Spring training is a time when Pollyannaish optimism not only is accepted, but encouraged.
So allow Marlins fans to step into a world where four of their key players return to the best version of themselves.
What if right fielder Avisail Garcia resumed being the player who hit .262 with 29 homers and 86 RBI for the Brewers in 2021 — not the guy limited to .224, 8 homers and 35 RBI, in 98 games of an injury-plagued first season as a Marlin?
What if designated hitter Jorge Soler becomes the .265, 48-homer, 117-RBI star he blossomed into during a career year in Kansas City in 2019 instead of the .207, 13-homer, 34-RBI disappointment he became in 72 games last season before a back injury prematurely ended his first season as a Marlin?
What if Jesus Sanchez — bidding for a starting job in left field — again became the guy who hit .251, with 14 homers and 36 RBI in just 64 games as a Marlins starter in the second half of 2021, not the one who hit .215 with 13 homers and 36 RBI last season and was demoted to Triple A Jacksonville in August?
And what if lefty Trevor Rogers magically returns to the pitcher who had a 2.64 ERA in 25 starts in 2021, made the All Star team and finished second for National League Rookie of the Year instead of the one who struggled to a 5.47 ERA in 23 starts last season?
If even three of those players become the best versions of themselves — and everyone else replicates 2022 performance — this team, with reliable Luis Arraez and Jean Segura added and Johnny Cueto stepping into Pablo Lopez’s rotation spot - would be dramatically better.
But can any of them recapture past glory?
All, naturally, say they can. But there are modest, tangible reasons for hope.
For example: Garcia has alternated very good seasons with subpar ones for six consecutive years. So he’s due for a good one.
“I recognize that I didn’t have a great year last year,” Garcia said. “I know I have to get better. And I will.”
He dropped 10 pounds, to 235, and that could help.
Soler, for his part, made a mechanical adjustment.
“This offseason, I took the time to make a couple adjustments to my swing,” he said Friday. “I noticed last year that my swing was a bit outside the ball, and this year I want to be more focused on staying within the ball to make solid contact and also to take more walks. Improve getting on base.”
He said Arraez and Segura “are great hitters, and it’s a benefit to everyone, [especially] those batting after them,” like himself. “We’re a much better roster. Compared to last year I see this as a more competitive team.”
First-year manager Skip Schumaker acknowledged that Garcia and Soler know more is needed.
“A lot of the players are disappointed in their year, some embarrassed by their season, and are looking to rebound,” Schumaker said. “Motivation is a scary drug, and I think having guys that are upset about their previous year helps a coach because we see some things that can help them and they’re willing to listen.” He said Garcia wants to prove last season “was an outlier.”
Rogers, meanwhile, said he had an “epiphany” while sitting inside his Lubbock, Texas, home in November, watching 2022 video of himself.
“You search all year, and then you get away from the game for a month and then you look and you’re like, ‘Man, what the heck was I doing?’ he said.
“I dissected my mechanics, and I was just getting way too east/west [with his body throwing pitches], too rotational instead of being a north/south guy like I used to be. So it’s been a slow progression as far as getting back to that.
“As soon as I saw it on video, I knew exactly what it was. It was just so appalling to me and kind of out there like a sore thumb. It was pretty easy to spot.”
Then he attacked his body after coming to the conclusion that “my hips were pretty weak and believe it or not, my ankles, too.” So he began doing strengthening exercises.
He also has worked to add to his arsenal by developing a “two-seam sinker that’s coming along really well. Really looking forward to seeing how adding that extra pitch will do this season.”
He threw fewer fastballs in 2022 than in 2021, and more sliders and changeups. Nothing worked with sustained success.
Batters hit .272 off him last season, after hitting just .214 against him in 2021. He had 24 more strikeouts than innings pitched in 2021; one fewer strikeout than innings pitched last season.
He said his confidence has not been shaken by last year’s regression.
“I think since I went through the failures that I did, I hit rock bottom. I’ve been through those tough times and have gotten better from it. I think it’s helped me confidence wise tremendously. This game is really tough. So some guys either it makes them or breaks them.”
Sanchez, meanwhile, called last season “terrible”; his .214 average, .280 on base average and 92 strikeouts in 343 plate appearances weren’t acceptable and ultimately led to his August demotion.
But he was buoyed by the fact he had seven hits in 18 at-bats, including two doubles and a home run, to close the season in Miami after the demotion to Jacksonville, where he hit .306, with six homers and 27 RBI in 42 games.
“We started the [2021] season with high confidence. You guys can remember that. Then I started having difficulties in the games, and I lost my confidence. Even in AAA [initially], I couldn’t find myself.”
He worked with a “mental skills coach,” and his “confidence came back.” If Sanchez and Bryan De La Cruz have good camps, they could end up platooning in left field.
“I cannot control that, but I’ll be ready to play any position,” Sanchez said.
Nobody is giving up on the talent, considering he was on a 2021 pace to hit 28 homers with 72 RBI if he played 130 games.
