We can fix him! Most teams are convinced they can remedy whatever it was that went wrong with some fallen star. They can tweak his mechanics, provide needed insight he wasn’t getting elsewhere, give him that fresh start
Sometimes it actually works and sometimes it’s just so much hubris the head-scratching can bore a hole in the noggin.
Of course, sometimes it’s just a gamble. And when you don’t have a lot to lose, what’s a little risk now and then? The Dodgers gambled on Carlos Marmol last season after he was dumped by the Cubs, and received decidedly mixed results.
His stuff remained intriguing, if only he could actually command his pitches. As a Dodger he was erratic, but for every improvement (2.53 ERA) there seemed a step back (1.55 WHIP). When the season ended, he was not invited back.
Someone took a shot at him, of course, but now that has taken a familiar path.
On Monday he was released by the Miami Marlins.
Marmol, 31, continued his strikeout-or-walk routine with Miami. In 15 appearances (13 1/3 innings) Marmol went 0-3, with 14 strikeouts and 1.95 WHIP. Signed in the off-season for only $1.25 million, he passed through waivers unclaimed and was then bid adieu.
Seems the Marlins couldn’t fix Marmol either, and though still relatively young, he could be running out of chances.