Ely Sussman

Marlins news roundup for 3/25/24 Do you want Miami Marlins news delivered directly to you in the morning? Sign up for our email newsletter! 🔷 On Sunday, the Marlins concluded their 2024 Grapefruit League schedule with a 5-1 win against the New York Mets. Nick Gordon and Jesús Sánchez drove in two runs apiece. Two more scoreless innings of relief for Sixto Sánchez. The pitching staff totaled 14 strikeouts, one shy of their single-game best this spring. 🔷 Luis Arraez ended the spring on a 10-game hitting streak and was the Marlins' leader in hits (17) and total bases (26). Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Dane Myers each had three home runs. George Soriano was nearly flawless across seven appearances (9.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 10 K). Grapefruit League and Cactus League combined, the Marlins ranked last among all MLB teams in OPS (.662) and runs scored per game (3.70). 🔷 Max Meyer enters the regular season as Miami's No. 5 starter. I frankly have no clue what to expect from him. This spring, he looked very similar to the pitcher we saw in 2022, the one who had little else to prove in the minors, but lacks exceptional traits outside of his slider and athleticism. 🔷 The latest from our Marlins injury/rehab tracker: Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera are both scheduled to face live batters this week, while Eury Pérez has resumed playing catch after his elbow inflammation scare. If all goes well for Garrett on Thursday, I could see him joining Triple-A Jacksonville for a rehab assignment next week. Minor league affiliates have begun placing players on the 60-day IL. LHP Dax Fulton (elbow surgery) is the most notable Marlins prospect who's been put on there so far. 🔷 Where are they now? With Opening Day fast approaching, I count seven members of the 2023 Marlins who remain unsigned in free agency. 🔷 Hector Rodriguez annually publishes a series of MLB Draft prospect profiles for Fish On First. First up in the 2024 draft class: Cal catcher Caleb Lomavita. 🔷 A panel of MLB.com "experts" voted Luis Arraez as their favorite to repeat as NL batting champ. 🔷 MLB.com's Christina De Nicola predicts that Sixto Sánchez and Tim Anderson will both be candidates for the Comeback Player of the Year award. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Rockies signed Ezequiel Tovar to a seven-year, $63.5M contract extension and the Phillies extended Matt Strahm through 2025 with a vesting option for 2026. View full article

Well you're right about that last part: Sixto will be appointment viewing as long as he's effective. That won't dictate how the baseball decision-makers use him, of course.

I'm perplexed by the total lack of contract extensions. Bendix saw for himself with the Rays how vital it is to extend club control over certain players during a particular window in anticipation of those players sustaining their success or continuing to improve. For him to not reach deals with anybody on this roster either speaks to budget restrictions or his lack of faith in them. Between eliminating the Short-Season A level of the minors and cutting the draft from 40 rounds to 20, Major League Baseball has taken steps to discourage American player participation. Shortsighted decision-making.

The front office made up their minds a while ago, unfortunately. If they were ready to move on from Avi, would've happened before spring training. Once they brought him to camp, they were clearly determined to give him a third chance to turn things around.

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs... View full article

The Nats took Nuñez from the Fish in the MLB Rule 5 Draft. They'll carry him on their active roster despite severe struggles at the plate during spring training. Following a series of transactions on Tuesday, infielder Nasim Nuñez has secured his place on the Washington Nationals' Opening Day roster. Developed by the Miami Marlins for the first four-plus years of his professional career, Nuñez will be making his major league debut with one of their NL East rivals. Nuñez was the Marlins' second-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. His blazing speed and stellar shortstop defense stood out throughout his time in the organization. He averaged a stolen base every other game during his minor league journey (184 SB in 366 G), represented the Fish in the 2023 Futures Game, was named MVP of said game and participated in the Arizona Fall League. However, Nuñez was left unprotected entering December's Rule 5 Draft when the Marlins declined to select him to their 40-man roster. He was the first hitter and the fifth overall player taken in the major league phase of the Rule 5. Why would the Marlins be willing to lose a toolsy 23-year-old who plays a premium position when their farm system is already so thin? Well, it's premature to say that they've lost Nuñez for good considering the concerns about his hitting ability. Nuñez had a career 89 wRC+ in the minors and posted a 79 wRC+ at Double-A last season, and those numbers were buoyed by a tremendous walk rate that is unrealistic for him to maintain against MLB pitching. As a Rule 5 guy, he cannot be optioned to the minors during the 2024 season despite lacking any Triple-A experience. Nuñez predictably struggled in the Grapefruit League. In 22 games played, he slashed .152/.200/.182 with a 2 wRC+ and two stolen bases. Only one of his five hits came off of a notable major leaguer (bunt single vs. Miles Mikolas). The bright spot was his excellence at shortstop. ZW5LOWJfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmxRSFZsSldBRlFBV1ZRQ1VRQUFBd0lDQUZoV1VnTUFWZ0JUQlZWV0JRdFdWUXBX.mp4 Vmc0anZfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmdaUVhWRUVCMU1BQ2dNRVhnQUFCZzhIQUFCV1VGRUFBUUFIVXdaWEJGWldWQXRm.mp4 Even on a Nats team that's in rebuilding mode, Nuñez must perform significantly better at the plate during regular season action to justify his roster spot. If not, there could come a point where they offer to return him to the Marlins for $50k (like how the Marlins returned RHP Nic Enright to the Cleveland Guardians in the middle of last year). In the meantime, though, Nasim Nuñez is on the verge of playing in The Show. The 2019 Marlins draft class has produced a surprising number of big leaguers already: JJ Bleday, Peyton Burdick, Bryan Hoeing, Easton Lucas, Andrew Nardi and Jeff Lindgren. Still with Miami, Anthony Maldonado is a near-lock to debut in 2024 himself and reigning Marlins Minor League Player of the Year Troy Johnston ought to get an opportunity before season's end. The first regular season meeting between the Marlins and Nats will be April 26-29 at LoanDepot Park. View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs... View full article

Dane Myers was optioned to the minors on Friday despite putting up extraordinary numbers in Grapefruit League action. Dane Myers did everything he possibly could to earn a spot on the 2024 Miami Marlins Opening Day roster. He had a .412/.474/.735 slash line, three home runs and four stolen bases in 17 Grapefruit League games. Manager Skip Schumaker called him "really impressive" and a clubhouse favorite. He is already on Miami's 40-man roster. It still wasn't enough: Myers was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Friday. While spring training production can carry some weight, it rarely pushes MLB teams to take drastic measures. As Schumaker emphasized on Friday, depth will inevitably be needed over the course of the season, so the Marlins are not in a hurry to designate out-of-options veterans for assignment just to reward Myers—there will be room for him eventually. It was a very healthy spring for their position player group, meaning there aren't any pending injured list stints for Myers to capitalize on yet. I still want to put Myers' dominance in historical perspective. According to FanGraphs, he posted a 218 wRC+ at the plate during his Grapefruit League campaign (100 represents league average). They have detailed preseason stats dating back to 2006. In that span, Myers is one of only five Marlins to enjoy a spring with at least a 200 wRC+ while averaging one plate appearance per team game. (The 2020 and 2022 springs have been excluded due to their shortened exhibition schedules stemming from COVID and a lockout, respectively.) Let's briefly reflect on these other Myers-like standout performances and what happened to those players once the real games began. Josh Willingham (220 wRC+ in 2006) Willingham is the closest comp for Myers, a 27-year-old who previously had a couple cups of coffee in the majors and thoroughly conquered minor league pitching. Besides a brief midseason injury, he would stick as the Marlins' everyday left fielder in 2006 (120 wRC+). Willingham spent much of the next decade as a nice middle-of-the-order bat who you could perennially count on for two-ish wins above replacement (career 122 wRC+). The circumstances that surrounded Willingham made all the difference. The '06 Marlins operated with MLB's lowest payroll and gutted their roster of veteran players to get there. Nobody was blocking him and there wasn't any pressure on that team to be competitive. Chris Coghlan (203 wRC+ in 2011) The 2009 National League Rookie of the Year, Coghlan was seemingly a strong bounce-back candidate coming off a quiet and abbreviated sophomore season. The Marlins deployed him as their leadoff hitter and starting center fielder. He finished April 2011 with a .287/.352/.521 slash line (133 wRC+). However, by mid-June, Coghlan was a liability and got demoted to Triple-A. From that point through the end of his Marlins tenure in 2013, he played more games in New Orleans than he did in Miami, providing zero offensive impact. He enjoyed a career resurgence with the Chicago Cubs, but never got back to being a true everyday player. Christian Yelich (214 wRC+ in 2013) A first-time non-roster invitee to spring training at 21 years old, Yelich certainly looked the part of an elite MLB prospect and long-term franchise building block. He slugged .818 with nine of his 16 spring hits going for extra bases. Yelich was too phenomenal for his own good! Having embarked on yet another rebuild, the Marlins let him incubate in the minors until the second half of the 2013 season to delay his arbitration eligibility. That would later help them negotiate an extremely club-friendly contract extension. Yelich was arguably the NL's best all-around player from 2018-19. Unfortunately, the Marlins had already traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers by then. Garrett Cooper (202 wRC+ in 2021) M09kWTFfWGw0TUFRPT1fQlFoVFZGQlJWd0VBQ2xNR0F3QUFBbFZSQUFBQkJ3QUFDMUZXQUFJSENBSUFWQVFB.mp4 Cooper's roster spot was secure and his ability to rake against MLB arms was not in doubt. He still was plenty motivated, angling for steady playing time in a world without the universal DH. His spring training success earned him semi-regular starts in right field. Through the first quarter of the 2021 season, Cooper struggled mightily in all aspects of the game. Then from mid-May through mid-July, he was scorching hot, not far off from his Grapefruit League pace. Overall, Cooper had a .284/.380/.465 slash line (129 wRC+) on July 18 when he suffered a season-ending elbow injury. Fast-forward to 2024, he had a solid enough Cactus League audition to make the Chicago Cubs roster as an NRI. View full article

We may have to wait until Brazoban eventually arrives to get a clearer idea of why the process has been so messy for him specifically. Doesn't seem as though the team employees can explain it.

Martinez gets $12M guaranteed, but agreed to defer most of the money. Why couldn't the Marlins get him at that price? The top bat remaining on the MLB free agent market, J.D. Martinez, finally found his new home on Thursday night, agreeing with the New York Mets on a one-year, $12M deal. His salary for the upcoming season will be a mere $4.5M with the rest being paid out a decade later (annual $1.5M installments from 2034-2038). The 36-year-old still has to pass his physical to make things official. Martinez slashed .271/.321/.572 (135 wRC+) with 33 HR and 103 RBI in 113 games for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. Ever since they signed Shohei Ohtani to be their designated hitter in December, it's been apparent that Martinez would need to find another employer. The Miami Marlins seemed like a natural fit for the South Florida native. The Marlins weren't comfortable paying market value to retain All-Star designated hitter Jorge Soler, but Martinez's age and troublesome strikeout rate in 2023 made him a cheaper alternative. Per Craig Mish of SportsGrid, he was seeking a two-year deal in talks with the Fish earlier this month. Even in what's been a cruel market for hitters, it is hard to believe that Martinez had to ultimately settle for a one-year contract with a present-day value that's approximately the same as his previous deal. How could the Marlins pass on Martinez at such an efficient price tag? Well, some of Martinez's offensive contributions would have been negated by the club's defensive clumsiness. Occupying the DH spot would've forced Josh Bell and Jake Burger to handle the corner infield spots practically every day. Without Martinez, there is a lot more flexibility—Jon Berti can get occasional reps at the hot corner, Nick Gordon can fill in for Luis Arraez at second when he's giving Bell a breather at first, etc. On the other hand, Martinez is a hitting savant who still seemingly has a lot left in the tank. The quality of his contact is as impressive as ever. Imagine the intangible benefits of having him around the clubhouse as somebody who's gone from sub-replacement-level player early in his career to MLB's fifth-leading home run hitter over the last 10 years. It's like hiring another assistant hitting coach. He could've taken Avisaíl García's roster spot, an indisputable upgrade for the Marlins even if some age-related regression is probable in 2024. Too often, we analyze rosters as if they are always going to be at full strength. That's rarely how it plays out in reality. Even if there would be some redundancy between Martinez, Bell and Burger when they're all healthy, what if one of them goes on the injured list at any point? A signing like this would add crucial lineup depth for a Marlins organization that is thin on quality hitters to call up from the minors. In the aftermath of recent pitching staff injuries, expectations for the Marlins must be tempered. A great J.D. Martinez campaign would not assure them a postseason berth or even a .500 record. But that's the beauty of a one-year deal: you can move him at the trade deadline! Peter Bendix inherited a depleted farm system and has done virtually nothing to add talent to it thus far. Signing short-term free agents allows you to address that indirectly. A player who has a résumé and reputation like Martinez does would be especially appealing to contenders in July and bring back prospects with all of their club control still ahead of them. Instead, the Marlins have the challenge of facing Martinez head-to-head up to 13 times this season. And if the Mets fall out of the race (again), at least he'll be a trade asset for them. View full article

With several Marlins starting pitchers suffering injuries before the 2024 season has even begun, Craig Mish joins Isaac Azout and Ely Sussman to discuss the possibility of signing polarizing free agent Trevor Bauer. View full video

Marlins news roundup for 3/21/24 Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Wednesday, Jonah Bride (home run) and Troy Johnston (double) had the Marlins' only extra-base hits. Sixto Sánchez threw yet another scoreless inning, this time with only two days' rest in between outings. The Marlins lost to the Mets, 6-3, ensuring they'll finish with a sub-.500 record in Grapefruit League play. 🔷 The Marlins have designated sections 201-204 of LoanDepot Park as all-you-can-eat seats. Starting at $52 per person (I'm already seeing some weekend games at $71/person and even $81/person), fans can get unlimited access to the Caliente Grill concession stand. Alcoholic drinks are not included in the promotion. Sub-optimal seat location, too—those sections are in foul territory deep down the right-field line. I'll be curious to see if anybody actually makes a habit of buying these seats on a consistent basis. It feels more like a try-it-once novelty. 🔷 The Marlins also announced their minor league coordinators for the 2024 season. Former hitting coach Matt Snyder has transitioned to the role of hitting coordinator while Driveline Baseball trainer Maxx Garrett has been hired as a hitting and and catching coordinator. Still awaiting full details about MiLB coaching staffs. 🔷 Ryan Weathers defeated his boss, Peter Bendix, to win the Marlins' annual ping pong tournament. Garrett Hampson won it in 2023. Luis Arraez, Braxton Garrett, Vladimir Gutierrez and Max Meyer also made deep tourney runs this year, per Noah Berger. 🔷 He is Luis Arraez's "brother," Jazz Chisholm Jr.'s "best friend" and Skip Schumaker's Swiss army knife. Our intern, Nate Karzmer, wrote about Nick Gordon. 🔷 Alex Carver and Kevin Barral joined forces to highlight eight in-house options to fill the voids in the Marlins' season-opening starting rotation. 🔷 Congrats to our newest Marlins Jeopardy champion, Ethan Eibe! Ethan edged out our own Isaac Azout by a single point (8,001 to 8,000). This contest was particularly difficult. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Michael Lorenzen (1/$4.5M) signed with the Rangers. Regardless of how severe Eury Pérez's injury proves to be, it's hard to justify the Marlins passing on Lorenzen at the price considering he threw 153 innings with a 105 ERA+ last season. The Dodgers fired Shohei Ohtani's popular interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara, in connection with alleged theft and illegal gambling. Giancarlo Stanton had a three-homer game. He homered only once in his 11 previous spring training games. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Offishial News for 10/10/24 On Wednesday in the desert, two more Marlins made their Arizona Fall League debuts. LHP Patrick Monteverde (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 49 pitches/30 strikes) relied on pitching to contact and Jay Beshears went 0-for-3 with a walk while starting at third base. LF Kemp Alderman homered for the second consecutive day and CF Andrew Pintar went 1-for-4 with a walk. The Peoria Javelinas won, 5-3. Jesse Borek of MLB Pipeline spoke to Alderman about postponing his wedding to participate in the AFL and making "a conscientious effort" to drive balls to right-center field instead of to his pull side (left field). Both of Alderman's long balls this week having gone out the other way. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Kevin Barral wrote about shadowy Marlins minority owner David Ott. 🔷 Join us for a new edition of Marlins Jeopardy tonight at 6:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. Special guest: Kyle Sielaff. Special format: trivia focused entirely on the 2024 Marlins season. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Tigers, Mets, Yankees and Dodgers won their respective ALDS/NLDS games. Francisco Lindor's grand slam accounted for all of the Mets' scoring as they eliminated the favored Phils, who won only one postseason game coming off their best regular season since 2011. Giancarlo Stanton delivered three of his team's four hits, including a game-winning solo home run in the eighth inning, his 12th homer in 30 career postseason games. The Tigers and Dodgers both shut out their opponents without using conventional starting pitchers. The roof of Tropicana Field was severely damaged by Hurricane Milton. 🔷 Today's MLB postseason schedule: Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers, 6:08 p.m. ET (ALDS Game 4) New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals, 8:08 p.m. ET (ALDS Game 4) View full article

A reasonable take! (if this implies money and a roster spot being spent on a productive corner OF/DH instead of Anderson)

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs... View full article