Mar 19, 2014; Fort Myers, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Robert Andino (59) turns a double play as Boston Red Sox left fielder Daniel Nava (29) slides into second base during the ninth inning at JetBlue Park. The Pirates won 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
This morning the Marlins decided to throw a curve in their standing strategy of doing nothing while hoping for good luck, by well… doing something.
Left handed reliever Troy Patton, Right handed reliever Dylan Axelrod and depth Shortstop Robert Andino will spend the next season within the Marlins organization.
Troy Patton has was drafted in 2004 by the Astros but didn’t make and stick in he majors (he had a three game cup of coffee in 2007, and 1 game in 2010) until 2011 with the Orioles. Across the 11-12 seasons Patton posted a 1.5 WAR and a sub 4.00 xFIP. Those are solid numbers from a left handed reliever, and if Patton can get back to that performance level he’ll be a much needed extra lefty in the bullpen. Unfortunately in 2013 he fell off in a major way and has spent the past few years bouncing around in the minors, it seems likely that Patton’s days as a useful bullpen arm may be behind him.
RHP Dylan Axelrod was drafted in the 30th round back in 2007. His best year came back in 2013 when he pitched 128.1 innings for the White Sox while producing -0.4 WAR. Outside of that he’s only passed fifty innings pitched in the majors once. That’s about all you need to know about Dylan Axelrod.
Robert Andino is the most exciting of the three signing, at least in terms of fun factor if not for performance reasons. A second round pick back in 2002, Andino never turned into the everyday player that draft position suggests, but has been an acceptable, if below average, utility guy his whole career. This will be his third stint in the organization, this one coming after a 1 year adventure in independent ball. It seems likely that Dino will never make it to the majors this time around, even still his signing has many fans smiling today.
None of this is earth shattering, heck it’s not even bubble popping but at least it’s something. The Fish need to improve by about 20 Wins next year to have a chance at making the playoffs. For context Bryce Harper who just finished up one of the greatest offensive seasons in history, produced 9.5 wins in 2015. So the Marlins in essence need to add two Harpers and an Erick Aybar in order to be competitive. At best these three will combine for 0.3 Wins, and that’s being highly optimistic, but hey it’s 0.3 more than they had before.