Miami Marlins Bullpen Targets
By Jason Burke
The Miami Marlins took a big swing on landing the last of the elite free agent closers in Kenley Jansen. They ultimately struck out, among other baseball puns.
The Miami Marlins are a middle-of-the-pack team that hung around the wild card hunt until the season’s final stretch, ultimately falling off the pace at the very end. Teams around the National League should be more competitive in 2017, but with a couple of additions to their bullpen, the Marlins could sneak up on some teams.
The internet seemed to bash the Marlins for trying to spend a bunch of money on a closer last week when they “aren’t even close” to competing. While they aren’t of the same caliber as say the Cubs or Giants, the Marlins, if some things fell their way, could theoretically hang around in the NL East. The Mets rotation was a revolving door to and from the disabled list, and if they have to complete an entire season at less than full strength with a suspect offense, they could be had. The Washington Nationals are always one of the top three or four teams on paper, but consistently underachieve. Sometimes they save that underachieving for the playoffs, sometimes it comes out beforehand. Either way, they still don’t have an established presence to close out games.
With a full season from Giancarlo Stanton (which is admittedly asking a lot), and some development from a few other key spots, the Miami Marlins could be looking at a win total in the mid-80s–which would at least be enough to hang around the wild card race yet again.
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True to form, the team ranked 17th in baseball in bullpen WAR and 14th in ERA with a 3.63. Less separates them from the very top of the list (Dodgers, 3.35) than 19th on the list.
While the Marlins don’t necessarily need a huge upgrade to their bullpen, it would take them out of the middle of the pack and vault them to the top of one category. Their offense ranked 15th in WAR (22nd in wRC+ at 91) and their starter’s ERA ranked 12th. They need something that they can excel at, and fixing up their bullpen could be the easiest and most cost-effective fix to reach top-5 status.
While neither option will be flash, both Sergio Romo and Santiago Casilla, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, should be very intriguing options. Both have closing experience, but more importantly both have closed out games in the postseason. Neither is going to be a lights out option in the eighth, but they have long track records of success. Casilla ultimately lost his ninth inning role last season in San Francisco, but up until 2016 he had been a very effective under-the-radar reliever. Taking away the pressure of the ninth could bring him back to form, and he’ll likely come at a bit of a discounted rate.
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Pairing either up with A.J. Ramos and Kyle Barraclough (14.0 K/9) makes for a very formidable late inning combo. The Miami offense could still use a jolt, but there is plenty of upside in that lineup. All it takes in the NL is four runs on most nights, and with a decent starting staff and an improved bullpen, the Marlins could be taking aim at a playoff spot in 2017 with some luck.