth movement. Although this has netted much criticism from fans, it does seem to have promise for the immediate future. The Marlins are winning games and playing highly competitive baseball at all positions.
They are getting solid pitching performances from their arms, they are getting lots of contact and already improvements in situational hitting seem to be emerging.
Yet, there are still several key battles for roster spots taking shape. Right now, the starting CF spot is up for grabs. Justin Ruggiano, the apparent shoe-in at the start of spring, has been suffering from a bad back and is now looking over his shoulder at former 2009 ROY Chris Coghlan. Coghlan has been impressing coaches with his ability to slice the ball to all parts of the field and make contact. He only has 3 strike outs in 24 ABs and also has amassed 6 hits (not including the 4-4 performance against Venezuela the other night). Coghlan may have played himself right back into the extra OF spot, if not into a possible starting role as the season gets underway in the next month. Ruggiano will make his spring debut Saturday.
Another key position that is in the thick of battle is the fight for the right to start every fifth day out for the Fish. The front runner was supposed to be Wade LeBlanc, a lefty who impressed last season, but other starters have been brought in to offer a little more competition for the spot. John Maine has been very solid all spring and Alex Sanabia also looks ready to go. LeBlanc has a 0.00 ERA with 6Ks in 5IP thus far. Maine has put together some great numbers, too holding a 1.80 ERA in 5IP and hitters are hitting .118 off of him right now. And then there is Alex Sanabia, who has pitched 4.1 IP but also has a 0.00 ERA with 4 Ks and hitters are hitting .067 against him. Sanabia may be the most intriguing of the bunch given his age and how consistent his stats have been. These seem to be the final three in contention for that final rotation spot but don’t be surprised if all three make the roster and give more options to the coaching staff as they move through a long season and will need help to protect against possible injury.
Then there is the search for extra infielders. Right now the Marlins are looking at Nick Green, Matt Downs, and Chone Figgins. Green has been steady in the field and does offer some flexibility, but his bat is not overly impressive at this point in the spring. Matt Downs offers some pop but also hasn’t really put together enough strong ABs but does have 1HR and only 4 Ks in 21 ABs. His big league resume has a bit more weight than Nick Green’s. But if it was all about the resume, then Chone Figgins would be locked up by a team right now, instead he is still in search of that final roster spot. That said, this is why he will win out – he is friends with Juan Pierre and can provide a replacement for Emilio Bonifacio as he is looking to reclaim his career. Both Downs and Figgins can play 3B, which may be a realistic option considering Placido Polanco’s back ails. In fact, Downs made a nice play at 3B today against the Yankees, further pushing himself into position to stick with the team. Figgins, however, can play middle infield and OF if necessary.
There are more notable players that still need to be examined more closely – Kevin Kouzmanoff, Joe Mahoney, and Casey Kotchman are all trying to get prime time at 1B with Logan Morrison still out and not getting back into full baseball mode quite yet.
After 15 years apart, the two buddies have been reunited by the Marlins, who brought back Pierre on a one-year deal and signed Figgins to a minor-league contract after he was released by the Mariners with $8 million still owed to him this coming season.
The two players share much in common.
Each is 35. Both were born and raised in the South, Pierre in Louisiana and Figgins in Georgia. Both are speed merchants and won stolen base titles. Both went from the top of the sport to the bottom, landing on the bench after years of providing major contributions to their respective teams. And both are fiends in terms of working overtime to improve.
Pierre and Figgins are among the first players to arrive to spring training each morning and among the last to leave.
“Nobody likes to give in,” Figgins said. “I don’t want to be the last one to say, ‘OK, I’m done hitting.’ He doesn’t want to be the last one to say, ‘I’m good.’ I can always do some more. So can he.”
They’re so close that when Pierre was with the Chicago White Sox and they were visiting Seattle, he would stay with Figgins during the series. When Pierre was with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Figgins would stay with him.
But after shaking hands on the field before the game, Pierre said that it “became war.”
“I love him to death,” Pierre said. “But when he was at third and I was at the plate, I’d be, ‘OK, I’m gonna bunt [successfully] on you.’ ”
Just looking over the roster for Spring Training with the Marlins, many will recognize some of the faces but many will also fail to recognize many more. There are some familiar ones: Juan Pierre, Giancarlo Stanton, Ricky Nolsaco. There are many that will need some guidance for fans: Alfredo Silverio, Sam Dyson, Joe Mahoney.
Yet one thing is consistent this spring; no matter who is in camp it is most likely they are there to redeem themselves or reclaim their MLB careers. Well, that is pretty much anyone other than Stanton anyway.
Alfredo Silverio, the Marlins Rule 5 Draft pick from the Dodgers, was in a horrific car accident this time a year ago, heading into Dodgers camp looking to establish himself as an everyday major leaguer and getting ready to lock down an outfield spot. The young player had shown great promise across the board – he could play defense, could run, and could hit with power and had pretty good contact skills. This summer, he is expected to make the Marlins 25 man roster (or he will revert back to the Dodgers organization) and with his speed, he could play anywhere in the OF defensively. Will he be able to reclaim his career?
Chone Figgins was supposed to be in the final year of a mega contract he signed back in 2010 with the Seattle Mariners. Instead, the Mariners paid him the $8M they owed him for this upcoming season and told him to go away. He has been invited to spring with the Marlins on a minor league contract and if he makes the team, is only owed the league minimum. Still, even though the speedy utility player (who has played a lot of third base) has had a horrific three year stint with the Mariners, his move to Miami offers him a change of scenery and camaraderie with buddy Juan Pierre – who has recently returned to the Marlins in the twilight of his career to help this team. Will Figgins be able to redeem himself and the money he was expected to earn? Will he be able to reclaim a future career here in south Florida, or anywhere in MLB?
There are many in this scenario. Joe Mahoney, former minor league player of the year with the Orioles, is looking to redeem himself. Kevin Kouzmanoff, a solid third baseman for years in Kansas City, is looking to reclaim his career. John Maine, a one blue-chipped prospect with the Orioles and eventually a solid pro with the Mets, hasn’t pitched in the bigs in 2 years but had looks from the Rockies, Red Sox, and Yankees. Matt Downs had a solid 2011 campaign with the Astros but hitting .202 last season landed him in Miami trying to reclaim his career.
The key thing here is getting a bunch of competitive players in camp, all trying to win spots and prove themselves, in order to change the atmosphere of this team. Last season, there were unreal expectations poured upon this team just because they signed some checks. We see now, a year later, that those checks could not be cashed. It was a Ringling-style PR campaign that went wild, whatever the intentions, and this team flamed out before even Showtime could all it a “rap” on their reality show.
Logan Morrison, who most likely will be out for the first month of the season and also will be looking to redeem himself after a season of hobbled injuries and high expectations, said it loud and clear. This team is the hungriest in baseball. No one has guarantees beyond this season; everyone is playing for a new deal, more money, or just trying to prove themselves and to win. Whatever the feelings are about this past offseason or even last season, this team is different and the fans will notice a more intense bunch as led by new manager, and former Marlin champion, Mike Redmond. If there was a fuel that could drive players, it would best be that of redemption. It certainly makes for a better story. If this 2013 team can win, they just may, as a team, redeem themselves to their fans as well.
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