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Speaker 1: Fish Bites is back. Eli Sussman here, managing editor at

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Speaker 1: fish Stripes, hosting you through another episode of our flagship

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Speaker 1: podcast show talking all things Miami Marlins related. You can

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Speaker 1: find us online fishstripes dot com, on cross all of

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Speaker 1: social media at fish Stripes on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube,

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Speaker 1: et cetera. Fish Stripes and the podcast itself is available

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Speaker 1: on all your preferred platforms and just search for fish

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Speaker 1: Stripes coming up really fast on this new twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: Marlin season. By this time next episode, we're gonna have

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Speaker 1: real games to react to, which is why on this

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Speaker 1: particular show I wanted to cover a subject before we

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Speaker 1: really see anything on the field. There are sixty five

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Speaker 1: players in Marlin's major league camp this year who will

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Speaker 1: try to factor in into this upcoming twenty twenty season

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Speaker 1: plans before any your roster moves get made, and for

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Speaker 1: most of them, they already have a realistic sense of

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Speaker 1: where they fit in this team. As excited as we

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Speaker 1: are for Brian Anderson to take another leap forward, for

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Speaker 1: Corey Dickerson to mash the ball, those are the type

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Speaker 1: of guys that already understand their place on the team.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna cover all this sixty five plus players at

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Speaker 1: Marlin's camp at some point on fitz drips. But we

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Speaker 1: need to play special attention to the ones that are

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Speaker 1: on the bubble in some respects, whether their future with

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Speaker 1: the organization is in doubt or simply they don't. They

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Speaker 1: could go either way in terms of being a major

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Speaker 1: leaguer or a minor leaguer once the season opens up.

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Speaker 1: Some players have opt outs in their contracts if they

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Speaker 1: don't get into the situation that they wont This is

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Speaker 1: the things that the Marlins have to juggle themselves. There

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Speaker 1: is a misconception, I believe, where we look at spring

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Speaker 1: training as this time of rich competition, of roster battles,

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Speaker 1: position battles, whatever that phrases that people love to throw

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Speaker 1: at this time of year. My staff and I we're

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Speaker 1: guilty of that as well, always looking at competition in

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Speaker 1: battles and really digging deep into this stuff, when the

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Speaker 1: reality is most of these decisions are made before spring training.

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Speaker 1: The Marlins have to put together a sixty twenty sixty,

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Speaker 1: a twenty six man active roster instead a forty man

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Speaker 1: total roster heading into the year, and I can guarantee

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Speaker 1: you that most of those decisions have already been made.

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Speaker 1: Although spring training is the most recent sample that they

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Speaker 1: have to judge both what they do in Grapefruit League

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Speaker 1: games and what they do in workouts. The more relevant

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Speaker 1: samples are the previous season twenty nineteen, even going back

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Speaker 1: a couple of years for a larger sample, off season leagues,

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Speaker 1: competitive winter leagues, even just analytically measuring the tools that

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Speaker 1: these players show in games during the major league season

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Speaker 1: or in minor league affiliates. All those are registered to

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Speaker 1: provide TrackMan data where you can really get measurables on

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Speaker 1: all the tools that these players have. All of these

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Speaker 1: data points are already processed by the Marlins Baseball Operations department.

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Speaker 1: They already took all this stuff into consideration, and spring

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Speaker 1: training is still important because you need to factor in injuries. Marlins,

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Speaker 1: as of this recording, thank goodness, are one hundred percent healthy.

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Speaker 1: The same cannot be said for many other teams. It's

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Speaker 1: inevitable that once you start really ramping up these workouts,

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Speaker 1: you need to look at backup plans when some an

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Speaker 1: issue arises, and so you need to put together this

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Speaker 1: kind of depth, even though it's more depth than you

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Speaker 1: can realistically sustain heading into the regular season. But it's

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Speaker 1: important to have all these candidates in camp. The reality

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Speaker 1: is is that we can already project with a lot

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Speaker 1: of confidence where these players are going to go once

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Speaker 1: the meaningful games start. This episode is going to be

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Speaker 1: focusing on those players on the bubble, the ones who

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Speaker 1: I believe are under the most pressure this spring. Ideally,

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Speaker 1: all of them want to force their way onto the

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Speaker 1: Marlins active roster and to stay there. At the very least.

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Speaker 1: They want to have a place in this organization long term.

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Speaker 1: They want to know that they have a significant role

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Speaker 1: available to them at some point in the near term future.

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Speaker 1: What they do during spring training may go a long

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Speaker 1: way towards actually deciding that these are the ones in

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Speaker 1: the real roster position battles. These are the ones who

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Speaker 1: have the most approved If they want to have a

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Speaker 1: comfortable spot moving forward, if they want the opportunity for

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Speaker 1: them to be successful major leaguers to come in the

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Speaker 1: Marlins organization, they need to step up. What I did

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Speaker 1: is I picked out ten that I ranked in order

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Speaker 1: from ten to one that I'll be revealing in just moment.

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Speaker 1: In the process of narrowing it down to ten, there

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Speaker 1: are some honorable mentions that obviously came to mind, but

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Speaker 1: who I felt aren't quite on the hot seat in

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Speaker 1: the same way that these top ten players are. The

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Speaker 1: honorable mentions that came up in this deliberation include John Birdie,

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Speaker 1: who made his Marlins debut in the middle of last season,

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Speaker 1: had an injury, came back in the second half of

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Speaker 1: the season, and was point blank one of the best

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Speaker 1: players on the Marlins, one of the most valuable players

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Speaker 1: as a combination of his defensive versatility, his amazing base running,

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Speaker 1: and the fact that surprisingly he was more or less

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Speaker 1: a league average hitter despite having some big issues in

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Speaker 1: the high miners with previous organizations. Bertie, considering how well

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Speaker 1: he played last year and the unique way that he

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Speaker 1: impacts the game with his legs, I'm feeling with a

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Speaker 1: high degree of confidence that he'll make the active roster,

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Speaker 1: even if it is in deep bench roll, and at

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Speaker 1: the very least he has minor league options remaining. That

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Speaker 1: is an important component that you'll hear me mentioned again

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Speaker 1: and again with these players. How many minor league options

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Speaker 1: do you have if for whatever reason, Birdie shows no

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Speaker 1: offensive aptitude in spring training, if he reverts back to

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Speaker 1: the form that made him a no name minor league

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Speaker 1: signing at this time a year ago, and he gets

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Speaker 1: sent down to Triple A Wichita. Well, the Marlins can

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Speaker 1: do that, They have the flexibility to do that and

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Speaker 1: still keep him in their plans long term. So he's

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Speaker 1: under some pressure to back up his offensive production to

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Speaker 1: legitimize what he did late last season, but he has

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Speaker 1: the inside track of being a major leaguer for most,

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Speaker 1: if not all, the twenty twenty season. Victor Victor Mesa

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Speaker 1: another honorable mention who was such a big name signing

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Speaker 1: a year and a half ago along with Victor Junior,

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Speaker 1: his brother out of Cuba, the older Victor Victor being

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Speaker 1: arguably the most expensive international amateur free agent signing in

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Speaker 1: Marlin's history, and he faced planted in twenty nineteen. You'll

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Speaker 1: remember that he was also invited to major league spring

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Speaker 1: training a year ago, despite having no experience in affiliated

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Speaker 1: ball at that time, and he played more or less

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Speaker 1: the whole season. Some minor injuries that began in spring

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Speaker 1: training last year with a hamstring issue, but he was

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Speaker 1: on the field a lot last year, including the Arizona

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Speaker 1: Fall League, and he did not look anything like the

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Speaker 1: player that the Marlins had hyped him up to be

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Speaker 1: that he was initially projected to be, and all of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, there's just very little optimism of him being

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Speaker 1: an impactful, every day starting outfielder in the major leagues.

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Speaker 1: But it's still early. He's still twenty three years old.

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Speaker 1: No matter what he does this spring, he's not going

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Speaker 1: to be on the opening day roster, and no matter

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Speaker 1: how poorly he does this spring, he's going to be

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Speaker 1: remaining in the organization and expected to open up the

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Speaker 1: year with every day at bats. I do think there

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Speaker 1: is some pressure on him to show aptitude with a bat.

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Speaker 1: It's somewhat like a John Birdie example, although his pedigree

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Speaker 1: is so much different. He's the type of player where

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Speaker 1: you really like what he brings defensively and as a

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Speaker 1: base runner. The only way that you can see a

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Speaker 1: significant role for him in the majors in the future

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Speaker 1: is if he can actually get on base in the

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Speaker 1: first place against high level pitching. He didn't get many

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Speaker 1: reps at all during exhibition games last spring because of

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Speaker 1: that hamstring injury. This is an opportunity to put some

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Speaker 1: minds at ease and at the very least show that

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Speaker 1: he can get his bat on the ball consistently, even

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Speaker 1: if he can't put a major impact on the ball,

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Speaker 1: those contact skills are also going to be a very

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Speaker 1: important aspect of his game moving forward. True stecond Rider

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Speaker 1: another honorable mention. He's coming off a significant elbow strain

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Speaker 1: last year that shortened his year. Last year. He barely

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Speaker 1: pitched all for the majors for the Marlins and the

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Speaker 1: Majors last year. Let me get the exact numbers. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: just fifteen appearances, fourteen and a third endings pitched, and

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Speaker 1: he was terrible. A six to eight er a fielder

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Speaker 1: in dependent pitching around eight. He led six home runs

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Speaker 1: in such a small sample size. Clearly wasn't right. His

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Speaker 1: velocity was down a little bit, but more importantly, he

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Speaker 1: just could not locate the ball whatsoever. I mean, very quietly.

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Speaker 1: He's going to be twenty nine years old this coming year.

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Speaker 1: For the Marlins, no haste to make a decision on him.

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Speaker 1: He still has minor league options remaining, and he is

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Speaker 1: not that far removed from being really effective in their bullpen.

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Speaker 1: If he'll remember for a significant chunk of the twenty

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Speaker 1: eighteen season, kind of in May and June of that

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Speaker 1: year he had a long scoreless streak in there, and

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Speaker 1: when he's on, he doesn't give out free passes whatsoever.

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Speaker 1: Is a guy that pounds the zone and can really

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Speaker 1: put batters away because of the spin on his fastball

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Speaker 1: and how he compliments that with his slider. He's trying

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Speaker 1: to re establish himself because even though this Marlin's bullpen

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Speaker 1: has been totally gutted from what happens last year and redone,

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Speaker 1: they have some guys that are already penciled in to

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Speaker 1: certain roles and Stecond Writer isn't necessarily one of them.

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Speaker 1: So he's going to try to re establish himself. Worst

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Speaker 1: case scenario, he gets optioned down to the minors and

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Speaker 1: he may have a chance to come up later this year.

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Speaker 1: It's just been a pretty dramatic turn for the worst

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Speaker 1: first second writer, considering how effective he looked early in

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Speaker 1: twenty eighteen, and considering that he's directly coming off that

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Speaker 1: elbow injury. One other reliever in these honorable mentions Stirling Sharp,

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Speaker 1: who was their Rule five draft pick out of the

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Speaker 1: Washington Nationals organization starting pitcher for almost all of his

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Speaker 1: minor league career heading into his age twenty five season.

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Speaker 1: Being a Rule five pick, he cannot be optioned down

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Speaker 1: at any point this year. He's got to be healthy.

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Speaker 1: He's got to be relatively healthy. You need to spend

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Speaker 1: more or less about half of the season on the

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Speaker 1: active roster, and if not that, you have to be

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Speaker 1: injured or rehabbing a certain injury. The early thinking is

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Speaker 1: that he'll be a long man out of the bullpen

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Speaker 1: because of his experience being a starter in the past,

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Speaker 1: and especially this past fall in the Fall League. He

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Speaker 1: was there with Victor Victor Mesa, and unlike Victor Victor,

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Speaker 1: he made a really strong impression on a lot of people.

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Speaker 1: It was somewhat surprising that he was available in the

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Speaker 1: first place in the Rule five. He has some upside

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Speaker 1: to be a starting pitcher a long term if everything

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Speaker 1: works out for him, If he establishes an effective breaking

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Speaker 1: ball to go along with his fastball control and his

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Speaker 1: change up generates a lot of ground balls. That's something

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Speaker 1: we've covered already on the website as part of our

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty season preview. All that being said, he doesn't

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Speaker 1: have experience above the double A level heading into this year,

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Speaker 1: and he's a guy that tries to compete without premium

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Speaker 1: fastball velocity, So there's a circumstance if he doesn't do

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Speaker 1: well in spring training games at all, if he looks

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Speaker 1: completely overmatched, then the Marlins may be tempted to return

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Speaker 1: him in order to give someone else in their organization

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Speaker 1: an opportunity to fill out the pitching staff. The Marlins

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Speaker 1: have a lot of arms in the organization that are

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Speaker 1: trying to break through to the MA at the same time,

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Speaker 1: and only so many spots available. They acquired Sharp because

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Speaker 1: they believe that he's of that caliber where they can

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Speaker 1: consider they can see themselves building around him, having him

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Speaker 1: part of their long term core, being an arm in

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Speaker 1: primarily as a starter. But yeah, he's gonna have to

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Speaker 1: perform a little bit in those grape Fruit League games

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Speaker 1: just to show that he has the poise and he

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Speaker 1: has the stuff to compete against major league kidders. Hasn't

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Speaker 1: done that before, a little bit of pressure on him.

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Speaker 1: Not quite as much as these following guys ranked from

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Speaker 1: number ten to number one. The Marlins players under the

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Speaker 1: most pressure this spring training in my opinion, The Marlins

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Speaker 1: player with the tenth most pressure on him entering spring

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Speaker 1: training games, right hander Jose Urina, entering his age twenty

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Speaker 1: eight season, he's the two time defending Marlins opening day starter,

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Speaker 1: and he's a long shot to get that opportunity again

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Speaker 1: here in twenty twenty. Don Mattingly has not announced his

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Speaker 1: rotation to this point or even named an opening day

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Speaker 1: starter for sure, but what he has commented on is

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Speaker 1: that Urania is being brought along as a starter, being

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Speaker 1: stretched out for that kind of workload entering this year,

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Speaker 1: which is notable because he did finish last year as

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Speaker 1: a reliever, closing games and then setting up and doing

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Speaker 1: a mediocre job in those roles. But he's once again

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Speaker 1: being reinserted into the rotation. The question being whose rotation

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Speaker 1: that he'll be pitching in once the real games come up,

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Speaker 1: will be with the Marlins or possibly traded to someplace else.

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Speaker 1: We're to assume that Sandy al Contra, Caleb Smith, Pablo

241
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Speaker 1: Lopez are locked into the rotation health permitting, so that's

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Speaker 1: three spots already down. Urania has a longer track record,

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Speaker 1: but also has been very frustrating and that he simply

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Speaker 1: does not miss the kind of bats that he needs

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Speaker 1: to when opponents make contact, it gets hit really hard.

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Speaker 1: Last year, comparing his stats. Doing a blind comparison between

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Speaker 1: his starting numbers and Eliez or Hernandez his starting numbers,

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Speaker 1: you'll find that Hernandez was actually slightly better than Urania

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Speaker 1: as a starter for the twenty nineteen Marlins. So if

250
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Speaker 1: you have those three spots locked in, if you have

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Speaker 1: Jordan Yamamoto, who impressed at times last season and his

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Speaker 1: rookie year in the rotation, then there's one other spot

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Speaker 1: up for grabs between Orana and Eliez or Hernandez and

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Speaker 1: another player that is higher up on this list who

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Speaker 1: will be mentioning shortly. What Orina has is some security.

256
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Speaker 1: He doesn't have any minor league options left. Well, he's

257
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Speaker 1: had a point in his career service time wise where

258
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Speaker 1: they cannot actually option him down without getting his consent,

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Speaker 1: and he certainly wouldn't give his consent considering what he

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Speaker 1: has accomplished at the major league level. A very likely

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Speaker 1: possibility is that Urania does get traded to another team

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Speaker 1: between now and opening Day. There are plenty of semi

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Speaker 1: contenders who this offseason didn't want to pay the going

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Speaker 1: rate for free agents starting pitchers. That means they still

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Speaker 1: have some urgency to add talent before the season begins

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Speaker 1: and Urina, at a three point seventy five million dollar salary,

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Speaker 1: gets a raise from the previous year, but that is

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Speaker 1: just a fraction of the going rate for a mid

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Speaker 1: or back end of the rotation starting pitcher, So he

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Speaker 1: would presumably still have some positive trade value as long

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Speaker 1: as he's healthy as this camp goes on. By all accounts,

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Speaker 1: he is certainly healthy putting in those crueling workouts. Conditioning

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Speaker 1: has never really been a big issue for him. It's

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Speaker 1: just been the bottom line performance where you look at

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Speaker 1: his career and he hasn't been all that much better

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Speaker 1: than a replacement level pitcher. That being said, he is

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Speaker 1: the longest tenured Marlins player, and that's probably a big

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Speaker 1: reason why I decided to fit him within the top

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Speaker 1: ten is that he's been here his entire professional career

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Speaker 1: since two thousand and eight. Two thousand and eight, nearly

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Speaker 1: half of Marlin's history has had jose Hourania within the organization,

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Speaker 1: which really blows you away putting it in that perspective,

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Speaker 1: So that would certainly be unsettling for him. I would

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Speaker 1: think to get traded to a foreign environment, even if

285
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Speaker 1: it means having an opportunity to pitch regularly. So the

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Speaker 1: best opportunity that he has to stay here is to

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Speaker 1: come out guns blazing in spring training to really dominate,

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Speaker 1: to show a slightly different pitch mix. That's something that

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Speaker 1: Don manually has hinted at in previous interviews that they're

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Speaker 1: going to try to mix up his pitch mix in

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Speaker 1: his arsenal to try to get more swings and misses.

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Speaker 1: So we'll see if that pays off in spring games.

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Speaker 1: And he's a guy that if you can't even see

294
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Speaker 1: the Marlins keeping him long term, considering his lack of

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Speaker 1: club control, considering all the alternatives within their system, he

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00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,520
Speaker 1: could still be an asset to the team this season

297
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Speaker 1: when they're putting such a premium on winning more games

298
00:16:57,480 --> 00:17:01,480
Speaker 1: than they did in twenty nineteen. A healthy one who

299
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Speaker 1: is perhaps more cerebral than before on the mound and

300
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,679
Speaker 1: hopefully more effective on the mound. He could be a

301
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Speaker 1: part of the solution, at least for the first few

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Speaker 1: months of this regular season. So he has to get

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Speaker 1: out there and he needs to perform in Grapefruit League games.

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Speaker 1: Number nine under the most pressure is the one that

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Speaker 1: you probably aren't expecting to include here. Daniel Castano somewhat

306
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Speaker 1: of a surprise invite to Marlin's spring training. I shouldn't

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Speaker 1: say total surprise, It's just that he was picked out

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Speaker 1: over some other alternatives. He was the fourth piece included

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Speaker 1: in the Marcel Ozuna trade package that came back from

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Speaker 1: the Cardinals. Castano pretty quickly on when he arrived in

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Speaker 1: the Marlins organization, he faded into the background. He pitched

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Speaker 1: a little bit at low A and then high A

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Speaker 1: levels before the middle of this past season, where he

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Speaker 1: had somewhat of a breakthrough. He's moved up into Double

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Speaker 1: A Jacksonville, initially pitching out of their bullpen, and then

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Speaker 1: as an opening arose in their rotation, he stepped in

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Speaker 1: and he was excellent. He was really excellent the last

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Speaker 1: couple months of the twenty nineteen regular season. He's now

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Speaker 1: twenty five years old. Just look at the resume. In

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Speaker 1: the skill set, he would be someone that I would

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Speaker 1: compare to other arms in the organization, like a Brett Graves,

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Speaker 1: a Dustin Beggs, Cody Poteit. And yet Castano was the

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Speaker 1: one that got the invite to Major League spring training

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Speaker 1: and none of those other names made the cut, which

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Speaker 1: I think is significant. So this is a guy that

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Speaker 1: does not throw hard at all. I think his fastball

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Speaker 1: velocity last year may max out in the low nineties

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Speaker 1: and sitting in the high eighties. There's a big question

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Speaker 1: about how he'll be able to handle major league hitters.

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Speaker 1: And frankly, the expectation of him as recently as a

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Speaker 1: year ago is that he was just a depth arm

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Speaker 1: within the system who wasn't going to be around in

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Speaker 1: the major leagues. But we included in the honorable mentions

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Speaker 1: someone like Sterling Sharp, who is likely to be on

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00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,960
Speaker 1: the active roster, but someone that you can't totally lock

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00:19:10,040 --> 00:19:13,280
Speaker 1: into that position considering his experience. If the Marlins do

337
00:19:13,400 --> 00:19:16,000
Speaker 1: happen to have an opening on their pitching staff for

338
00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,399
Speaker 1: a long man, even if you want to call it

339
00:19:19,440 --> 00:19:22,520
Speaker 1: a mop up duty, that's certainly better than pitching in

340
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:26,240
Speaker 1: the minor leagues. Castano is not on the Marlins forty

341
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Speaker 1: man roster, so he could be retained in the organization.

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Speaker 1: They don't have to worry about using official minor league

343
00:19:32,440 --> 00:19:35,560
Speaker 1: options on him and all that. This is more of

344
00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:39,719
Speaker 1: the pressure on him because you can't really get inside

345
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Speaker 1: of Castano's head, But he was at a point not

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Speaker 1: too long ago where would it was very hard to

347
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Speaker 1: see any path of him reaching the majors, and now

348
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:52,280
Speaker 1: coming off a really strong finish to the season with Jacksonville,

349
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:54,840
Speaker 1: where he showed a great ability to keep the ball

350
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Speaker 1: on the ballpark overall between multiple levels, pitching over one

351
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,200
Speaker 1: hundred innings last year and only allowing four home runs,

352
00:20:01,720 --> 00:20:04,680
Speaker 1: which is something that becomes even more relevant this coming

353
00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,240
Speaker 1: year now that the fences at Marlins Park are being

354
00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:12,399
Speaker 1: brought in. He's he's interesting, and that's again that's a

355
00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:16,119
Speaker 1: step up from where he was previously viewed as a

356
00:20:16,160 --> 00:20:19,440
Speaker 1: piece of this pitching depth that the Marlins organization had

357
00:20:19,760 --> 00:20:24,159
Speaker 1: by impressing inspring training, even though it's highly unlikely that

358
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Speaker 1: he'll be able to crack the active roster considering the

359
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Speaker 1: commitments to some of these other pitchers, the upside that

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Speaker 1: some of these other pitchers have, and the more consistent

361
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:34,600
Speaker 1: track record, whereas Castamo's leaning very heavily on how he

362
00:20:34,640 --> 00:20:37,639
Speaker 1: finished the twenty nine to nineteen season, he can at

363
00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:39,920
Speaker 1: least ensure that he moves up the chain and they

364
00:20:39,920 --> 00:20:44,040
Speaker 1: find room for him with triple A Wichita, and from

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Speaker 1: there maybe there is a path for him to get

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Speaker 1: called up at some point during the twenty twenty season.

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Speaker 1: Number eight on this list is right hander Jeff Brigham.

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Speaker 1: Fish Bites subscribers are well aware of how the Marlins

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Speaker 1: have totally overhauled the bullpen that they had last season,

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Speaker 1: and Brigham is one of the few survivors. He wasn't

371
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Speaker 1: on the opening day roster, got called up, called up,

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Speaker 1: sent down, called up, sent down a few times last season.

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Speaker 1: All in all, he made about thirty two appearances out

374
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Speaker 1: of the bullpen in the Major leagues last year. Four

375
00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,959
Speaker 1: four six ERA, five oh seven FIP. Not all that

376
00:21:20,440 --> 00:21:24,040
Speaker 1: overwhelming on the surface when you dig deeper, though. One

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00:21:24,040 --> 00:21:27,400
Speaker 1: thing that really intrigues me about Brigham is that fastball

378
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Speaker 1: velocity jump that he experienced last year. He was previously

379
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Speaker 1: being developed by the Marlins almost his entire career as

380
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Speaker 1: a starting prospect, and just last year, when it was

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Speaker 1: clear that he was squeezed out of the rotation picture,

382
00:21:40,560 --> 00:21:43,280
Speaker 1: he was having some trouble developing his changeup that he

383
00:21:43,320 --> 00:21:47,159
Speaker 1: became strictly a two pitch guy fastball and slider. With

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Speaker 1: the reduced workload and with a focus on those two pitches,

385
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Speaker 1: his velocity shot up last year in the Major leagues

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Speaker 1: with his four seam fastball he averaged ninety six point

387
00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:00,480
Speaker 1: six miles per hour. I don't think enough people really

388
00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:04,159
Speaker 1: notice that that he jumped from ninety three the previous

389
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:07,399
Speaker 1: year to ninety six point six. One of the hardest

390
00:22:07,400 --> 00:22:10,560
Speaker 1: throwers on the staff, right behind someone like Ryan Stanek.

391
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Speaker 1: The difference with Brigham from someone like Stanik is that

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Speaker 1: he is a much shorter major league track record. I mean,

393
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Speaker 1: just a cup of coffee in twenty eighteen, and then

394
00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:22,920
Speaker 1: last year, despite really interesting attributes of his pitch mix,

395
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Speaker 1: his effectiveness was very middling replacement level kind of production overall.

396
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,439
Speaker 1: But it's his fastball velocity and the spin rate on

397
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,440
Speaker 1: his slider nearly three thousand revolutions per minute. I looked

398
00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:38,440
Speaker 1: it up. There's only a handful of pitchers in all

399
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:41,320
Speaker 1: of baseball out of the hundreds, who throw a slider

400
00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:43,960
Speaker 1: that spin it at a higher rate than Brigham does.

401
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,879
Speaker 1: That allows it to make a lot of late movement

402
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,119
Speaker 1: and get some swings and misses. So I really like

403
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Speaker 1: his potential to take a step forward this year. And

404
00:22:54,359 --> 00:22:57,080
Speaker 1: if there's anybody on this entire Marlins pitching staff that

405
00:22:57,119 --> 00:23:00,200
Speaker 1: has that Nick Anderson out of nowhere potential to be

406
00:23:00,280 --> 00:23:03,280
Speaker 1: a great reliever, if there's anybody who has that, and

407
00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:06,120
Speaker 1: I'm not so sure that there is anybody, but Brigham

408
00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:09,400
Speaker 1: is my dark horse candidate to really break out. There

409
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:11,680
Speaker 1: are plenty of factors that need to be taken into

410
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Speaker 1: consideration when the Marlins are filling out this pitching staff.

411
00:23:15,040 --> 00:23:16,719
Speaker 1: You want to make sure that the players you have

412
00:23:16,760 --> 00:23:19,320
Speaker 1: on minor league deals that they're willing to stay in

413
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,760
Speaker 1: the organization during the season. And there are other guys

414
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:26,679
Speaker 1: with various commitments, ones who are on guaranteed contracts. Veteran

415
00:23:26,760 --> 00:23:30,200
Speaker 1: status is the Rule five situation with Sterling Sharp. There's

416
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:34,800
Speaker 1: only so many available spots that are winnable within their

417
00:23:34,800 --> 00:23:37,280
Speaker 1: bullpen right now, and Brigham is someone that is in

418
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,840
Speaker 1: that direct competition, not necessarily someone that will open up

419
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:42,880
Speaker 1: the season as a setup guy, even though I think

420
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Speaker 1: he has that potential. And the reality is is that

421
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:48,800
Speaker 1: there is a circumstance where he does get optioned down

422
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:52,280
Speaker 1: to Triple A Wichita just because of that numbers game,

423
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Speaker 1: trying to fit all the guys on your roster that

424
00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:56,760
Speaker 1: you need to fit if you want to hold on

425
00:23:56,800 --> 00:24:00,159
Speaker 1: to them long term. I mean, hopefully Brigham does at

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00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:02,600
Speaker 1: an extended look at some point during the regular season,

427
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,360
Speaker 1: But you know how that stuff goes. If the Marlins

428
00:24:05,440 --> 00:24:08,920
Speaker 1: do have some other relievers that sneak onto that roster

429
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:14,160
Speaker 1: and overachieve, then that opportunity is not guaranteed. He could

430
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Speaker 1: be in the same situation as he was early last

431
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 1: year where he got called up and sent down pretty

432
00:24:19,040 --> 00:24:22,240
Speaker 1: abruptly a couple times before really sticking down the stretch

433
00:24:22,680 --> 00:24:25,400
Speaker 1: when they simply needed his arm when they were out

434
00:24:25,400 --> 00:24:27,480
Speaker 1: of depth. The Marlins are not going to be in

435
00:24:27,480 --> 00:24:30,640
Speaker 1: that same situation. They're not going to be handing out

436
00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 1: extended looks to the guys out of necessity. You're gonna

437
00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:36,600
Speaker 1: have to really earn it and perform well. And for

438
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,239
Speaker 1: bring him that starts, that starts right now to make

439
00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,840
Speaker 1: himself a priority. He's someone that, in my eyes, is

440
00:24:41,880 --> 00:24:44,760
Speaker 1: really going head to ahead with Drew Steckenrider for a

441
00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,720
Speaker 1: roster spot, both of them being hard throwing right handers

442
00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,320
Speaker 1: that if you squint closely, you can see great potential

443
00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:54,119
Speaker 1: in them. But the reality is, because of their options situation,

444
00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 1: because of the other priorities in their relief mix, that

445
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,399
Speaker 1: some tough decision will need to be made and what

446
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 1: they show during this exhibition schedule will go a long

447
00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,160
Speaker 1: way as they try to split hairs and decide how

448
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:13,840
Speaker 1: exactly this group comes together. Seventh on the list, Second

449
00:25:13,840 --> 00:25:18,119
Speaker 1: baseman Ison Diez, the reigning Marlins Minor League Player of

450
00:25:18,160 --> 00:25:21,440
Speaker 1: the Year. A lot of players had big offensive success

451
00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:23,680
Speaker 1: in TRIPAA last year with the changes that were made

452
00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:27,880
Speaker 1: to the ball, but Isan, especially relative to his peers

453
00:25:27,920 --> 00:25:31,760
Speaker 1: at that position, really stood out. Put himself on that

454
00:25:32,040 --> 00:25:35,800
Speaker 1: fringe top one hundred overall prospect status right before his

455
00:25:35,840 --> 00:25:38,439
Speaker 1: call up in August, and he made it to the

456
00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,359
Speaker 1: majors and in his very first game he hit that

457
00:25:41,800 --> 00:25:45,760
Speaker 1: triumphant home run against Jacob de Gram that went viral,

458
00:25:46,480 --> 00:25:49,359
Speaker 1: and after that he really struggled. He had a bad

459
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:52,960
Speaker 1: rookie partial season, there's really no way around it. Hit

460
00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:56,040
Speaker 1: a handful of home runs, also had a handful of

461
00:25:56,160 --> 00:26:00,360
Speaker 1: miscues defensively at second base, and overall just a lot

462
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:03,439
Speaker 1: of swing and miss to his game. But even more so,

463
00:26:03,520 --> 00:26:06,840
Speaker 1: it was of a lack of aggressiveness at the plate

464
00:26:07,040 --> 00:26:11,800
Speaker 1: that led to a lot of deep counts strikeouts, getting

465
00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,159
Speaker 1: underneath the ball when he was swinging at it. It

466
00:26:15,280 --> 00:26:17,800
Speaker 1: just didn't translate as well as everybody hoped it did.

467
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:21,600
Speaker 1: But someone that the Marlins didn't have a whole lot

468
00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:24,439
Speaker 1: of second basement in their pipeline to look forward to.

469
00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,040
Speaker 1: They understood that Starlin Castro's contract was expiring this offseason,

470
00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:34,760
Speaker 1: and entering this offseason, Eson was of course the front

471
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:37,439
Speaker 1: runner to be there every day second basement. Then they

472
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:40,800
Speaker 1: made a pretty interesting move in getting Jonathan VR when

473
00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:45,000
Speaker 1: he unexpectedly became available on the trade market. And with

474
00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:49,560
Speaker 1: someone like VR, he is a willingness to play multiple positions,

475
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:51,760
Speaker 1: but he's going to be a priority for them to

476
00:26:51,800 --> 00:26:54,520
Speaker 1: get into the lineup in some role every single day.

477
00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,520
Speaker 1: And the possibility that needs to be considered is that

478
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:03,040
Speaker 1: if Eson continues to carry over his struggles from last

479
00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:07,680
Speaker 1: year into spring training, and Marlins may consider just optioning

480
00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:10,359
Speaker 1: him down to Triple A to get steady playing time,

481
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:13,200
Speaker 1: and they might just plug in VR as their second

482
00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:17,080
Speaker 1: baseman for an undetermined amount of time to give them

483
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:20,520
Speaker 1: real quality at that at that position. Isan is just

484
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:24,200
Speaker 1: heading into his age twenty four season. He should only

485
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:27,159
Speaker 1: be getting better from what we saw last year. It

486
00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,760
Speaker 1: was certainly a longer year than he's ever had to

487
00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,280
Speaker 1: put up with before, between the Triple A season and

488
00:27:32,359 --> 00:27:35,400
Speaker 1: playing close to every day down the stretch in August

489
00:27:35,800 --> 00:27:38,320
Speaker 1: and September, but he has some adjustments to make to

490
00:27:38,359 --> 00:27:42,760
Speaker 1: his game. Diaz has plus raw power. He has really

491
00:27:42,800 --> 00:27:44,679
Speaker 1: good instincts in the field as well, so he has

492
00:27:44,720 --> 00:27:47,040
Speaker 1: the potential to be a solid player up the middle

493
00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,960
Speaker 1: in that aspect and overall just be a nice, well

494
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:52,600
Speaker 1: rounded player that you want to have in your plans

495
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,560
Speaker 1: long term. There just needs to be some evidence of

496
00:27:56,600 --> 00:27:59,080
Speaker 1: those adjustments, if or in order to really lock him

497
00:27:59,080 --> 00:28:01,680
Speaker 1: in to the raw coming out of the camp. Right

498
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:05,280
Speaker 1: hand or Robert Dugger is under the sixth most pressure

499
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:09,120
Speaker 1: in spring training this year, coming off his major league

500
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:11,920
Speaker 1: debut last year down the stretch. He got the call up,

501
00:28:12,240 --> 00:28:14,960
Speaker 1: I believe, on the same day as Isan Diez did,

502
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:17,320
Speaker 1: and he's stuck in the rotation from that point forward

503
00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:20,800
Speaker 1: with some mixed results, a couple of great outings, a

504
00:28:20,840 --> 00:28:24,000
Speaker 1: couple flops in there, and he made a really interesting

505
00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:27,520
Speaker 1: adjustment during the offseason, adding on a lot of muscle

506
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,440
Speaker 1: and reportedly increasing his fastball velocity. That was the big

507
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,159
Speaker 1: question mark with him when he got called up, the

508
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:37,640
Speaker 1: reason why he was someone that was on their top

509
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: thirty prospects list pretty consistently ever since the Marlins traded

510
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,360
Speaker 1: to get him from the Mariners a couple of years ago,

511
00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:47,160
Speaker 1: but he was never a high priority for them developmentally,

512
00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:50,440
Speaker 1: just because of that lack of fastball quality, both the

513
00:28:50,520 --> 00:28:53,040
Speaker 1: v low and just the overall quality of the pitch

514
00:28:53,400 --> 00:28:55,840
Speaker 1: that it wouldn't allow him to get the ball by batters,

515
00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:58,880
Speaker 1: it wouldn't let them set up his slider, which has

516
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:02,800
Speaker 1: some nice swing and miss potential, and by adding some

517
00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:07,000
Speaker 1: strength onto his frame that could have really positive consequences

518
00:29:07,040 --> 00:29:10,920
Speaker 1: for him. It's going to be a really complicated competition, though,

519
00:29:11,520 --> 00:29:14,680
Speaker 1: because you have someone like arna who's in a different status,

520
00:29:14,720 --> 00:29:17,760
Speaker 1: who has more of a track record here, and it's

521
00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,440
Speaker 1: no guarantee that Irena is going to be traded. That's

522
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:24,280
Speaker 1: I believe that's probably the goal that the Marlins have

523
00:29:24,360 --> 00:29:27,120
Speaker 1: is that Arnya pitches well well enough to get them

524
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:30,400
Speaker 1: something interesting in return, and that all the other guys

525
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:32,880
Speaker 1: in that rotation competition also pitch well so that they

526
00:29:32,920 --> 00:29:36,520
Speaker 1: have confidence in trading Arana and getting really comparable production,

527
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,880
Speaker 1: whether it's out of Eliaz or Hernandez or Robert Dugger.

528
00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:44,240
Speaker 1: But Dugger did not have as long of a exposure

529
00:29:44,320 --> 00:29:47,120
Speaker 1: in the rotation as Eliots or Hernandez did last year,

530
00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 1: and he doesn't have that one plus pitch that you

531
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:53,840
Speaker 1: can really trust moving forward in the way that Eliotz

532
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,440
Speaker 1: or Hernandez has that slider. That's why I didn't include

533
00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 1: Hernandez in this situation, because I think he's shown enough

534
00:29:59,840 --> 00:30:02,000
Speaker 1: raw ability that they're going to find room for him

535
00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,720
Speaker 1: on the pitching staff or be able to definitely fit

536
00:30:04,800 --> 00:30:07,840
Speaker 1: him in during the season in a significant role. With Douger,

537
00:30:08,040 --> 00:30:10,239
Speaker 1: he's more fringy. He's more fringy. He needs to make

538
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,360
Speaker 1: sure that this newfound fastball velocity carries over to the

539
00:30:13,360 --> 00:30:16,360
Speaker 1: season and make sure that he's able to pair that

540
00:30:16,400 --> 00:30:19,000
Speaker 1: pitch with the rest of his arsenal in order to

541
00:30:19,160 --> 00:30:22,440
Speaker 1: get more weak contact, because he was shelled at times

542
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,320
Speaker 1: last year, giving up some really long home runs to

543
00:30:25,640 --> 00:30:28,479
Speaker 1: various teams that he faced in the major leagues, and

544
00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:31,080
Speaker 1: the limited shot that he had in TRIPAA right before

545
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,920
Speaker 1: his call up that one pretty poorly as well. So

546
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,400
Speaker 1: it's a big test for him at this point to

547
00:30:37,600 --> 00:30:39,800
Speaker 1: show that he's still going to be a priority for

548
00:30:39,840 --> 00:30:42,720
Speaker 1: the organization. They have this wave coming up behind him

549
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,360
Speaker 1: with Nick Knider, who has been with him every step

550
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,160
Speaker 1: of his career. But Nider is a guy that has

551
00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:52,120
Speaker 1: that great change up and he has that pinpoint command.

552
00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,400
Speaker 1: Of course, there's six Oh Sanchez in that same next

553
00:30:55,440 --> 00:30:58,280
Speaker 1: wave coming up expected during the season where six to

554
00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:01,880
Speaker 1: zero and even a little further down the road Edward Cabrera.

555
00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 1: There's a lot of reinforcements coming up for this Marlins team.

556
00:31:05,560 --> 00:31:09,680
Speaker 1: It Duger wants to continue to have a spot on

557
00:31:09,720 --> 00:31:12,040
Speaker 1: the team in the meantime and not just be that

558
00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:15,360
Speaker 1: depth arm of hanging around at Triple A while other

559
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:19,040
Speaker 1: guys passing by. He needs to show that improvement in

560
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:23,560
Speaker 1: his raw ability. Number five on the list is going

561
00:31:23,600 --> 00:31:28,400
Speaker 1: to be Matt Kemp outfielder slash first baseman, both positions,

562
00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:32,080
Speaker 1: a guy that every step along in his major league

563
00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:36,040
Speaker 1: career fourteen major league seasons, he's always been an outfielder

564
00:31:36,400 --> 00:31:40,520
Speaker 1: and occasionally a great outfielder for the Dodgers, one who

565
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:44,800
Speaker 1: has an l MVP in his history, and as recently

566
00:31:44,800 --> 00:31:47,440
Speaker 1: as twenty eighteen he was a National League All Star.

567
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:52,800
Speaker 1: But he's coming off a really discouraging season with both

568
00:31:52,840 --> 00:31:56,600
Speaker 1: the Cincinnati Reds and then within the New York Mets organization.

569
00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:01,320
Speaker 1: He had looked like someone that is potentially washed up.

570
00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:03,240
Speaker 1: When he was on the field for the Reds early

571
00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:07,760
Speaker 1: last season, and the trend has been even before that,

572
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:09,840
Speaker 1: even when he was an All Star for the twenty

573
00:32:09,880 --> 00:32:11,840
Speaker 1: eighteen Dodgers, even when he was in the middle of

574
00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:15,240
Speaker 1: the lineup for the Braves and the Padres before that.

575
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:18,280
Speaker 1: His outfield defense has been in decline for a sustained

576
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,120
Speaker 1: period of time. There's really no way around it. He's

577
00:32:21,160 --> 00:32:24,520
Speaker 1: a big liability in the outfield, even if you stick

578
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:26,560
Speaker 1: him in one of the corner spots, which has led

579
00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:29,800
Speaker 1: to this interesting report out of Marlin spring training that

580
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,080
Speaker 1: he's been working out at first base, that that's going

581
00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:36,040
Speaker 1: to be a significant priority for him this coming season,

582
00:32:36,200 --> 00:32:41,320
Speaker 1: learning that position and making himself versatile. We've had pretty

583
00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:46,000
Speaker 1: strongly worded reports from both Craigmish and also from Joefersorrow

584
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:49,680
Speaker 1: of MLB dot Com expressing some confidence that Kemp is

585
00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:51,640
Speaker 1: going to be on the roster, that he's a strong

586
00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,520
Speaker 1: chance of being on the roster. He has that pre

587
00:32:54,560 --> 00:32:58,480
Speaker 1: existing relationship with Don Mattingley from their Dodger days, and

588
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:02,000
Speaker 1: he has that long track record. They must believe in

589
00:33:02,080 --> 00:33:05,240
Speaker 1: him as a nice veteran mentor someone who's been around,

590
00:33:05,720 --> 00:33:08,040
Speaker 1: done a lot, and we know how important some of

591
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,760
Speaker 1: these other outfielders are for the Marlins long term, so

592
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:13,320
Speaker 1: it certainly helps to have somebody that they can look

593
00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,480
Speaker 1: up to. They had Curtis Granderson last year. Kemp is

594
00:33:16,520 --> 00:33:19,880
Speaker 1: a little younger than Granderson. Maybe they have more confidence

595
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:24,280
Speaker 1: in him leading by example instead of just you know,

596
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:29,040
Speaker 1: leading by being in the in the dugout in lecturing guys.

597
00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,640
Speaker 1: I don't really see a great upside to this, even

598
00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:37,400
Speaker 1: if he recaptures his twenty eighteen form. He's someone that

599
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,880
Speaker 1: wouldn't be starting on an everyday basis. He's more of

600
00:33:39,920 --> 00:33:43,600
Speaker 1: a platoon player that can really mash left handed pitching.

601
00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,360
Speaker 1: But we need to just react to what the Marlins

602
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,080
Speaker 1: are seeing themselves, and so if they believe he's likely

603
00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:52,320
Speaker 1: to be in this situation, Kemp still has to perform

604
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:55,520
Speaker 1: a little bit on the field because this whole narrative

605
00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 1: coming into the year is taking that big step forward

606
00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,640
Speaker 1: from where this team was at the major league level

607
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:03,120
Speaker 1: last year fifty seven wins, one hundred and five losses.

608
00:34:03,640 --> 00:34:06,280
Speaker 1: And of course, the biggest issue, especially at the start

609
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: of the year and then at points throughout the entire season,

610
00:34:09,160 --> 00:34:13,359
Speaker 1: really is that the lineup was just abysmal and they

611
00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:17,160
Speaker 1: had stretches of just awful production getting shut out regularly.

612
00:34:17,800 --> 00:34:20,200
Speaker 1: So they need guys that are consistent hitters, that work

613
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:23,319
Speaker 1: deep counts, and of course don't give up all that

614
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:27,000
Speaker 1: value that they generate defensively. They want more well rounded

615
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:30,120
Speaker 1: players and versatile players. So Ken has to proved that

616
00:34:30,200 --> 00:34:34,040
Speaker 1: versatility in first base, and he needs to hit a

617
00:34:34,040 --> 00:34:36,040
Speaker 1: little bit after not doing so at all with the

618
00:34:36,080 --> 00:34:39,560
Speaker 1: Reds in twenty nineteen, He's under a lot of pressure

619
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:43,040
Speaker 1: even if he has those allies within the Marlins organization,

620
00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:48,800
Speaker 1: especially someone like Don Mattingly he flamed out with the Reds.

621
00:34:49,160 --> 00:34:51,000
Speaker 1: He was with the Mets for only a couple weeks

622
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:54,640
Speaker 1: in their TRIPAA team before being released. If he can't

623
00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:59,479
Speaker 1: make the Marlins roster coming off this bad season, even

624
00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,480
Speaker 1: with x dictations of improvement, this is a relatively low

625
00:35:02,520 --> 00:35:05,799
Speaker 1: pressure environment as far as Major League Baseball goes. If

626
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,040
Speaker 1: he can't make this team, who else is going to

627
00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:10,479
Speaker 1: give him an offer? Being a thirty five year old

628
00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:13,640
Speaker 1: who's a couple of years removed from being a productive

629
00:35:14,040 --> 00:35:17,080
Speaker 1: major leaguer. Even if he gets other offers from teams,

630
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:19,720
Speaker 1: it could be contingent on him spending an extended amount

631
00:35:19,719 --> 00:35:24,080
Speaker 1: of time in the minor leagues. So there's even if

632
00:35:24,080 --> 00:35:26,560
Speaker 1: there's a high probability that he's able to get on

633
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:32,080
Speaker 1: this Marlins team to serve in that veteran role, there's

634
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:34,359
Speaker 1: also a lot to lose. Because he does not make

635
00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,560
Speaker 1: the team, he might be done as a professional baseball player,

636
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:39,400
Speaker 1: which is going to be a hard thing to accept

637
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:41,799
Speaker 1: for a guy that has been around for so long

638
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:45,480
Speaker 1: and accomplished a lot in the major leagues. Moving on

639
00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:49,360
Speaker 1: to number four under the most pressure catcher Chad Wallach,

640
00:35:50,080 --> 00:35:54,200
Speaker 1: who is entering his age twenty eight season and is

641
00:35:54,239 --> 00:35:58,040
Speaker 1: coming off a really frustrating year. He opened last year

642
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,840
Speaker 1: impressing a lot of people myself in clined during spring training.

643
00:36:01,920 --> 00:36:06,200
Speaker 1: He looks great both as a receiver and with his

644
00:36:06,239 --> 00:36:09,839
Speaker 1: newfounds hard hit ability. Someone who had a very mixed

645
00:36:09,840 --> 00:36:12,600
Speaker 1: track record offensively in the high levels of the minor leagues,

646
00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:15,640
Speaker 1: he mashed the ball last year in spring training and

647
00:36:15,680 --> 00:36:18,800
Speaker 1: that carried over early into the regular season. It feels

648
00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:21,240
Speaker 1: like ancient history, but he spent the first couple months

649
00:36:21,600 --> 00:36:24,479
Speaker 1: of last season as the backup to Jorge al Faro.

650
00:36:24,600 --> 00:36:27,640
Speaker 1: I catch her and he hit the ball almost as

651
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,719
Speaker 1: hard as Alfaro does, who was a big surprise early

652
00:36:31,760 --> 00:36:35,520
Speaker 1: in the year. He was frankly one of the most

653
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:38,520
Speaker 1: pleasant surprises of that team during the early part of

654
00:36:38,560 --> 00:36:43,120
Speaker 1: the year, when the team itself was massively disappointing to everybody,

655
00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:44,879
Speaker 1: and you know, it was on the verge of really

656
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:48,680
Speaker 1: falling apart. But whileak was doing his part, even though

657
00:36:48,719 --> 00:36:51,560
Speaker 1: it was a very limited sample size, and just as

658
00:36:51,600 --> 00:36:55,160
Speaker 1: things were turning around late in May, I shouldn't say

659
00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,080
Speaker 1: turning around, but as they were like pulling out of

660
00:36:57,360 --> 00:37:02,319
Speaker 1: this state of dysfunction and more consistently, Wallack suffered a

661
00:37:02,360 --> 00:37:06,520
Speaker 1: concussion and he never made it back to the major leagues.

662
00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,120
Speaker 1: This is going to be almost nine months removed from

663
00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:13,759
Speaker 1: his last major league game because of setbacks that he had.

664
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,839
Speaker 1: He went on rehab assignment, had to be recalled from

665
00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:20,319
Speaker 1: the rehab assignment with ongoing concussion like symptoms, when on

666
00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,200
Speaker 1: another rehab assignment, had to be recalled, when on a

667
00:37:23,320 --> 00:37:27,040
Speaker 1: third rehab assignment late in the year, had to be recalled.

668
00:37:27,080 --> 00:37:30,000
Speaker 1: He just couldn't make it through. It was. It's such

669
00:37:30,040 --> 00:37:34,040
Speaker 1: an unpredictable issue to try to overcome brain trauma and

670
00:37:34,120 --> 00:37:36,799
Speaker 1: to figure out where you are in that process and

671
00:37:37,000 --> 00:37:40,440
Speaker 1: to get a feeling about what will aggravate that condition

672
00:37:40,520 --> 00:37:44,120
Speaker 1: and what won't. So he's had a full offseason and

673
00:37:45,080 --> 00:37:47,640
Speaker 1: he's entering a year where he's not with his dad

674
00:37:47,680 --> 00:37:51,080
Speaker 1: directly anymore. Tim Wallach had been the Marlins bench coach

675
00:37:51,600 --> 00:37:55,200
Speaker 1: all throughout Don matting Lee's tenure here in Miami, and

676
00:37:55,600 --> 00:37:58,200
Speaker 1: so that's a connection that he no longer has with

677
00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,959
Speaker 1: this current team. And while Walk is all the forty

678
00:38:01,040 --> 00:38:04,120
Speaker 1: men roster, he still has a minor league option remaining.

679
00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:09,080
Speaker 1: The thing is, as spring trending goes along, and if

680
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:11,120
Speaker 1: they need to make room on the roster for somebody

681
00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,680
Speaker 1: like Matt Kemp, if he really impresses, or if it's

682
00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:18,239
Speaker 1: just somebody in the bullpen that impresses as a non

683
00:38:18,360 --> 00:38:22,960
Speaker 1: roster invitee and is worth keeping on for the regular season,

684
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,160
Speaker 1: they had to make room on the forty man somehow.

685
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,440
Speaker 1: Walk is a guy that could be a casualty of that,

686
00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:32,520
Speaker 1: simply because the Marlins already have Alfarow on the forty

687
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:37,080
Speaker 1: man and they have Francisco Survelli, very respected veteran. He

688
00:38:37,280 --> 00:38:39,840
Speaker 1: was signed this offseason as well to a guaranteed contract.

689
00:38:40,239 --> 00:38:42,600
Speaker 1: We saw it throughout most of last season that the

690
00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:46,320
Speaker 1: Marlins seemed to you're pretty comfortable having just two catchers

691
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:48,799
Speaker 1: on the forty man at one time and maintaining their

692
00:38:48,840 --> 00:38:54,279
Speaker 1: flexibility in all other ways by doing so. Walk is

693
00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:57,919
Speaker 1: right now the third guy in that situation. It's hard

694
00:38:57,920 --> 00:38:59,760
Speaker 1: to see a path for him sticking on the active

695
00:38:59,840 --> 00:39:04,680
Speaker 1: rock considering both what Cervelli and Oltharo offer, so he'd

696
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,560
Speaker 1: be just biding his time in Triple A, where the

697
00:39:07,600 --> 00:39:11,240
Speaker 1: Marlins also have on a minor league deal. They signed

698
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:14,879
Speaker 1: Ryan Lavarnway, who has even more major league experience than

699
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,640
Speaker 1: Wallack does. So if push comes to shove and they

700
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:21,880
Speaker 1: want to fit other veterans onto their roster at different positions,

701
00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:26,560
Speaker 1: Wallack could be expendable in that situation unless he really

702
00:39:26,600 --> 00:39:29,279
Speaker 1: shows himself to be the exact same player that he

703
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:33,720
Speaker 1: was last year. At this time before his concussion, Number

704
00:39:33,800 --> 00:39:39,160
Speaker 1: three under the most pressure outfielder Lewis Brinson, formally the

705
00:39:39,200 --> 00:39:44,080
Speaker 1: best top prospect in the Marlins organization. We were ready

706
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:46,680
Speaker 1: to coorinate him as one of the faces of the

707
00:39:46,719 --> 00:39:50,920
Speaker 1: franchise before he'd even played a game in the Marlins uniform.

708
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:53,600
Speaker 1: People were really excited about how he looked in spring

709
00:39:53,640 --> 00:39:57,880
Speaker 1: trending of twenty eighteen, and it has not translated to

710
00:39:57,920 --> 00:40:00,719
Speaker 1: the majors at all. I've been very lunt about this,

711
00:40:00,840 --> 00:40:04,560
Speaker 1: how he is one of the worst hitters, not just

712
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:09,360
Speaker 1: on this team and not just among current outfielders, but historically,

713
00:40:09,960 --> 00:40:13,319
Speaker 1: you just can't find other players who entering this will

714
00:40:13,320 --> 00:40:16,200
Speaker 1: be his age twenty sixth season, who at this age

715
00:40:16,239 --> 00:40:19,160
Speaker 1: have had so many opportunities, which he had close to

716
00:40:19,160 --> 00:40:21,879
Speaker 1: a full year in twenty eighteen and then last year

717
00:40:22,440 --> 00:40:25,960
Speaker 1: nearly two hundred and fifty play appearances as well. Overall,

718
00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:28,719
Speaker 1: he is more than a full season's worth of major

719
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:34,440
Speaker 1: league experience, and he's been totally unusable, as in anything

720
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:37,360
Speaker 1: close to a regular role on the team. He strikes

721
00:40:37,400 --> 00:40:40,560
Speaker 1: out constantly. Last year, he was one of the few

722
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:43,120
Speaker 1: players in the entire league who played so often and

723
00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:45,200
Speaker 1: yet did not hit a single home run in the

724
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:48,319
Speaker 1: major leagues. When he was sent down to TRIPAA, things were,

725
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:51,799
Speaker 1: as expected, much brighter. He had some tape measure home

726
00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:56,799
Speaker 1: runs down there, showed his athleticism, including some versatility with

727
00:40:56,880 --> 00:41:00,000
Speaker 1: both center fields and with right field, but his defense

728
00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:02,239
Speaker 1: this is not that transcendent that it makes up for

729
00:41:02,680 --> 00:41:07,560
Speaker 1: being like an automatic out offensively. There was one of

730
00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:11,480
Speaker 1: the top conversation topics on Marlin's Twitter the past couple

731
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,399
Speaker 1: of years has been about Brinson and where to bat

732
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:17,839
Speaker 1: him in the lineup. Where he opens the twenty eighteen season,

733
00:41:17,840 --> 00:41:19,719
Speaker 1: battan near the top of the lineup and even had

734
00:41:19,719 --> 00:41:23,080
Speaker 1: some opportunities there. In twenty nineteen after he was recalled,

735
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:26,000
Speaker 1: and very quickly when it became evident that he was

736
00:41:26,040 --> 00:41:28,640
Speaker 1: the worst hitter in the lineup, Don Mattingly would drop

737
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:31,200
Speaker 1: him to the number eight spot where there's a picture

738
00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:33,600
Speaker 1: behind him. He didn't have any protection, YadA, YadA, YadA.

739
00:41:34,080 --> 00:41:36,560
Speaker 1: And the bottom line is that he's had a very

740
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:39,960
Speaker 1: big sample, more so than someone like Chad Wallach or

741
00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,360
Speaker 1: even E San Diaz. With Brinson, we feel like we

742
00:41:42,360 --> 00:41:44,480
Speaker 1: have a better idea of who he is, and who

743
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:48,520
Speaker 1: he is would be a bust unless he makes fairly

744
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:52,000
Speaker 1: dramatic changes. He is someone who produced very well each

745
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:54,520
Speaker 1: of the last two years in spring training and it

746
00:41:54,560 --> 00:41:57,520
Speaker 1: has not carried over. He had put a lot of

747
00:41:57,560 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 1: work this off season, he said on the font fundamentals

748
00:42:00,520 --> 00:42:02,680
Speaker 1: of his swing hitting off a tee, but that is

749
00:42:02,719 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 1: so different from recognizing different pitch types in major league games.

750
00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:10,320
Speaker 1: There have been so many flaws in his offensive approach.

751
00:42:10,400 --> 00:42:13,800
Speaker 1: If you watch him consistently, and it's both the recognizing pitches,

752
00:42:13,880 --> 00:42:18,920
Speaker 1: it's understanding the strike zone in certain counts, it's using

753
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:23,280
Speaker 1: all fields, and really the lack of him using all fields.

754
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:27,600
Speaker 1: So what the Marlins are banking on is that James Rowson,

755
00:42:27,719 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 1: who has been brought in as the new bench coach

756
00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:33,959
Speaker 1: slash offensive coordinator after being so effective as a hitting

757
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:38,640
Speaker 1: coach for the Minnesota Twins. That having Rowson, having Eric Duncan,

758
00:42:38,760 --> 00:42:41,919
Speaker 1: who's now going to be their regular hitting coach, these

759
00:42:41,960 --> 00:42:45,880
Speaker 1: new voices in his head that hopefully they point him

760
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,520
Speaker 1: in the right direction and they allow him to find

761
00:42:48,560 --> 00:42:52,680
Speaker 1: a consistent approach and understands what it is that makes

762
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:56,279
Speaker 1: for really effective at bats that he wasn't having last year.

763
00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:00,440
Speaker 1: He has minor league options remaining. The Marlins are aware

764
00:43:00,640 --> 00:43:02,920
Speaker 1: of the optics of what it would look like for

765
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:06,040
Speaker 1: a guy that grew up a Marlins fan, was raised

766
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:09,440
Speaker 1: in South Florida, and hell, look just a couple of

767
00:43:09,520 --> 00:43:12,400
Speaker 1: years after trading him and getting him as the centerpiece

768
00:43:12,680 --> 00:43:15,399
Speaker 1: in the Christian Yellows trade to get rid of him,

769
00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:18,640
Speaker 1: he would be taking a massive l and it would

770
00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:22,719
Speaker 1: be inviting a lot of backlash. But he needs to

771
00:43:22,760 --> 00:43:25,439
Speaker 1: show something different than what he's shown the last two years.

772
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:28,200
Speaker 1: Otherwise that would be the appropriate move. These forty man

773
00:43:28,360 --> 00:43:32,120
Speaker 1: roster spots are precious, and even if they aren't in

774
00:43:32,120 --> 00:43:33,560
Speaker 1: a position at the end of camp to get rid

775
00:43:33,560 --> 00:43:36,480
Speaker 1: of him, they could bury him in triple A and

776
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:39,000
Speaker 1: it can make it clear that he won't have that

777
00:43:39,080 --> 00:43:43,200
Speaker 1: consistent opportunity to play ever again. Even if he makes

778
00:43:43,280 --> 00:43:46,880
Speaker 1: the opening day roster. I would be highly surprised to

779
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:50,040
Speaker 1: see him playing on an everyday basis, just because you

780
00:43:50,120 --> 00:43:53,960
Speaker 1: have this long track record that he simply is not

781
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:58,080
Speaker 1: helping you win games as an overall player. His spot

782
00:43:58,719 --> 00:44:01,960
Speaker 1: being penciled in on a regular basis into the starting lineup,

783
00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:06,879
Speaker 1: that's over. That's likely over unless he really excels during

784
00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:12,640
Speaker 1: spring training. Number two first baseman, Heesus Aguilar, who as

785
00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:16,879
Speaker 1: we speak, is he'll be heading to Phoenix. I believe

786
00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:20,440
Speaker 1: Phoenix Arizona for its arbitration hearing, where I don't hold

787
00:44:20,480 --> 00:44:24,040
Speaker 1: this against Aguilar at all. More So, the Marlins are

788
00:44:24,080 --> 00:44:26,560
Speaker 1: in a dispute with him over his salary for this

789
00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:31,000
Speaker 1: coming year first time arbitration eligible, and he was projected

790
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,479
Speaker 1: to earn about two and a half million dollars. He

791
00:44:33,560 --> 00:44:37,000
Speaker 1: filed him and his agents. They filed for two point

792
00:44:37,080 --> 00:44:40,839
Speaker 1: five seven five million dollars just under two point six

793
00:44:41,239 --> 00:44:44,040
Speaker 1: and the Marlins countered with two point three. It's a

794
00:44:44,080 --> 00:44:47,640
Speaker 1: gap of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, which is

795
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:51,480
Speaker 1: highly unusual to head to an arbitration hearing, usually when

796
00:44:51,480 --> 00:44:54,200
Speaker 1: it's a quarter million dollars apart in the grand scheme

797
00:44:54,200 --> 00:44:56,520
Speaker 1: of things, when you're talking about payrolls for teams that

798
00:44:56,560 --> 00:45:00,680
Speaker 1: are in the hundreds of millions, usually it can find

799
00:45:00,719 --> 00:45:05,520
Speaker 1: a midpoint and agree to common ground before hearing. But

800
00:45:05,520 --> 00:45:07,879
Speaker 1: the Marlins would not budge, and they're about to head

801
00:45:07,880 --> 00:45:10,800
Speaker 1: to on arbitration hearing, which will interrupt his spring training

802
00:45:10,840 --> 00:45:14,680
Speaker 1: preparation just a little bit. And even once they agree

803
00:45:14,680 --> 00:45:18,560
Speaker 1: to that deal, it's a non guaranteed. I'm not sure

804
00:45:18,680 --> 00:45:21,080
Speaker 1: enough people are clear on this, but even during your

805
00:45:21,200 --> 00:45:24,880
Speaker 1: arbitration eligible years. This applies to Jose Urina as well,

806
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:28,520
Speaker 1: that if something goes really wrong in spring training, that

807
00:45:28,719 --> 00:45:32,319
Speaker 1: the Marlins or any team that has an arbitration guy

808
00:45:32,360 --> 00:45:35,920
Speaker 1: in his arbitration years, they can cut him and only

809
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:39,280
Speaker 1: owe a small fraction of that salary, whether it's thirty

810
00:45:39,400 --> 00:45:43,120
Speaker 1: days worth of a salary about one sixth or if

811
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:45,520
Speaker 1: it's late in spring training, forty five days worth of

812
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,759
Speaker 1: salary is still owed to the player. An example of

813
00:45:48,800 --> 00:45:51,520
Speaker 1: this would be Dance Strayley last year for the Marlins,

814
00:45:51,800 --> 00:45:54,960
Speaker 1: when they were very discouraged about his spring training and

815
00:45:55,040 --> 00:45:57,160
Speaker 1: they had all these other young arms, these baby face

816
00:45:57,239 --> 00:46:00,319
Speaker 1: daces that emerged during spring, and they decide that he

817
00:46:00,440 --> 00:46:02,520
Speaker 1: was expendable and they were able to get out from

818
00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:05,239
Speaker 1: under several million dollars that was owed to him for

819
00:46:05,280 --> 00:46:09,560
Speaker 1: the upcoming season. Aguilar is in Straley's shoes this year.

820
00:46:10,080 --> 00:46:13,960
Speaker 1: We already mentioned Matt Kemp and that Kemp is trying

821
00:46:14,000 --> 00:46:17,719
Speaker 1: to add first base skills to his skill set, and

822
00:46:17,920 --> 00:46:21,680
Speaker 1: that for whatever combination of reasons, Kemp is considered to

823
00:46:21,719 --> 00:46:24,520
Speaker 1: have a nice opportunity to make it onto the opening

824
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:27,799
Speaker 1: day roster. Then you start doing the math where even

825
00:46:27,840 --> 00:46:32,360
Speaker 1: with these expanded rosters thirteen position players and with Aguilar,

826
00:46:32,640 --> 00:46:34,640
Speaker 1: the one thing that he does not offer the team

827
00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:39,880
Speaker 1: is versatility. He is first base DH type. You do

828
00:46:39,960 --> 00:46:42,200
Speaker 1: have to commend him on how he spent his offseason.

829
00:46:43,080 --> 00:46:45,960
Speaker 1: He was claimed by the Marlins apparently over two months

830
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:49,279
Speaker 1: ago in December, and I think both he and the

831
00:46:49,320 --> 00:46:51,719
Speaker 1: team came to a decision that he needed to lose weight.

832
00:46:52,200 --> 00:46:55,120
Speaker 1: He's one of the heaviest players in Major League Baseball.

833
00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:58,880
Speaker 1: It's certainly the heaviest on this roster this year checking

834
00:46:58,920 --> 00:47:01,480
Speaker 1: in at some point. Last year got close to three

835
00:47:01,600 --> 00:47:05,640
Speaker 1: hundred pounds, but reportedly he has dropped over twenty pounds

836
00:47:05,640 --> 00:47:08,680
Speaker 1: off of that to get to two seventy two seventy five.

837
00:47:10,480 --> 00:47:12,799
Speaker 1: But more so than that is his production because for

838
00:47:12,840 --> 00:47:15,360
Speaker 1: whatever reasons last year he did not play well. He

839
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:18,560
Speaker 1: was coming off being an All Star in twenty eighteen

840
00:47:18,880 --> 00:47:22,440
Speaker 1: with the Brewers, hitting thirty something home runs, including a

841
00:47:22,520 --> 00:47:26,239
Speaker 1: lot in high leverage situations. He was beloved in Milwaukee,

842
00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:28,200
Speaker 1: part of that team that went deep into the playoffs.

843
00:47:28,640 --> 00:47:30,720
Speaker 1: Then in twenty nineteen, it was a much different story.

844
00:47:30,760 --> 00:47:33,480
Speaker 1: He got off to an extremely slow start who was

845
00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:36,239
Speaker 1: not showing that over the fence power, and in the

846
00:47:36,280 --> 00:47:38,400
Speaker 1: middle of the year he kind of got dumped onto

847
00:47:38,440 --> 00:47:41,120
Speaker 1: the Tampa Bay Rays, and in part time action with

848
00:47:41,160 --> 00:47:44,840
Speaker 1: the Rays, he only showed very modest improvement to his

849
00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:47,120
Speaker 1: overall numbers. So when you look at it in total,

850
00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:50,400
Speaker 1: he was a replacement level player. He was a below

851
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:52,799
Speaker 1: average league hitter, and if you're going to be a

852
00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:55,879
Speaker 1: first basement DH and you're a below average hitter and

853
00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,719
Speaker 1: a liability as a base runner. Then even on a

854
00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:02,760
Speaker 1: team like the Marlins in this situation, despite how desperately

855
00:48:02,800 --> 00:48:06,359
Speaker 1: they need to take steps forward offensively, he doesn't add

856
00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:08,120
Speaker 1: a lot of value to that situation if he's the

857
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:11,440
Speaker 1: same player that he was last year. So when you

858
00:48:11,520 --> 00:48:14,720
Speaker 1: have all these signs, when you have Matt camp sneaking

859
00:48:14,719 --> 00:48:18,920
Speaker 1: on the roster, when you think most likely that Lewis

860
00:48:18,920 --> 00:48:22,520
Speaker 1: Brentson will have some role on the opening day roster

861
00:48:22,600 --> 00:48:26,359
Speaker 1: as well, when you have nice stories from last year

862
00:48:26,440 --> 00:48:30,480
Speaker 1: hoomers like a Harold Ramirez, like a Garrett Cooper, both

863
00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:34,560
Speaker 1: of those guys right handed hitters, Cooper plays some first base,

864
00:48:35,320 --> 00:48:38,520
Speaker 1: Ramirez being a corner outfielder, and you have these guaranteed

865
00:48:38,560 --> 00:48:40,880
Speaker 1: contracts that were given out to both Matt Joyce and

866
00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:44,120
Speaker 1: Corey Dickerson. Then yeah, you start doing the math and

867
00:48:44,440 --> 00:48:46,160
Speaker 1: you wonder they're not going to be able to fit

868
00:48:46,239 --> 00:48:49,040
Speaker 1: all these guys on the roster at the same time.

869
00:48:50,320 --> 00:48:53,120
Speaker 1: Even though with Aguilar he may get a priority because

870
00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:56,640
Speaker 1: he doesn't have minor league options remaining, But if the

871
00:48:56,640 --> 00:49:00,279
Speaker 1: Marlins see him in spring training and they're concerned he's

872
00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:03,359
Speaker 1: the same player that he was last year, then they

873
00:49:03,600 --> 00:49:08,080
Speaker 1: may simply cut ties while it's still really not much

874
00:49:08,120 --> 00:49:10,839
Speaker 1: of a financial burden to do so. This is a

875
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:15,439
Speaker 1: critical year in the career of Heyesusaguilar. We've seen, unfortunately,

876
00:49:15,560 --> 00:49:18,960
Speaker 1: time and again, how these lovable first base only types

877
00:49:19,400 --> 00:49:23,120
Speaker 1: they can fade very quickly and very unpredictably, and not

878
00:49:23,239 --> 00:49:26,319
Speaker 1: given a long benefit of the doubt considering the limitations

879
00:49:26,640 --> 00:49:29,920
Speaker 1: in their skill set. He's been brought here to totally

880
00:49:30,040 --> 00:49:33,160
Speaker 1: mash the ball, and he'll need to show that in

881
00:49:33,239 --> 00:49:36,880
Speaker 1: order to stick on the squad for twenty twenty. The

882
00:49:37,239 --> 00:49:40,720
Speaker 1: number one Marlin's player feeling the pressure this spring training

883
00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:46,239
Speaker 1: outfielder magneris Sierra. You may remember late last year, after

884
00:49:46,280 --> 00:49:49,080
Speaker 1: the Marlins were out of contention, they burned through so

885
00:49:49,160 --> 00:49:52,440
Speaker 1: many outfield options who had disappointed already. He got a

886
00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:55,319
Speaker 1: call up late in the year, and he hit three

887
00:49:55,320 --> 00:49:58,640
Speaker 1: point fifty a three fifty batting average in the major

888
00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:02,120
Speaker 1: leagues as a tw twenty three year old and was

889
00:50:02,160 --> 00:50:04,439
Speaker 1: disruptive on the bass paths, mostly in a good way.

890
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:06,800
Speaker 1: He was very aggressive on the bass pass in ways

891
00:50:07,040 --> 00:50:12,120
Speaker 1: you rarely see from other players, and unfortunately it was

892
00:50:12,320 --> 00:50:15,400
Speaker 1: just this tiny, tiny sample, just a fifteen game sample

893
00:50:15,400 --> 00:50:17,680
Speaker 1: in the majors. That's because he spent most of the

894
00:50:17,760 --> 00:50:20,239
Speaker 1: year in the major leagues in the minor leagues with

895
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:23,799
Speaker 1: Double A Jacksonville Triple A New Orleans. He hit a

896
00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:26,880
Speaker 1: handful of home runs in Triple A, but he was

897
00:50:26,920 --> 00:50:30,040
Speaker 1: one of many players aided by the conditions in the

898
00:50:30,040 --> 00:50:33,319
Speaker 1: Pacific Coast League and the changes to the Triple A

899
00:50:33,360 --> 00:50:36,239
Speaker 1: baseball that allowed it to carry some more. For the

900
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:39,960
Speaker 1: most part, we have already come to grips with the

901
00:50:40,000 --> 00:50:42,520
Speaker 1: reality that he is not going to make quality contact

902
00:50:43,080 --> 00:50:46,560
Speaker 1: in the major leagues. He doesn't really the size for it,

903
00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:50,400
Speaker 1: doesn't have the wrists to generate much power. The quality

904
00:50:50,440 --> 00:50:52,840
Speaker 1: of contacts off his bad even last year when he

905
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,600
Speaker 1: was hitting three fifty, but even more discouraging if you

906
00:50:55,680 --> 00:50:58,160
Speaker 1: rewind to twenty eighteen, when he had an even longer

907
00:50:58,200 --> 00:51:03,000
Speaker 1: stretch on the Marlins roster. He rarely hits the ball

908
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:05,960
Speaker 1: out of the infield. Even when he gets it in

909
00:51:06,040 --> 00:51:08,839
Speaker 1: the air, it doesn't carry. He's a limited player in

910
00:51:08,840 --> 00:51:11,480
Speaker 1: that aspect. He needs his legs and he needs his

911
00:51:11,560 --> 00:51:14,960
Speaker 1: defense to carry him. And that's been another concern hovering

912
00:51:15,000 --> 00:51:17,680
Speaker 1: over him is despite this nice tool set, the speed

913
00:51:17,680 --> 00:51:20,160
Speaker 1: that he has, the arm strength that he has, the

914
00:51:20,160 --> 00:51:24,799
Speaker 1: decisions that he makes defensively are sometimes not ideal, and

915
00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:27,239
Speaker 1: it prevents the kind of positive impact that he can

916
00:51:27,320 --> 00:51:30,440
Speaker 1: have in that facet of the game. The reason why

917
00:51:30,520 --> 00:51:32,799
Speaker 1: he's on top of this list is because when you

918
00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:37,279
Speaker 1: couple together his mixed track record with his limitations in

919
00:51:37,280 --> 00:51:41,160
Speaker 1: his game. He also is out of minor league options. Remember,

920
00:51:41,239 --> 00:51:44,000
Speaker 1: Lewis Brentson still has one more. Some of these other

921
00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:46,560
Speaker 1: players Eason Diez of course, still has a couple more.

922
00:51:47,080 --> 00:51:49,560
Speaker 1: Chad Wallack even has options. Robert Dugger, a lot of

923
00:51:49,600 --> 00:51:53,160
Speaker 1: these guys that we've mentioned, they're mentioned in this list

924
00:51:53,160 --> 00:51:56,120
Speaker 1: even though they have options remaining. For Sierra, the pressure

925
00:51:56,160 --> 00:51:58,919
Speaker 1: is compounded by the fact that if he's not on

926
00:51:59,040 --> 00:52:02,160
Speaker 1: the active rosters we start the season, the Marlins are

927
00:52:02,160 --> 00:52:04,040
Speaker 1: going to get rid of him, or they're going to

928
00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:05,759
Speaker 1: attempt to get rid of him, that they're gonna have

929
00:52:05,800 --> 00:52:08,200
Speaker 1: the DFA him to make room for somebody else that

930
00:52:08,280 --> 00:52:11,520
Speaker 1: is more deserving. It's hard to see any sort of

931
00:52:11,960 --> 00:52:14,600
Speaker 1: reality moving forward for him where he plays as an

932
00:52:14,640 --> 00:52:18,799
Speaker 1: every day starting outfielder. Then again, with the expanded roster,

933
00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:22,239
Speaker 1: she doesn't necessarily need to be an everyday player to

934
00:52:22,280 --> 00:52:25,719
Speaker 1: still be a valuable contributor. He could be a super

935
00:52:26,160 --> 00:52:31,160
Speaker 1: base runner, a defensive replacement at certain positions if he's

936
00:52:31,200 --> 00:52:33,560
Speaker 1: able to really get his head in the game and

937
00:52:34,120 --> 00:52:38,440
Speaker 1: unleash his full potential as a defensive, versatile defensive outfielder,

938
00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:42,880
Speaker 1: which he hasn't entirely done to this point. As already mentioned,

939
00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:44,680
Speaker 1: if Matt kemp is going to get on the roster

940
00:52:45,040 --> 00:52:48,919
Speaker 1: to be more of a platoon player and pinch hitter,

941
00:52:49,360 --> 00:52:52,239
Speaker 1: then that's one important spot that you don't have for

942
00:52:52,400 --> 00:52:56,040
Speaker 1: an athletic outfielder to fit in the mix. The bottom

943
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:59,279
Speaker 1: line is that for both Brinson and Sierra, how are

944
00:52:59,280 --> 00:53:02,080
Speaker 1: they going to coag on this roster considering all the

945
00:53:02,160 --> 00:53:05,000
Speaker 1: veteran upgrades that the Morals have already made, and especially

946
00:53:05,000 --> 00:53:06,719
Speaker 1: when you look forward just a few months and they

947
00:53:06,719 --> 00:53:10,200
Speaker 1: have Monte Harrison and Hayes Susanchez knocking on the door

948
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:14,680
Speaker 1: and then another way foutlefielder's coming up behind them, that

949
00:53:15,880 --> 00:53:17,759
Speaker 1: it's just a numbers game. It's a numbers You can

950
00:53:17,800 --> 00:53:20,399
Speaker 1: only have so many outfields options at the same time,

951
00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:24,560
Speaker 1: and with Sierra especially, there's no place to hide him.

952
00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:27,800
Speaker 1: He's either on this roster or he's out of the equation.

953
00:53:28,440 --> 00:53:32,520
Speaker 1: He was acquired in that Marcelo Azuna trade, and you

954
00:53:32,600 --> 00:53:36,759
Speaker 1: know that this Marlins current front office, they want to

955
00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:40,320
Speaker 1: give these players that were acquired as part of the rebuild.

956
00:53:40,360 --> 00:53:43,319
Speaker 1: They want to have them on a long leash. They

957
00:53:43,320 --> 00:53:46,040
Speaker 1: don't want to, they want they don't want to really

958
00:53:46,080 --> 00:53:50,319
Speaker 1: accept defeat trading away some of their former stars for

959
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:54,640
Speaker 1: guys that ultimately don't pan out. But there comes a

960
00:53:54,680 --> 00:53:57,360
Speaker 1: point where these players are a sunk cost when you

961
00:53:57,440 --> 00:54:00,799
Speaker 1: realize what they are, and you need to attacks accordingly

962
00:54:01,040 --> 00:54:03,640
Speaker 1: because the end game in all this is creating a

963
00:54:03,680 --> 00:54:08,000
Speaker 1: sustainable contender for this team. And to get there gradually,

964
00:54:08,000 --> 00:54:09,840
Speaker 1: you're not going to get there in twenty twenty, but

965
00:54:09,920 --> 00:54:12,240
Speaker 1: to take an important step to getting there in twenty twenty,

966
00:54:12,560 --> 00:54:17,680
Speaker 1: you need to have talented players establish themselves at the

967
00:54:17,719 --> 00:54:20,040
Speaker 1: major leagues. You need to start filling in some of

968
00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:23,319
Speaker 1: these important building blocks and understanding who is going to

969
00:54:23,320 --> 00:54:26,480
Speaker 1: be in these roles long term? Is Sierra going to

970
00:54:26,520 --> 00:54:30,600
Speaker 1: be in any role long term? Best case scenario, he

971
00:54:30,680 --> 00:54:34,719
Speaker 1: could be that platoon outfielder who's great in certain late

972
00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:38,360
Speaker 1: ending situations coming off the bench. Is that really worth

973
00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:42,800
Speaker 1: contorting the rest of your roster to accommodate him unless

974
00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:45,879
Speaker 1: he takes certain steps forward with his game. I don't

975
00:54:45,920 --> 00:54:49,360
Speaker 1: really see it unless he really shows a higher degree

976
00:54:49,600 --> 00:54:54,120
Speaker 1: of batted ball quality during these spring training games and

977
00:54:54,160 --> 00:54:57,520
Speaker 1: when he's put in situations defensively, making sure he's making

978
00:54:57,560 --> 00:55:00,840
Speaker 1: the right decisions, throwing to the correct cutoff man, and

979
00:55:00,920 --> 00:55:03,920
Speaker 1: communicating well with his teammates in the outfield. Those are

980
00:55:03,960 --> 00:55:05,600
Speaker 1: the things you need to be looking for in these

981
00:55:05,640 --> 00:55:09,560
Speaker 1: upcoming spring training games to ensure that Sierra has a

982
00:55:09,640 --> 00:55:16,600
Speaker 1: role with this team once the real games begin. I

983
00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:20,440
Speaker 1: gotta thank everybody on Twitter who provided valuable guidance for

984
00:55:20,480 --> 00:55:23,600
Speaker 1: this list by replying to us at fish Stripes. Now

985
00:55:23,600 --> 00:55:26,080
Speaker 1: that I put it all together, very eager to hear

986
00:55:26,120 --> 00:55:28,080
Speaker 1: what you guys have to say about it. The players

987
00:55:28,120 --> 00:55:31,879
Speaker 1: that you'll be watching especially closely this upcoming spring. It's

988
00:55:31,920 --> 00:55:34,600
Speaker 1: right around the corner as you're listening to this position

989
00:55:34,640 --> 00:55:37,560
Speaker 1: players have all finally reported, we got our full squad

990
00:55:37,600 --> 00:55:41,359
Speaker 1: workouts under way, and the Grapefruit League schedule kicks off

991
00:55:41,440 --> 00:55:45,799
Speaker 1: on Saturday, February twenty second. Right after that, I'll be

992
00:55:45,880 --> 00:55:49,920
Speaker 1: recording the next episode of fish Bites with some instant reactions,

993
00:55:49,920 --> 00:55:53,560
Speaker 1: probably some overreactions to what we saw, but make sure

994
00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:56,880
Speaker 1: to take my comments from earlier in the episode into consideration.

995
00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:00,239
Speaker 1: A lot of decisions have been made. There are, are,

996
00:56:00,280 --> 00:56:03,320
Speaker 1: of course roster battles going on, but really in a

997
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:08,120
Speaker 1: couple select pockets in this organization, very select position battle

998
00:56:08,200 --> 00:56:11,440
Speaker 1: is going on that will go a long way into

999
00:56:11,600 --> 00:56:14,719
Speaker 1: filling out the roster and creating an identity for this

1000
00:56:14,840 --> 00:56:19,200
Speaker 1: twenty twenty Marlins team. Thank you, as always for tuning in.

1001
00:56:19,600 --> 00:56:38,480
Speaker 1: This is Elis Susman, Go Fish,