Marlins 2025 Preview | Sandy Alcantara is BACK and throwing 🔥 for Miami! (30 in 15)
[Music] this baby’s going it is going begin 30 clubs in 15 days presented by T-Mobile rolls on we’re with the Marlins Cliff Floyd Robert Floy is with you Cliff next season this complex is going to look totally different they’re going undergoing a massive renovation and it kind of mirrors the renovation that this team in franchise is going through again great way to put and I think the biggest thing for me is you know you get these guys to come in the camp and feel good about where they’re going and how you know how they go get their bodies uh in tip top shape and then go out there and transition to the field and hopefully that will boost them to feeling like you know what this TR you know this rebuild won’t last as long as you think that’s that’s the biggest picture well they’ve got a new manager Clayton McCulla comes over from the Los Angeles Dodgers new coaching staff a lot of new players Cliff they play in a tough division we know this but there are opportunities for players to play to get at bats and to make Impressions on this franchise probably going to hear opportunity a lot right I that’s the biggest thing with with with young camps um but but the biggest thing is that shouldn’t last long when you have talent you got to get these guys to believe that they they should be here they have to go out them perform to stay here uh and that’s what you’re looking for if you’re Clayton a new manager with a young coaching staff the most important thing is to sort of get these guys to understand the importance of going out there and competing every single night now one quick Point sand alcra returns from Tommy John surgery he looked great in his first spring training start we’re taping on a Thursday he is actually starting so we’re not going to be interviewing Sandy but look Cliff it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Sandy alcantra will not be a part of this team at the end of the season right it’s not and I think that’s you know the most important thing is getting them healthy and getting them back out there right so he’s getting the open day start and that’s a boost morale of the team so you have to find out what what what Sandy is going to be if he’s here for the Long Haul cool as you move forward with the rebuild or if he’s not what you get back to boost this club moving forward let’s take a look at the additions and subtractions for this Marlin’s team and obviously there were a lot of subtractions but you get alcantra that’s almost like a a de facto free agent signing and then you get Matt mvis the former Cubs top prospect he comes over Cal quantro they sign him to a one-year deal to fortify that starting rotation one player that returns from 2024 who made a big impression the shortstop Xavier Edwards I asked Edwards what it’s like to be a young guy and still expected to lead this young Squad we got a young group of like you said um but I think we’re all kind of doing it together um sure my name be might be attached to it but I think we’re doing it as a collective group um you know we’re all kind of around the same age you can bring a lot of energy to the field every day and we’re just excited to play together when you think about you and and and I I I think you can still 70 80 bases but how do you go about just being aggressive and knowing that you can’t give up outs right but also be that table set of this team needs yeah get on base first off um no bases come without getting on base so getting on base first and foremost um and you’re not might be afraid to go um picking the right spots to go right counts right pitches uh right pitches to go off of um we’re doing our homework making sure we’re prepared when we get on the bases all that stuff comes into play um but also you know being patient at the same time and not just forcing forcing the issue and running to run uh really being smart with it so I think that’s really important one thing I’ve always heard from players and former players like Cliff X is that the game forces you to constantly evolve when you were a young player you used to have a leg kick now you’ve got the toe tap so I wanted you to take a look at uh you know this is uh highlights from your from your cycle in Milwaukee first of all you’ve got this is the high school swing on the left and then obviously you abandoned the leg kick how come um I just felt it was more consistent for me to do the toe tap uh something I could really just control the ground with um and it was easier for me to get my timing and gather together with both of my feet on the ground as opposed to having went up in the air and I felt I had more adjustability that way Cliff my man hits his first career Homer on the same day that he hits the cycle in Milwaukee you mentioned you were feeling good yeah he he trying to get back there that’s what I mean you always want that feel and I think the biggest thing with being you know a guy that Taps is it’s a perfectionist type approach and you got to get the timing down perfect now here here’s the spot I really want you to focus on here we we we highlighted that the toe tap here when you get this side angle uh first of all the speed and showcasing the wheels tell us what you’re thinking about you know when that pitch is coming and you get the toe tap what are you thinking um usually I’m thinking not as much about my hands more so my bottom half um I want to get into my back hip more so when I get to the tap um so I kind of could just wait for the pitch to come fast ball off speed pitch um once I get to the back hip and I can hold that I can kind of decide where my foot goes my front foot goes after that and you know after that just the swing comes off and and the rest is itself so I had I had a leg kick that went to the toe top and the difference was I was getting beat with the leg kick and not to say everybody’s different obviously but when I got to the tap my head didn’t move as much you see us you know sort of stand level and making sure you don’t have so much movement yeah absolutely absolutely like I said before with both you on the ground I just felt like I was in a better position to hit um you know it’s hard for me to kind of balance one leg in the air decide when I’m going to put my foot down if it’s a fast ball or if it’s an off seat pitch to kind of hang longer but it was much easier for me to do so with both feet on the ground and just reading the pitch from there we’ll get you out of here on this one obviously this Camp is about opportunity uh but for you to know that you’re on a day in and day out basis you’re going to be Manning short stop and being counted on to to deliver for this team what does that do for you that’s huge you know last year Camp I came in you know looking to win a spot and this year um kind of the same mentality but um maybe a different scenario this year I’m just looking forward to get to the season getting an open day um hopefully we got a packed house down in Miami and we’re getting we’re excited to get the year going yes sir look forward to it man thanks a lot for joining us appreciate it good luck to you all right bro Kyle so new team new opportunity Camp been going so far for you yeah it’s been going great U been a really you know seamless and smooth transition with the new staff you know like all the new things that were Incorporated and we’ve been getting after it working hard and getting better every day what what have you learned from last year that you can bring into this year as far as just your mation and understanding the game and slowing it down for you to be successful yeah for sure I think uh coming to Miami starting to play more frequently and you know starting to you know get attacked more consistently and you know when you know I was playing every couple days off the bench you know a little EAS easier to kind of hide those holes but when you’re playing every day they they find them and so it’s just uh you know learn how to handle being an everyday big leager and uh you know kind of trying to stay ahead of the curve and you know always working through things for you right as far as every every offseason I always try to add something to my regimen what was the one thing you added for yourself yeah I think you know last year kind of having a little bit of a tough second half I think um you know twofold one you know getting back to what I feel like my strengths are and obviously trying to cover up weaknesses but also you know uh you know getting back to my bread and butter and knowing that I pitches that I can handle taking care of those but then always working on posture you know uh with you know the high velocity up in the zone trying to just you know have better posture to that pitch and handling that pitch air an opportunity go out there and do it baby appreciate it all right stay healthy yeah thank you so Connor you’re now at third uh you mentioned the the throw is kind of taxing your uh your right arm a little bit how’s that transition going for you it’s uh it was challenging at first um it still is it’s a hard position to learn but it’s been really good so far in Camp um I’m doing a bunch of extra work trying to essentially be the best I can be as quick as I can um it’s way different than second but it’s been good so far this this roster is obviously a a young one and there’s opportunities everywhere but you’re I mean for lack of I mean look if we’re going to talk about it you’re you’re slotted in as the everyday third baseman what is that like for you even though you’re young man yourself it’s funny you say that cuz I don’t even feel that way um how come it’s just how I’m always wired um if if you’re not if you don’t feel like you’re getting chased then someone’s going to catch up um cuz everybody wants your job and um I don’t take it for granted but I’m also not anywhere close to where I think I can be as a player um so that’s also the driving factor I think I can do a lot of cool things and I I did some last year at the back half um for sure but there’s a lot of things I needed to grow and work on um that’s what we’re working on right now that’s what we’re doing with such a young roster how do you guys view this season in terms of development ultimately getting wins as part of a very difficult division it is tough division um and I came from also another tough division but I don’t think it I think it actually helps us because none of us have a ton like there’s not a bunch of us that have five six years of experience so it’s kind of just like we’re going to go out there and kind of play free a little a little bit but I think we’re going to surprise some people for sure um I I’ve been saying it all Camp um we know where we’re projected to be but we have some exciting young guys that are ready to prove themselves and take a next step and I said it last year we played really well down the stretch last year at the back half playing a lot of those these same teams Atlanta Philly La um twins at the time like we were playing some good ball when we needed to and we’re just hoping to build off that well best of luck to you in 2025 you take care of that right arm makeing that long throw I will thank you you got it we’re juper Florida with the Marlin when we come back we’ll talk about their pitching staff we know who the opening day starter is but what about the rest of the rotation we’ll discuss Cliff Floyd the former Marlin Robert Flo is with you Cliff obviously this franchise there’s a lot of uncertainty here but one thing we do know who their opening day starter is Sandy alcantra is back his last time on the mound September of 2023 uh but he’s going to be the opening day starter for the Marlins yeah I think the key to that is he’s healthy and back right so you get get him back healthy he went through his whole you know offseason getting himself in this shape new manager Clayton comes in gives him the ball open there as we expected and those are always things uh you look forward to as a player walking through the doors knowing you have your Ace back on the mound you know and and that and that whole thing can sort of just go through the whole organization you looking for something to keep your head up Sandy could be that guy for you yeah as we mentioned earlier as we uh tape here today uh Sandy alcra is scheduled to pitch so that’s why we’re not able to interview him but we can tell you that his first spring training start he was sitting at 99 he looked really really good and you can’t tell him to take his foot off the pedal right you can’t say Hey you know we need to take it easy can you throw 92 93 you just can’t teach that you know so when you when you when you get a guy back healthy and he’s feeling good and you stress him out you gotta let him go out there and be himself I think that’s what the marls have to do now when Alcan was winning the Sai Young he was going deep into ball games throwing complete games obviously he’s coming off an injury I’m wondering how they’re going to handle him I imagine very carefully as he works his way back so there’s so many variables I think Roo when you think about you know at some point maybe he’s not on this Rost as you as as you get towards the trade deadline in July so um bring him along slowly but I think it’s going to be Al Contra telling them how he feels and being honest with the with the trainer staff and so on so forth so now he does have a club option in 2027 so to Cliff’s point there is a real chance or a possibility that Sandy alcantra doeses not finish this season with the Miami Marlins so when you look at the rest of the rotation behind alcantra you’ve got Ryan weathers Edward Cabrera is an intriguing arm but who’s going to be that fifth starter right now three names in the mix Meyer boso and Adam merer who they acquired from the San Diego Padres for more on the Marlin’s rotation including another member of that rotation Cliff Floyd with Ryan weather all right Ryan so let’s get it out the way I played with Dad as you know and we go back to the ’90s but one great thing that I thought was super cool is you Chang your number to his how cool was that for him you know you know it’s cool um you know he taught me everything I know about baseball um so it’s just cool to give a little piece back to him um just to honor him and just you know the hours he put in I mean he did it for a long time and you know I always have that respect for him after doing it for a couple years now for him doing as long as he did just knowing the day in day out grind I have a respect for him and he’s always somebody I lean on so before we got on we talked about health and the importance of it for you and and and and giving yourself a chance to have you a full season what was some of the things you did this offseason to make sure you get to that point for sure um you know I’ve always kind of been a little bit more of a Husky guy so just being able to kind of trim that down a little bit um you know preserve like inflammation just Health in general you know that’s our job as a starter go out there and go uh take the ball every fifth day and you know pitch into September and then you know if we get to October pitch into October um so yeah hell number one name of the game you’re a guy that’s seen Sandy go through his his whole comeback how how fun is it see him back on the mound uh and and easy throwing 98 99 right you know we’re we’re having like you know bullpens and it’s like he’s he’s flipping 95 unbelievable he’s a machine so it’s going it’s going to be fun to watch him get back this year um you know when I got traed over here I saw him get hurt and just kind of the deflated feeling that it had on you know the team you know that’s our horse and um seeing him work can get back you know I’m I’m excited for him to pitch I think it’s going to be a big year for him and um I’m just excited to watch him pitch actually on this side of his team I’m excited to watch him pitch last question for you Ryan weathers what’s what’s a good season for you shoot just staying healthy um whenever that team wants me to throw the ball you know that’s my time to pick it up and go um you know I don’t really have any personal goals I just you know I just want to stay healthy and help the team that’s what’s up y have a great year my man appreciate tell long manager inter are presented by Sage the official finance software partner of Major League Baseball time now for the manager interview presented by sage and the manager first year manager Clayton McCulla wearing a different shade of blue yeah buddy uh going from dodger blue to the teal of the Miami Marlins how’s Camp been going so far yeah it’s been going great I mean really we knew coming in we were going to have a a youthful roster uh with but with talent and they’ve been the the Energy’s been great you know it is like there’s opportunity here and uh there’s a lot of excitement been around camp camp and each day is a for our staff has been awesome CU it’s like there’s so many teachable moments and you know from you know whether it’s the game the workouts so we’ve been just you know so like proud of how the guys have come out here with an open mind to some of the uh you know training um practices and things that we’ve done so it’s been it’s been a lot of fun social media question from the fans Dan wants to know Clayton will you miss the Otani headbutts uh no I won’t I’m no best of luck show hey we’re gonna uh we’re going to look to take you know come after you when we uh when we meet you during the season all right so no not going to miss the show a head bumps that’s in the past Turn the Page there my days in the Marlin uniform winning Royal series and losing guys and having opportunity for youngsters but my question is how do you get these guys to sort of feel like they belong or or know they belong without overwhelming them to to sort of go through that law yeah that’s fair I mean it’s we know it’s a good league and it’s a you know it’s the best league and so we’ve we’ve tried at least in this Camp early on to stress like what we’re going to do like from a practice standpoint and some of the um drills and the challenges we’re going to provide we hope are giving you a little bit of a heads up for like nothing’s easy about the game at night you know you’re going to face high quality stuff it’s never been velocity’s never been higher so trying to create some training environments that may be more representative of what the game’s going to be and maybe a little unique and different for some we feel like it’s going to just help at least prepare you as best you can and then we know that throughout the course of the season the ability to you know it’s hard to get to the big big leagues and the ability to stay is so much about the adjustments you’re just going to have to make you know uh from you know night to night well a skip just mentioned there’s obviously a lot of opportunity also a lot of young Talent throughout this franchise and for more on that let’s send it over to Jonathan Mayo a lot of changes in the Marlins organization at the big league level and through their system a ton of Trades you can see at this top five exactly how they’re putting together this farm system you got guys from the draft like Thomas White and Noble Meyer got guys via trades like Starin cabba on here and then Andrew Solace is their their big International signing for 2025 and he’s already here in Camp going to start the year in the United States so he’s a little bit of ahead of the curve and speaking ahead of the curve we’re with Thomas White right now and Thomas you know I always heard that guys who were from the Northeast out a high school who didn’t throw a ton uh it’s supposed to take them a little bit longer you didn’t get that memo I guess no I guess not um you know that was kind of the confidence I had in myself to come out and you know I I said it a lot I didn’t feel like I need to leave the Northeast and I felt good about my abilities and you I think I showed that you know I was confident in myself and it came true I want to ask you quickly cuz people always mention you and Noble my together same draft class move together across the country I know we talked about that but just what’s it like being able to go through someone your own age who you knew before a little bit and being able to go through the process of trying to get to the big leags together yeah I mean it’s it’s always great to have someone going through the same situation you are um you know if you’re struggling you can always ask them uh if you’re going really good they can always ask you you know he had a really good sweeper or slider coming out of high school so I picked his brain on that and that’s where I kind of got the beginning of what turns into Now what is my sweeper so just picking each other’s brain you know we’re both developing still growing together and we we’ll keep learning from each other all right good stuff THS obviously plenty of opportunity here with a lot of young guys Thomas White and Noble Meer they’re going to be there soon enough back to you real wrapping things up from Marlin’s Camp 30 clubs 15 days presented by T-Mobile Cliff Floyd Robert Flores Cliff this is a camp for opportunity this is the very difficult division that they’re a part of but they’re going to find out which players are going to be around for the long haul this year yeah and I think that’s the biggest thing is trying to find out what the future looks like but also getting these guys to be competitive accountable uh and and showcase some of the skills without overwhelming them right so putting guys in really good positions be successful it’s going to be a lot of platooning going on but I think you know most important thing is finding out you know the the identity of every player that you have in Camp two positions there won’t be a platoon at Short Stop and third base Xavier Edwards Norby give me a prediction for X what you think individually might look like for in 2025 for him well I think the biggest thing for him is he knows he has to be a big table set up for this team to score runs and manufacturer so 50 plus Sten basis will be ideal with him being aggressive not worried about getting caught stealing and all those things like that but understanding that he has to be that that guy at the top to get this engine rolling so 50 plus totem bases I like 100 runs I don’t know if he gets to that because obviously you got to get run scoring position and get in from third base but but uh it’s a start to to to where where you trying to go well third baseman Conor Norby I’m going to go 20 to 25 home runs 75 to 80 RBI for Connor Norby at third base that’s going to do it from Marlins camp for Cliff Floyd I’m Robert Flores thanks to everyone behind the camera and behind the scenes thanks for watching
Sandy Alcantara, Xavier Edwards and the Miami Marlins are previewed by @MLBNetwork in Spring Training 2025.
Don’t forget to subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/mlb
Follow us elsewhere too:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLB
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mlb/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlb
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mlb
Check out MLB.com daily to watch the MLB.TV Free Game of the Day! https://mlb.com/freegame
Visit our site for all baseball news, stats and scores! https://www.mlb.com/
NPBHUB.COM | The Fanbase of Nippon Baseball & Nippon Professional Baseball