After being sent down to minor leagues, Marlins’ Bryan De La Cruz has a newfound focus
.JPG "Miami Marlins’ Bryan De La Cruz runs the bases on a three-run home run against the Philadelphia Phillies during the fourth inning of a baseball game Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)")
When the Miami Marlins told Bryan De La Cruz on Aug. 12 that they were sending him back to the minor leagues, he understood the decision.
And he understood what he had to do to prove himself.
“I was not performing at the level that I should have been performing,” De La Cruz, who was hitting .180 in a 55-game span from June 2 to Aug. 10, said Wednesday. “Once they sent me down, I said ‘I have to focus on the things that I need to do to right to get myself back up to this level really quickly.’”
After three strong weeks with the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, and with MLB rosters expanding at the start of September for the final month of the regular season, De La Cruz is back with the Marlins — and has been producing.
His biggest moment back thus far came Thursday when he swatted a three-run home run in the Marlins’ 5-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. De La Cruz added a sacrifice fly in the game to finish with a season-high and a career-high-tying four RBI.
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that he can hit here,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “It’s a matter of the plan. Once you show that you can get the barrel to the ball in the zone, then you’ve got to basically force them to get the ball in the zone. If De La can do that, he’s going to be effective.”
Since returning to the Marlins, De La Cruz has a hit in six of seven games in which he has taken at least one at-bat. He is hitting 6 for 18 (.333) with two home runs, one double and six runs scored.
“It’s about consistency,” De La Cruz said. “I was able to make adjustments. I’m getting the opportunity again, so I’m trying to take advantage of that.”
Floro the closer
Dylan Floro finds himself back in a familiar role.
For the second consecutive season, it appears as if Floro will close out the year as the Marlins’ closer.
In 2021, he moved to the role after the Marlins traded Yimi Garcia to the Houston Astros in the trade that netted them De La Cruz. Floro finished the season with 15 saves in 21 opportunities.
He was the favorite to open the 2022 season as Miami’s ninth-inning pitcher, but he dealt with right rotator cuff tendonitis in spring training that delayed his start to the season. The Marlins eased Floro back into high-leverage situations when he returned to the roster in mid-May.
Miami used a closer-by-committee approach to begin the season before turning the job over primarily to Tanner Scott in June.
And while Scott generally got the job done — he has converted 19 of 25 save opportunities — the path to get there was erratic. He threw at least 20 pitches in 13 of his 25 save situations and had at least one batter reach base in 11 of his 19 converted saves.
Floro has recorded saves in two of his last three appearances and has been the final pitcher on the mound in each of Miami’s past four wins. He has allowed just one earned run over his last seven appearances.
This and that
▪ After sitting back-to-back games while dealing with a core muscle injury, Joey Wendle was used as a pinch-runner in the eighth inning, replacing Charles Leblanc after his leadoff double. Wendle advanced to third base on a JJ Bleday groundout and scored on De La Cruz’s sacrifice fly.
▪ Infielder Jordan Groshans on Thursday became the sixth Marlins player to hit his first career home run this season (also Joe Dunand, Jerar Encarnacion, Bleday, Leblanc, and Peyton Burdick). That ties the total from 2021 and is two shy of the Marlins’ single-season franchise record of eight set in 1999 and matched in 2013.
This story was originally published September 16, 2022 at 11:15 AM.
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