Offishial news, 1/10/24: Rachel Balkovec; lack of interest in Soler

Here's what you should know with 78 days to go until Marlins Opening Day...

• Tuesday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 3B Vidal Bruján went 1-for-4.

• The Marlins are hiring Rachel Balkovec to be their new director of player development. Balkovec has been a pioneer for women in baseball, the first of her gender to work in affiliated ball as a full-time strength and conditioning coach, full-time hitting coach and (most recently) minor league manager.

• Marlins insider Craig Mish joined Fish On First for an 83-minute Twitter Space on Tuesday night, addressing specific rumors and answering fan questions about the direction of the franchise.

• Speaking to Spanish-language media on Tuesday, Jorge Soler said the Marlins still have not approached him regarding the possibility of re-signing him (h/t Pelota Cubana). Mish anticipates him eventually landing a two-year deal from a non-Marlins team.

• Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a new edition of Fish On First LIVE streaming on
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• Elsewhere around baseball, Shota Imanaga has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Cubs. Once finalized, that'll leave the Marlins and Yankees as the only MLB teams who haven't made any regular major league free agent signings.

• With 136 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 75.0% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.

• Josh Bell tells the Marlins Hot Stove Show (embedded below) that phone calls from Bruce Sherman and Skip Schumaker played a part in convincing him to exercise his $16.5M player option for 2024. He also mentioned that reaching 10 years of MLB service time is "at the forefront of my mind" as a career goal. Bell will enter this season at seven years and 53 days of service.

• Happy 19th birthday to Marlins top prospect RHP Noble Meyer. The Oregon native was Miami's first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft and finished the season in Low-A Jupiter's starting rotation. In the new MLB Pipeline Poll of front office executives, Meyer received at least one vote for best pitching prospect in baseball.

• Show your Miami Dolphins pride during their NFL playoff run by shopping for new gear from our partners at FOCO.

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