For the Miami Marlins the biggest landmark of the year won’t be Opening Day, the All-Star game or the postseason. After a wild-card berth in manager Skip Schumaker’s first year on the job, a depleted pitching staff and an underperforming lineup leave the Marlins with the worst record in the National League.
Now the team’s fans are focused on who will be leaving the team after MLB’s July 30 trade deadline.
While a number of players could be featured in trade talks, one player who’s gathering steam in the trade market is center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. During the Marlins’ 10-6 loss to the Reds on July 13th, Chisholm played second base for the first time in approximately two years.
Previously, the Herald reported that Chisholm’s move to second base was in part motivated by the Marlins’ desire to prove the 26-year old could play the position to potential trade partners. However, Schumaker denies the decision was made due to trade deadline considerations.
“There’s stuff written about Jazz [Chisholm] about auditioning [at second base],” Schumaker said. “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve heard in my life. That’s not what you’re doing at the big-league level. We’re trying to win and we’re trying to get guys to be put in a situation where they can succeed.”
“The trade deadline and all that stuff is part of the business, but it’s not what you’re focused on,” Schumaker said. “You can’t focus on that because then you’re distracted thinking about other things.”
Chisholm went 2 for 4, with two singles and a walk in the Marlins’ 6-4 series opening win against the Mets on Friday.
While Schumaker did not specify an exact schedule on Chisholm’s time between second base and center field, the 44-year old manager said that Chisholm will likely be at second base a couple of days a week.
“The whole goal [of the move] was to get himself off his feet. Running around all the time is not ideal,” Schumaker said.
The former 11-year big-league player also reiterated that the decision to play Chisholm at second base was not made by the front office, but by himself.
“I have not been told by the front office to do this, so that is not correct.” Schumaker said. “This was a conversation that Jazz and I had. I talked about it with the coaching staff and I felt like it was really good for him.”
Besides Chisholm, the Marlins are also trying to figure out if 26-year old right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera will become a mainstay in the rotation going forward. Cabrera, who possesses a 8.26 ERA and a -0.8 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) this season, had another shaky outing on Friday, giving up five walks and a home run in 4.2 innings.
“There were a couple innings that I was completely out of the zone. I couldn’t get in the strike zone,” Cabrera said.
“I think we’re fortunate we didn’t give up more runs,” Schumaker said. “I mean five walks and 25 percent first-pitch strikes is not ideal. He’s got to figure it out, not only for us, but for himself and his career because he’s got such good stuff.”
While the team was able to fend off the Mets due to a strong performance from the bullpen, Cabrera’s outing was not an encouraging sign for a team in desperate need of starting pitching.
The 26-year old has the requisite velocity to be a quality big-league starter, his longstanding issue of pitch control has prevented him from rising to the next level. For a team that’s in the process of rebuilding and trying to find cornerstone pitchers, Cabrera’s performance the rest of the season will be important to monitor.
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