Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s development in center field will play key role in Marlins’ 2023 success

One of the biggest decisions surrounding the Miami Marlins’ offseason — and one of the biggest decisions that could determine their success in 2023 — didn’t necessarily involve the transaction log.

It came in early January, before the Marlins had made any of the handful of moves that transformed their roster ahead of spring training. After a get-together, rising star Jazz Chisholm Jr. pulled first-year manager Skip Schumaker aside to pass along a clear message.

“I’m wiling to do whatever you want,” Schumaker recalled Chisholm telling him. “If you need me in center field, if you need me at shortstop, if you need me at second, whatever you need, I’m willing to help you win and help our team win.”

A couple weeks later, after the Marlins signed infielder Jean Segura and traded for infielder Luis Arraez, the decision became official: Chisholm, the Marlins’ starting second baseman the past two seasons and a 2022 All-Star at that spot, would be moving to center field.

Now, both Chisholm and Schumaker know the move most likely won’t be a seamless transition. Chisholm has never played in the outfield before and there are a lot of intricacies with learning the position — tracking balls, positioning, learning the warning tracks, adjusting to the dimensions of the ballpark, cutoff throws, the list goes on.

But if Chisholm can learn to handle the position with his speed and raw athleticism, it will solve one of the Marlins’ longstanding problems over the past few seasons.

“When you’re a rookie manager and you have your best player say that to you, that’s a big deal,” Schumaker said. “It’s kind of like you can take a deep breath and you’re like ‘OK. This guy’s in it to win.’ You don’t know the guys you’re acquiring as a manager and when your best player — the face of MLB The Show — is willing to do anything, that’s a big deal.”

Added Marlins general manager Kim Ng: “I think Jazz is a very unique athlete,” Ng said. “He’s very dynamic. He’s got great range, great speed. A lot of things that you look for when you’re thinking about center field. We’ve seen him grow. We’ve seen how he handles pop ups and ranges to the ones that are tough to get to.”

Chisholm has been taking regular reps in center field for the past month now, ever since he had the meeting with Schumaker. He has worked extensively with new Marlins first base coach and outfield coach Jon Jay and said he has arranged a meeting with 13-time All-Star Ken Griffey Jr. to get tips on playing center field. Chisholm also has a long history with Marlins alumnus Juan Pierre, who started 1,143 career games in center.

“It’s going great so far,” Chisholm said. “Not many dropped balls. I dropped a couple of bare hand balls but with the glove on, I’m feeling pretty good that I’ll catch everything.”

Chisholm said having grown up as a middle infielder will help ease the transition to the outfield in terms of reaction time to plays.

“It’s just gonna be fun out there,” Chisholm said.

And, he also hopes, it will help the Marlins turn the corner after a 69-93 season.

With Chisholm in center field, it freed the Marlins up to acquire a pair of contact-oriented batters in Segura and Arraez without there being a logjam in the infield. Arraez is primarily going to play second base and back up Garrett Cooper at first base. Segura is slated to play third base with Joey Wendle rounding out the group at shortstop.

“I feel like this year the clubhouse really has that winning attitude,” Chisholm said. “The positivity that everybody walks in with, with their chest and their head held high. I’m talking to guys and everybody can’t wait to get on the field. They can’t wait to play. They can’t wait to do this. It wasn’t like that before. ... Now, it’s time to win. That’s what we are about right now.”

Other story lines to follow

▪ Who closes?: Righties Dylan Floro and Matt Barnes as well as lefty Tanner Scott all appear to factor into the equation. Each logged at least 20 saves over the past two seasons, giving Miami the option to mix and match in the ninth inning based on matchups unless one of the three takes command of the role.

▪ Rule changes: Pitch clocks, no shifts, fewer pickoff attempts and larger bases are all coming to the game this season. Teams will use spring training to adjust to the new rules and find ways to use them to their benefits.

▪ The World Baseball Classic: The international tournament takes place from March 8-21. Five players on the Marlins’ 40-man roster — including three members of the projected starting rotation (Sandy Alcantara, Johnny Cueto and Jesus Luzardo) and two top-of-the-lineup hitters (Arraez and Segura) — are slated to participate, meaning they will miss a majority of the back half of spring training.

▪ Top prospects: Thirteen of the Marlins’ top-30 prospects according to MLB Pipeline will participate in big-league camp this season. The group is headlined by Eury Perez, the 19-year-old right-handed pitcher who is a near consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball. 2022 first-round pick infielder Jacob Berry and 2020 second-round pick left-handed pitcher Dax Fulton also highlight the prospects attending camp.

Max Meyer, Miami’s second-ranked prospect, is not included in this group of 13 as he continues to rehab from Tommy John surgery.

▪ Sixto Sanchez: The former phenom right-handed pitcher made pitcher made his MLB debut in 2020 to great fanfare. He hasn’t been seen in a regular-season game since after dealing with an assortment of shoulder issues that have resulted in two separate surgeries.

Sanchez is heading into camp lighter — he said he has lost 46 pounds — and has already thrown five bullpens ahead of reporting to Jupiter. He hasn’t been cleared for Grapefruit League games just yet but feels he is trending in the direction of being able to play.

“It was very, very hard for me the last couple of years,” Sanchez said Friday. “You watch the games, you see your teammates playing and you really want to be there. The frustration was really high and it wasn’t easy for me to maintain a positive attitude. It was really hard because it was just setback after setback and just trying to come back and trying to maintain that positive energy. It was very difficult, but thank goodness we’re where we are right now and looking forward.”

▪ New coaching staff’s impact: Schumaker retained just three coaches from last year’s staff — pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr., bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda and bullpen coordinator Rob Flippo. He promoted Jody Reed from minor-league infield coordinator to third-base coach and infield coach on the MLB staff.

Everyone else is new. In addition to Jay, the coaching staff includes bullpen coach Luis Urueta, hitting coach Brant Brown, assistant hitting coaches John Mabry and Jason Hart, quality assurance coach Griffin Benedict and field coordinator Rod Barajas.

Cooper called Brown “as eager of a hitting coach and as ready to go as I’ve seen in my time here.”

“He texts me every other day, it seems like,” Cooper said. “It’s a very hands-on approach that we haven’t had for the past few years where we’re breaking down video after almost every swing.”