Miami Marlins ready to make moves once baseball resumes

The Miami Marlins have begun to make baseball moves now that the team is preparing to play ball once again this coming week.

Per MLB.com, the Miami Marlins have been busy the past couple of days, working to add veterans to their organization in the wake of the Coronavirus ravaging the team’s roster.

As Joe Frisaro reported, “Scrambling to load up on roster replacements, the Marlins have reached agreements with reliever Pat Venditte, infielder Logan Forsythe and catcher Wilkin Castillo in recent days.“The status of the three are pending physicals before they are announced. The Marlins have not confirmed the deals.”

The Miami Marlins are waiting to get back on the diamond, with a start date by the league off of Tuesday.

While any attempt to play ball has been halted, the front office is still working to make sure there is enough depth at the Major League level to remain competitive once baseball does resume in South Florida.

These are not the first moves Miami has made after the news spread – including one today, that 18 members of the organization had tested positive for COVID-19. When it was learned that Jose Urena, Harold Ramirez, and Garrett Cooper were all placed on the I.L. Miami brought in relievers Mike Morin, Justin Shafer, and Josh Smith. All the players will be non-roster invitees.

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This is a tricky situation to be it, considering there are top prospects in the Miami Marlins system who are considered on the edge of making the Major League roster. Would Derek Jeter and Michael Hill add someone like Monte Harrison to the current 30-man roster and see if he can help the team move toward a playoff berth?

Prior to the start of the season, both players along with Lewin Diaz were transferred to Jupiter at the Miami Marlins training facility to continue to work on their fundamentals with the option of potentially being called back to the parent club this season.

It’s also a wait and see approach for the organization, as Joe Frisaro wrote.

“Miami’s front office is tasked with finding players with either big league experience or ones who are considered close to being big league ready in the aftermath of the club having been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic,” Frisaro writes.“The team’s traveling party has been in Philadelphia since July 23, where they are being tested for COVID-19 daily.”

The Loss of Lou Schwechheimer

The Miami Marlins and the team’s Triple-A affiliate, the Wichita Wind Surge announced the loss of the team’s owner Lou Schwechheimer to COVID-19 this week.

Per ESPN.com, “Lou Schwechheimer, the team’s majority owner and general partner, was 62, the team said in a statement. The team was going to play its first season this year, before the minor league season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.”

This was supposed to be the first season Wichita would serve as the Marlins Triple-A affiliate after the organization ended its relationship with New Orleans in the Pacific Coast League.

“There are no words to express the loss of the entire Wind Surge family,” general manager Jared Forma said. “Lou was truly one of a kind, someone who never met a stranger. He will be deeply missed by his family and many friends, which included an extended baseball family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lou’s wife and daughter at this difficult time.”