They’ve been here since Marlins’ rebuild began. Now, they want to ‘win the postseason’
Amid a sea of celebration at Yankee Stadium, Lewis Brinson made a point to find Miguel Rojas. This was finally happening. The Marlins had just clinched their first playoff berth in 17 years.
As the two embraced just in front of the visiting team’s dugout, Brinson’s message was simple.
“I love you,” Brinson told Rojas. “I’m proud of you. We did it. It’s been a long road. I love you.”
This playoff run, which begins 2 p.m. Wednesday with a best-of-3 series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, has been a long time coming for them.
The duo is part of a small group who was on the Marlins’ Opening Day roster in 2018 when this rebuild under a new regime. Just six players from that group of 25 remain on the roster two-and-a-half years later as Miami made its run to the playoffs.
Third baseman Brian Anderson, first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper, pitcher Jose Urena and catcher Chad Wallach are the others. Urena will not play in the postseason after his right forearm was fractured in Miami’s regular-season finale.
Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and Magneuris Sierra joined the active roster later in that 2018 season.
“It just all came out,” Brinson said. “I know it’s just the first step of many, but just with everything we’ve been through, it poured out. ... It just feels amazing.”
“This is fun,” Cooper added. “The last couple years, it’s been a tough little stretch, but this year is something different. ... We do belong here.”
They became the players who had to step up after a mass exodus of talent at the start of the rebuild — Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon gone before the 2018 season; J.T. Realmuto a year later. They endured a two-year stretch in which the team went 120-203 while the future worked its way through the minor leagues.
And 30 months later, they’re in the playoffs.
“I can tell guys what we’re gonna build here all I want and you have to start to see it. They saw it, and they continue to see it,” CEO Derek Jeter said. “When you’re changing a complete culture of an organization, you have to have people buying in. It’s kind of tough for you to be building it and when you have players that don’t believe in what you’re doing. We’ve gotten to a point now where the players we have in our organization, they want to be here. They believe in what we’re doing. They’re excited about what they see. That’s why we’re having some success.”
Miguel Rojas: The undisputed leader
Rojas, 31, is the undisputed leader of this roster. He evolved from a late-inning defensive replacement to an all-around, everyday shortstop. Rojas has been vocal about his support for the rebuild since last season when he began to step into that vocal veteran role and made it known he wanted to be part of the future.
“So many people didn’t expect this turnaround to be so quick,” Rojas said earlier in the season. “We saw the talent that we had via different things — trades, free agents, guys who we acquired in the draft — all those guys are closer to the big leagues and already here. 2020 has been a great opportunity for them to show that they’re ready for the big leagues.”
It was also another opportunity for Rojas to take his game to another level. His defense continues to be top notch. His offense? He’s producing at the highest level of his career with a .304 batting average, a .392 on-base percentage and 15 extra-base hits in 125 plate appearances.
“He’s done pretty much everything you could want a player to do,” Jeter said. “... When you have players like that who are your best players believing in what you’re going to do, it goes a long way in that clubhouse.”
Brian Anderson: Getting hot at the right time
Anderson, who played in 59 of the team’s 60 games this year, went through his struggles offensively early in the season. His bat has gotten hot at the right time, though.
The 27-year-old third baseman is hitting .286 since Aug. 31 with seven home runs, four doubles, 20 RBI and 15 runs scored over his final 118 plate appearances. His 38 RBI and 11 home runs lead the team.
The final stretch is the breakout performance the Marlins had hoped to see from Anderson this year following a 2018 year in which he finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and a strong 2019 season that ended a month early due to a broken hand.
The difference this year? The production is coming in meaningful games late in the season, compared to, in Anderson’s words, “tough games where you’re playing at the end of the year and at a point where you’re almost just playing for numbers because you’re out of the race.”
His hope is that run of success continues.
“Our goal is to win the postseason,” Anderson said. “As far as that goes, I don’t think our job is done yet. I’m really proud of our guys for setting our goals and grinding each and every day.”
Lewis Brinson: Is this the breakout season?
Brinson, 26, has dreamed of this opportunity. A Fort Lauderdale native and Coral Springs High alumnus, he grew up watching the Marlins and one day envisioned helping them make a playoff push.
After so many struggles his first two years in the organization after being acquired in the Yelich trade and uncertainty regarding his future with prospects on the rise, Brinson has carved out a role on this year’s playoff team. He’s platooning in right field with Matt Joyce and is finding production at the plate as a result.
After seeing his batting average dip as low as .107, Brinson is hitting .269 over his final 80 plate appearances. He has three home runs this year, his swing is more compact and his strikeout rate is down.
It’s noted progress, needed progress, especially after hitting .194 over his first two seasons with the Marlins.
“I’m still not there, but I’m definitely closer than I once was,” Brinson said. “To be a contributor on a playoff team, it means a lot, especially with all the stuff I had to go through and things I had to do to get to this moment. To come full circle, it feels amazing.”
Garrett Cooper: Staying healthy and producing
The Marlins knew what they had with Cooper.
“He’s always hit whenever he’s been in the lineup,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said.
The problem? Cooper kept finding himself on the injured list. Two wrist injuries in 2018 limited him to 14 games in 2018. He played 107 games in 2019 but missed time due to a calf strain, a hand contusion and a hamstring strain. Then he found himself testing positive for COVID-19 early in 2020.
But in 34 games this year, Cooper has posted a .283 batting average with a team-high .500 slugging mark. Fourteen of his 34 hits have gone for extra bases. He’s split time with Jesus Aguilar at first base and has had the luxury of the universal designated hitter to stay in the lineup when he wasn’t in the field.
“As a big guy, you’re expected to hit,” Cooper said. “That’s been my mantra going up. If you hit, you’re going to play. Hitting’s my No. 1. I don’t think [infield coach] Trey Hillman would like to hear that, but hitting wins ball games.”
Chad Wallach: Coming up clutch late
Wallach will go under the radar because he entered the year as Miami’s No. 3 catcher behind Jorge Alfaro and Francisco Cervelli.
But the 28-year-old has been pivotal for the Marlins late this year.
He has caught each of Lopez’s final three starts of the season, helping him reset after a horrendous start in a 29-9 loss to the Braves. Lopez’s pitching line in the three games Wallach has caught him: Three earned runs over 17 1/3 innings (a 1.56 ERA) with 19 strikeouts against five walks. Opponents hit .136 against Lopez in those games.
Wallach, who has a .227 batting average this year, also has at least one hit in six of his past nine starts.
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
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