The Loop
Looking at all of the transactions the Miami Marlins made on Tuesday will make your brain hurt
If you buy into the internet hysteria (General rule: don’t ever buy into the internet hysteria), the MLB season was absolutely cooked when news broke of the Miami Marlins COVID-19 outbreak. The fact that it’s happened again in St. Louis was the final nail in baseball’s coffin.
Unfortunately for the doomsayers, the season continues to roll on, and the Marlins even returned to the field on Tuesday night in Baltimore, playing in their first game since July 26. Of course, this was not the original Marlins roster from Opening Day. The team placed 18 players on the injured list on Tuesday, and had to replace all 18 with players from their minor league camp, players obtained via trade or players they scooped up from the waiver wire. It made for a transaction list that will make your brain hurt:
Insanity. This is what the transactions list from THE ENTIRE MLB looks like on a normal day, and this one is just the Marlins. There are 24 in total. Sheesh.
The best part? The Marlins won! I’m not kidding!
Sure, the Orioles might absolutely stink, but the Marlins were fielding a damn Triple A team with a few actual big leaguers mixed in. Not only did they win, but they shut the O’s out. Starting pitcher Pablo Lopez, making his first start of the season and just the 32nd of his career, gave up one hit and zero runs in five innings. Veterans Francisco Cervelli and Jesus Aguilar did the damage at the plate, each homering in the 4-0 victory.
"We've just got to try to hold down the fort and get some guys back, survive this trip and see where we're at," said Marlins manager Don Mattingly. "This one felt good. We've been through a lot.
"I'm going to have to write a book after this one," Mattingly said. "You get tested and you persevere and you learn from a lot of situations."
No kidding. Miami is now 3-1, which technically puts them second in the NL East, though there are a ton of games to catch up on. With the 16-team playoff format this season, it’s not out of the question that this team in the middle of a massive rebuild and a COVID outbreak could make the postseason. Truly a wild time to be alive.