Valuable Lessons Learned by the Miami Marlins in Losing to the New York Mets

The Miami Marlins fifth Spring Training game was close entering the bottom of the eight, with the Marlins trailing the New York Mets, 7-6.

But that’s when all hell broke loose. The Mets batted around (and then some) in bringing home seven runs off Miami Marlins relievers Kyle Keller and Ben Meyer. Before that, though, we saw things both encouraging and informative. Here’s four takeaways from Miami’s loss to the Mets, the good, the meh, and the ugly.

The Return for Christian Yelich is Going to Start Getting Some Attention

I’ve long held fast here at Marlin Maniac that we need to wait and see before we make any judgements on the Christian Yelich deal. When the trade was announced, and nearly every day since, someone on Twitter is mouthing off about how the Miami Marlins got fleeced in the deal.

But see, the thing is, you can’t really judge a trade where you send away an established major leaguer for prospects for at least three seasons. Sure, Yelich had a season for the ages, but those who witnessed the Miami Marlins loss to the New York Mets were treated to a glimpse of the future.

Lewis Brinson went deep twice, absolutely mauling a ball in the second inning and repeating the process in the fourth. Isan Diaz mashed one of his own in the fifth, and reliever Jordan Yamamoto pitched two hitless and scoreless innings, whiffing two and allowing only a walk. Even Monte Harrison, who was held hitless, managed to draw a walk and score.

For crying out loud, put away your tar and feathers and take a wait-and-see approach. I think we may all be pleasantly surprised in the end.

Which Miami Marlins are Surprisingly Speedy?

When I say that the Miami Marlins stole two bases in this game, you were probably expecting Magneuris Sierra, Brian Miller, Brinson, Harrison, or some permutation thereof. Think again. Austin Dean stole his second base of the spring, and third baseman Brian Anderson stole the other.

Wei-Yin Chen Still Pitching Like Wei-Yin Chen

Wei-Yin Chen‘s home-road splits were something that needed to be seen to be believed in 2018.

Chen was awful on the road, going 1-9 with a 9.27 ERA — the highest in the majors. But he was sensational at Marlins Park, where his 1.62 ERA ranked second only to National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom’s 1.54 home ERA. – Clark Spencer, Miami Herald

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• Why didn’t the Miami Marlins sign JDM?
• Miami Marlins rejected Boston‘s trade offer
• Miami Marlins are pursuing Michael Conforto
• Miami Marlins need to spend to win

In today’s tilt, Chen made his first appearance of the spring. Scheduled to go two innings, he was yanked after allowing five runs on five hits and a walk over only 1 1/3 innings of work. The resultant 33.75 ERA is probably not sustainable, but I’d be interested to see if both halves of this equation hold true. Let’s see him at home!

Pablo Lopez!

Pablo Lopez made his first appearance of the spring, allowed one walk, one hit, and one run over two innings. He also struck out three. It may surprise some to know that Lopez finished the 2018 campaign with the third highest WAR value out of the Miami Marlins pitching staff. His modest mark of 0.5 ranked behind only Jose Urena (1.0) and Dan Straily (0.7). And Lopez did it in just 10 starts. It’ll be good to see him join the rotation on Opening Day.

Did something grab your attention that didn’t get covered here? Let me know in the comments. Think you can do better? Marlin Maniac is now accepting applications.

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