Offishial News: New Marlins manager Clayton McCullough steps up to the mic

[Ely Sussman]

Today's news roundup also includes a pending name change for an MLB stadium.

On Sunday in winter ball competition, UTIL Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4. UTIL Ronny Simon went 0-for-3 with a walk. 1B Troy Johnston went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI. INF Johnny Olmstead went 0-for-3 with a walk. Olmstead has reached base safely in all six games he's played.

1B Deyvison De Los Santos concluded his participation with Gigantes del Cibao. In 17 games, De Los Santos slashed .260/.296/.320. The same fearsome slugger who led Minor League Baseball with 40 home runs in 2024 did not hit any over the past month, but as those who avidly watch LIDOM could tell you, the league heavily suppresses homers.

More Marlins news and content below:

🔷 Ronny Simon's signing has not yet been announced, but in case you missed it over the weekend, the Marlins have a minor league deal in place with the 24-year-old switch-hitter that includes an invite to spring training.

🔷 Clayton McCullough gave his first interview since being selected as the new Marlins manager. He spoke about the importance of coaches "putting the player first" and running a team that is as "prepared" as possible at all times. The full conversation with Kyle Sielaff of Marlins Radio is embedded below.

🔷 McCullough will be holding his introductory press conference at loanDepot park today at 3:00 p.m., with principal owner Bruce Sherman and president of baseball operations Peter Bendix also in attendance. Fish On First's Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral are covering it in person. Check back here for full reaction!

🔷 Happy 25th birthday to C Will Banfield. A 2018 Marlins draft pick, Banfield played 517 career MiLB games before becoming a minor league free agent earlier this month.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the name of the Astros' ballpark is changing to Daikin Park. It had been Minute Maid Park for the previous 23 seasons. During the Minute Maid era, Houston had MLB's sixth-highest home winning percentage and won two World Series titles. The winners of the annual BBWAA awards are being announced this week, starting off with AL Rookie of the Year and NL Rookie of the Year tonight.

 

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

I like McCullough. The obligatory statements aside, he seems amenable to the process, appreciative of the opportunity, and anxious to get rolling. We're in the doldrums now, all the live coverage is over, and we must put up with the non-stop Soto sweepstakes. You guys have the task of keeping us all awake through these doldrums. I don't want to have to do crosswords and browse the Lingopie app all day!  I've even bought the Loria audiobook, for heaven's sake! 

[rurrusuno]

Let the Clayton McCullough era begin!

Hopefully, he's the guy for the job. One of the main focal points for the Marlins to be successful for the years to come is to have a manager that'll be around in the long-term. Our longest tenured manager was Don Mattingly, and we only made the playoffs or even had a winning record once during his time, so I hope our new manager can stick around for just as long. Only this time, we have more playoff berths.