The Cinderella Story of the playoffs at this point would be the Miami Marlins, who head to the NLDS to face off against the Atlanta Braves for Game 1 on Tuesday in Minute Maid Park in Houston (yes, 2020 is all kinds of weird). The Marlins will be forced to play without a key piece, as center fielder Starling Marte has been left off the NLDS roster, reports Craig Mish.
Marte, 31, was hit by a pitch in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series against the Cubs and suffered a non-displaced fracture to the pinky on his left hand. He was the Marlins' big acquisition in front of the trade deadline this season. The power-speed threat hit .281/.340/.430 with 14 doubles, six homers, 27 RBI, 36 runs and 10 steals this season.
With no Marte, the Marlins' options in center for the series include Magneuris Sierra (.250/.333/.364 in 53 PA this year), Monte Harrison (.170/.235/.255 in 51 PA) and Lewis Brinson (.226/.268/.368 in 112 PA), so the upside on offense definitely takes a hit with Marte off the active roster.
Sierra started in Game 2 against the Cubs with Marte out and ended up coming through with a big RBI single late which served as the insurance run in a 2-0 Marlins win and clinched the series victory, running the Marlins franchise to 7-0 all time in postseason series.
Sierra is left handed, however, and the Braves are set to start lefty Max Fried in Game 1. As such, expect either Brinson or Harrison to get the start for Game 1. Brinson has hit lefties at nearly 200 higher OPS points through his career, for whatever it's worth. I would expect Sierra to be the starter in the series against righties.
