Braves pose big obstacle in East to Marlins’ plans
Don Mattingly recently watched ESPN’s “Last Dance” documentary on Michael Jordan’s final season with the Chicago Bulls.
Mattingly, a huge basketball fan since childhood, noted the way great teams always have a roadblock to overcome.
“They [Jordan’s Bulls] fought and fought until they got past the Pistons, right? There’s a team that you’ve got to overcome at some point,” Mattingly said. “Atlanta has been that team for a lot of teams, not just us. We’re looking to overcome a lot of teams, but Atlanta has been a team that beats us up. They’ve been the cream of this division. We’re fighting to get [there].”
It’s pretty clear who Mattingly’s Marlins’ biggest obstacle is and why they could be for quite some time.
The Braves’ three-game sweep in last week’s National League Division Series gave proof the Marlins still have a long road to travel to bridge a gap between the rivals.
“Definitely, the Braves are built to win and win for a long time,” Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas said. “They have a lot of good, young pieces in their lineup and they can pitch.”
Even before the Braves went into full rebuild mode in 2015 they began laying the foundation for the team that stands among baseball’s final four teams.
The Braves built the bulk of their current pitching rotation (Mike Soroka, Ian Anderson, Kyle Wright) through the draft. Their international signings accounted for centerpieces such as Ronald Acuna Jr. and Ozzie Albies. And they traded for starting pitcher Max Fried and shortstop Dansby Swanson.
While their 2020 playoff push represents progress, there are still strides the Marlins need to make on and off the field.
The Marlins started to see players they acquired via the draft or through trades make their way to the majors this season including Sixto Sanchez, Trevor Rogers, Braxton Garrett on the pitching side and position players such as shortstop Jazz Chisholm, first baseman Lewin Diaz and outfielders Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez.
But how those players develop over the next three to four years will dictate whether the Marlins can match the Braves in terms of sustainable success.
“The main thing is we’re getting better,” Mattingly said. “We’re taking steps. There will be a tremendous amount of competition here next spring for jobs and who’s going to be where. This is just the start of it.”
BIG GAP OFF THE FIELD
The Braves have generated franchise-record amounts of revenue in recent years.
According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Braves’ parent company Liberty Media announced it made $476 million in combined baseball and development revenue in 2019.
About 8 percent of that revenue came from The Battery, the multiblock section of apartments, restaurants, bars and area for outdoor activities set up around the ballpark.
While such profits will take a hit in 2020 due to the shortened season and being unable to host fans inside the park, the Braves had seen that figure increase each year since Truist Park (formerly SunTrust Park) opened in
2017. And fans have still flocked to The Battery this season to watch the team play.
Meanwhile, the Marlins have yet to find a naming rights sponsor for Marlins Park or secure a new TV deal to replace the one with Fox Sports Florida that just expired, and when asked recently team CEO Derek Jeter said there was no update yet on such matters.
“Obviously, these are unprecedented times I think for everyone, and I think things were put on pause there a few months back, but we expect that to pick up here shortly,” Jeter
said.
ON THE FIELD
The Braves have built a rotation that includes Soroka (2015 first-round pick), Anderson (2016 first-round pick), Fried (seventh overall pick in 2012 acquired via trade) and Wright (2017 first-round pick) that could end up being their best since the Tom GlavineJohn Smoltz-Greg Maddux trio of the early 1990s.
The Marlins have been building a potentially formidable rotation of their own. They signed Edward Cabrera (2015) out of the Dominican Republic, drafted Garrett (2016) and Rogers (2017), traded for Alcantara and Sanchez in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and drafted Max Meyer (2020).
Albies (second base), Swanson (shortstop) and Austin Riley (third base) are all locked in for the Braves until at least 2023. And according to The Athletic, veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman (drafted by the Braves in 2007) is amenable to a contract extension beyond 2021.
The Marlins have Brian Anderson at third base, but the rest of their infield’s future will depend on the development of Chisholm, Diaz at first and Isan Diaz at second.
The Marlins feel confident about catcher Jorge Alfaro’s future behind the plate. But Will Banfield (not expected to debut until 2023) is their only notable catching prospect.
The Braves have four catchers ranked among their top 30.
Acuna could be joined soon by Atlanta’s top two prospects — Cristian Pache (another international signee in 2015) and Drew Waters. The Marlins have high hopes for 2019 firstround pick JJ Bleday and Jesus Sanchez in the corners. But who plays center field in the long-term is still open.
“All of that motivates us and tells us exactly what we need to have to get better from top to bottom as an organization,” Rojas said.