Three Things that Could Sink the Miami Marlins in 2015

Mar 7, 2015; Jupiter, FL, USA; New York Mets center fielder

(12) avoids a wild pitch as Miami Marlins catcher

(39) fields the ball during a spring training baseball game at Roger Dean Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Catching- If you’re going to strike out 30% of the time at least be a decent pitch framer

The Marlins front office have tipped their hands: they like signing power hitters from World Series winning teams who are South Florida natives, doing so two years in a row in 2014 with Jarrod Saltalamacchia and in 2015 with Michael Morse. There is something else that Morse and Saltalamacchia have in common: their terrible plate discipline and pitch selection and marginal defense.

The Marlins have nearly no shot at being true contenders if their catcher has a .661 OPS and -8 DRS. Catcher is a position where you sacrifice production for defense and vice versa but it is unacceptable to have a catcher who can’t hit and is a disaster behind the plate.

Perhaps Salty really should stop switch hitting to improve his offense.

The question becomes even more complicated when the Marlins seem willing to trot out Jeff Mathis, he of the career-.563 OPS, out there every few days. A best solution would be a Saltalamacchia platoon with Realmuto, who has shown promise in the minor leagues, and just cutting ties with Mathis. But the Marlins overvalue Mathis for some reason, which is why they are willing to essentially gift him a 25-man roster spot for a third straight season.

In short, anything would be better than Saltalamacchia catching 110-120 games with Mathis catching the rest.

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