Miami Marlins’ shortstop Javier Sanoja continues to impress with versatility

Depending on the day, you’ll find Javier Sanoja in the Miami Marlins’ starting lineup at second base. Or shortstop. Or third base. Or left field. Or center field.

During games, he’s played first base. He’s pitched. Pinch-hit. Pinch-run.

From the infield to the outfield gaps, the 5-foot-7, 150-pound dynamo has been the Marlins’ ultimate plug-and-play weapon.

“A guy like Javi can carve out a really nice career because it’s a real luxury for myself to have someone that you feel confident to be able to plug in so many places,” Marlins’ manager Clayton McCullough said.

“He takes pride in it,” said first base/infield defense/baserunning coach Tyler Smarslok. “He knows he needs to be ready to jump at any position at any given time, and he’s ready for it all. He knows that wherever you put him, he can do the job. And that’s what sets him apart from a lot of utility guys in the league.”

The only field positions the 22-year-old Sanoja hasn’t played in his first full season in the majors are right field and catcher.

“As a kid in little league, I was a catcher. They later moved me to the infield because of my size,” Sanoja said via team interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “But if there’s ever a situation in a game where I need to catch, I would put the gear on and go out there.”

The Marlins are set behind the plate with Nick Fortes, Augustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks. But you get the point.

“I was always able to change positions since I was little, mostly for the goodness of the team, and to be able to be in the lineup as well,” Sanoja said.

Growing up in Maracay, Venezuela, Sanoja admired another diminutive player, Jose Altuve. Standing just 5-foot-6 and weighing 166 pounds, the fellow Venezuelan has racked up nine All-Star selections, seven Silver Sluggers, and two World Series titles with the Astros.

“That motivates me to follow those footsteps. Even though I don’t know him as much, he has guided me a lot during his career,” Sanoja said. “I think his resiliency, the way he plays the game, the way he motivates others, I thank God for putting such a great example in front of me that I can use to guide myself.”

Sanoja said he grew up doubted for his size.

“I think I’m an example that you don’t have to listen to those people saying no, right?” he said. “You’ve got to always try to follow the ones supporting you and my parents were the biggest support I had as a kid. They never pushed me to be a professional baseball player. They pushed me to do the things I loved the most and I wanted to do. You’ve got to continue believing in yourself.

“I’ve got to thank God for the strength he gave me because it was coming from within. Never was I doubting myself. I was always believing that I could make it. Even the tough moments when I was looking at some of my teammates were signing and I was not signing. It was difficult. But I just kept going, pushing forward, believing in myself.

“To those guys, the little kids that are a little smaller, what I can say is, ‘Be different. Try to play more like Caribbean baseball. Try to do what the other guys cannot do. That’s going to separate you from the bunch of players everybody’s looking at. You will find a way.’”

Sanoja had an RBI in his MLB debut with the Marlins last September, and his first start with them the following day was even more memorable. He had two hits, after which third baseman Connor Norby said of Sanoja, “I was like, ‘Who is this little guy? He mashes, he just rakes, he hits everybody and everything.”

Sanoja is hitting .237 (37-of-156) with 15 RBI and 18 runs scored this season.

He’s pitched five innings across four relief appearances — all in blowout losses — and allowed 11 earned runs. Defensively, he’s been nearly flawless: just one error in 59 games, with 65 putouts, 86 assists, and 18 double plays turned.

“He’s done an incredible job. He’s ultra prepared every day. He’s incredibly consistent,” Smarslok said. “It’s a really tall order to play a lot of positions even good. And he does them extremely well. Not to mention they’re all premium positions. His preparation, his ability to mentally lock into a position. What are the priorities?

“When he’s playing short, he’s got to attack a little bit more. He knows that. Second base, he can play deeper angles and really use his range to his disposal. When he’s in center, he just goes ball-out athlete. He’s going to catch the ball and make a lot of plays for us.

“I’ve said it before, I think this kid is going to win a utility gold glove at some point in his career if he continues to be a utility player. But he could be a regular at all these positions, as well.”

For now, there’s no everyday spot for Sanoja, who signed as a shortstop. He’s started 16 games at second base, 11 in left field, seven at shortstop, and five each at third base and center field.

“If they put me in a specific position, I would still be working on the other ones because the season is so long, there are always injuries,” Sanoja said. “Somebody will need support at different positions, so I will be ready for any position.”

So how does his pregame routine work? If he’s in the starting lineup, he focuses on that day’s position. If he’s not starting, he picks a spot he feels needs more attention — usually shortstop or third base, since those demand longer throws and sharper footwork. On non-start days, you’ll typically find him working at one of those two spots.

“It’s not easy at all,” Sanoja said. “It’s very difficult the amount of different routines I have to follow. And thank God I have a good chemistry with Coach Smarslok, that we have several different routines for each position. We keep working really hard to improve.”

In the fifth inning Sunday, as the Marlins wrapped up a seven-game homestand with a 5-3 win over the Braves, Sanoja showed “some of the swag” Smarslok raves about that looks like “he’s been doing this for 10 years.”

The fielding chameleon charged a grounder off Ronald Acuña Jr.’s bat, barehanded it, and fired all the way across the diamond to first to beat his speedy countryman. Acuña nodded in approval and pointed toward Sanoja, saluting the defensive wizardry.

“Great play by Sanoja. He is a tremendous player. He can play all the positions. He just needs to catch one game to play the full positions,” pitcher Sandy Alcantara said, laughing, after the game. “I love seeing him play out there.”