Former All-Star closer Trevor Rosenthal put on a showcase this week. If any team signs him, it has to be the Miami Marlins.
It’s no secret that the Miami Marlins have had trouble nailing things down in the ninth inning in 2022.
What has been a mystery, at least to Marlins fans, is why the organization ever thought they had a handle on closing duties in the first place. Nothing about 2021 should have inspired such confidence. The cast of characters that has attempted to finish games for Miami this season has combined for a 4.38 ERA in the ninth inning, and a ghastly 10.80 ERA in extra-innings. They’ve blown eight saves already and, two months into the season, seem no closer to knowing who should close than they did on Opening Day.
Cue the walk out music for Trevor Rosenthal.
Rosenthal put on a long-awaited showcase Tuesday morning in South Florida, with multiple MLB teams in attendance to see just what kind of shape the former All-Star closer is in as postseason races start to heat up. Mercifully, the Marlins were among them. Arguably no MLB team has a greater need for a reliever capable of closing out a game than Miami, and this is an opportunity they can’t afford to pass up.
Unless, of course, he actually isn’t ready. It’s not outside the realm of possibility he never recaptures anything close to his former self. Rosenthal debuted in the majors in 2012, and is effectively coming back from both a torn labrum and thoracic outlet syndrome. That’s a lot of mileage on a 32-year-old arm. It could be that no one signs him.
However, if he is ready, Miami can’t lose here. Such a signing would only cost money, and probably only a one-year deal at that. If the Marlins don’t pay Rosenthal now, then they’re looking at trading a Top 15 prospect for say, Ian Kennedy, come late July. That’s hardy an enviable position.
All offseason, Marlins fans watched other teams sign relievers to contracts, even ones that at the time had longer odds on reaching the postseason than Miami did. In short, meaning they were willing to bet on their success early, and also pay for a valuable asset to move at the trade deadline if things went south. There’s no reason the Marlins can’t move Rosenthal if the team’s other issues continue and they find themselves needing to sell.
Granted, if New York Mets owner Steve Cohen decides to offer Rosenthal some ridiculous three-year, $27 million deal (and yes, I did pick Heath Bell’s 2012 contract terms on purpose), then the Marlins might have to back down. Assuming the offers stay reasonable though, the Marlins have the relative payroll flexibility to be aggressive here. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, they are in a much better position to offer a guaranteed shot at save opportunities than most of the other rumored suitors. Just the kind of the situation a reliever would hope to be able to cash in on in 2023.
Bottom-line, the Miami Marlins have a golden chance at a do-over on their biggest offseason mistake. Should they punt here on Rosenthal, it would say an awful lot about what the organization thinks about the team’s chances going forward.