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MIAMI — Thursday was supposed to be a party for the Miami Marlins, an Opening Day to put aside their troubled tomorrow, a sunny afternoon where right-hander Sandy Alcantara pitched for the first time in more than a season in his return from Tommy John surgery.
Alcantara was up for the moment, too. He opened the season striking out Pittsburgh’s Tommy Pham. He gave up no hits into the fourth inning.
Even taken out of the game down 2-1 in the fifth inning, he delivered the kind of return that brought a deserved ovation from a sparse Opening Day crowd. The no-name Marlins did, too, coming back to win the game in the ninth inning, 5-4.
Now what?
That question isn’t just about how this team can survive the longest of seasons on its meager talent. Nor is it a question about what’s next for Alcantara’s future, though that will be a prime topic until Marlins owner Bruce Sherman signs off on trading the one legitimate star.
Sherman will be booed then, just as he was Thursday when introduced at loanDepot Park before the season began. That comes with the territory. It’s the reaction every Marlins owner has received no matter that they showed there’s a larger problem.
H. Wayne Huizenga opened his wallet for the Miami Dolphins. His Marlins successor, John Henry, won World Series after upgrading to the Boston Red Sox owner. Jeffrey Loria – well, there’s good reason he was booed after selling the team for a $1 billion profit due in part to a publicly funded stadium.
But, after 33 years and four owners all blamed for not spending enough, perhaps it’s something else? Something deeper?
This gets to that now-what question for this franchise and the Marlins’ latest master plan to get out of their ongoing mess. It’s not even a plan of their doing, really. It’s something they’re counting on all 30 owners to agree on. That’s just one of the real dangers.
Here’s the plan: When the collective bargaining agreement between owners and the players union expires in two seasons, they’re counting on a battle royale to a new agreement. That’s because a salary cap will be on the table.
That’s why baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said this winter that a lockout, “in a bizarre way,” can be “actually a positive” for baseball.
The salary cap works in the NBA and NFL for the health of the league. It’s the only way the bottom-feeding teams like the Marlins can compete. Their 26-man roster Thursday had a baseball-low $41.7 million payroll. That’s embarrassing no matter how you walk around it.
But if the payroll were doubled, would it have a chance of winning the National League East? Philadelphia ($274 million) has the second-highest payroll in baseball behind the Los Angeles Dodgers ($292 million). The New York Mets are third at $260 million. Atlanta is ninth at $160 million.
You know how many times the owners have had a $160 million payroll? They never have. Nor will they unless it’s part of a competitive plan to make a level playing field. The NBA’s two best teams now are Cleveland and Oklahoma City. Kansas City has been the winningest NFL team of late.
That’s the kind of story that won’t happen in baseball without a salary cap.
Still, it’s one thing to hope it happens. It’s another thing to win a fight with a powerful players’ union and force it into existence. It’s still another to diminish the product as the Marlins are doing.
They need to hit on the Alcantara trade, because they have no high-level talent on their roster, according to a scout. “None,’’ he said.
They plan to develop players in the minors just as every Marlin regeneration plan does. Derek Jeter’s attempt to do so was a disaster. They have one minor-league prospect, catcher Augustin Ramirez, who came over from the New York Yankees in the Jazz Chisholm trade, with a high grade, the scout said.
So, again, what’s next?
Buckle up. They have 161 more games that will feel like biblical punishment to any fan still invested in this team. Then comes another season that will be marginally different as players are drafted, traded for or developed.
The big hope is for a salary cap in two painful years. The owners will have to beat the players union for that to happen, too. Crossing your fingers doesn’t sound like much of a plan, but as Alcantara left after a nice Opening Day and a long season remains, it’s the prime plan in the Marlins playbook.
