Peter Bendix on coaching change, Marsee’s injury, Alcantara’s option

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL — Tuesday marked president of baseball operations Peter Bendix's end-of-season press conference. The Miami Marlins concluded their season with an 80-82 record, a one-game improvement from the 2025 season, but nine games worse than the record they would've needed to qualify for the postseason. As Bendix was quick to note himself, that's far from ideal.

"We're all disappointed to be having this this press conference here today," said Bendix in his opening remarks. "We want this to be much later in the month. That said, I'm also very proud of our team and organization. I think there was tremendous progress that was shown on the field and off the field. I think we continue to really build on this foundation, take a meaningful step forward in a lot of ways and at the same time, we're angry, disappointed and not satisfied with where we are. Both of those things are true at the same time."

Here were the main takeaways from Bendix's press conference.

 

Pedro Guerrero will not return

The Marlins are parting ways with Pedro Guerrero, who served as their hitting coach the past two seasons.

"He did a tremendous job for us," Bendix said. "He is a wonderful human being. We're going to miss having him around, and really appreciate everything that Pedro gave to us. Just time for a new voice in the hitting space."

Last season, the Marlins ranked 16th among MLB teams in wRC+ (100), ninth in OPS (.727) and 23rd in home runs (168). The overall production was not bad, but the Marlins had trouble with left-handed pitching, posting a .684 OPS (compared to a .743 OPS vs. RHP).

Assistant hitting coaches Corbin Day and Chris Hess will both return, per Bendix.

"Evaluating a hitting coach is very difficult," Bendix said regarding what they are looking to fill the now vacant spot. "That role is very, very difficult. I think we have a unique structure here, not just in the hitting department, but in all of our departments with a a director of hitting in this case that oversees our our hitting space. So we are really looking for that sort of alignment from top to bottom with our director, with our our entire hitting coaches. That's what we'll be prioritizing."

 

Jakob Marsee dealing with elbow injury

Bendix revealed that outfielder Jakob Marsee was "banged up all season" and is currently dealing with left elbow discomfort. There is enough concern that Marsee will be visiting Dr. Keith Meister next week. Meister has frequently operated on Marlins players who require UCL reconstruction, but a source close to Marsee tells Fish On First that an MRI was conducted on Saturday morning and Tommy John surgery is not likely.

Marsee finished the 2026 season slashing .231/.348/.359/.706 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI and a 100 wRC+.

Any procedure that causes Marsee to miss time next season would be a major blow to the club right out of the gate. Fortunately, the Marlins' top position player prospect, Cam Cannarella, also plays center field and will soon be major league-ready.

 

Sandy Alcantara's future

Alcantara has a $21M club option for the 2027 season. He led Major League Baseball with 214 innings pitched this year while setting numerous Marlins career records and would certainly earn more than that on the free agent market. On the other hand, this franchise operates with the lowest payroll in MLB and has never paid a salary that high to an active player.

Bendix did not comment on whether Alcantara's option will be exercised, but a source told Fish On First that in all likelihood, he'll be staying with the Marlins. Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, they have no intentions of trading Alcantara this offseason.

"He is so meaningful to this organization and that's not lost on me," Bendix said. "Another incredible season. Really fun to watch him pitch, his leadership in the clubhouse, the way he handles himself and the way he sets an example for the rest of the team. It's second to none. It's something that I know Clayton really appreciates and I really appreciate. We value it tremendously."

This has consistently been Bendix's style. However, it continues to look awkward in regards to Sandy, a Marlins franchise icon who has expressed his desire to not only remain in Miami in 2027, but finish his career with the organization.

 

Starting pitchers coming out of the bullpen

The Marlins experimented with bringing starting pitchers out of the bullpen towards the end of the season. It began "out of necessity," per Bendix, when the team was down a lot of relief arms on August 26. Janson Junk filled the void on a day that he was already scheduled for a pitch design session, throwing in the game instead.

Having Alcantara, Eury Pérez and Junk all buy into this has opened avenues for the team in 2027.

"I think it kind of it's been a a conversation that we've been having with the coaches, with the players, for a while now. Ever since we started these live pitch designs that are meant to be more game-like in between starts, it's something that we've wondered...I do think that it shows the innovation of this organization that we're continually willing to try these things. It's a credit to both the pitchers themselves for being willing to do that, Clayton (McCullough) and our pitching coaches Daniel (Moskos) for being willing to encourage that, try it, even though it's not really something that's been done before."

 

Impending lockout

MLB will likely be going into a work stoppage on December 1 when the league’s existing collective bargaining agreement expires. Last time this happened, the offseason saw a flurry of moves right before the stoppage, including the Marlins signing Sandy Alcantara to an extension and free agent Avisail Garcia to a four-year deal.

This time around, Bendix is at the helm instead of Kim Ng. How is he preparing for it?

"Nobody has any idea what's going to happen in the lockout," Bendix said. "Those are discussions that are taking place elsewhere. My job is to focus on the Marlins and prepare for the 2027 season and play 162 games. Five years ago, we dealt with something similar where there was this pending date where things were going to be cut off, and we kind of know what to expect with that, and we're spending a lot of time preparing, so we'll hit the ground running."

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[THOMAS JOSEPH]

I like Bendix and the overall strategy he has that is tailored to the Marlins specific circumstances. The MLB ecosystem will presumably change, so we will see how Bendix adapts. More resources should be exponentially better for the team. All that said, other than a live question format, Bendix's press conferences might be more easily consumed in a bullet point press release.