Mel Stottlemyre Jr. talks ‘unfinished business’ and all things Miami Marlins pitching
Mel Stottlemyre Jr. didn’t have to return to the Miami Marlins. The pitching coach’s contract expired at the end of last season and a new manager was entering in Skip Schumaker. Stottlemyre had other options on the table he could have explored if he chose to do so.
But in the end, Stottlemyre wanted to stay. The feeling was mutual from Schumaker and the Marlins’ front office.
So there Stottlemyre was on Monday, as the Marlins’ first workouts of spring training began on the back fields at Jupiter’s Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. It was technically the first day for just pitchers and catchers who are participating in the World Baseball Classic — which for the Marlins meant Sandy Alcantara, Johnny Cueto and Jesus Luzardo — but the Marlins had the majority of their players already on site, including about a dozen position players. The first day for all pitchers and catchers to report is Thursday, and the first full-squad workout is Feb. 21.
And they had the pitching coach who had played a vital role in one of the few areas in which Miami has had consistent success the past few years.
“Selfishly, I put a lot of time and stock into these guys and getting to know them,” Stottlemyre said. “They’re more than pitchers to me. I built those relationships and, in a sense, there’s some unfinished business.”
That unfinished business, of course, is winning. Miami went 69-93 last season despite having one of the top starting rotations in baseball last season — the Marlins’ 3.70 starting pitcher ERA was eighth-best in baseball, and six of the seven teams above them made the playoffs.
“We have to win games,” Stottlemyre said. “It’s time to move on and get past the losing part. All of that needs to remain at the forefront.”
This year, Stottlemyre sees the pieces coming together on his side of the operation.
The starting rotation is once again anchored by Alcantara, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner.
But beyond Alcantara, Stottlemyre has at least five other MLB-caliber pitchers in Cueto, Edward Cabrera, Luzardo, Trevor Rogers and Braxton Garrett. Cueto brings a veteran presence to a young-yet-talented rotation. Luzardo, Cabrera and Garrett had breakout 2022 seasons, albeit ones hampered by injury. And Rogers is trying to return to form after struggling last season.
Schumaker and general manager Kim Ng brought up the possibility of a six-man rotation to Stottlemyre, which is something the pitching coach said they will “take a look at.”
“We are confident with those six guys all fighting for spots,” Stottlemyre said.
The bullpen also has improved depth. The Marlins acquired three high-leverage relievers over the offseason in JT Chargois, Matt Barnes and A.J. Puk, who will compete with returnees Dylan Floro, Tanner Scott and Steven Okert.
“It’s a good problem to have and it’s something I would say that we’ve missed,” Stottlemyre said of the bullpen depth. “We’ve put a lot of attention on the rotation and we’ve gotten our rotation to the point where they’re ready to win. We’ve got to nail some games down. ... It creates a much deeper bullpen, with some guys with swing-and-miss stuff at the back that’s going to give our manager some nice options. We’re probably going to mix and match back there. They’ll step up and define their roles as we go.”
More from Mel
▪ On the next steps for Alcantara following his Cy Young season: “He’s got little things that we’ve identified that we want him to get better at. Obviously the running game [24 of 28 stolen base attempts against Alcantara were successful last season]. Look, everybody’s gonna be gunning for Sandy. I promise you. The guy that matches up in our division against him is going to be equally as good, so there’s going to be low scoring games and the running game thing is going to be important that we get more efficient at that and keep guys in double-play situations.”
▪ On getting to see a lot of pitcher prospects, including Eury Perez and Dax Fulton, during spring training: “We’re going to plug those guys in early. They’re ready to go. Scott Aldred, our [minor-league] pitching coordinator, has done a great job getting those guys ready and knowing that some of our guys are going to go to the [World Baseball Classic] presents opportunity for those guys to come in and show who they are.”
▪ On Sixto Sanchez: “Man, we’ve all talked about him for so long. I know not only the general public, but you guys and us, too, are waiting to get him back and show us signs that he can pitch again. The plan is to bring him back as a starter still and get some volume. We’ve got to get him back to face hitters — we still haven’t done that. We’re farther along than we were last year and there’s still hope. We all think he’s going to pitch this year.”
▪ On Max Meyer’s rehab from Tommy John surgery: ”I think he’s had four catch sessions. He commented that the first couple, it was like retraining himself again but that he feels good. I told him there are a couple things you’re gonna have to learn and the main thing is to learn patience. I know Max. He’s gonna start feeling good and his clock, in his mind, is gonna be on pitching and hitters and all that and that’s not gonna happen for a while. You’ve got to let things kind of take place.”
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