Offishial news, 12/28/23: Blue Jays get Kiner-Falefa; 2019 redraft

Here's what you should know with 91 days to go until Marlins Opening Day...

• Wednesday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 3B Vidal Bruján went 2-for-5 with a stolen base in his first playoff game. In Venezuela, RF Javier Sanoja went 0-for-4 in his regular season finale.

• Elsewhere around baseball, Isiah Kiner-Falefa (2/$15M) signed with the Blue Jays. Craig Mish of SportsGrid reports that the Marlins pursued IKF, but didn't offer as much as the Blue Jays did. Shortstop was already a thin position in this free agent class and this leaves Miami with even fewer alternatives. If Amed Rosario is willing to take comparable money, that'd be a better fit, in my opinion. More offensive upside.

• With 60 BBWAA ballots entered into Ryan Thibodaux’s Hall of Fame tracker, former Marlin Gary Sheffield has received 73.3% of the vote (needs 75.0% for election). I’ll continue updating his status in Offishial News as more ballots come in.

• Our new episode of The Offishial Show dissects Sheffield and many of the other players on the BBWAA ballot. At the end, Louis Addeo-Weiss and I reveal how we would vote.

• Carlos Collazo of Baseball America did a 2019 redraft. Factoring in both previous and expected future performance, he has the Marlins taking Gunnar Henderson with the fourth overall pick and Andrew Nardi (who fell all the way to the 16th round in real life) going to the Astros at No. 32. The Marlins' actual top pick from that class, JJ Bleday, didn't make the cut. Yikes!

• Congrats to the Marlins' Scott Fairbanks on winning 2023 Bill Harper Scout of the Year. Fairbanks scouts amateur players in Northern California and the Northwest. I figure this award is largely about acknowledging his role in the signing of 2023 first-rounder Noble Meyer.

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