The Miami Marlins lost their 4th game in a row on Sunday during which they have been outscored 29-7. It continues what has been a very disappointing season for the Fish.
The Marlins are currently 52-69, which is 26 games behind the 1st place NY Mets in the NL East and puts them 14 games out in the Wild Card race.
Back in April I was very bullish about Miami’s playoff chances this season for several reasons. First & foremost, they had what looked to be one of the best starting pitching rotations in all of baseball headed by Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez.
Plus the offense appeared to be much improved with the free agent signings of sluggers Avisail Garcia and Jorge Soler on top of budding young stars Jazz Chisholm and Jesus Sanchez.
But as often happens in professional sports, what looks good on paper often doesn’t translate to success on the field.
The Marlins problems have had nothing to do with Alcantara or Lopez. Alcantara has been outstanding, and he would likely win the Cy Young Award if the season ended today. Lopez has been solid, although he has faded a bit recently.
Injuries is what has done in the rotation. Sixto Sanchez, perhaps the 2nd most talented pitcher on the Marlins, has missed the entire season with a shoulder injury. Jesus Lazardo and Edward Cabrera have both missed a significant portion of the season and have just recently returned to the rotation.
Elite prospect Max Meyer was called up recently, but was quickly injured and requires Tommy John surgery. And if that wasn’t enough, Braxton Garrett, who did an admirable job filling in for the injured starters, just injured his oblique which will likely end his season.
As a result of these injuries, the Marlins team ERA is ranked only 8th in the National League.
And then there is Miami’s offense, which ranks 8th in the NL in runs scored. That actually isn’t too bad considering everything that has gone wrong.
Chisholm has been the bright spot he was expected to be and was voted in as the starting 2nd baseman for the All-Star game. But a back injury right before the All-Star break has put him out for the season.
Sanchez, on the hand, got off to a good start, but then trailed off significantly. The Marlins recently sent him back to AAA after hitting just .205 with 12 home runs.
And to make matters worse, Garcia and Soler haven’t done much better than Sanchez. Garcia is hitting only .232 with 7 HRs while Soler is hitting .207 with 13 HRs. Not exactly a good return for the Marlins on their contract investments of $53M over 4 years for Garcia and 3 years for $36M for Soler. Those contracts will be tough to unload in the offseason, if the Marlins decide to trade them.
As bad as the 2022 season has gone for Miami, there is a reason to be optimistic for the 2023 season. If the rotation can avoid the injury bug, it should be one of the best in MLB. The offense should be better with a healthy Chisholm and the maturation of top prospect outfielder JJ Bleday, who was recently promoted to the big leagues.
And if they’re back, Garcia and Soler should have better seasons. Plus the Fish are likely to add another bat or two.
Unfortunately, Marlins fans are left with the old refrain “There’s always next year,” but with their potentially elite rotation there is reason for hope in 2023.
