Offishial news, 12/19/23: Pre-arb bonus pool payouts

[Ely Sussman]

Here's what you should know with 100 days to go until Marlins Opening Day...

• Monday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 2B Vidal Bruján went 1-for-4 with a walk and 1B Troy Johnston joined the Toros del Este roster (but did not make his debut yet).

• The Mariners are the "most active" team in pursuit of free agent Jorge Soler, with the Marlins and Yankees also showing interest, reports Francys Romero. Last month, Romero said the Marlins wanted him back on a multi-year deal. I'm still very skeptical that this gets done, putting the odds of Soler re-signing with the Fish at 8%.

• Five Marlins players received a portion of MLB's pre-arbitration bonus pool, AP reports: Braxton Garrett ($466,898), Jake Burger ($356,317), Jazz Chisholm Jr. ($307,518), Eury Pérez ($274,674) and Jesús Sánchez ($254,236). Their bonus amounts were determined based on wins above replacement.

• Elsewhere around baseball, Martín Pérez (1/$8M) signed with the Pirates and Tom Murphy (2/$8M) signed with the Giants. The Orioles reached a new lease agreement with Maryland state officials to remain at Camden Yards for the next 30 years.

• During his Tommy John surgery recovery, Max Meyer has been working on controlling the cut of his four-seamer and developing a sinker, according to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Keep up with the health status of Meyer and other Marlins players via our injury/rehab tracker.

• Cody Christie of Twins Daily concocts three potential trades that could bring Jesús Luzardo to Minnesota. The entire premise of trading Luzardo irritates me, but I find his first proposal—involving Matt Wallner, Brooks Lee and a low-level minor leaguer—to be the most palatable.

• In the latest Locked On Marlins (embedded below), Peter Pratt explains his bold idea to swap Luzardo for Royce Lewis.

• PECOTA projections for the 2024 season have been released for individual players. These are the 50th percentile projections for all hitters on the Marlins 40-man roster (except for Peyton Burdick, who I couldn't find for some reason). Pretty bullish on Jazz!

Baseball Prospectus

• Bob Nightengale of USA Today spoke at length to Gary Sheffield about his Hall of Fame candidacy and the off-the-field issues that BBWAA voters have held against him. Needing 75.0% of the vote to be elected in 2024, Sheffield is currently at 71.4%, per Ryan Thibodaux's tracker.

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[Guest]

The pitcher I wanted to trade last season was Alcantara (Sell high!). He would have easily netted Arraez, Lewis and more. And the Marlins would still have Pablo or could be trading him for another asset or two.

 

Yep, I would trade Luzardo for Royce Lewis, especially if the Marlins felt he could play SS. He's potentially a top ten player in all of baseball.

[Ely Sussman]

That upside is likely why the Twins wouldn't seriously consider trading Lewis this offseason. Maybe next year if there's some inconsistency or more injuries that continue to hold him back from establishing himself as an everyday player.