The Marlins’ roster looks a lot different since the trade deadline. Struggles followed
.JPG "The Miami Marlins’ Jon Berti is forced out at second base against the New York Mets on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019, at Citi Field.")
The Miami Marlins’ roster looks vastly different than it did even 10 days ago.
Four pitchers have been traded in Sergio Romo, Nick Anderson, Trevor Richards and Zac Gallen. Three position players — infielder Neil Walker, shortstop Miguel Rojas and outfielder Cesar Puello — are on the injured list. An eighth player, Yadiel Rivera, was designated for assignment.
With that came a new wave of life — and a new wave of struggles.
Eight new players are on the active roster: Pitchers Ryne Stanek, Hector Noesi, Tyler Kinley and Jeff Brigham; infielders Isan Diaz and Deven Marrero; outfielder Lewis Brinson; and utilityman Jon Berti.
Pitchers Robert Dugger and Kyle Keller also had short stints with the club but have since been optioned back to Triple A New Orleans.
That’s a lot of transition in a short amount of time, especially for an organization in the second year of a rebuild that is focused more on preparing for the future.
The Marlins are reconfiguring their bullpen, playing with a stopgap for the fifth pitcher in their starting rotation and testing out a few position players they see as part of their future.
And while there have been some bright spots — Brinson had back-to-back multihit games, Diaz homered in his debut and Berti has emerged as a consistent threat at the plate — the overall results early haven’t been pretty. The Marlins (42-71) have gone 1-7 since the trade deadline and lost all six games on their road trip to Tampa Bay and the New York Mets.
“I think the [trade] deadline really punched us in the gut,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said after Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to the Mets. “I think it will normalize. It would be nice to be sooner rather than later.”
This and that
▪ Rojas will undergo an MRI in Miami on Thursday to check out the severity of his right hamstring strain. He was placed on the 10-day IL after injuring his hamstring running to first base on Tuesday.
“He’s going to be missed,” Mattingly said. “He’s a guy that you depend on to kind of run things out there, always looking to make a play and always looking to win a game somehow.”
▪ While it’s a small sample size, Brinson’s approach at the plate looked much improved over his first four games since being recalled from Triple A New Orleans.
Brinson, viewing his return to the major leagues as a fresh start, had four hits in the final two games of the Mets series. All were hit to opposite field.
“It feels good,” Brinson said. “Definitely been working on things trying to go the other way and open up my game a little bit. It felt good to see balls fall.”
▪ The Marlins were outscored 36-18 during the six-game road trip.
▪ Brian Anderson was a highlight over the trip, hitting 7 for 21 (.333) with two home runs, three doubles, three RBI and five runs scored. He already has a career high 18 home runs with 49 games left to play.
▪ Reliever Kinley, a Plantation native, has thrown 4 1/3 scoreless innings with four strikeouts since being recalled from Triple A New Orleans on July 31.
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