Miami Marlins have a hidden gem...

I already wrote a little bit about this before... Sixto Sánchez is coming back this Spring Training! The former top prospect missed significant time with injuries, but now he's finally back and there's a lot of interesting information about this. In fact, there are multiple intriguing scenaris having to do with his big return. Let's take a look at what we can expect from Sixto's big return this upcoming season.

Sixto Sánchez is coming back to the Miami Marlins.

As you look at all of the great promotions for Miami Marlins games this season, I wonder if one of the mystery bobbleheads will end up being for a returning pitcher by the name of Sixto Sánchez. Sixto was last seen in the 2020 season, pitching to a 3.46 ERA/3.50 FIP with 7.6 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 7 games and 39.0 innings pitched. He looked as if he was on his way to living up to his elite prospect promise with the Philadelphia Phillies. Unfortunately injury hit him hard, and he ended up missing basically the entirety of the last two seasons.

"It was very, very hard for me,." "A couple of years, you watch the games, you see your teammates playing, and you really want to be there. And the frustration was really high. It wasn't easy for me to maintain a positive attitude. It was really hard because it was just setback after setback, and just trying to come back and see that and trying to maintain that positive energy was very difficult. But thank goodness we're here where we're at right now and looking forward."

2023 is promising to be Sixto Sánchez's return season and there are obvious questions about where he now fits on the team. The pitching rotation seems to be pretty much set, so barring injury it's unlikely that he'll get the chance to crack it in Spring Training. He can of course serve as pitching depth in the Minors, but he can do more than that too. Can he become as useful part of the bullpen?

A case can be made that his health would be better off with him focusing on pitching less. This positions him a s competition to Dylan Floro for the closing job. If he becomes a shut-down reliever in the late innings it would make him a major asset to a team wouldn't it? If he becomes the new closer, then even better isn't it?

There are many options as to how Sixto Sánchez's return will go. Sixto dropped significant weight due to a rigorous workout regiment and says: "I think that it can help me a little more," Sánchez said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. "You've got to put a little more pressure to your shoulder with the weight, a little extra work that I have to put. But I feel very light right now, so I think that could work to my benefit."

We will see what kind of role Sixto Sánchezwill end up playing for the Miami Marlins in 2023.