Comfort zone with starting pitching
SAN DIEGO — Through the first two years of the Miami Marlins’ rebuild, one of the top goals has been to accumulate a deep stable of starting pitchers layered throughout the organization.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill frequently echoes this sentiment, saying you can never have enough starting pitching. And that’s shown through the team’s acquisitions.
As is the case in any rebuild, that group has trended on the youthful side, with only two starters older than 24 — and both are just 28. Of course, as with any young group, they’re likely to experience growing pains early in their career.
But with club officials publicly mandating the team needs to show improvement after 203 losses the past two seasons, a veteran back-end starter on a one-year deal could hypothetically provide a compromise in improving in 2020, while also retaining long-term flexibility.
In speaking to reports on Day 2 of the baseball’s winter meetings on Tuesday, Hill indicated he’s comfortable sticking with the current crop of majorleague starters.
“It’s something we talk about a lot,” Hill said. “You can look at it both ways. When you have young starters like these guys — these are guys who gain experience in major-league games and by going through the ups and downs of navigating a lineup, so there’s inherent value in that. When you think about a young guy, that’s what we try to manage.
“We’ve got Jose Urena who can be that type of [back-end] stabilizer potentially, but he’s going to have to compete. We have ultimate flexibility when it comes to the rotation and the five best guys will be in the rotation.”
With the current roster, Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith, Pablo Lopez, Jordan Yamamoto, Elieser Hernandez, Robert Dugger and Urena would battle for the five rotation spots.
Last season, Marlins starters posted a 4.59 ERA, which ranked 10th out of 15 National League teams. In addition to the previously named pitchers, Zac Gallen, Trevor Richards and Hector Noesi also started games. Gallen and Richards were both dealt at the deadline, while Noesi was let go in the offseason.
Another part of the equation is the number of starting pitching prospects who are rapidly approaching the majors. Top prospect Sixto Sanchez, Edward Cabrera and Nick Neidert have impressed in the minors and could reach Miami this season. In addition, the Marlins have strong pitching prospects in Jorge Guzman, Braxton Garrett and Trevor Rogers, who all finished 2019 in Triple A.
“You’re talking about frontline starting pitching all the way from the majors to Double A,” Hill said of the team’s organizational depth. “From that standpoint you feel you’re in a pretty good spot.”