Offishial news, 12/21/23: Roddery Muñoz; Diego Infante

Here's what you should know with 98 days to go until Marlins Opening Day...

• Wednesday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, Troy Johnston went 1-for-7 with a walk during a doubleheader, RF Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, SS José Devers went 0-for-3 with an error and RHP Huascar Brazoban pitched a perfect inning of relief in his LIDOM season debut. The Brazoban development suggests that he'll be contributing for Gigantes del Cibao during the upcoming postseason Round Robin.

• The Marlins sent cash considerations to the Pirates in exchange for RHP Roddery Muñoz. It's technically Peter Bendix's third trade of the offseason, but it's essentially a glorified waiver claim. In the minors last season, Muñoz posted a 5.42 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 81 K in 78.0 IP (34 G/14 GS). Could be a decent MLB reliever in the future if he develops a competent changeup. He's the only "Roddery" in the history of professional baseball, as far as I can tell. Ryan Jensen was designated for assignment to make room for him.

• Free agent OF Diego Infante signed a minor league deal with the Fish. He played 454 games in the Rays organization over the last seven seasons, slashing .275/.342/.437. What sticks out to me is how little power production Infante had to the pull side in 2023. Most of his defensive reps have come in right field.

• The latest episode of Fish On First LIVE discussed those acquisitions along with Jesús Luzardo trade rumors. This was our first time crossposting the show to Instagram Live! We'll continue doing so with all future streams if there's an audience for it.

• Elsewhere around baseball, the Brewers traded Adrian Houser and Tyrone Taylor to the Mets for pitching prospect Coleman Crow.

• Cristian Crespo of Just Baseball explains why he trusts Peter Bendix, even if his approach doesn't necessarily put the Marlins in the best situation to contend in 2024.

• With 28 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 66.7% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.

• The hiring of Frankie Piliere as Marlins director of amateur scouting is now official. His private Twitter account has been updated accordingly.

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Photo by Danis Sosa/Fish On First