Spring training report: Eyes on pitching staff
Twelve games down. Twelve games to go.
The Miami Marlins are at the halfway mark of their Grapefruit League schedule and have just over 21⁄2 weeks before they open the 2021 season against the Tampa Bay Rays in front of a reducedcapacity crowd at Marlins Park on April 1.
Here are six observations to this point in spring training.
Starting pitching is going to carry this team.
Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez lead the way. Sixto Sanchez should be a factor as well (more on him in a second). The Marlins also need to see continued growth from Elieser Hernandez and a jump in production from
Trevor Rogers.
Beyond them, the Marlins will look to Gio Gonzalez, Nick Neidert, Braxton Garrett and Daniel Castano to pick up starts as well as Miami balances staying competitive early in the season and making sure as many starting pitchers as possible are available in August and September.
Where does Sixto Sanchez fit into the equation?
Sanchez, a consensus top-25 prospect in MLB, is set to make his spring training debut Monday against the Astros after dealing with a pair of setbacks to start camp. Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr said Sanchez, who has ace potential, will be on an innings limit this season. With that in mind, the Marlins haven’t ruled out potentially having him start the season at the alternate training site. How he performs during the second half of spring training will determine his fate.
The batting order appears to be set.
Based on how manager Don Mattingly has set the lineup when the regulars were in spring games, Corey Dickerson and Starling Marte are the top two of the order. The Nos. 3 and 4 spots will be decided from among Garrett Cooper, Jesus Aguilar and Adam Duvall. Brian Anderson is set to hit in the No. 5 spot. The starting second baseman — Isan Diaz or Jazz Chisholm — is set to be at No. 6. Shortstop Miguel Rojas and catcher Jorge Alfaro are Nos. 7 and 8 with the pitcher rounding out the lineup. Pitchers are slated to start hitting in games Wednesday.
The second-base job
could go beyond just who handles second base the best.
Neither Diaz nor Chisholm has separated himself from the other through the first half of camp, and Mattingly is giving the two an almost equal share of reps in games.
But something to consider: Chisholm’s versatility on defense (he can play both second and shortstop; Diaz has exclusively played second) could be a deciding factor as the Marlins get closer to Opening Day.
Bullpen roles still need to be figured out.
Dylan Floro and Rule 5 selection Paul Campbell have yet to throw in a spring training game, and Mattingly has spent the first half of camp getting pitchers their innings.
How he plans to deploy his newly formed group of relief pitchers is up in the air.
Yimi Garcia and Anthony Bass figure to be the main candidates to close. Ross Detwiler and John Curtiss are both capable of throwing multiple innings. Submarine thrower Adam Cimber has impressed early. Zach Pop, who like Campbell has Rule 5 restrictions, showed promise in his first live appearance in almost two years. Lefty Richard Bleier and righty James Hoyt, two of three holdovers from last year along with Garcia, could handle middle-inning relievers or high-leverage situations.
All but Bass, Garcia and Detwiler still have at least one minor-league option remaining, giving the Marlins flexibility to make their final decisions.
One thing Mattingly made clear: The team doesn’t plan to carry a starter who didn’t crack the rotation as a long reliever, opting instead to have them continue to work as starters either at the alternate site or in the minors.
The Marlins are taking a long look at top hitting prospects who have yet to make their MLB debuts.
Outfielder JJ Bleday has shown a veteran approach at the plate while also making a few plays in right field. Infielder Jose Devers has impressed the coaching staff on both sides of the ball. Fellow infielder Joe Dunand has been a surprise. Slugging outfielder Jerar Encarnacion is getting looks at first base, a position lacking quality depth in the organization beyond Aguilar, Cooper and Lewin Diaz.
Kim Clijsters is out of the Miami Open, but Andy Murray may be in.
Former world No. 1 Clijsters, twice retired and now a 37-year-old mother of three, announced on Sunday that she is withdrawing from the Miami Open tennis tournament, which begins March 22 at Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami Gardens.
Meanwhile, SkySports reported that another former No. 1, Murray, is expected to get a wild card into the tournament. Murray, 33, is on the comeback trail after hip surgery two years ago.
He was expected to play in Dubai, but skipped it after his wife Kim Sears gave birth to their fourth child. He was planning to fly to Miami early this week to begin training for the Miami Open.
Clijsters, a two-time Miami Open champion, had been granted a wild card and told the Miami Herald how excited she was to return to the event for the first time since
2012.
But she said, via her Twitter feed, that nagging injuries and a COVIDrelated layoff are keeping her from a return.
“I had COVID in January and while the symptoms were mild, it did disrupt my training schedule,” she wrote. “I’ve had an intensive few weeks of training with my team. Unfortunately, I am not where I need to be especially if I want to compete with the best.
“It’s disappointing and frustrating. I knew this was going to be hard when I started this journey — and there have been challenges that are out of my control. I’m not ready to quit. I’m going to keep pushing and see what’s possible.”
— MICHELLE KAUFMAN Elsewhere: Top-seeded
Daniil Medvedev was pushed to three sets by doubles specialist PierreHugues Herbert in the Open 13 final at Marseille, France, winning 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 for his 10th career title on the eve of his move up to second in the rankings. Medvedev will overtake Rafael Nadal on Monday and push the 20-time Grand Slam champion down to No. 3 . ... Kei Nishikori came back from a set down to beat Reilly Opelka in the first round of the Dubai Championships, while Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired from his match. Nishikori won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a secondround match with David Goffin.
ETC.
NFL: Quarterback
Drew Brees, 42, the NFL’s leader in career completions and yards passing, has decided to retire after 20 NFL seasons, including his last 15 with the New Orleans Saints . ... Pro Bowl running back Aaron Jones has agreed to a new deal with the Green Bay Packers and won’t be exploring free agency . ... According to a source, the New England Patriots are trading offensive lineman Marcus Cannon to the Houston Texans. Both teams will be swapping draft picks in the fourth, fifth and sixth rounds.
Soccer: A fast hat trick for Cristiano Ronaldo still wasn’t enough for Juventus to close in on Serie A leader Inter Milan. Nine-time defending champion Juventus beat Cagliari 3-1 but remained 10 points behind Inter after the Nerazzurri snatched a 2-1 win at relegation-threatened Torino.
... Lautaro Martinez scored a late winner to help league leader Inter Milan snatch a 2-1 win at relegation-threatened Torino in Serie A. Martinez netted five minutes after Antonio Sanabria had canceled out
Romelu Lukaku’s opener from the penalty spot. Granada ended Real Sociedad’s seven-match unbeaten streak in the Spanish league with a 1-0 win.
German Sanchez scored the winner for the hosts early in the second half . ...
Sam Kerr scored a hat trick as Chelsea’s women retained the League Cup with a 6-0 victory over Bristol City, giving Emma Hayes her eighth major trophy as manager.
Golf: Antoine Rozner of France holed a 60foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 2-under 69 and a one-shot victory in the Qatar Masters at Doha, Qater, moving him high enough in the world ranking to qualify for the World Golf Championship in Texas in two weeks.
Skiing: Austrian skier
Marco Schwarz locked up the men’s World Cup slalom title at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia finishing seventh in a race won by
Clement Noel. The result gave Schwarz an insurmountable lead of 122 points over his only remaining challenger in the discipline standings, Ramon Zenhausern, with only next week’s slalom at the finals in Switzerland coming up.
The University of Miami men’s basketball team lost its second highly regarded freshman.
Earl Timberlake ,a6-6 small forward who entered the program last summer as a Top 50 recruit, has decided to transfer, he told ESPN.
He had ankle and shoulder injuries all season and played in only seven games. He averaged 9.3 points, five rebounds and 2.4 assists for the Hurricanes, whose roster was depleted by injuries all season.
“I’ve been dealing with a whole lot this season as far as being away from home and ankle and shoulder injuries,” Timberlake said. “I wanted to be there for my teammates, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to. After some thought, I came to the conclusion that putting my name in the transfer portal is the best move for my future. There’s nothing negative that happened. There’s no bad blood with Miami. I just want a fresh start. I love Coach L and the rest of the coaching staff. I just want to start over and get a fresh start somewhere else.”
Timberlake, a product of DeMatha Catholic High School in Washington, D.C., originally chose Miami over Pittsburgh, Providence, Seton Hall and South Carolina.
“I’m not sure where I want to go,” Timberlake said. “I’m open to anything. I’m going in with an open mind. There are no favorites. … I will not be entering the NBA draft. I need to get back to being the real Earl Timberlake before I can think of taking the next step in my career.”
UM coach Jim Larrañaga said: “Earl is an extremely talented basketball player and an outstanding young man who unfortunately had to deal with a number of injuries this season. We look forward to seeing him return to full health and wish him and his family nothing but the best.”
— MICHELLE KAUFMAN
SUNDAY’S TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Big Ten — No. 3 Illinois 91, No. 9 Ohio State 88 (OT): Kofi Cockburn and Ayo Dosunmu both scored 16 points, both grabbed nine rebounds and both made key plays in overtime to give the Illini (23-6) the victory over the Buckeyes (21-9) for theirfirst Big Ten Tournament title since 2005.
American Athletic Conference — No. 7 Houston 91, Cincinnati 54:
Quentin Grimes scored 21 points with five threepointers, Marcus Sasser had 16 points and the Cougars (24-3) trounced the Bearcats (12-11) in the third consecutive American
Athletic Conference tournament championship game between the two teams.
SEC — No. 6 Alabama 80, LU 79: Herbert Jones
drove for a go-ahead layup with 19.5 seconds and the Crimson Tide (24-6) won the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 1991, holding off a late flurry to edge the Tigers (18-9).
Patriot — Colgate
85, Loyola (Maryland)
72: Tucker Richardson
scored 17 points and Jordan Burns and Jack Ferguson 16 each to lead the top-seeded Raiders (14-1), in their fourth straight Patriot title game to theirfourth NCAA Tournament where its never won. Its last appearance came in 2019. Loyola (6-11) came into the tournament as the ninth seed.
Atlantic 10 — St. Bonaventure 74, VCU
65: Kyle Lofton scored 23 points and Osun Osunniyi
scored 14 points with 12 rebounds as the top-seeded Bonnies (16-4) beat the Rams (19-7) at Dayton, Ohio, for an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
LATE SATURDAY
ACC — Georgia Tech 80, No. 15 Florida State
75: Michael Devoe scored 20 points and the Yellow Jackets (17-8) shot 52% after halftime to upset the Seminoles (16-6) for their first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament titlesince 1993.
Pac-12 — Oregon State 70, No. 23 Colorado 68: Maurice Calloo gave Oregon State an unexpected lift with 15 points and the Beavers (17-12) won their first conference tournament title, holding off the Buffaloes (22-8) in the Pac-12 title game at Las Vegas.
Big 12 — No. 13 Texas 91, No. 12 Oklahoma State 86: Matt Coleman scored a career-high 30 points and Jericho Simms added a career-best 21, leading the Longhorns (19-7) over the Cowboys (20-8) to the Big 12 Tournament title at Kansas City, Missouri.
Big East — Georgetown 73, No. Creighton
48: Patrick Ewing is taking Georgetown back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 after the eighth-seeded Hoyas (13-12) completed a surprising run to a Big East title at New York by beating the Bluejays (20-8).
Mountain West —
No. 19 San Diego State
68, Utah State 57: Matt Mitchell scored 14 points to lead the Aztecs (23-4) to the Mountain West Tournament title over the Aggies (20-8).
Southwest Athletic Conference — Texas Southern 80, Prairie View A&M 61: Karl Nicholas scored 16 points and pulled down 12 rebounds as the third-seeded Tigers (16-8) placed five in double-figure scoring to upset the topseeded Panthers (16-5).