Marlins option three pitchers
Conley, Peters, Garcia to start season in minors
JUPITER — The makeup of the Marlins’ starting rotation gained some clarity Friday with three prime candidates who pitched in Miami last season being sent to the minor leagues.
Left-handers Adam Conley and Dillon Peters were both optioned to Triple-A New Orleans while lefty Jarlin Garcia was sent to Double-A Jacksonville
The moves indicate top pitching prospect Sandy Alcantara remains in the running to break camp in the rotation. Alcantara, 22, the key acquisition in the trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to St. Louis, has a 3.38 ERA after giving up three runs in four innings Friday against the Cardinals.
Conley was the most experienced of seven players sent down Friday, with 56 starts for the Marlins over the past three seasons. He spent two months of last season in the minors after struggling early and losing his spot in the rotation.
A second-round draft pick in 2011, Conley has been making major changes during spring training, altering his delivery, developing a slider and changing the grip on his fastball, which has regained velocity that was absent in 2017.
Conley regressed in 2017 with a 6.14 ERA in 22 appearances (20 starts) for the Marlins. His fortunes were on the rise in 2016 when he was 8-6 with a 3.85 ERA in 25 starts.
Conley took a philosophical approach to the demotion as providing time to continue the changes.
“Obviously, the big part of me wants to be in the big leagues and I want to go win. I want to go pitch against the best players in the world,” Conley said. “But there’s a part of me where it feels like a little bit of relief from the pressure of needing to go do that with so many new things going on.
“I just want to do it right. That’s the bottom line.” Conley’s fastball was registering as high as 95 mph in his most recent start. Last year he struggled to touch 90, and at times dropped into the mid-80s despite not being injured.
“I was truly concerned [about] his stuff,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, adding that Conley has made significant improvements in spring training. “I think he’s seeing that him getting his body in the right positon, using his leverage, getting everything synched up, is working. And it’s showing. But we still feel like there’s a little ways to go with that.”
Peters and Garcia are also works in progress. Like Conley, both figure prominently in the team’s future pitching plans.
“We’ve talked about the team you leave with is usually not the team you end up with,” Mattingly said. “So, all these guys have a chance to be a big part of what we’re doing.”
Peters got his first taste of the big leagues in September when he made six starts and had a 5.17 ERA. He has had issues with commanding his pitches this spring, but has shown improvement in each outing.
He tossed two scoreless
innings against the Mets on Thursday, walking one while throwing only 14 of 28 pitches for strikes. But he showed moxie in getting veteran Todd Frazier to hit into a double play off a changeup.
“Dillon just hasn’t been as sharp as we’d like. We know he’s better than this. And he’s been getting better in camp,” Mattingly said, noting that Peters’ development was set back by missing about half of last season with a broken thumb.
Garcia was a key part of the bullpen last season but is being returned to a starting role at his request. He has been mainly working on the back fields, making only two appearances with four scoreless innings in Grapefruit League games.
Only two spots in the rotation are set, with Jose Urena and Dan Straily scheduled to pitch the first two games of the season against the Cubs.
In addition to Alcantara, other notables remaining in the competition for three spots include right-handers Odrisamer Despaigne, and Jacob Turner and lefties Justin Nicolino and Caleb Smith.
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself,” Alcantara said. “We’re just a bunch of young guys just going out there competing, fighting hard and trying to improve ourselves. And leave the decision up to the coaches.”
The Marlins also reassigned infielder Isan Diaz and pitchers Chris Mazza, Drew Rucinski and Alex Wimmers to minor league camp.
“He’s one of those guys I see in camp and I tell you right now – and I’ll put my name on it – he’s going to hit here,” Mattingly said. If he’ll continue to work, continues to make sure he keeps his approach right and thinks right, he’s going to hit.”
The Marlins apparently will go into the first season under new ownership with Straily at $3.55 million as the only starting pitcher making more than $1 million.
At the same time, spring training has reflected the beginning of CEO Derek Jeter’s objective of building depth in the organization that was lacking in recent years. Friday’s moves are any indication of that.
“We talk about we want competition in camp and a competitive environment, not just here but at the Triple-A level, Double-A level,” Mattingly said. “If we’re truly going to be a solid organization there needs to be competition all the way through.”