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Miami Marlins Weekly Recap: Three Strikes

By Sean Millerick

Mar 9, 2015; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Don Kelly (30) takes the throw to retire New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy (28) (not pictured) during the spring training baseball game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 9, 2015; Port St. Lucie, FL, USA; Miami Marlins left fielder Don Kelly (30) takes the throw to retire New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy (28) (not pictured) during the spring training baseball game at Tradition Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports /
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Slow news week, but a few notable developments for Friends of the Fish to take note of have popped up on the radar gun.  So without further preamble, let’s dive in and see what the Miami Marlins have been up to in this week’s Three Strikes recap.

Significant Stories  

  • Strike 1- The biggest acquisition of the past seven to ten days will never take the field for the team.  Of course, as he’s a front office addition, that’s probably for the best- no one wants to see this guy stepping to the plate.  Then again, he might draw a walk….but I digress.  As soon as the season ended, the Marlins proudly announced that they’d be setting up an analytics department.  This past Wednesday, the team made their strongest move yet towards realizing that pledge by hiring former Toronto Blue Jays metrics man Jason Pare.  Obviously this is the type of move that might take a season or two to judge based on merits, being an even more dramatic case of trickle down benefits than the hiring of pitching development guru Jim Benedict earlier this offseason.  The best way to judge whether it’s substantial or just window dressing?  See who Miami drafts this June.
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  • Strike 2-  Biggest on-field addition this week?  That’d be journeyman utility extraordinaire Don Kelly, who landed a Spring Training invite and a minor league deal.  If that name sounds familiar, pin a rose on your nose, as Kelly found himself in a very similar situation last year.  And he made the best of it. Kelly batted .270 last spring, and parlayed that and some veteran savvy into a spot on the Opening Day roster.  Sadly, he lasted two games before being downed with an injury, and would injure himself further rehabbing in the minors.  But there’s not a position on the diamond he hasn’t handled, and that includes pitcher.  Okay, Ichiro might have more MLB pitching experience, but he’s pretty solid at the other eight spots.  Factoring in that versatility, the Fish are hoping he can rebottle some of that 2015 magic.  Or if not quite magic, usefulness.

More from Marlins News

  • Strike 3- Lastly, the team is still reportedly looking for veteran depth at the back-end of the rotation.  However, it has also become apparent that money is very much an issue.  While not earth-shattering to hear perhaps, it’s always a little disconcerting to hear nonetheless.  The silver lining to this would be that if this is the stance being taken, it would stand to reason to assume that at least some of the talent evaluators in the organization are confident in names like Jarred Cosart, Adam Conley, and Justin Nicolino being ready to seize control of those bottom two spots.
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