Miami – The Marlins are planning to shake things up in a big way this season.
“Jazz is a very unique sport, very dynamic,” said Ng. “He’s got a lot of range and a lot of speed. He’s got a lot of things you look for when you think about center field. We’ve seen how he handles pop-ups, how he handles the ones that are really hard to get.”
When Miami traded Miguel Rojas to a short-term position with the Dodgers in early January, it led many to wonder if Chisholm would be moved from second place to sale. The Bahamas star has played both positions in the past, but has been the Marlins’ Opening Day second baseman the past two seasons.
“We’ve been talking about this for a while,” Ng said. “We haven’t necessarily been pressured to think about it meaningfully until this time probably. So when is this very opportunity [to pick up Arraez] It came – and we had some of these scenarios going on – it made us think about it even harder.
“[Jazz is] Intrigued and very interested in this situation as well. That made it a lot easier.”
Last year, Chisholm was sidelined on June 29 with lower back problems. It was later determined that he had a stress fracture, which caused him to miss the remainder of the season. So the Marlins switched to platooning at second base.
But with Friday’s trade, Ng made it clear Chisholm’s future is on the field. Arraez will play at second base, with some casting at first base in support of Garrett Cooper. Jean Segura and Joey Wendle can both play third base and shortstop, so expect to see the pair control the left side of the field.
“It definitely looks a lot better,” Ng said of the Marlins situation before spring training. “You always want to be better…between extras and health, we’re in a much better position than we were six months ago.”
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