Ely Sussman

Marlins news roundup for 2/14/24 Here's what you should know with 43 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... 🔹 Designated for assignment by the Marlins last week, Jordan Groshans and Kaleb Ort were claimed off waivers by the Yankees and Phillies, respectively. Both went to teams that had full 40-man rosters, which shows they see some value in them because their acquisitions required corresponding DFA's. Assuming that the Marlins don't reclaim Groshans at some point, it makes them clear losers of the four-player trade that brought him to Miami in 2022. The Blue Jays received Anthony Bass, Zach Pop and prospect Edward Duran in return (they still have Pop and Duran). 🔹 New Fish On First intern Nate Karzmer wrote the article linked above! Give him a follow on Twitter (@NateKarzmer). 🔹 Also on the transactions front, the Marlins have inked Curt Casali and Yonny Chirinos to minor league deals. Casali was limited to 27 starts for the Reds last season, missing the second half due to a foot injury and illness. He has a career .220/.314/.380 slash line (89 wRC+) over parts of 10 MLB seasons. Chirinos got off to an intriguing start in 2023, but struggled with a 8.14 ERA/6.47 FIP over his final 10 games (42.0 IP), then landed on the injured list with elbow inflammation. He demonstrated that he's healthy again by pitching briefly in the Venezuelan Winter League. 🔹 They had already been leaked, but Marlins giveaways for the 2024 season are now listed on the team's website. Most of them apply to the first 8,000 fans through the gates for that particular game. Pretty much everybody who attends Opening Day (first 30,000 fans) will get a rally towel. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, MLB and Nike announced (and began selling) new on-field uniforms. At first glance, the changes seem to be a clear downgrade. Jenny Cavnar has been hired as television play-by-play announcer for the Athletics. She'll be the first female primary play-by-play voice in MLB history. 🔹 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming at 7:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram. Our special guest is Marlins radio announcer Kyle Sielaff. 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. 🔹 Luis Arraez and the Marlins had their arbitration hearing on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The ruling could be coming as soon as today. Tanner Scott is still waiting on his hearing—that will happen by Friday, which is the final day of scheduled hearings. 🔹 Adam Salorio of Pitcher List dug up a fascinating arbitration comp for Arraez: 2017 Avisaíl García. That's when García had just finished runner-up in the AL batting title race. 🔹 Baseball America branched out their Marlins top prospects list to 40 players, with 1B Torin Montgomery, RHP Eliazar Dishmey, RHP Evan Fitterer, 2B Ian Lewis, C Paul McIntosh, LHP Josh Simpson, OF/LHP Janero Miller, RHP Alex Williams, RHP Matt Pushard and LHP Dale Stanavich occupying the No. 31-40 spots. I will admit that I had zero familiarity with Dishmey prior to reading their article. Per BA's Peter Flaherty, the 19-year-old has "already shown flashes of a loud arsenal and big-time upside. There is some reliever risk with the athletic righthander, but he has the stuff to be effective out of the bullpen." 🔹 More from BA: the Florida Complex League will have much earlier start and end dates than we're used to, with the season running from May 4 through July 25. Instead of being heavily populated by new MLB Draft picks, the rosters will instead be centered around players who spent the previous year in the Dominican Summer League. 🔹 The Marlins' Grapefruit League opener vs. the Cardinals on February 24 will be televised. At the very least, it will be carried by Bally Sports Midwest and available through MLB.TV. If previous springs are any indication, expect the broadcast to be simulcast on Bally Sports Florida (even if the game only features Cardinals announcers). Marlins Podcast Episodes View full article

Yeah, from our vantage point, it seems very straightforward. Every step of his MiLB career outside of repeating High-A, he struggled too much as a hitter to merit regular playing time. But can't rule out that perhaps there was something hindering him from performing the way he's capable of, or the organization made some kind of unreasonable request.

Marlins news roundup for 2/13/24 Here's what you should know with 44 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... 🔹 New Marlin Nick Gordon put up an Instagram post expressing how thankful he is to the Twins organization for great memories and life lessons, and how excited he is to be "back home" with a Florida-based team. Gordon will be doing a virtual press conference with the media today. 🔹 The Marlins announced three more front office additions: Sara Goodrum (director, special projects), Sam Mondry-Cohen (vice president, player personnel) and Brandon Mann (pitching strategist). You can find a full summary of this offseason's organizational changes here. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, Jorge Soler has finally found a new home in San Francisco. It is reportedly a three-year, $42M deal, topping the $36M guarantee he received from the Marlins as a free agent two winters ago. A 2023 NL All-Star and Roberto Clemente Award nominee, Soler is turning 32 later this month. 🔹 Our second annual Marlins call-up contest is live wherever you get your podcasts. Fish On First's Isaac Azout, Kevin Barral and Alex Carver selected five minor leaguers each who they believe could make their MLB debuts in 2024. 🔹 I shared an updated Marlins roster projection. MLB.com's Christina De Nicola did her own. Our only difference was the final bullpen spot (I went with Bryan Hoeing, she went with Calvin Faucher) 🔹 On Miami Mic'd Up with Jeremy Taché, Sandy Alcantara listed San Diego (Petco Park), New York (Citi Field) and Atlanta (Truist Park) as road environments that he loves to pitch in. 🔹 Congratulations to Xavier Edwards. His alma mater, North Broward Prep in Coconut Creek, retired his No. 9 uniform. Edwards is the only North Broward Prep Eagle to reach the major leagues. Marlins Podcast Episodes View full article

Episode #212 Drafting the players who are most likely to make their MLB debuts with the Miami Marlins this season. Isaac Azout, Kevin Barral and Alex Carver join Ely Sussman for a five-round draft of Marlins minor leaguers. The objective is simple: predict which of them will be called up by the Marlins and make their MLB regular season debuts in 2024. Isaac's team: Anthony Maldonado, Patrick Monteverde, Will Banfield, Victor Mesa Jr., Eli Villalobos Kevin's team: Roddery Muñoz, Josh Simpson, Luis Palacios, Griffin Conine, Elvis Alvarado Alex's team: Troy Johnston, Marty Costes, Zach McCambley, Paul McIntosh, Luarbert Arias Who has the best chance of going 5-for-5? Any unselected players who you believe could sneak up to the majors this season? Let us know in the comments. Find The Offishial Show on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes Fish Unfiltered, Big Fish Small Pod, Swimming Upstream and more. Follow Isaac (@IsaacAzout), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Alex (@marlinsminors), Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

I am high on Meyer, but he also needs to prove that his changeup is a consistent pitch. It showed flashes of being effective in 2022. It's possible he passes that test in Spring Training with enough reps against live batters, but I still think he's more likely to go to Triple-A and standby for his opportunity.

Marlins news roundup for 2/12/24 Here's what you should know with 45 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... 🔹 The Marlins and Twins have been frequent trade partners in recent years, with their latest swap exchanging Nick Gordon for Steven Okert. I'd say both players are better fits with their new clubs for the 2024 season than their previous ones. The transaction could also have repercussions further down the road as Gordon and Okert are just in their first years of arbitration eligibility. Baseball Trade Values considers it a minor overpay by the Marlins. 🔹 The half-brother of former Marlins All-Star Dee Strange-Gordon, Nick was raised in central Florida and had spent his entire professional career in the Twins organization since being their first-round draft pick in 2014. He played two MLB games at LoanDepot Park last season and also participated in the 2017 Futures Game, which was in Miami. Gordon has played six different defensive positions in the majors, though the vast majority of his reps have come at center field, left field and second base. 🔹 Okert concludes his three-year Marlins tenure with a 3.51 ERA, 4.25 FIP and 1.17 WHIP in 146.0 IP. He's tied with Kevin Gregg for 22nd place among all pitchers in franchise history with 158 appearances. 🔹 I did an updated Marlins roster projection with Gordon in and Okert out. Which 26 players would you go with? 🔹 On Marlins Spaces, Kevin Barral, Alex Carver, Isaac Azout and I spoke extensively about the trade and the rest of last week's transactions. 🔹 Replying to Fish On First in a since-deleted tweet, outfielder Victor Victor Mesa confirmed a Miami Herald report that he won't be playing for the Marlins organization this season despite still being under contract. Mesa has struggled to hit throughout his minor league career (.233/.289/.289 slash line with eight home runs in 290 games) and spent the second half of the 2023 campaign on the restricted list. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, Yasmani Grandal (1/$2.5M) signed with the Pirates and Spencer Turnbull (1/$2M) signed with the Phillies. 🔹 Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers is skeptical about LoanDepot Park's lively Caribbean Series crowds carrying over to Marlins regular season games. 🔹 Jordan Groshans, Kaleb Ort and Peyton Burdick all remain in DFA limbo. 🔹 Lastly, congrats to the Kansas City Chiefs, who've won three of the last five Super Bowls. Their previous two championships coincided with Marlins postseason berths. Will the streak continue?! Marlins Podcast Episodes View full article

It was fair to wonder in November whether he could potentially be non-tendered, but Baseball Trade Values placed his surplus value at $3.5M. I would definitely take the under on that.

In the aftermath of the Nick Gordon trade, projecting which 26 Marlins players are best positioned to make the Opening Day roster. With pitchers and catchers reporting to Jupiter this week and the rest of their teammates joining them in the subsequent days, it's time for my start-of-spring Miami Marlins Opening Day roster projection. I can say with a fairly high degree of confidence that there will be discrepancies between this projection and the ultimate 26-man active roster. Injuries are almost inevitable over the next six weeks. There will be extreme Grapefruit League performances that cannot be forecasted and may tilt a roster battle. Even so, hopefully you find some value in this exercise. Look out for an updated roster projection in early March. Position Players Catchers (2): Christian Bethancourt, Nick Fortes Infielders (6): Luis Arraez, Josh Bell, Jon Berti, Vidal Bruján, Jake Burger, Xavier Edwards Outfielders (5): Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Avisaíl García, Nick Gordon, Jesús Sánchez Just missed: Jonah Bride, Trey Mancini The catching situation is straightforward. Fortes' active roster spot could be in jeopardy early in the regular season if he continues to scuffle at the plate just as much as he did in 2023, but he's doubtful to be usurped on the depth chart until the real games begin. The Marlins traded three prospects in their deal to acquire the out-of-options Bruján, which clearly indicates they expect him to break camp with the club, though the acquisition of Gordon shrinks his role. Edwards vs. Bride is relatively close to a coin flip if Edwards doesn't assert himself as part of the shortstop mix. Even assuming the Marlins believe that Edwards has more long-term potential, they might prefer having him in Triple-A Jacksonville's everyday lineup instead of playing sporadically in Miami. The Marlins continue to reject the notion that García is a sunk cost. Perhaps they will change their tune before Opening Day, but I can't count on that. Tough break for Mancini, who would otherwise have an easy path to make it as a non-roster invitee. That means backup first base duties would have to be handled by a committee of Arraez, Burger and Bethancourt. Pitchers Starters (5): Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Trevor Rogers Relievers (8): Anthony Bender, Huascar Brazoban, JT Chargois, Bryan Hoeing, Andrew Nardi, A.J. Puk, Tanner Scott, George Soriano Just missed: Anthony Maldonado, Max Meyer, Ryan Weathers Pretty good pitching staff, though pretty boring considering all of these arms finished last season in the Marlins organization. Hoeing would be the projected mop-up man and likeliest pitcher to get optioned to the minors when making room for a fresh arm. Maldonado has nothing left to prove in Triple-A. Wouldn't be a shock if a preseason reliever injury paves the way for him to make the cut. However, it will be very tempting to delay his debut until mid-April, limiting enough MLB service time to ensure that club control carries through 2030 instead of only 2029. I believe Sixto Sánchez—who is out of options—will either open the season on the injured list due to his interminable right shoulder issues or get designated for assignment. Any differences between your roster projection and mine? Comment to let me know. View full article

Awkward fit from the standpoint that he has ugly platoon splits like Jazz and Sánchez. I have to assume they acquired him with a plan to use him occasionally at 2B/SS too.

Highlights of new Marlin Nick Gordon making impact plays with the bat and the glove as a member of the Minnesota Twins. View full video

I feel like there is too much emphasis being put on a single season. Prior to 2023, Burdick had never been above a 30 K% in any minor league season. He was in that "flawed player, but could do enough in other areas to still be helpful" category. For a team that is so thin on 2024 major league hitting options, I was pretty surprised that they would risk losing him for nothing just to make room for such an underwhelming arm.

Top plays from Marlins prospect Troy Johnston, who is a non-roster invitee at 2024 Spring Training. View full video

Top plays from Marlins prospect Patrick Monteverde, who is a non-roster invitee at 2024 Spring Training. View full video

Top plays from Marlins prospect Will Banfield, who is a non-roster invitee at 2024 Spring Training. View full video