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Miami Marlins: Jose Urena making team’s decision difficult

By Benjamin Chase

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 13: Jose Urena #62 of the Miami Marlins looks on against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 13, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Marlins 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 13: Jose Urena #62 of the Miami Marlins looks on against the New York Mets at Citi Field on September 13, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. The Mets defeated the Marlins 4-3. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /
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After very publicly taking on the Atlanta Braves and their top rookie, the Miami Marlins had a seemingly easy offseason decision coming with Jose Urena. His performance since could make that decision more difficult.

The Miami Marlins were seemingly as outraged by Jose Urena‘s actions when he threw hard inside on Ronald Acuna on August 15th as the rest of baseball was. His own manager Don Mattingly didn’t lend much support, and Marlins management seemed to drop some hints that Urena may not be long for the Marlins roster.

While the Marlins massaged Urena’s suspension in order to have Urena miss facing the Braves in their last matchup of the season, his pitching since that day has been absolutely lights out.

In seven starts since the Braves game, Urena has tossed 45 innings with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He’s not striking out a ton of hitters, living more with weak contact than truly dominating hitters, but whatever it is, it’s been working for him, and not just for one game – for 7 starts and 45 innings. Most importantly, the Miami Marlins have gone 6-1 in the 7 starts while Urena has gone 6-0.

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After four seasons with the Miami Marlins, Jose Urena will be eligible for arbitration for the first time this offseason. Urena spent 2015 and 2016 bouncing between the majors and minors, amassing a total of 145 1/3 innings.

The 2017 season was Urena’s “breakout” season, as he went 14-7 over 34 games, 28 of them starts. He tossed 169 2/3 innings, with a 3.82 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, and a 64/113 BB/K ratio. With his final push, Urena will finish 2018 with a 9-12 record over 31 starts and 174 innings, posting a 3.98 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 51/130 BB/K ratio.

After his issue with Acuna, Urena seemed a certain non-tender candidate this winter. Now, with a likely $2 million or less salary for Urena in his first arbitration year, the Miami Marlins may have a tougher decision.

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The best solution for the Miami Marlins may be finding a trade partner looking for a back-end starter for a low price. Many scouts have believed that Urena could be a very impressive reliever if put into that role full-time, so perhaps moving to another organization could have his role moved as well. Regardless, his finish to the 2018 season has given the Marlins something to think about with Jose Urena.

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