Offishial news, 11/30/23: Arraez family grows; new homes for Hampson, Wendle

Marlins Podcast Episodes

• Wednesday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, RF Vidal Bruján went 3-for-7 with 2 RBI and a stolen base during a doubleheader. In Puerto Rico, C Jan Mercado went 1-for-4 with an RBI triple.

• MLB teams have expressed interest in acquiring Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers from the Marlins, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. "If the Marlins trade a starter," Rosenthal adds, "they almost certainly would need to replace him with a veteran free agent on a one-year deal." Despite missing almost all of 2023 due to injuries, I imagine Rogers would carry more value than Cabrera due to his rookie-year brilliance and remaining minor league options.

• Elsewhere around baseball, there was a much-needed flurry of free agent signings over the last 24 hours. Nick Martinez (2/$26M) and Emilio Pagán (2/$16M) signed with the Reds, Luis Severino (1/$13M) signed with the Mets, and former Fish Joey Wendle (1/$2M) and Garrett Hampson (1/$2M) signed with the Mets and Royals, respectively. I wrote in greater depth about Hampson here.

• The Brewers and top prospect Jackson Chourio are reportedly closing in on an eight-year, $80 million extension. With two club options tacked on at the end, Chourio will be under their control for an entire decade. If you read Wednesday's Offishial News, I was correct on the length of the deal, but went too high on the dollar amount. Great deal for Milwaukee despite the obvious risk involved.

• I took a break from quizmaster duties to compete on the latest
  , claiming a hard-fought win over FOF colleagues Isaac Azout and Nick Turok. Thanks again to Navi from Marlins Discord for serving as guest quizmaster. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here!

• In an
  with Locked On Marlins, Victor Mesa Jr. discussed his 2023 season, reaction to being selected to the 40-man roster and 2024 outlook and goals. Mesa is the fourth-ranked prospect on our FOF Top 30 list.

• MiLB.com included Mesa among their 2023 Marlins Organization All-Stars. Director of minor league operations Hector Crespo commented on most of the selections. Most notably, he boasted about Evan Fitterer's uptick in velocity ("this year, he sat 94-97") and insisted that the Marlins are "still really high" on José Devers.

• Louis Addeo-Weiss explains why Chase Utley, a newcomer to the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, belongs in Cooperstown.

• Scotty Atkins (Double-A Pensacola) and Jaymeson Wilcox (High-A Beloit) won Head Groundskeeper of the Year in their respective minor leagues. Pensacola's Cedric Bascom was the Southern League's Visiting Clubhouse Attendant of the Year.

• Congratulations to Gladys and Luis Arraez on delivering their third child, Esthela.

Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images