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(AP) — The “homer” could follow the “opener” into baseball’s lexicon.Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly says he’d consider rearranging some of pitcher Wei-Yin Chen’s starting dates during the regular season should last year’s atrocious home/road splits continue.“If we’re seeing the same type trend then I think if you have a chance to schedule it — if you have an off-day and you can skip a guy and it lines him up for two home starts instead of one and back in Philly, or wherever it would be — I think you look at it,” Mattingly said.Late last season Mattingly did elect to skip a scheduled Chen start in Philadelphia to have him pitch at home the following day.Rather effective at spacious Marlins Park last season where he pitched to a 5-3 record and a 1.62 ERA, Chen became a completely different pitcher on the road, losing nine of 10 decisions while posting a 9.27 ERA.“Last year, we’re hoping, was an anomaly as far as the road and home,” Mattingly said. “He’s a flyball guy. When he gets in smaller ballparks he may be trying to do something different than that. You’ve got to stay with your strengths and who you are. It’s tougher in Philly and some places where the ball jumps Miguel Gonzalez Jersey , but you still have to pitch the way you pitch and trying to do something that’s not really your strength gets you in trouble, and it feels like we saw some of that last year.”Miami signed Chen to a five-year, $80 million deal prior to the 2016 season. He’s yet to perform up to that contract.Injuries limited Chen to only 27 combined starts during his first two years with the Marlins. His 3.82 ERA over 33 innings in 2017 marks Chen’s lowest single-season average since making the move from Baltimore to Miami.Through a translator, Chen said he found his home/road splits “kind of weird” but correcting them wasn’t a focus of his offseason.“I tried to work on focusing on the hitters because that’s the only thing you can do,” Chen said.Watching video of Chen’s 2018 performances, new Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. believes he’s identified aspects of the big lefty’s approach that can be tweaked.“Some of it is usage, or I’ll just say lack of command on certain parts of the plate, and some is quality of pitches Tim Anderson Jersey ,” Stottlemyre said.On Saturday night, Chen turned around what had been a disappointing spring. Working after starter Pablo Lopez, Chen allowed only one hit in four shutout innings against Washington.Mattingly praised Chen’s aggressiveness and variance of speeds. Prior to that outing, Chen allowed nine runs in 3 1/3 Grapefruit League innings. G Fiume/Getty ImagesChicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant said Friday that players are "pretty upset" outfielder Bryce Harper and shortstop Manny Machado, the offseason's most notable free agents, remain unsigned with spring training less than a month away.Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com provided comments about the situation from Bryant, who suggested there are "not enough teams trying to be competitive.""It's really weird," he said. "Two of the best players in the game http://www.whitesoxfanproshop.com/authentic-paul-konerko-jersey , and they have very little interest in them, from just what I hear. It's not good. It's something that will have to change. I know a lot of the other players are pretty upset about it."Fellow third baseman Evan Longoria of the San Francisco Giants also weighed in on the situation with an Instagram post Friday featuring pictures of Harper, Machado, closer Craig Kimbrel and starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel:"We are less then a month from the start of spring and once again some of our games biggest stars remain unsigned. Such a shame. It's seems every day now someone is making up a new analytical tool to devalue players, especially free agents. As fans, why should 'value' for your team even be a consideration? It's not your money, it's money that players have worked their whole lives to get to that level and be deserving of. Bottom line, fans should want the best players and product on the field for their team. And as players we need to stand strong for what we believe we are worth and continue to fight for the rights we have fought for time and time again."Bryant and Harper are both represented by famed agent Scott Boras Welington Castillo Jersey , and the Cubs star's comment about the lack ofcompetitiveness is likely music to Boras' ears.The agent has lamented the rise of tanking in recent years as numerous MLB clubs have sold off veteran assets for prospects in hopes of replicating the Houston Astros' successful rebuild."We have to get rid of the noncompetitive cancer," Boras toldKen Rosenthalof The Athletic last January. "We can't go to our fanbases and sell the promise of losing to win later. That is destructive to our sport because it has removed one-third of the competition."He once again referred to losing games to improve draft position as a "cancer" during amedia scrumin November.The Astros feature one of MLB's most talented rosters but are only projected to have a $128.5 million payroll in 2019, a mere $10.6 million above the league average, perSpotrac.Other teams have witnessed Houston's success by building through the draft. In many cases, they have accepted the short-term losses in exchange for chances to win big in the future without having to compete financially with the game's big spenders, led by the Boston Red Sox at $225 million.In turn, a limited number of clubs can seriously compete for the likes of Harper and Machado, who are expected to receive lucrative long-term contracts as free agents.The ultimate litmus test could come after the 2020 season when Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout David Ross Jersey , MLB's gold standard for the past seven years, could hit the open market.If Trout doesn't create a massive bidding war amid interest from virtually every franchise, the MLB Players Association is going to have a serious problem to rectify.Coincidentally, the currentcollective bargaining agreementends following the 2021 season.