The Marlins could be heading toward a ‘semi-platoon’ in right field. Who’s in play?
The Miami Marlins still have three weeks before Opening Day to finalize how their outfield will shape out.
But Marlins manager Don Mattingly provided a little more clarity to the situation Tuesday.
Barring injury, Corey Dickerson is penciled in as the starting left fielder. The team is also still adamant that having Jonathan Villar play center field is the best move for the club. Those two spots have been known for some time now.
As for right field? Mattingly said he anticipates lefty-hitting Matt Joyce getting extended playing time there in a “semi-platoon role.” That would mean an extended role for the 35-year-old Joyce, who has been primarily a spot starter and pinch-hitter as of late. Joyce has only had more than 300 plate appearances in a season once over the past five years.
“I see him playing, honestly more than basically he’s probably played the last couple years,” Mattingly said. “... I don’t see him playing six days a week, but it’s not going to be just one or two days a week either.”
Who Joyce platoons with will be the development to watch over the final three weeks of spring training.
Lewis Brinson, Harold Ramirez, Magneuris Sierra and Garrett Cooper on paper seem to be the most likely candidates, with top prospects Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez starting the season in Triple A Wichita and potentially making their Major League Baseball debuts later in the season.
Brinson started in right field Tuesday when the Marlins faced the New York Mets in Port St. Lucie. Ramirez started in left. Cooper started at first base and opened scoring with an opposite-field home run off Noah Syndergaard.
The main question that Mattingly has to juggle: Who among that group would be best fit to play a limited role on the big-league club and who would benefit from extended reps even if it meant playing in the minor leagues?
“We’re trying to look at a number of guys,” Mattingly said. “Brinson’s swinging the bat pretty good. We know what we have in Harold. Just a lot of guys you’re trying to look at. You’re trying to see a lot of guys and then when you get a little closer, then you’re making your judgment on ‘OK, is this guy better off being here and not playing or is he better off continuing to play, continuing to develop?’ Sometimes you have to weigh those factors.”
Roster crunch
Even with the addition of a 26th roster spot, the Marlins are still going to experience a roster crunch when it comes to filling out their bench.
Half of those 26 spots are going to pitchers. Two spots go to catchers, presumably Jorge Alfaro and Francisco Cervelli. Four go to the starting infielders, tentatively Jesus Aguilar (first base), Isan Diaz (second base), Miguel Rojas (shortstop) and Brian Anderson (third base).
Add Dickerson, Villar and Joyce to that mix, and that leaves four roster spots. The Marlins usually keep a utility player a la Jon Berti for their bench. That leaves three spots.
Should non-roster invitee Matt Kemp get a spot with a bench role, which seems likely, that leaves two spots for some combination of Brinson, Ramirez, Cooper, Sierra, Harrison and Sanchez.
“You have bench roles, and how do you qualify that?” Mattingly said. “What kind of guy do you want there playing once a week, twice a week? ... Young guys primarily have a lot of trouble playing once a week, getting a couple at-bats or pinch-hitting. It’s just not a role for young guys in general. We want a more experienced guy that’s been through that.”
‘There’s a spot’ for Joyce
But all of this centers back to the point that Mattingly, at least to start the season, wants to give Joyce an extended role in the offense. It’s role the outfielder hasn’t had much in the later part of his career.
“We think there are going to be some at-bats for him as everything shapes up right now,” Mattingly said. “That could change, but I’d say there’s a spot for him. He gives us more balance left-right. He gives us a combination in right field.”
Joyce is a career .243 hitter over 12 MLB seasons with 145 home runs, 482 RBI and 515 runs scored while playing for the Detroit Tigers (2008), Tampa Bay Rays (2009-2014), Los Angeles Angels (2015), Pittsburgh Pirates (2016), Athletics (2017-2018) and Atlanta Braves (2019).
He was an All-Star in 2011 and hit a career-best 25 home runs in 2017, the last season he was a full-time starter.
And like most of the Marlins’ offseason additions — Dickerson, Villar, Aguilar and Cervelli among them — Joyce adds a veteran presence to a young clubhouse that eyes improvement after going a combined 120-203 over the last two years.
“You learn a little bit more every year,” Joyce said. “I think I’m still learning. You have a lot of wisdom and knowledge that you can bring to an organization. Obviously, that leadership is something that I take a lot of pride in, helping establish a winning culture in this organization that’s trying to turn the corner.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 2:00 PM.
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