Marlins make much-needed change at third base, unveil flexible season ticket plans

On Monday, Connor Norby assumed his new role as Marlins regular third baseman. He batted sixth in the lineup and went 1-for-4 with an RBI, each plate appearance resulting in a ground ball to the left side of the infield. Nick Fortes snapped a three-month homerless drought and Kyle Stowers (3-4, 2 R) had his best offensive performance since coming to Miami. However, it wasn't enough to keep up with Adrian Del Castillo and the Diamondbacks. The Marlins lost, 9-6.

Down on the farm, DSL Marlins lost, 7-3. RHP Eiver Espinoza completed his 2024 season with another scoreless inning, lowering his ERA to 0.34 in 26 ⅓ innings pitched. An important disclaimer: this was his third year in the Dominican Summer League, giving him a huge experience advantage over his competition. Impressive nonetheless. DSL Miami won, 6-1. Every hitter in their lineup reached base safely at least once. You can find the full game broadcast here.

Here's more Marlins news and content:

🔷 To make room on the active roster for Norby, the Marlins designated Emmanuel Rivera for assignment. Rivera provided nice defense at third base, but simply did not create or produce runs at an acceptable level, finishing with a 61 wRC+ in 97 games. He was particularly disappointing against left-handed pitching. Rivera's Marlins tenure might not be completely over yet—he is in a similar position as Nick Gordon, who was outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville earlier this month after he cleared waivers.

🔷 For 2025 and beyond, the Marlins are making season ticket packages more flexible, as announced on Monday. The pricing levels range from $750 to $25,000. Rather than being assigned the same number of seats and location for every game, you can get creative based on the particular situation within the confines of your account balance. The team also confirmed that the PNC Club behind home plate is expanding by 120 seats next season.

🔷 Embedded below, the new Swimming Upstream episode contains full audio from Norby prior to his Marlins debut and an exclusive interview with Triple-A Jacksonville RHP Adam Mazur. Subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your podcasts!

🔷 Agustín Ramírez is showing himself to be a well-rounded hitter in terms of power, contact and swing decisions, as Eli Ben-Porat of Baseball America details.

🔷 Son Los Marlins ranked their top 10 Marlins prospects, placing Javier Sanoja and Troy Johnston higher than you'll see anywhere else.

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Austin Riley fractured his right hand on a hit by pitch, which is expected to end his 2024 regular season. Francisco Alvarez hit a walk-off home run to propel the Mets past the Orioles. The Dodgers and Athletics threw two-hit shutouts against the Mariners and Rays, respectively. The Astros have won 11 of their last 12 games.

🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Edward Cabrera) take on the Diamondbacks (LHP Eduardo Rodríguez). Rodríguez has not faced the Fish since he was a rookie in 2015! The Marlins have a 47.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET.

🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: 

• Triple-A Jacksonville at Nashville, 7:35 p.m. ET
• Double-A Pensacola at Tennessee, 7:00 p.m. ET
• High-A Beloit at South Bend, 7:05 p.m. ET
• Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona, 6:30 p.m. ET
• DSL Marlins vs. DSL Colorado, 11:00 a.m. ET
• DSL Miami at DSL Tigers 2, 11:00 a.m. ET

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