Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Marlins could be following Braves’ model for success
MIAMI — The visiting clubhouse at Marlins Park is tucked away on the firstbase side of the stadium, down a nondescript hallway and distinguished by a rotating piece of paper with the opponent’s logo. On the inside, the stalls are wooden with blue cabinets and the carpet blue dotted with green and black blocks.
And this weekend, the visiting clubhouse houses who the Marlins want to become.
The Atlanta Braves are in town for a four-game series, and they do so atop the National League East. Entering Friday night’s game, they built a 22-14 record, the second-best mark in the NL. The franchise that once won 11 straight division championships will — if the opening month is any indication — once again challenge for one this season, and they’ll do so after four straight losing seasons, including three consecutive 90-loss seasons.
The Braves appear to be doing what the Marlins would like to. They watched their major league team sink to the bottom of the division as their top prospects matured and developed. Now, Atlanta features the highly touted Ronald Acuña Jr. and Ozzie Albies, along with once-prospects Sean Newcomb, Mike Soroka and Dansby Swanson.
Recently, the baseball blueprint has leaned to this type of approach. Each of the past three World Series champions (Royals in 2015, Cubs in 2016 and Astros in 2017) suffered a 90-loss season within three years of winning the title.
But the Braves’ approach may mirror Miami’s more closely — minus the international signing scandal that cost John Coppolella his job and the Braves 13 prospects. While the Cubs and Astros were primarily built through the draft and international free agency, the Braves opted to infuse their system with other team’s prospects through trades, accented by drafting.
Atlanta tore down a middling roster, trading assets such as Shelby Miller, Andrelton Simmons, Justin Upton, Craig Kimbrel and Melvin Upton and letting Ervin Santana walk in favor of younger prospects. They also drafted well and now employ eight of baseball’s top 100 prospects, according to MLB.com.
Marlins third base coach Fredi Gonzalez knows the process well. He was the Braves manager when Atlanta dumped their stars.
“They started in ’15 getting rid of some of the contracts and have taken some lumps,” Gonzalez said. “Now, you see the fruits of the labor. I think that’s what we’re trying to do here. You got to trust the process. … This is a good model for our fans to watch because this is close what we’re trying to reach.”
The Braves went 67-95 in 2015, 68-93 in 2016, and 72-90 in 2017. Miami entered Friday night 13-24, on pace for 105 losses.
In the offseason, the Marlins traded Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon. Last year, they shipped away A.J. Ramos and David Phelps. The club has begun rebuilding one of baseball’s worst farm systems, but only boast one (outfielder Monte Harrison, acquired from Milwaukee in the Yelich deal) top-100 prospect.
Outfielder Lewis Brinson was a top-20 prospect when he was traded from the Brewers to the Marlins, but isn’t considered one anymore because of his time in the major leagues.
“They have a lot of talented guys over there,” Brinson said. “Obviously, everybody knows about Acuña and Albies and how they’re getting off to a hot start. I have a lot of confidence in our young guys, so to speak, in this clubhouse. It’s a good team over there. They’re hungry, kind of been through it. To say the least, I think we’re just as talented, if not more.”
The prospect rankings do not agree with Brinson nor Gonzalez. (“They’re lowerlevel but you read the reports and you talk to the minor-league coaches and you talk to our scouts and they’re there,” Gonzalez said.) The big difference will come in the draft.
None of the Marlins’ last eight first-round picks have played for Miami in the major leagues. Since 2003, only three Marlins first-rounders (Yelich, Jose Fernandez and Chris Volstad) were worth more than two wins above replacement, according to Baseball-Reference.
During their rebuild, the Braves kept first baseman Freddie Freeman as the anchor in the lineup and signed him through 2021. Through their roster purge, the Marlins held onto catcher J.T. Realmuto, who is under team control through 2020.
“You always heard about their farm system, and you’re starting to see it now with Ozzie being up and Acuña,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Just a combination with Freddie, who’s still young, but they kind of put him as that guy for them. Seeing them build with that core group, you could see it coming.”