Offishial news, 12/14/23: Piliere hired as amateur scouting director; free agent rumors

• Wednesday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 3B Vidal Bruján went 1-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. In Puerto Rico, C Jan Mercado went 0-for-2.

• The Marlins have picked their new director of amateur scouting, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid. Frankie Piliere comes over from the Seattle Mariners where he'd spent six years in their scouting department. Relatively young guy who previously covered amateur prospects for D1Baseball. On next week's episode of The Offishial Show, we will be examining Piliere's takes from the 2016 and 2017 draft cycles and see how they aged.

• In the Miami Herald, Mish and Barry Jackson touch on various Marlins topics. Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers "have the inside track" to win the final two Opening Day rotation spots, with Max Meyer lurking "if either falters in the spring." They corroborate reporting by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic about free agent Isiah Kiner-Falefa being of interest to the Fish. "Even with (Christian) Bethancourt added, the Marlins remain open to finding a catcher," they add, specifically citing Andrew Knizner as an option being considered. Knizner should come cheaply after the Cardinals non-tendered him rather than pay a projected $2M salary.

• Elsewhere around baseball, Shohei Ohtani has the ability to opt out of his historic contract with the Dodgers if either owner Mark Walter or president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman are no longer involved with the team. Ohtani's introductory press conference is being held today at 6:00 p.m. ET. Major League Baseball announced the debut of "Spring Breakout" in 2024, where top prospects from each organization will play seven-inning showcase games. Marlins and Cardinals prospects will face off at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on March 15 right before the regularly scheduled Grapefruit League game.

• Christian Bethancourt spoke to the media on Wednesday about his determination to be a well-rounded player on both offense and defense.

• Through the Miami Marlins Foundation, Jeff Conine, Griffin Conine and Gaby Sanchez surprised two families with holiday gifts and served dinner for 500 more families.

• Episode 2 of "The Standard" relives the time Luis Arraez hit for the first-ever Marlins cycle.

• Baseball Prospectus ranked the top 20 Marlins prospects. Relative to other outlets, they are very high on OF Kemp Alderman (No. 4) and LHP Josh Simpson (No. 12) and low on IF Xavier Edwards (No. 14) and IF Yiddi Cappe (No. 18).

• The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are seeking a paid broadcasting and media relations trainee for the 2024 season.

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