GM Interviews: Miami Marlins

[Ken Rosenthal]

GM: Travis Wheeler, Miami Marlins

MIAMI, F.L. - Here we are with another edition in my series of interviews of the General Managers of Base Knock Dynasty Baseball.  Today, I have the privilege of sharing with you my conversations with Travis Wheeler from the Miami Marlins.  Miami was a powerhouse in the National League last season, scoring 5,772.3 points en route to an impressive 13-6 record.  But things weren't always going well in Miami...

From 2012-2014, the Marlins, under different leadership at GM, won a combined 9 games.  That's where Travis stepped in nearly one year ago from today to take this team to where it's never been.  Through a plethora of terrific moves, he's brought this team to a place where sustained success is to be expected.

The team is poised to once again be one of the elite teams in the National League.  But will the large expectations prove to be too much for Miami?  Let's take a look at my interview with the Marlins GM.

---

KR: Thirteen wins last season, you have to be feeling pretty good about 2015?

TW: Oh yeah, Marlins haven't done much in baseknock prior to me taking over as GM. I decided to shake things up and get a whole new roster, for most part. Brought in some vets, and landed a big bat in Posey, put a lineup to be feared on the field. Slowly but surely, we're moving towards a division championship.

KR: I have to admit, I did not see a #5 finish in the power rankings for your team. Great work!

TW: Why thank you. Took a lot of trades, and a lot of deals to get there. A week ago I remembered I coulda had a dynamite team had I landed Carlos Correa when I first took the team over. But at the time he wasn't a big league starter yet, and I was concerned with putting a team on the field. Boy do I wish I coulda made that happen. But I signed some good, cheap free agents to fill out the team last year. Coming along nicely.

KR: What were your goals for this off-season?

TW: Improve the bullpen, land another starter, and possibly an outfielder. Signed enough bullpen guys and two starters in Happ and Fister. Kept Beltran for cheap, so all in all, not too bad.

KR: And how did free agency end up for the Miami Marlins?

TW: Marlins landed what we needed, so all in all real good.

KR: What was your best signing?

TW: Doug Fister. Big Tigers fan, and I got to see Fister in his prime. Had a rough year last year, but he has a new team, and hopefully has a bounce back year. If he does, quite a steal at 7.3mil.

KR: Who's a player that you narrowly missed out on that you wish was on your team right now?

TW: Haha, see above for Correa. Was when that one guy was GM for Athletics, Noah I believe.

KR: Ha, I meant with this year's free agency, but definitely, Correa is tough to miss out on.  Ahh... Noah, I think I remember that guy.  Continuing on, with all the changes to your roster thus far, what are your expectations for next season?

TW: In it to win it. All in for a championship, every year.

KR: That's a good attitude to have!  Is this the year we see the Marlins winning the NL East?

TW: Well I definitely think we're one step closer. Outscored Phillies, just couldn't take em down head to head. We'll get em this year.

KR: Am I right to guess there's a bit of a rivalry between you and the Phillies GM?

TW: Guess you could say that, haha. He's my best friend since middle school, can't stand to lose to him.

KR: How did that start?

TW: Well, we've been in another fantasy league for last 3 years. I was the champ first two years, beating him once in playoffs and other in championship. I utilized a strategy that consisted of adding SP every week to my team based on matchups, and having 7 or 8 closers/relievers per game per day. Unfortunately, last year life got busy, and I wasn't able to set my lineups on a daily basis, and lost to him in championship. And in this league, we weren't able to meet in League Championship, as my team took a nose dive during playoffs last year. But we're back.

KR: You have a pretty solid minor league system. Who in your farm system are you most excited about?

TW: That's a tough one. Probably Fulmer, who I just picked up. Have 3 or 4 pitchers invited to Spring Training this year, along with a few OF's. Fulmer and Apling would be the two. With any luck, Rey Navarro might squeak out a spot for Angels. But for me, pitching wins in this league. And I have plenty of it.

KR: Can we expect to see players currently in your minors to have a big impact at the major league level for you as soon as this season?

TW: Fulmer has an outside shot to make the Tigers this year. Should a few injuries happen, never know. This Adrian Houser I just drafted has a lot of upside. Pitched well in first outing this Spring, and with Brewers having a young rotation, never know.

KR: Favorite part of Base Knock Dynasty Baseball?

TW: Probably the fact that Zach is in my division. Makes me want to win more. But this is my first keeper league, and I've loved the set up thus far.

---

And that's a wrap for now!  A special thanks to Travis for taking the time to be interviewed.  It looks like Marlins are going to be aggressively competing as long as the Phillies are... I suppose?

Best of luck to the Miami Marlins franchise this season!

- Ken Rosenthal