Marlins dismissing execs Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo, coordinators, scouts and more

[Ely Sussman]

Offishial News for 8/13/24

On Monday, multiple reports detailed the latest wave of Marlins personnel changes under the direction of Peter Bendix. Assistant general managers Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo are both gone, according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald and ESPN's Alden Gonzalez. Greenlee had overseen analytics for the Marlins for all seven seasons of Bruce Sherman's ownership tenure. He had a loud voice within the front office before Bendix's arrival. Ocampo (pictured above) was hired by Kim Ng two offseasons ago, running the pro scouting department last year and shifting to international operations in 2024. As a side note: not that this justified his firing, but it was bizarre how Ocampo remained based out of Houston throughout his Marlins tenure, per Mish. Even this year, a high percentage of his public posts were dedicated to cheering for his former Astros prospects rather than Miami's own talent. Fellow A-GMs Gabe Kapler and Brian Chattin are safe.

Bendix's housecleaning also includes the dismissals of international scouting director Roman Ocumarez, minor league field coordinator Patrick Osborn, hitting coordinator Tom Slater, performance coordinator Frank Moore and pitching coordinator Scott Aldred. While Bendix's desire to "bring in his own people" is understandable, it'll be tough to improve upon the work that Aldred did. Countless pitchers developed by the Marlins in recent years have acknowledged Aldred's influence, whether it be teaching them a new pitch, refining an old one or solving mechanical issues.

Gonzalez adds that "more than 10 scouts have also been let go through multiple waves. More changes are expected throughout the organization in the coming weeks...The Marlins are expected to replace all of the scouting positions as well as most—if not all —of the front office spots that have been left vacant." As noted in Offishial News last week, applications are already being accepted for new area scouts.

Down on the farm, DSL Marlins lost, 8-1, and won, 4-1. Jeremy Almonte continues to have a great offensive season as the team's primary catcher, boosting his slash line to .323/.430/.414 in 31 games. INF Joseph Tailor took the Marlins organizational lead with his 20th hit by pitch in only his 44th game! He also leads all Dominican Summer League players in that category. DSL Miami lost, 4-2 (completing a game that was previously suspended due to rain). C/1B Agustín Ramírez was selected to MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week. Marlins draft pick Eric Rataczak created an Instagram account dedicated to detailing the journey of what it's like being a professional athlete with Type 1 diabetes.

Here's more Marlins news and content:

🔷 Rewatch our off-day edition of Marlins Jeopardy, the first trivia contest we've done since the 2024 regular season began. It came down to Final Jeopardy between Isaac Azout and Sean Millerick, with Isaac securing his 10th career victory.

🔷 Josh Norris of Baseball America ranks Marlins OF Andrés Valor as the No. 7 prospect in the Florida Complex League this season: "Valor is lithe and athletic and has speed that borders on double-plus, which gives him a great chance to stick in center field as he matures. If he does, he could be above-average at the position. Valor has plenty of strength and bat speed, which scouts believe should lead to plenty of power as he develops. He will have to do a better job of laying off of breaking pitches as he moves up the ladder, but he’s got plenty of time to close that hole. If he reaches his ceiling, he has the chance to be a standout center fielder with a wealth of skills on both sides of the ball."

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Víctor Robles signed a two-year, $9.75M contract extension with the Mariners. Mookie Betts returned to the Dodgers lineup after nearly two months on the IL, homering and driving in three runs. Blake Snell carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, but had to settle for a no-decision as the Braves ultimately won in 10 innings. The lowly White Sox stunningly routed the Yankees, 12-2. The Yanks drew 11 walks, but went 2-for-18 with runners in scoring position, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. exited early with a left elbow injury.

🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter TBA) begin a two-game series against the Phillies (RHP Taijuan Walker). The Phils have slumped since the All-Star break with a 7-15 record (worst in the National League), including several of their most lopsided losses of the season. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET.

🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE today from 4:00-5:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: Alex Carr. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050.

🔷 Today's MiLB schedule:

• Triple-A Jacksonville vs. Memphis, 7:05 p.m. ET
• Double-A Pensacola vs. Montgomery, 7:05 p.m. ET
• High-A Beloit vs. Quad Cities, 7:35 p.m. ET
• Low-A Jupiter at Palm Beach, 5:00 p.m. ET
• DSL Marlins at DSL Nationals, 11:00 a.m. ET
• DSL Miami vs. DSL Colorado, 11:00 a.m. ET

 

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

The baseball merry-go-round never stops. It's SOP to bring in your own people, so it's not surprising that Bendix, making massive on-field changes, would do the same in the FO/scouting department. Many of the scouts are not sporting standout records, apparently. 

[One Regend]

I'm mixed on firing Scott Aldred, because he was the one person that actually held our team together, no matter how truly awful our team was. But everyone else needed to go, especially Dan Greenlee. Nobody makes excuses for continuing to trot Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, and Jorge Alfaro to the batter's box well after they've worn out their welcome and deserve to keep their job.

But yes, Bendix needed to clean house. The Marlins had a HOF-level pitching core that they promptly wasted because none of their guys could lay off a breaking ball outside of the zone. This was the same pitching core that they had to slowly dismantle out of desperation to fix their hitting problem (Remember Pablo Lopez and Zac Gallen?) because none of the guys in the scouting and developing departments did their job correctly. This resulted in 6 years of a failed rebuild that culminated in a first round playoff exit in 2023 built on the foundation of a fluke and a unicorn. That was their peak year, by the way.