The Marlins’ looming decision after Sixto’s last spring start. And Gio Gonzalez retires
Sixto Sanchez’s third and final spring training start has come to an end.
Now, the Miami Marlins have a decision to make.
Will Sanchez be on the Opening Day roster in a week’s time, or will he start the season at the club’s alternate training site in Jacksonville to continue building up his pitch count?
As of right now, the Marlins remain non-committal to a decision until they have to make one.
Sanchez, while optimistic he can be ready for the first turn of the rotation, understands where he is at with his progression.
“I think I need a little more time,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez threw 61 pitches over 3 1/3 innings in Thursday’s 7-3 spring training win over the Washington Nationals at Jupiter’s Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, the most he has thrown in any of his three Grapefruit League contests but still a touch below where the Marlins want him. Manager Don Mattingly has previously said he wants Sanchez to be ready to throw five innings and between 75 and 80 pitches before he makes his first MLB start of the season.
Sanchez gave up three hits, one run and struck out three in the outing. His velocity remained consistent from his previous two outings.
After having his progression in spring delayed twice — first by a visa issue at the start of camp and then due to a false positive COVID-19 test — Sanchez finished his three-start Grapefruit League slate giving up one earned run over eight innings.
“I’ve talked about it pretty consistently that we just kind of keep him building and get him ready for his season,” Mattingly said pregame. “The main thing is to be ready to pitch in a major league game and to have him at that point where he’s not out there having to be on a pitch count from the standpoint of where he’s only going to go 60 early or go 70, whatever it would be. It’s more about getting him ready.”
Sanchez will pitch again in some capacity on Tuesday with the intention of getting up to five innings.
“Hopefully,” Sanchez said, “that will get me ready for the season.”
Four spots in the rotation should be locks at this point barring injury. Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez have already been announced as the Marlins’ first two pitchers for the 2021 season. Elieser Hernandez is in the No. 3 spot and rookie Trevor Rogers should round out the rotation. The final spot, at this point, is between Sanchez and Nick Neidert, the latter of whom gave up just one run over four innings in Thursday’s game and would be in line to fill in for Sanchez should the Marlins not feel Sanchez is ready to begin the season on the MLB roster.
“We’re going to keep building him,” Mattingly said again. “That’s one of the things. We’re going to make sure we do it safely. ... We just kind of read the situation and then go from there.”
Gio Gonzalez announces retirement
Gio Gonzalez signed a minor-league deal with the Marlins earlier this month with the hopes of finally playing for his hometown team in his 14th MLB season.
His body decided otherwise.
Gonzalez, 35 and a Hialeah native, announced Thursday on his personal Instagram account that he is retiring from baseball.
“I gave it one last fight,” Gonzalez wrote in the post, “unfortunately my body wasn’t keeping up with my mind.”
Gonzalez’s MLB career ends with a career 3.70 ERA over 344 games (328 starts). The left-handed pitcher made at least 27 starts over nine consecutive seasons from 2010 to 2018 while playing for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals and Milwaukee Brewers. He missed time in 2019 due to left-arm fatigue, making 17 starts for the Brewers, and played in 12 games (four starts) for the Chicago White Sox in 2020. He was a two-time All-Star (2011 and 2012).
But he never got the chance to play for the team he grew up cheering for.
“Representing the Marlins was always any kid’s dream to be from South Florida,” Gonzalez said on March 9, less than a week after signing his minor-league deal.
“I really wanted the Marlins to come right away, but better late than never. It’s better than sitting at home with my feet up and just expecting a job. I’m happy the Marlins gave me an opportunity, and I’m happy I convinced them and changed their mind to kind of bring me along to see how it works out.”
Mattingly said he and Gonzalez talked on Thursday when the decision was made. Mattingly said he was happy that Gonzalez was able to make his own decision.
“You hate to… you don’t want somebody making a decision or the organization basically saying that we think you’re done,” Mattingly said. “I still think Gio had something in the tank, honestly. I understand totally that he’s had a great career. He’s a Miami guy. I knew he wanted to pitch for us and wanted it to be kind of a childhood dream, I’m sure. If I grew up in Miami, it would be where I’d want to play. I’m happy he was able to make his own decision. And that’s kind of what you want for guys. You want them to be the one directing the ship at the end of the day, not somebody taking the uniform from him.”
This and that
▪ Garrett Cooper, who has made some minor adjustments to his swing during spring training, belted a two-run home run to left field off Brad Hand in the third inning. It was Cooper’s second home run in Grapefruit League play this season. Miguel Rojas also hit a home run as part of a three-hit night.
▪ Jazz Chisholm, who is competing with Isan Diaz to be Miami’s starting second baseman, drew full-count walks in each of his first two plate appearances and added a hit in his third, stole three bases and scored twice.
Over his last eight spring games, Chisholm is 7-for-15 with two home runs, three RBI, six runs scored and four walks against four strikeouts.
“We’re not trying to hold anyone back, that’s for sure,” Mattingly said. “We’re trying to take the best club out here that we can take out, the guys that give us the best chance to win. We make decisions based on that. ... We’re going to take the guy that gives us the best chance to win.”
▪ Outfielder Corey Dickerson was out of the lineup once again on Thursday while he deals with shoulder soreness after making a diving catch on Monday. Mattingly said he originally planned to have Dickerson play as designated hitter against the Nationals, but out of precaution opted to give his projected starting left fielder an extra day of rest.
“I think Corey felt like he was ready to go,” Mattingly said. “They just asked me to give him another day to be sure. Being cautious right now is something you want to be, but I feel good about where he’s at and pretty confident that he’s gonna be right back out there.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2021 at 8:04 PM.
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