MIAMI — There’s no perfect blueprint for a rebuild in baseball.
At least in the early going, the Marlins are going to try to do it a little differently than the Cubs, Astros and Braves from a leadership perspective.
Instead of cutting ties with his skipper two seasons into it like Chicago, Houston and Atlanta all did, Derek Jeter decided continuity is what’s best for Miami’s young players moving forward.
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By keeping Don Mattingly in the manager’s office, and veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas in the clubhouse, Jeter believes the Marlins are better set for success as they try to climb out of baseball’s cellar and become a contender.
The shuffling in the Yankee manager’s office Don Mattingly experienced first as a player, and the stability Jeter got to enjoy during his time in the Big Apple right after, could be what influenced the decision most.
“I played for Billy Martin three different times. I played for Lou Piniella two different times. It was Stump Merrill, Yogi Berra. It was Dallas Green. One guy to the next every year,” said Mattingly, who played for eight different managers and endured 11 managerial changes during his 14-year career with the Bronx Bombers.
“As a player, you kind of get to the point if things are going bad, you’re like, this guy is probably not going to be back. And we felt that. I felt a change when (Buck) Showalter came in.”
Mattingly played his final season in the major leagues when Jeter got his first taste of the majors 1995. The Yankees made the playoffs that season — the only time Mattingly ever did — and fired Showalter after losing to Ken Griffey Jr. and the Mariners in the divisional series.
The following season, Jeter started on Opening Day for Joe Torre. Five World Series rings later, Jeter played a span of 20 seasons for only two managers.
“When you’re a young player and you make mistakes, the first thing you do is take a look at that dugout,” Jeter said. “You see how your manager is responding. He’s someone that could make you nervous, or he could be someone who calms you down. (Mattingly is) the type that’s going to have a calming influence on young players.”
Rare for Marlins skipper
When Mattingly, 58, returns in 2020, he will begin his fifth season as the team’s skipper. No Marlins manager — not Fredi Gonzalez (276-279 record) or Jack McKeon (281-257 record) — has had a chance to manage the team that long.
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Mattingly, who entered with a 272-364 record entering Friday’s game against the Nationals, says he’s thrilled to be getting a chance to see Miami’s rebuild through. His two-year extension includes a mutual third-year option.
By the time the 2021 season is complete, though, the Marlins should have a pretty good idea what they’ve really got in their farm system, which ranks fourth according to MLB.com.
It features six Top 100 prospects led by right-hander Sixto Sánchez, outfielders JJ Bleday, Jesús Sánchez and Monte Harrison, second baseman Isan Díaz and shortstop Jazz Chisholm.
The Marlins badly need their young bats to develop quickly to augment an anemic offense, which has scored the fewest runs in the National League and hit the fewest home runs in baseball since Bruce Sherman and Jeter bought the team and started the rebuild by trading away two league MVPs in Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich and an All-Star in Marcell Ozuna.
Even though the Marlins payroll will drop from close to $72 million to roughly $47 million in commitments next season, Jeter was non-committal when asked if the team would spend money this winter on bringing in a few veteran bats to augment the offense.
The Marlins are still tied to one of the worst TV deals in baseball, a contract with FoxSports that doesn’t expire until after the 2020 season. The team is also in active conversations for a stadium naming deal, Jeter said.
Ultimately, any extra spending money from Marlins ownership may not come until 2021.
“Our job is to make our team better, but having said that, especially since the trade deadline, we have guys that are on the brink,” Jeter said referring to Jesús Sánchez, Chisholm, and first baseman Lewin Diaz, who were acquired in trades with the Rays, Diamondbacks and Twins, respectively.
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“They’re coming, and they’re coming quick. So you want to make sure that you give them enough time to continue to develop, but you also don’t want to block their way. So we’ll sit down and have those conversations.”
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill echoed Jeter’s sentiments.
“Derek said it perfectly, we’re going to be mindful of our prospects because we feel like we’ve been able to accumulate a tremendous amount of talent and put ourselves in position to compete,” he said.
Bringing back Miggy
By signing Rojas to a two-year, $10 million deal, the Marlins believe they will continue to have the right kind of influence around those young players over the next two seasons.
Rojas, 30, has followed in the footsteps of veteran Martin Prado, a fellow Venezuelan, and taken on the lead role in the Marlins clubhouse. Prado, Miami’s clubhouse leader since being acquired from the Yankees before the 2014 season, is a free agent after this season.
Rojas grew emotional Friday discussing how much the 35-year-old former All-Star has been a positive influence on him.
Upon introducing Rojas to the media on Friday, Jeter said: “I don’t want to speak on behalf of Donnie, but one of the best compliments that you can give a player is that you are an extension of the manager and that’s whether that’s in the clubhouse or that’s on the field.
“Miggy is a guy that commands respect in the clubhouse, commands respect on the field. He plays the game with energy, passion. And he continues to improve. So he’s an example for not only all the young players that we have here in Miami but all the young players that are coming up through the organization.”
Said Mattingly: “I saw Miggy as a very young player. He got traded from Cincinnati over to the Dodgers and the first thing we heard is, ‘Hey, this guy could really pick it, but he can’t hit.’
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“To watch what he’s been able to accomplish as a hitter — he’s always been a great defensive player and he continues to be — but from the offensive side, it’s like the perfect example of a guy that will continue to work, continue to get better, continue to strive. It makes me emotional because I’m so proud of him and what he’s been able to accomplish on that side of the ball. And again, who he’s become, there’s no better example of what kind of player that we want.
“How much better can you get? I think sometimes guys get caught up in they got to the big leagues and I’m good enough. … I have nothing but respect for this kid and the way he does things. And I’m so glad that he’s gonna be back with us.”
Future of assistants undecided
The Marlins have yet to decide which assistants will return in 2020. Mattingly said he feels likes the team took steps forward in 2019 even though the franchise entered Friday on the precipice of its third 100-loss season in 27 seasons.
“For me there’s been a huge difference this year from last year, not necessarily wins and losses, but the feeling of the competition,” Mattingly said. “Last year, I felt so many games that I was managing, we were out of it early, getting blown away. We were just trying to preserve guys in the bullpen, trying to get through a game and trying to give ourselves the best chance to win (the next day).
“This year, obviously, the way our starting pitching started out … you could see that we were in every game. It was just a matter of ‘Can we make a play? Can we get the big hit?’ It was the difference between a win and a loss. Those games are a lot different than how I was managing last year. Obviously, we went through some injuries and changes as the season went on. But I think you’ll also see that normalize again.”
So when will the Marlins win and win big again?
Jeter isn’t sure. He is as frustrated as anyone. There is no perfect road map, but the Cubs, Astros and Braves have all been great examples.
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Managers play a role, but not nearly as much as the talent on the field and the spending done in the front office.
Two years after the Cubs hired Theo Epstein to run the baseball office 2012, the club fired manager Dale Sveum and then Rich Renteria before settling on Joe Madden in 2015. The Cubs won the World Series a year later. Between all that, Chicago built a ridiculous farm system and spent money.
The Astros, who have now strung together three consecutive 100-win seasons including winning the 2017 World Series title, didn’t settle on manager A.J. Hinch as their leader until after they endured three consecutive 100-loss season and fired Brad Mills and Bo Porter as managers. Houston loaded up its farm system with prospects, added a few key free agents and won.
The Braves, the team the Marlins are likely to be chasing for years to come, fired Fredi Gonzalez 37 games into his second season after hitting the reset button after the 2014 season. They stuck with Brian Snitker, Gonzalez’s replacement, and have now won back-to-back division titles after one of baseball’s best farm systems grew up.
The Marlins know they have more work to do before getting to the level of those three franchises.
“Looking at the bigger picture, we’ve made a lot of improvements throughout our organization,” Jeter said. “We came in and from day one we said we’re going to strengthen our minor-league system and now we’re starting to get outside sources validating what we’ve been able to build. But we don’t want to just have the best minor-league system, we want to have the best major-league team. So we’ve made some progress, but we still have a long way to go.
“I mean, that’s the best way to put it. It has been frustrating. It’s almost like we’ve had three separate seasons, right? We got off to a poor start. We played decent there in the middle of the season and then we’ve struggled here at the end. It’s been tough to watch at times. And I think the players will tell you, it’s tough to play like this.”
(Top photo of Don Mattingly: Sam Navarro / USA Today)