Marlins Fans, you've heard this before: Giancarlo Stanton is headed to the disabled list.
Don't worry, though, you're not the only baseball fans mourning his loss. His offensive prowess looms large across the nation, and many will miss watching the morning highlight reels of his 450 foot moonshots landing deep in the grandstand.
He's not alone on the shelf, either. He joins closer All-Star closer A.J. Ramos, who is unable to play thanks to a broken finger on his pitching hand. Ramos was among the league leaders with his 32 saves before his injury.
With Miami in the heat of a playoff race, and their hopes dwindling even more as ace Jose Fernandez is creeping closer and closer to his yearly innings limit, what is left to consider for possible solutions to stitch together their hopes and dreams?
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Well, it's a longshot, but why not take some cheap flyers on designated hitter Alex Rodriguez, and closer Jonathan Papelbon?
Who says the Fountain of Youth isn't located in the heart of Florida. What is there to lose at this point?
Rodriguez is fresh off his release from the New York Yankees from last Friday, August 12, and still hinted at the fact that while he has become mentally at peace with the thought of retirement, he still believes he has something to offer to a Major League ballclub. Not to mention there has to be some drive left in the man once known as the "best in the sport" to reach the exclusive 700 homerun club. He is four short of that milestone.
Meanwhile, Papelbon received his outright release as requested from the Washington Nationals after Papelbon struggled to the tune of a 4.37 ERA which led to his removal from the closer in our Nation's Capital after their July 30th acquisition of Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon. Melancon flourished upon his arrival to D.C. and left an aging Papelbon as a mere afterthought.
Papelbon felt that his presence in Washington was leading to unfair pressure towards the front office and management in terms of his usage, and felt it better that he be removed from the team so as to not affect their future aspirations of a deep World Series run here in 2016.
With Stanton's frightening presence missing from a lineup that now lacks firepower in the middle of the order, and first baseman Justin Bour's health still left in question (Bour has been out of action since July 2nd with a foot injury), Miami could definitely flirt with the idea of bringing Rodriguez into town and teaching him how to maneuver first base in Bour's absence. At this point, the uncertainty is so great that there is still the possibility of Bour's injury costing him the rest of 2016.
Likewise, the Marlins currently have fastball-changeup specialist Fernando Rodney slotted into the closer's role in place of Ramos. The bonus of that situation is that in his career, Rodney has experience in both the closer's role and also in an eighth inning setup role. In the event that Papelbon is invited to close out Miami victories, they could boast an attack of a veteran Rodney-Papelbon tandem at the back end of their surprisingly-effective bullpen.
Sure, as we all know, veteran players in their late-30's and early-40's are a dice roll no matter how you slice it. But Miami is at a serious crossroads as games dwindle away. Their last playoff appearance was way back in 2003, and their fanbase is restless with frustration as they've seen the team go through a handful of rebuilds since with videogame-like rosters that never seem to pan out. They've never taken major measures like this before, though. Rodriguez and Papelbon have been through the playoff fires before many a time with the super-powered likes of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, respectively.
They could bring a presence unlike no other; something that not even the greatest of minor league talents could relate to upon call-ups.
We as fans and writers call this kind of predicament, some serious food for thought.
