Though the Marlins made a few headline-worthy changes in the front office following the franchise’s transfer of ownership to Derek Jeter and company, there wasn’t a dramatic overhaul right away. Instead, as FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman notes, the club is “experiencing turnover as they go; it’s happening organically, and perhaps uncomfortably in a couple cases.” Director of player development Gary Denbo is reportedly “appalled by much of what he sees” as he surveys the Marlins system and attempts to turn the franchise around. Denbo’s primary focus is accountability; it’s reported that within the old regime, decisions could “come from anyone,” and weren’t always made by the person who is accountable for them. “We’re hoping to develop a sense of urgency to become the best organization in baseball. That is the objective,” said Denbo. Though he’s reportedly ruffled a few feathers, perhaps that’s acceptable considering the Marlins have put up a losing record every year since 2009.
A few other items from around the NL East…
- Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic sat down for a Q&A with Nationals hitting coach Kevin Long. Among the highlights are rookie Juan Soto; Long raves about his “tight”, “compact” and “connected” swing along with his plate discipline). “I can go on and on about this kid. His routine is flawless. He came in and knew exactly what he wanted to do. I was like, ‘Wow.’ He’s at ease. He’s confident.” Long also discusses Bryce Harper’s relative struggles as well as Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton and the fly-ball revolution.
- In a separate piece, Rosenthal notes at one point that the Nationals are attempting to add one starter and one reliever (according to his sources). With the recent placement of Stephen Strasburg and Brandon Kintzler on the DL and Jeremy Hellickson still recovering from a hamstring strain, pitching is thin for Washington outside of Max Scherzer, Tanner Roark and Gio Gonzalez.
- “It feels as if Maikel Franco is being phased out,” writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports. While it’s (somewhat) worth noting that Phillies management has denied this, Franco has been relegated to a part-time role after enduring continued struggles to get on base this season; struggles he doesn’t particularly make up for in any other way. Clearly this hasn’t been lost on Franco, who is aware of the circumstances. “I understand what’s happening right now,” he said on Sunday morning. “I understand what the manager is trying to do with everybody. I know the situation.” Rookie J.P. Crawford has been getting looks at third base, and the team is also looking for a positional home for Scott Kingery. Franco owns a .233/.281/.408 slash line since the start of 2017.
The only team that matters is the Braves….
That is all
Why do Kingery and Crawford get passes for being terrible hitters? They are slightly better defensively but Franco offers more with the bat. No reason to completely forget about Franco
Because they are patient at the plate and work counts. The only time Franco works counts is when pitches are 2 ft outside. Way too many first pitch outs many of which are ground outs or weak fly outs.
As a team that philosophy doesn’t do much when coupled with a 25.7%K rate (9.66/game…worst in MLB) or a team .231 BA, (26th) 4.21 runs/game (20th). Doogie Kapler is proud of the 3.78 bb/game (3rd) but walks don’t drive in runs except on rare occasion nor do the score without hits.
The only reason for a winning record has been SP and that is starting to crack.
Some of it might be that Franco’s been in the ML for a few years.
Where’s Robles? He was more hyped and higher ranked than Soto.
He’s been hurt all year. He’s still a very good prospect but Soto has just performed at the major league level this year so they’re talking about him.
I don’t see the Nats bringing Robles up until late in the year if at all this season. I’m not sure where he is in terms of his service clock, but WAS does need to give him some major league reps if he’s gonna be Harper’s successor.
“ . . . if he’s gonna be Harper’s successor.”
Robles is a CFer. He will be, and already would have been sans injury, MA Taylor’s replacement in CF. Should Harper leave his successor will be Soto.
Bad front office @Phillies,manager included!
“Bad front office @Phillies,manager included!”
Just throw……at the wall and see if it will stick and then call it creativity.
“‘We’re hoping to develop a sense of urgency to become the best organization in baseball. That is the objective,’ said Denbo.”
Given the ownership of the Marlins this should be interpreted as “We’re hoping to become the most profitable organization in MLB.”
The Marlins will continue to be a AAAA farm team for contending teams. Need a prime time position guy and don’t want to pay big free agent dollars? Call the Marlins.
The next teams that come in under expansion will be like the Marlins, Rays, Pirates etc.
Ross or Richard plus hand for?