[dannibalcorpse]

As the calendar turned over to February 2023, Marlins’ President of Baseball Operations Jackie Daytona was hard at work figuring out just who exactly from the organization would be on the Major League side of the team’s Spring Training Complex. It’s a fine line to thread - it’s the best chance the big league brass has to have some hands-on time with their top prospects, but you’ve got veterans needing to shake off the winter’s rust and get ready for Opening Day. After careful deliberations, the Marlins have decided to bring the following players to Jupiter:

(On the 40-man, MLB experience, On the 40-man, no MLB experience, Non-Roster Invitee*)

C: Payton Henry, Chris Okey*, Jacob Stallings

CORNER IF: Yoenis Cespedes, Isan Diaz, Lewin Diaz, Curtis Mead, Mike Moustakas

MIDDLE IF: Elvis Andrus*, Jazz Chisholm Jr, Jose Devers, Tristan Gray*, Luis Rengifo, Wilfredo Tovar

OF: JJ Bleday, Jackie Bradley Jr*, Griffin Conine, Bryan De La Cruz, Avisail Garcia, Victor Victor Mesa, Brian Miller, Jesus Sanchez, Jorge Soler

RHP: Sandy Alcantara, Mark Appel, Anthony Bender, Brad Boxberger*, Alexis Diaz, Calvin Faucher*, Dylan Floro, Louis Head, Max Meyer*, Oliver Ortega, Eury Perez*, David Robertson*, Sixto Sanchez, George Soriano, Philips Valdez, Mitch White, Tyler Zombro*

LHP: Tom Cosgrove, Grant Dayton*, Victor Gonzalez, Jacob Lopez, Jesus Luzardo, Andrew Nardi*, Steven Okert, Trevor Rogers, Tanner Scott, Andrew Vasquez*

POSITION BATTLES: The main position up for grabs coming into camp is the starting shortstop job. Jose Devers & Luis Rengifo are the holdovers from last year, but neither really separated themselves with subpar seasons at the plate. Wilfredo Tovar is sure to make a push for the spot, but his versatility (65+ defensively at 2B/3B) leave him better suited for a super-sub type role. Beyond those three, there’s one other player with extensive experience at short in camp…

NAMES TO WATCH: Among the position players, NRIs Elvis Andrus & Jackie Bradley Jr. were both signed to straight minor league deals after not catching on with anyone this past winter. Andrus held his own defensively as the A’s everyday shortstop in 2022, but didn’t do much at the plate. His .232/.270/.296 worked out to a pitiful 56 OPS+, being done in by a complete lack of power - not a single home run in 537 PAs! JBJ had a similarly disappointing year at the plate despite playing every day, as he hit .216/.309/.311 with 5 HR & 48 RBI in 559 PAs. Each will look to carve out a bench role on a very young Marlins team.

On the mound, the names to watch are the new acquisitions - Alexis Diaz & Victor Gonzalez have pretty short track records of success, but the Marlins’ scouts love them - will this great stuff on paper translate to success out of the Miami ‘pen? Veteran NRIs Brad Boxberger, Grant Dayton, & David Robertson are in camp to offer a decent fallback option in case some of the young arms can’t get it going.

The coaching staff returns more or less intact from 2022 - Manager Don Mattingly kept his position coaches Mel Stottlemyre Jr(PC) and Marcus Thames(HC), along with his bench coach James Rowson and his base coaches Keith Johnson (1B) & Bo Jackson (3B).

SPRING TRAINING NEWS

March 2, 2023: C Payton Henry was removed from yesterday’s 8-7 loss against the Nats after a collision in the 2nd inning - Henry strained his back after running into Washington SS Lucius Fox trying to keep the Bahamian middle infielder from completing the double play. While Henry probably could’ve played through the injury, Spring Training is neither the time nor the place to push through something, so Henry goes on the IL while NRI Nick Fortes will get some reps in MLB camp while Henry recovers.

March 12, 2023: With Spring Training games halfway done, Don Mattingly started whittling down his roster. He had a little help in his decision-making, as Elvis Andrus strained his oblique and will miss about 6 weeks - he was assigned to minor league camp and placed on the IL. Fellow veteran Jackie Bradley Jr. also found himself reassigned after an 0-21 start to his spring - he’ll be in Triple-A Jacksonville as depth for the Marlins organization. Some of the young starters also got reassigned - Eury Perez & Max Meyer had a few starts to get some reps against MLB batters, but they’ll step aside and let the 2023 rotation get stretched out in anticipation of the upcoming regular season. A handful of relievers were sent to the minor league side, as well - Grant Dayton, Mark Appel, David Robertson, Louis Head, Anthony Bender, and Andrew Nardi will be starting the season in the minor leagues after not doing much to separate themselves in camp.

March 15, 2023: The Ides would not pass without claiming a victim - Jesus Luzardo will miss the next 5-6 weeks with a forearm strain. Luzardo was penciled into the back end of the rotation along with Mitch White, and his absence will open up a spot for about the first month of the season - Jacob Lopez, Calvin Faucher, & George Soriano have all been getting starts during spring, with Lopez & Soriano already on the 40-man roster if Mattingly wants to bring them into the regular season. The April schedule doesn’t bring many well-timed off days, unfortunately, so the Marlins will need a full 5 man rotation for most of the opening month.

March 21, 2023: Another spring training injury hits the Marlins as splashy offseason acquisition Mike Moustakas hit the injured list today. Moustakas is another victim of the dreaded oblique strain, and will be looking at the same 5-6 week timetable for recovery that Elvis Andrus was prescribed earlier. There’s not much available at 3B in the Marlins’ upper levels, so they may wind up rolling with former top 100 prospect Isan Diaz at the hot corner, or plugging in Wilfredo Tovar for a few weeks, or possibly even waiting to see who gets DFA’d in the run-up to Opening Day. The news could be worse, but it surely stings to be starting the season without the lineup’s shiny new toy.