New faces will be key to June success for Miami Marlins

The Miami Marlins want to climb back into contention this June. The team is going to need to rely on some new faces to get there.

Since the end of April, the Miami Marlins have played 10 series.

They won one.

However, somehow, they have still been somewhat competitive. That stretch has featured a staggering eleven 1-run losses. It has featured a Cy Young caliber run from staff ace Sandy Alcantara, and the best season of Pablo Lopez’s career. Their Pythagorean W-L projection says this is a winning team. And they have had plenty of injury excuses, which while that admittedly sounds an awful lot like last season, does give hope for a turnaround if you squint hard enough.

Bottom-line though, that turnaround needs to happen right now. Seemingly every time the Miami Marlins have been in a must-win situation this 2022 season, the Washington Nationals show up to be kicked around the diamond. Miami needs to do some heavy duty kicking starting Tuesday night, especially since the offense has started to come alive of late. Thanks to a Coors Field-aided double header to open the month, the Marlins are averaging over 6 runs/per game this June. They need to keep that momentum going into their next road trip.

The thing is, this road trip and must win stretch couldn’t possibly be more terribly timed. Miami is still dealing with injuries to multiple infielders, and two-fifths of their starting rotation are question marks. That’s without even mentioning the thorny issue of that ninth inning. Miami Marlins relievers contributed just one more save than I did in May.

In short, the team is going to need rely heavily on new faces to get back in this. Alcantara and Lopez have been great all year, Garrett Cooper has been quietly brilliant when healthy, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. brings All-Star energy to the ballpark every day. Yet, the team’s record is what the team’s record is. More help is needed.

Recently promoted top prospect Edward Cabrera looms largest in this discussion, and will get the ball to open up that crucial Nationals series Tuesday night. He was lights out against the Rockies in Coors in his season debut, and could make Miami’s rotation as fearsome as it has looked in weeks with a second strong showing. The same goes for Braxton Garrett, who did take the loss Sunday, but still managed to look like a better option than former fifth starter Elieser Hernandez has all season long. A stable rotation would solve a lot of May’s problems.

Just as important will be added offensive help and, unfortunately, the source of this production is much murkier. Though shouts must be given to newly christened backup catcher Nick Fortes, who has come home to score in all four games played this season so far. Helpful, but probably not enough to get the job done. Maybe that extra offensive help comes in the form of a trade. Maybe it comes via another minor league call up. Marlins fans have been clamoring for weeks for Jerar Encarnacion to get a big league chance. First baseman Jesus Aguilar is doing less and less to justify getting playing time over Lewin Diaz – other than making over $7 million, of course.

Someone who was an afterthought in April is going to need do some heavy lifting, and do so as soon as possible, to keep Miami’s 2022 season alive. Fans have realized it for weeks, and it’s time for the front office to get on the same page.