One week into the 2013 season, the Cubs find themselves with a Carlos Marmol problem. In May of last year, new manager Dale Sveum removed Marmol from the closer role after Marmol’s continued control issues and an over-reliance on his slider. Marmol eventually worked his way back to the closer role and finished the year on a high note. And that’s when things got weird.
Looking at another year of rebuilding and Marmol’s impending free agency, the Cubs decided the time was right to move him. Last November, word leaked, from Marmol himself, that he had been traded to the Angels for Dan Haren, but that deal fell apart. Japanese reliever Kyuji Fujikawa was signed over the winter, with the expectation that he would be the new closer. The Cubs then told Marmol’s agent to expect a trade during spring training, which, of course, never happened.
The Cubs entered the season with Marmol as their closer, with the hopes of showcasing him for an eventual trade. What they didn’t plan for was Marmol’s complete meltdown over the first week of the season. Coming in to yesterday’s home opener, he’s faced 13 batters and has managed to retire 4 of them, culminating in Saturdays blown save to the Upton brothers and the Braves.
The Cubs now find themselves in the unenviable position of needing to send Carlos Marmol out there to prove that he can get people out but unable to do so because he so clearly cannot. He actually managed to pitch an inning of mop up relief in yesterday’s home opener without giving up a run, but it will take more than that to rebuild whatever value he may have had.
Last month, we looked at the overall leaders on both sides of the ball from all of the games I’ve attended between 1984 and 2015. Now that Opening Day is right around the corner, let’s take another look at those numbers, limiting it to players that are still active heading in to the 2016 season. A few notable retirements, chief among them Carlos Quentin, will add some new names to this list.