Analyzing Miami's relievers after walk-off loss

On a day when Miami traded its best all-around player and its closer, the club gave up a late lead and got walked off in an 8-7 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Following an off-day, the Marlins will host the Yankees for a three-game series, which will begin a few hours after Friday’s 4 p.m. ET Trade Deadline.

Hours before their modest three-game winning streak was snapped, the Marlins dealt Starling Marte to the A's for former top pitching prospect Jesús Luzardo, and Yimi García to the Astros for Minor League outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and reliever Austin Pruitt. The loss withstanding, manager Don Mattingly thought his club handled the day well.

"Obviously, you lose Starling, but we went out and threw up seven runs tonight, jumped right out right away, so I thought they responded well,” Mattingly said. “That part was fine. It's always tough when you're subtracting guys and you're having new guys here, but I thought they handled it well."

Jesús Aguilar, who is commanding interest on the market with one year of arbitration eligibility remaining, extended his National League lead with 75 RBIs. He knocked his 18th homer of the season -- a two-run shot in the second that followed an RBI double in the first. With the club playing in Baltimore, Aguilar was able to serve as the designated hitter with sixth-ranked prospect Lewin Díaz at first base.

But holding onto a two-run lead with five outs to go, Mattingly didn’t use high-leverage relievers Anthony Bass, Anthony Bender or Dylan Floro, all of whom appeared in Tuesday’s victory. Bass and Bender were unavailable, and Mattingly hoped to turn to Floro at the end of the game. Instead, it was Richard Bleier in the eighth and Steven Okert in the ninth. The latter intentionally walked the bases loaded with a runner at third and one out, and Ryan McKenna drew the game-winning free pass.

A lot is still up in the air leading up to the Deadline, but Mattingly said Floro, Bass, Bender, Bleier and John Curtiss could be late-inning options moving forward. Some of those names, however, happen to be coming up in trade rumors.

So this final game before the Deadline wasn’t just a showcase for veterans with expiring contracts but also auditions for players in varying stages of their career. Rookie Jordan Holloway was chased after giving up five runs (four earned) on four walks and three hits in 2 1/3 innings in his fourth Major League start.

Below is a breakdown of the bullpen arms Miami turned to on Wednesday, where they come from and where they stand:

RHP David Hess
Acquired on July 3 from the Rays for righty Justin Sterner and cash, Hess pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts.

RHP Zach Pop
Selected in last December’s Rule 5 Draft, Pop shut down the O’s in the fifth in his 33rd outing of 2021. Mattingly noted that the 24-year-old may slip into more leverage situations rather than those when the club needs to eat innings or is trailing.

RHP Preston Guilmet
Guilmet tossed a scoreless sixth in his first MLB appearance since July 3, 2018. Signed to a Minor League contract on April 12, his contract was selected from Triple-A Jacksonville on Wednesday for his second stint with the Marlins.

RHP Curtiss
Acquired on Feb. 17 from the Rays for Minor League first baseman Evan Edwards, Curtiss recorded four outs. He has been a versatile reliever for the Marlins across 40 innings this season, and Mattingly said he could move to the later frames if he continues pitching well.

LHP Bleier
Bleier, whose name has been in trade rumors, surrendered the game-tying runs in the eighth in part because of a missed catch error by third baseman Brian Anderson. Miami acquired Bleier from Baltimore following its COVID-19 outbreak last August. He has been one of the club’s most reliable relievers since then, with a 2.91 ERA across 62 appearances.

LHP Okert
Okert, who signed a Minor League contract on Feb. 26, entered Wednesday with a 1.64 ERA in 10 appearances.

“I'm not quite sure what it looks like,” Mattingly said. “I don't think we'll have to like anoint anybody as the closer, probably as much by committee and trying to match up at the end of the game, depending on where we're at, who's available. I think Dylan's a choice, Bender's thrown the ball good, Bass is throwing the ball good right now. With the right spot, Bleier's really been throwing the ball good. So I think we'll just try to find the matchups and again [go with] who's available.”