Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Marlins get ready
From the owner to Jose Urena, questions are there for Marlins
Pitchers and catchers train in Jupiter.
Baseball is back. Or, at least, activities vaguely resembling baseball are back.
Miami Marlins pitchers and catchers formally report to spring training in Jupiter today. Position players will follow in time for the first full-squad workout Friday. A week from Saturday, the team opens its exhibition slate at Roger Dean Stadium against the St. Louis Cardinals.
This spring training will be different from any other for the Marlins, who are still dealing with the ramifications — off the field and on — of ace Jose Fernandez’s death late last season. There will be no filling the void in the clubhouse, of course, and the front office sought throughout the winter to shore up the pitching staff by strengthening an already-solid bullpen (signing Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa) and adding a few starting pitchers to round out the rotation (Edinson Volquez, Dan Straily, Jeff Locke).
“We think we were one of the more active ball clubs this offseason in trying to add to our existing core and put pieces in place to really help this team get where it wants to go,” president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. “And that’s into the playoffs.”
In their attempt to finish above .500 for the first time since 2009 and make the playoffs for the first time since 2003, health will be important for these Marlins. That’s particularly true for outfielder Giancarlo
Stanton, who has averaged only 115 games per season the past five years.
Stanton knows as well as anybody that it’s time for this position-player core — which the Marlins brass bet heavily on by keeping it together for 2017 — to make the leap from exciting bunch of youngsters to legitimate competitor.
“We have a good team. It’s always the potential. That’s been years in the making,” Stanton said, “but we haven’t really played together everybody for a solid year. When we have, it’s lights out. [Staying healthy,] that’s the biggest thing for us.”
For now, it looks like Marlins camp will feature little in the form of roster battles or major questions. Here, however, are five of the top storylines to watch the next seven weeks before the regular season begins:
Is Jeffrey Loria actually going to sell the team?
The biggest question hanging over the Marlins has nothing to do with health or roster decisionmaking. The matter of whether Loria, the Marlins’ owner since 2002, is selling the team will remain the most significant story until it reaches a resolution.
Loria is reportedly in talks with a group led by Joshua Kushner, a New York venture capitalist, to sell the Marlins for $1.6 billion. The Marlins have repeatedly declined to comment on the matter, but that hasn’t stopped fans from getting giddy at the prospect.
Loria himself usually visits Roger Dean Stadium during the spring. You can bet everyone at the complex will be interested in what he has to say.
Who will be the No. 5 starter?
The unofficial list of candidates: Straily, Locke, Jose Urena, Justin Nicolino and Odrisamer Despaigne.
In our roster projection earlier this month, we penciled in Straily as fifth starter, in part because he had a better 2016 than his competitors. That means Locke and Urena would likely head to the bullpen as long relievers. Nicolino and Despaigne, who both have minor league options remaining, would start off in Triple-A New Orleans.
That said, there is a long time between now and the end of spring training. You never know when another starter might go down. It’s a safe bet the top three candidates stay stretched out right up until April.
Which Dee Gordon will show up?
In 2015, Gordon won a batting title and led the league in stolen bases. In 2016, he was suspended half the season for a positive PED test and wasn’t quite himself before or after.
Which version of Gordon will the 2017 Marlins get? The answer will go a long way toward deciding whether their high-ceiling lineup will live up to its potential.
Can Jose Urena emerge?
The Urena question is about more than just his Opening Day role. The right-hander is 25 and out of options, so the deadline for him to establish himself as a reliable major league arm is quickly approaching.
The Marlins have to keep Urena on the 25-man roster or designate him for assignment — and thus risk losing him to another team, which would be likely given his velocity and yet-untapped potential. For that reason alone, Urena is a near-lock to make the Marlins out of the gate.
Only then, though, will Urena face the real test.
How will J.T. Realmuto take to first base?
Let’s be clear: The Marlins aren’t looking at Realmuto as a straight-up platoon partner with Justin Bour at first. The thinking goes that if Realmuto can pick up the new position and occasionally spot Bour a day off — particularly against tough left-handers — that can only work to the Marlins’ advantage. It’ll help Realmuto by giving him a rest from catching and help the team by keeping his bat in the lineup.
Since the Marlins are likely to go with a short bench — allowing them to carry an extra reliever — Bour won’t have a platoon mate, as he has had in recent years. The Marlins want to try him more often against lefties, while also being able to go to Miguel Rojas and Derek Dietrich (and Realmuto) when desired.
Can Realmuto learn to play first? Probably. We’ve seen it in recent years with athletic, offensefirst catchers like Joe Mauer and Buster Posey. And Realmuto, a star shortstop and quarterback as a high schooler in Oklahoma, is about as athletic as they come.