i Fulllll Squaaad !

To echo Heavyweight Boxing Champ Deontay Wilder (Big Fight this weekend 🥊🥊 btw) with his trademark phrase “BOOOMB SQUAAAD”! It’s Fulllll Squaaad at Marlins Camp, as in just regular Full-Squad 😉 today. Everyone has reported to Jupiter, all 64 Players worth. A number that needs to be trimmed to 26 by late March. But with “Marlin Predictability” and barring the “Injury Bug”, the 26 set to go to Miami are pretty close to set.

Beyond the obvious like Brian Anderson (The Fish’s best player) in Right Field or Third Base. Jorge Alfaro and Francisco Cerveli behind the Dish. Corey Dickerson in Left, Miguel Rojas (Marlins’ Leader) at Short, and Jonathan Villar somewhere ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. There are other guys who are locks in this Roster that Florida won’t say publicly. Big Jesus Aguilar will be the everyday First Basemen, as he should be. His salary will be in the neighborhood of 2 ½ Mill but beyond that, deserves the Op to see if he can regain an All-Star form that was present less than 2 seasons ago. Don’t expect for Aguilar to share the Position with say a Garrett Cooper. To quote Don Mattingly at the Winter Meetings: “There were numerous injuries” in regards to Cooper, “so I think he’s a tough guy to say we can put him in there everyday”. He’s right in a sense, but why is it that I have a bad feeling the Marlins are gonna carry 3 catchers on Opening Day. We know Alfaro will start and Cerveli will back up. That should be enough, but again this is Donnie Baseball last week: “We know what we have there, we have 3 guys that are capable of handling the position”, speaking in regards to Catcher Chad Wallach, who missed extensive time last year with a concussion. Remember, Chad is the son of former Marlins Bench Coach Tim Wallach. Tim was a coach under Mattingly for 9 straight seasons dating back to their time in L.A. Chad is quite the defender behind the plate, I would go as far as to say hands down the best in the Organization. But his bat has really dragged along making it hard to fathom he’d still be on the 40-man Roster 3 years later. I don’t know how many options Chad has left, but I’d have to imagine the Fish want him with the Big Club, especially after he claimed a Roster spot all winter. Unless they decide to sneak him on the I.L again #Wink😉Wink.

A more deserving Jon Berti needs to be on this Club in some capacity. He can play all over both the Infield/Outfield and is arguably the fastest Base-Runner on the Squad. Isan Diaz needs to earn his Second Base job this Spring, but the Marlins are really high on him, and you pretty much know what that means. I think unless he has a real atrocious camp, the Position is his, and even than it still might be. Lewis Brinson will get yet another Op, but I don’t see him making it. A Magneuris Sierra whose out of options makes the most sense and can platoon with a Berti or a Villar out in Center. Matt Joyce signed a Major League deal last month and that’s 12 out of the 13 mandatory Position Players needed this Season. That’s where all signs point to Matt Kemp, yes that Matt Kemp. That’s also where I disagree. Kemp needs to show he has something left and not just be handed a spot alas a Curtis Granderson last Spring. Grandy hit .156 during the Pre-Season and only a slightly better .183 during the actual 2019 Season. Granderson was brought in to be more of a leader and mentor for the young Marlins. The Fish cannot afford to bring in a Kemp simply for that reason this year, especially when you are talking about improving results on the Big League field, and have quality guys like Cooper (who I’m not sure how many options he has left) & Harold Ramirez (Who had himself a solid Rookie campaign).

The Bullpen has seen plenty of turnover since last September. The Fish have stated time and again change was needed after some rough numbers were put up in 2019. Only thing is, You didn’t get rid of the guys who actually put up the rough numbers 🙈. Adam Conley, Ryne Stanek, and Drew Steckenrider all had ERA’s over 5 an ½ 🙉. But I get that Conley’s left handed arm doesn’t grow on trees, and Steck is looking to rebound from an Injury riddled Season. Brian Kintzler and Yimi Garcia were the 2 Free-Agent pick-ups, that should help. Jeff Brigham is someone the Marlins truly like (get the pic) and has good stuff.  While all signs point to young Stephen (Former YANKEE) Tarpley and Sterling Sharp making the squad (simply because the Fish like both (#GetThePic😉). That’s you’re 8 man Bullpen ladies & gentlemen.

The Rotation will feature Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith at the top. Jose Urena (Who I like the Club’s decision to maintain as a Starter) helps solidify the middle part of the Starting pact. Pablo Lopez (Fish have always liked Pab’z 😉) is a front runner for a Rotation spot himself, and they’ll be nice competition between Jordan Yamamotto, Elieser Hernandez (Who I kinda like out of the ‘Pen), and Robert Dugger to see who becomes the 5^th Starter (My money is on Yami 🤟).

Injuries will play a part during the spring. That’s almost like saying water is wet. So it’s good to have the Sean Rodriguez’s , Brad Boxberger’s, and even Kemp's of the world. There’s a little more depth this Season, not to mention a lot of Prospects arrive later this year. Matingly: “I think we are all going to be disappointed if we don’t take measurable strides”.