‘We’re going to be nasty’: Breaking down the Miami Marlins’ revamped bullpen

Tanner Scott surveys the clubhouse and sees what the Miami Marlins’ rebuilt group of relief pitchers looks like.

They now have six bullpen arms with significant experience in high-leverage situations. Three of them have been closers at different points over the past two seasons — and two of those three have pitched in the World Series.

Asked to give his initial analysis of the group, Scott didn’t mince words.

“We’re going to be nasty,” the lefty said Wednesday.

That’s the hope.

The Marlins added three relievers to the roster this offseason via trades: JT Chargois from the Tampa Bay Rays on Nov. 15, Matt Barnes from the Boston Red Sox on Jan. 30 and A.J. Puk from the Oakland Athletics on Feb. 11.

Add in returning relievers Scott, Dylan Floro and Steven Okert, Miami has a plethora of options when it comes to how it handles high-leverage situations out of the bullpen.

Roles still need to be determined in the group, and that will develop throughout spring training and during the season.

Manager Skip Schumaker, however, said he likely won’t go with a traditional closer; rather, Schumaker said, “our best guys are going to be against their best hitters.”

Here’s a closer look at those pitchers Schumaker and the Marlins hope will be their “best guys” to pitch late in games this season.

The returners

▪ Dylan Floro: The 32-year-old righty enters his third season with the Marlins. He finished each of his first two seasons as the closer, acquiring the role in 2021 after Miami traded Yimi Garcia to the Houston Astros for Bryan De La Cruz and regaining it in September 2022. Overall, he has a 2.91 ERA with 110 strikeouts against 40 walks with 25 saves over 117 2/3 innings spanning 124 relief appearances in his first two seasons with the Marlins.

Floro’s 2022 season debut was delayed due to right rotator cuff tendonitis that he developed during spring training. He struggled early, posting a 5.50 ERA through his first 19 outings, most of which were middle-relief or low-leverage situations.

But in his final 37 outings, on July 3 when he recorded his first save in an extra-innings win over the Washington Nationals, Floro recorded a 1.77 ERA (seven earned runs in 35 2/3 innings) with 41 strikeouts against 11 walks.

Floro has two fastballs — a sinker and four-seam — that both average about 92.5 mph in addition to a slider that had a 40.3-percent swing-and-miss rate last season and a changeup that he primarily throws to left-handed hitters.

He entered camp healthy this year and threw his first live batting practice session on Wednesday.

▪ Steven Okert: Okert pitched in a career-high 60 games last season, including 13 times he pitched back-to-back days and twice when he was on the mound three consecutive days, and primarily pitched the eighth inning for Miami before being shut down in September with left triceps tightness.

Overall, he pitched 51 1/3 innings, 15 1/3 innings more than last year.

“That was the most I’ve thrown” in a season, Okert said. “I’ve never really done that many back-to-backs and some back-to-back-to-backs. It just kind of took a toll on me. Trying to learn how to prepare to be able to do it the whole season.”

Still, Okert impressed. He struck out 63 of the 221 batters he faced and held opponents to a .186 batting average against. His 29.6 percent hard-hit rate allowed — the amount of times a ball in play had an exit velocity of at least 95 mph — was one of the best in baseball last season.

▪ Tanner Scott: The Marlins acquired Scott at the very end of spring training last season and eased him into high-leverage roles. He has the pure stuff to be a closer — a fastball that averages almost 97 mph and a swing-and-miss slider as a lefty — along with the mental fortitude to handle being the last guy on the mound. And Miami gave him that chance. He led the team with 20 saves in 27 opportunities although they weren’t always the prettiest outings.

Scott’s issue? Walks. A lot of them. Scott issued walks to a staggering 15.9-percent of batters he faced last season.

“That needs to stop,” Scott said. “If no one’s on base, no one can score. That’s a big thing.”

If he can consistently keep his pitches in the zone — an ever-continuing process — he has the potential to be dominant.

The newcomers

▪ Matt Barnes: Barnes has had some big moments in his career. The 19th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, he made his MLB debut in September 2014, was part of the Red Sox’s bullpen in 2018 when they won their most recent World Series and was an All-Star in 2021 when he became Boston’s primary closer.

But then he had a bout with COVID-19 shortly after the 2021 All-Star Game followed by a shoulder injury at the start of 2022 and went through what was arguably the worst stretch of his MLB career.

Barnes’ final 17 games of 2021: A 9.26 ERA over 11 2/3 innings.

His first 20 games of 2022 before going on the 60-day injured list for right shoulder inflammation: A 7.94 ERA in 17 innings.

“Probably single-handedly the most frustrating and just ‘What’s going on?’ stretch of my career,” Barnes said.

He rebounded to close 2022, though. In his final two months of the season, Barnes pitched to a 1.59 ERA with 20 strikeouts against nine walks in 22 2/3 innings over 24 appearances. He recorded six saves in seven opportunities.

▪ JT Chargois: The 32-year-old righty is on his fifth MLB team,following stops with the Minnesota Twins (25 games in 2016), Dodgers (60 games in 2018 and 2019), Seattle Mariners (31 games in 2021) and Rays (46 games in 2021 and 2022).

He has a career 3.54 ERA with 155 strikeouts against 57 walks over 155 2/3 innings, but his production significantly improved during his time with the Rays (2.15 ERA, 41 strikeouts against 19 walks in 46 innings).

Chargois’ sinker averaged 96.5 mph last season and he had a 33.8-percent swing-and-miss rate with his slider.

▪ A.J. Puk: After injuries — most notably Tommy John surgery in 2018, a left shoulder strain in 2020 and a left biceps strain in 2021 — Puk finally pitched a full season in 2022 and gave a glimpse of his lofty potential.

Puk, who turns 28 in April, posted a 3.12 ERA with 76 strikeouts against 23 walks and four saves over 66 1/3 innings spanning 62 appearances.

According to Statcast, Puk’s 27-percent strikeout rate ranked in the 75th percentile among all qualified pitchers last season and his 29-percent swing-and-miss rate was in the 72nd percentile. He has a three-pitch mix, weaving in a four-seam fastball that averages 96.7 mph and sinker that averages 96.1 mph with a mid-80s slider.