Offishial news, 12/6/23: First flurry of deals; 2024 MLB Draft order

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• Tuesday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 2B Vidal Bruján went 1-for-3 with a walk. In Venezuela, LF Javier Sanoja went 2-for-3 with an RBI. In Puerto Rico, C Jan Mercado went 0-for-1, dropping his batting average to .102. Dane Myers' winter ball stint is over, Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix has confirmed.

• Former Marlins LHP Jefry Yan has agreed to a one-year deal with Nippon Professional Baseball's Seibu Lions. Yan undoubtedly boosted his stock in the D.R. with a 1.62 ERA in 17 relief appearances, trimming his walk rate to 4.7% (it had been 17.8% during the regular season). Cool achievement for somebody who was completely out of organized baseball just three years ago.

• Marlins prospects OF Toby Simmons and IF Breyias Dean are participating in the Don't Blink Home Run Derby in Paradise, being held this Saturday in Nassau, Bahamas. Simmons impressed during the 2022 event, while Dean is making his derby debut. Jazz Chisholm Jr. has done it in previous years, but he's still recovering from turf toe surgery.

• Elsewhere around baseball, the Red Sox traded Alex Verdugo to the Yankees, the Braves traded Marco Gonzales to the Pirates, Erick Fedde (2/$15M) signed with the White Sox, Victor Caratini (2/$12M) signed with the Astros, Kirby Yates (1/~$4.5M) signed with the Rangers, Luis García (1/$4.25M) signed with the Angels, Chris Devenski (1/$1.1M) signed with the Rays and Michael Tonkin signed with the Mets (1/$1M). The Guardians won the 2024 MLB Draft lottery. It'll be the first time in franchise history that they make the No. 1 overall pick. The Marlins are picking 16th, the same first-round position they had in 2021 coming off of their previous postseason berth.

• Carlos Collazo's initial mock draft on Baseball America has the Marlins taking North Carolina State catcher Jacob Cozart.

Cozart was inexplicably left off the final roster with Team USA this summer after showing hitting ability, power and defensive prowess behind the plate. He’s the top-ranked catcher in a solid class for the position, and while he is a bit bigger than a typical catcher, he moves well behind the plate. Cozart has a plus arm and can throw from awkward angles with quickness and accuracy and he also pairs solid contact skills and power from the left side of the plate. It’s a well-rounded profile at a coveted demographic.

—Carlos Collazo, Baseball America

• Our own Isaac Azout reports that—as the team is currently constructed—Xavier Edwards would get an opportunity to compete for the Marlins' starting shortstop job. Still time for the acquisition of a more experienced shortstop, of course.

• Kevin Barral lists six big questions that are lingering about this Marlins offseason.

• Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers questions how much pitching depth the Marlins can feel comfortable trading away.

• Next up, the Rule 5 Draft is today at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Marlins are 18th in the draft order (for the both the major league and minor league phase).

• Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a new edition of Fish On First LIVE on 
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• Lastly, I noticed that Marlins.com is still featuring Jorge Soler in its desktop wallpaper rotation of Marlins players (along with Chisholm and Sandy Alcantara). Soler opted out of his contract more than a month ago. Oops!

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