A wish for a different ending
Koehler hopes Miami fans see a winner soon
NEW YORK Tom Koehler figured he wouldn’t spend his entire career with the Miami Marlins, because almost nobody sticks with one team forever these days. And he figured he might get traded, since he was pitching poorly in the majors and well in the minors, so he couldn’t help but wonder what other opportunities might be out there.
But when Michael Hill, the Marlins’ president of baseball operations, told him Saturday that the Marlins traded him to the Toronto Blue Jays, it didn’t change the reality: A significant era of Koehler’s life had come to an end.
“When you get the phone call … you just don’t know how to feel,” Koehler said in a phone interview. “I’ve been with the Marlins for so long. I’m beyond excited for my opportunity with the Blue Jays organization, but you’re leaving behind something that’s a huge part of your life.
“Obviously, I would have loved to have gone out on different terms with the Marlins and would have loved to have an ERA in the threes and 15 wins and not have it happen the way that it did. But I know I have a lot left in the tank and a lot to offer, so I’m excited to go out and be able to show it.”
The trade, which included cash considerations for Toronto and the Marlins receiving minor league righty Osman Gutierrez, brought an unceremonious end to the Marlins career of one of the team’s longesttenured players.
Koehler had been a Marlin since June 2008 — 10 months shy of 10 years ago — when the club picked him in the 18th round of the draft. He was a senior out of Stony Brook, with pretty good numbers in an OK conference, signing for very little as far as amateur draft budgets go.
“They gave me an opportunity,” Koehler said of the Marlins. “I don’t think a lot of people would have thought that I would’ve gotten as far as I have, and they gave me a chance to do it.”
After debuting in the majors in 2012, Koehler got married, had two kids and planted year-round roots in South Florida, living in Miami during the season and in Jupiter in the offseason.
Koehler became an anchor of the Miami rotation, priding himself on taking the ball every fifth game. From 2014-16, the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner was the only National League pitcher to start more games (99 to 96) than he did.
At the start of this season, Koehler was the Marlins’ No. 3 starter, declaring in spring training: “I expect a lot of myself. I feel like if we want to get to where we’re hoping to go, I’m going to be a big part of it.”
The Marlins have not gotten where they were hoping to go, and Koehler was part of it for a time, posting a 7.92 ERA and 1.73 WHIP in 12 starts while being demoted to Triple-A New Orleans twice.
That ties into his biggest — perhaps only — regret. Koehler, like the rest of the current Marlins, was never been a part of a winning team in Miami.
“I’ve always felt like we were so close, and that’s really what the fans deserve,” Koehler said. “It wasn’t for a lack of effort. It wasn’t for the team not being prepared. It’s just unfortunate. I hope the fans get to see it soon.
“The people were always great to me. There are groups of fans I know by name, I can pick them out of a crowd, that my wife will walk through the stadium and see and say hi to. Those are the things that I’ll miss.”
thealey@ sunsentinel.com; @timbhealey