Ely Sussman

Episode #211 Ely highlights a handful of players who've been invited to Miami Marlins big league camp. Ely Sussman discusses this spring's youngest and oldest Marlins non-roster invitees, the most accomplished player in the group, the biggest sleeper and the ones who have the easiest paths to earning spots on the 2024 Opening Day roster. The Marlins announced these 20 NRIs on Monday: RHP Elvis Alvarado RHP Matt Andriese RHP Luarbert Arias C Will Banfield IF Jacob Berry OF Griffin Conine OF Marty Costes OF Jonathan Davis IF José Devers IF Tristan Gray C Bennett Hostetler 1B Troy Johnston RHP Jeff Lindgren 1B Trey Mancini C Paul McIntosh LHP Patrick Monteverde C Jhonny Pereda IF/OF Javier Sanoja LHP Devin Smeltzer RHP Kyle Tyler 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 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

The former Marlins slugger finds a new home just in time for Spring Training. Former Miami Marlins designated hitter Jorge Soler has agreed to a three-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He is guaranteed $42M, per Mike Rodriguez. Jorge Soler played 209 games during his two seasons in Miami, slashing .235/.325/.473 (116 wRC+) with a team-leading 49 home runs, accruing 2.3 fWAR. Soler’s Marlins deal was originally three years and $36M guaranteed, but he opted out a year early after an impressive 2023 campaign. He blasted 36 homers—the sixth-highest single-season total in franchise history—and earned his first career All-Star selection. He was particularly valuable against left-handed pitching (181 wRC+) and in clutch situations (3.03 WPA, 14th among qualified MLB hitters). Once Soler opted out, I was adamant that the Marlins should have made him a qualifying offer ($20.325M for one year). Even with the expectation being that he would reject the offer, the club would’ve received a compensatory pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Instead, they withheld the QO and will wind up losing him for nothing. Soler was the Marlins’ primary DH last season, accounting for 62.4% of their plate appearances at the position. As currently constructed, the club doesn’t have a default DH. Josh Bell, Luis Arraez, Jake Burger and Avisaíl García are each candidates to start there occasionally when they’re not deployed at first base, second base, third base and right field, respectively. Trey Mancini's career numbers are surprisingly comparable to Soler's, though expectations for the non-roster invitee should be tempered coming off the worst year of his career. Soler is by far the most notable 2023 Marlin to sign elsewhere in free agency this offseason. The others include David Robertson (Texas Rangers), Joey Wendle (New York Mets), Garrett Hampson (Kansas City Royals), Dylan Floro (Washington Nationals), Jacob Stallings (Colorado Rockies), Daniel Castano (KBO’s NC Dinos), Enmanuel De Jesus (KBO’s Kiwoom Heroes) and Geoff Hartlieb (Colorado Rockies). Once again, I'll remind you the Marlins are the lone MLB team that hasn't made any major league free agent signings this offseason. View full article

It just doesn't seem that the Red Sox have enough urgency to win NOW to agree to that. Their offseason has been all about "buying low" on players (Vaughn Grissom, Tyler O'Neill, Lucas Giolito, etc.). This would run counter to that approach.

I take this back! It's specifically promoting Opening Day, so it would be irresponsible of the team to put a specific pitcher on there until it is obvious/announced that they'll be starting that day. Carry on.

There are no good starting shortstop solutions left in the 2023-24 MLB free agent class (frankly, there weren't any to begin with), but Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that the Miami Marlins are considering signing a veteran at the position. The group of free agents that they're "mulling over" includes Tim Anderson, Amed Rosario, Adalberto Mondesi and Nick Ahmed. Miami's Mondesi interest was previously mentioned by the New York Post's Jon Heyman last week. Unlike Mondesi, these three other names were at least on a major league field in 2023. Last season, Ahmed (Diamondbacks) slashed .212/.257/.303 with a 51 wRC+ and 0.0 fWAR. He was released in early September. A rumored trade target for the Fish last summer, Anderson (White Sox) slashed .245/.286/.296 with a 60 wRC+ and -0.5 fWAR. The White Sox declined Anderson's 2024 club option to make him a free agent. The "best" of the bunch, Rosario (Guardians/Dodgers) slashed .263/.305/.378 with a 88 wRC+ and 0.2 fWAR. You can compare their individual stats in greater detail on FanGraphs. Rosenthal didn't mention the possibility of trading for Milwaukee's Willy Adames. View full rumor

Here's what you should know with 52 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... 🔹 Sunday's Caribbean Series scores: Panamá defeated Nicaragua, 6-3; Puerto Rico defeated Venezuela, 6-2; and México defeated Dominican Republic, 9-1. Through the first 12 games of the tournament, average attendance has been 15,049 per game, which tops the 2023 Marlins regular season attendance average (14,356). Fish On First's Kevin Barral and Noah Berger are practically living at LoanDepot Park the rest of this week to bring you the best possible tournament coverage. Follow them for live updates. 🔹 A bunch of international Marlins prospects were in attendance on Sunday, including LHP Keyner Benitez, LHP Luis Cesar, RHP Juan De La Cruz, C Victor Ortega and LHP Dameivi Tineo. 🔹 President of business operations Caroline O'Connor addressed the media about the "amazing" start to the tournament and the potential for LoanDepot Park to host future international baseball events. O'Connor mentioned that the the earliest possible return for the Caribbean Series would be 2028. 🔹 The Marlins' new digital ad campaign to promote Opening Day tickets features Luis Arraez, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jake Burger. As successful as Burger was after being traded to Miami, I gotta imagine that the marketing folks would be featuring Jesús Luzardo in his place if they were certain about Luzardo not being traded, right? 🔹 Speaking of Arraez, a reminder that he and Tanner Scott are scheduled to go to arbitration hearings within the next two weeks. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, Jay Jackson signed a one-year deal with the Twins. 🔹 Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald took a close look at each of the Marlins' starting rotation options. 🔹 Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers is doing a three-part series about the most distinguished Marlins players to wear each uniform number, starting with No. 1-30. 🔹 Peter Appel of Just Baseball places the Marlins 10th in his ranking of the top MLB expansion teams. 🔹 Today's Caribbean Series slate: View full article

I understand why you and plenty of others are hopeful about Edwards. Can't say I'm as convinced, and more importantly, I doubt Bendix sees him as an everyday player. Remember Bendix was with the team that traded Edwards away last year for a couple lottery ticket prospects.

In about 2 weeks, once Sandy is eligible to be placed on the 60-day IL, they'll sign a random reliever/role player to a 1-year deal. That is my prediction.

The stadium was packed on Saturday night to see the Dominican Republic's victory over Puerto Rico. Saturday's Caribbean Series matchup between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico drew a paid crowd of 35,972 fans, according to the Miami Marlins, setting a single-game record for the 75-year-old tournament. The record was previously held by Venezuela's Estadio de la Rinconada, which announced an attendance of 35,691 for opening night of the 2023 event. It's a completely unsurprising development. During last year's World Baseball Classic, fans demonstrated that they'd be willing to travel to LoanDepot Park in droves when the magnitude of the event calls for it. The Marlins are once again bidding to host all rounds of the WBC in 2026 to capitalize on that enthusiasm. Through nine Caribbean Series games, the average attendance has been 13,528, pretty close to what the venue averaged for Marlins games during the 2023 MLB season (14,356). Keep in mind, the players involved are predominantly minor leaguers or free agents, with Panamanian catcher Christian Bethancourt being one of the few exceptions. Also, there is no U.S. team involved (the participants are Curacao, Dominican Republic, México, Nicaragua, Panamá, Puerto Rico and Venezuela), yet the building sold out for a preliminary round game. Daily tripleheaders continue through Wednesday with first-pitch times of 10:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. That will be followed by the semifinals on Thursday and the final on Friday, which I'd expect to challenge this attendance record as long as one of Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or Venezuela is involved. View full article

Yes, I always crosscheck trade proposal ideas with BTV before sharing them. I think they are slightly high on Rogers given that he is so far removed from getting good results vs. MLB competition. Also seems high on Groshans, whose 2023 season was discouraging on all fronts. But even in those cases, within the "margin for error."

Here's what you should know with 54 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... Offishial News articles typically run Monday-Friday, but because I flaked on it this past Friday, I'm making up for it today. 🔹 Friday's Caribbean Series scores: Panamá beat Curacao, 7-3; Dominican Republic beat Nicaragua, 5-4; and Puerto Rico beat México, 2-0. Christian Bethancourt (PAN) went 1-for-5. Former Marlins pitchers Alex Sanabia (PUR) and Odrisamer Despaigne (MEX) started against one another in the late game. Fish On First's Kevin Barral is practically living at LoanDepot Park over the next week to bring you the best possible tournament coverage. Follow him for live updates. 🔹 Sam Mondry-Cohen is the Marlins' latest front office hire, per Craig Mish of SportsGrid. He's their new vice president of player personnel where he'll be using his analytics background to "standardize their evaluation process at all level." 🔹 The Marlins FanFest absences of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Jon Berti were due to visa issues and a pending childbirth, respectively, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Chisholm's issue was resolved on Monday and the Bertis are expecting a baby girl later this month. Also within Jackson's article: all of last season's Bally Sports Florida analysts—Tommy Hutton, Rod Allen, Gaby Sanchez and Jeff Nelson—are coming back in 2024. 🔹 I put together a hypothetical trade proposal centered around Willy Adames and Trevor Rogers. The early feedback has been relatively positive from fans of both teams! 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, Alex Wood (1/$8.5M) signed with the Athletics, Carlos Santana (1/$5.25M) signed with the Twins, Jake Diekman (1/$4M) and Shintaro Fujinami (1/$3.35M) signed with the Mets, Kevin Pillar (minor league deal) signed with the White Sox and the Giants traded Ross Stripling to the Athletics. 🔹 Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers points to Jorge Soler and J.D. Martinez as still-available free agents bats that the Marlins must considering signing "if you’re serious about putting a competitive lineup out there in 2024." I'm not as enthusiastic about paying market value for a DH-only player, but Martinez in particular is a candidate for a one-year deal. That'd be the better fit. 🔹 Ozzie Guillén's family caused a commotion when arriving at LoanDepot Park on Thursday. He was initially critical of the Marlins organization for mishandling the situation, but has now specifically called out Marlins director of security Todd Metro. 🔹 Happy birthday to Skip Schumaker. Entering his second season as Marlins manager, Schumaker turns 44 today. 🔹 New Era has come out with a new collection of "Clubhouse" hats for each MLB team, available in fitted, flex fit and adjustable styles. Here are the Marlins products. The generic sales pitch reads, "The classic Miami Marlins graphics will make you feel like you're in the clubhouse with your squad." Uh, okay? View full article

Rather have Ryan Weathers over Rogers? It isn't the craziest idea. I'm still hopeful about Rogers being capable of recapturing his 2021 form as long as he's mechanically sound. I don't see as clear a path for Weathers to become a great starter. Weathers throws harder, but that doesn't necessarily translate to strikeouts nor success.

Adames is an excellent fit for Miami's 2024 roster, but his pending free agent status would complicate the negotiations. As currently constructed, the Miami Marlins are preparing to host one of MLB's saddest shortstop "competitions" this spring. Losing Joey Wendle via free agency could be seen as an addition by subtraction—he struggled to the tune of a 47 wRC+ and -0.8 fWAR in 2023. However, there isn't an apparent successor to him at this crucial position. New president of baseball operations Peter Bendix has acquired a couple familiar faces that his former employer, the Tampa Bay Rays, considered expendable. In mid-November, Bendix signed Tristan Gray to a minor league deal after he passed through waivers without being claimed. That same week, he traded for once-heralded prospect Vidal Bruján. Since making his MLB debut on July 7, 2021, Bruján is literally THE WORST HITTER IN THE LEAGUE (min. 200 PA). There is reason for optimism that Bruján can still be an adequate role player, but "everyday shortstop" is like his 99th percentile outcome. "If you started right now, I think [Jon] Berti's probably got the edge there," Marlins Skip Schumaker told the Marlins Radio Network last week regarding his 2024 shortstop situation. Aside from Bruján and Gray, Schumaker also name-dropped Xavier Edwards, who the Marlins thought was so unviable as a shortstop at this time a year ago, they tried converting him into an outfielder. Jacob Amaya is another in-house candidate. Berti is among the best utility players in the sport, but he isn't cut out for everyday duty. He had to grit through an unspecified injury during the 2023 season to establish new career highs in playing time and it meant sacrificing his usual aggressiveness on the basepaths. It'll only get more physically demanding for him entering his age-34 campaign. The Marlins must do something to upgrade at shortstop and demonstrate that they have a true ambition to return to the postseason in 2024. There just have not been many options available to them. The 2023-24 free agent class was/is completely devoid of reliable, high-ceiling shortstops. The best of the bunch is Amed Rosario. Signing Rosario would be the best course of action, in my opinion, if he is willing to settle for a one-year guarantee. A sexy alternative has emerged on the trade market: Willy Adames of the Milwaukee Brewers. I was mentioning Adames as a possibility for the Marlins in our Fish On Fish staff roundtable last month, but Thursday's trade makes it abundantly clear that his Brewers tenure is nearing its conclusion. As part of the return for ace Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee received Joey Ortiz, a major league-ready shortstop who will be under club control through the end of the decade. The fact that Burnes is due to enter free agency next offseason and doubtful to be re-signed factored heavily into the Brewers' decision to trade him. It stands to reason that those factors apply in Adames' case as well. Adames and the Brewers settled at a $12.25M salary for the upcoming season. That's very good value for the team if he replicates his 2023 production (.217/.310/.407, 94 wRC+, 24 HR and 3.4 fWAR in 149 G). If he simply paired his awesome defense with his career average hitting marks (.247/.320/.439, 107 wRC+), that would be the best individual shortstop season the Marlins have had in more than a decade. Bendix and Adames spent nearly seven years together in the Rays organization. That could increase the likelihood of a trade happening, but does not mean Bendix has the willingness (or the payroll wiggle room) to extend him for seven more. With any sort of bounce back at the plate, Adames could command a Dansby Swanson-like contract (seven years, $177M) in free agency at age 29. Check out the similarities if you think I'm inflating his worth. Extending him immediately would be cheaper, but also riskier: What if 2023 was the continuation of Adames' gradual decline rather than an anomaly? Willy Adames trade proposal The Corbin Burnes trade was the latest reminder that MLB teams no longer splurge on players who are entering their final year of club control, even if the player in question has an elite track record. Adames' trade value should be even lower than Burnes' at the moment. Trading Adames on his own, the Brewers would get a decent return, but not a package that really moves the needle for them long term. Meanwhile, I don't think the Marlins are highly motivated to move significant assets and take on an eight-figure salary for somebody they could very possibly flip within the next six months if they're out of postseason contention come the trade deadline. It would pique their interest if the deal also involved a cheap, controllable player who suits their roster, though. Marlins get: SS Willy Adames and OF Joey Wiemer Brewers get: LHP Trevor Rogers, IF Jordan Groshans and 1B Zach Zubia As a rookie, Joey Wiemer showed he has a cannon for an arm and legit power against left-handed pitching (.267/.298/.517, 115 wRC+ in 121 PA). He was Milwaukee's main center fielder in 2023, but the impending arrival of Jackson Chourio would reduce his role if he stayed. The Brewers barely used him during their short-lived postseason run. Is Wiemer going to replace Jorge Soler's bat? Not completely, no. Is he going to supplant Jazz Chisholm Jr. in center? Probably not, but he'd give the Marlins the flexibility to use Chisholm as a middle infielder when appropriate, plus he'd be a high-quality fill-in if Chisholm gets hurt (again). Wiemer has two minor league options remaining. It is admittedly tricky to split hairs between Trevor Rogers, Edward Cabrera and Max Meyer as the centerpiece going to Milwaukee. Rogers has only three years of club control (Cabrera and Meyer have more), but he has the highest floor for a team that still can compete for the 2024 NL Central crown. He's coming off a fluky injury to his non-throwing arm. I still vividly remember Rogers outdueling Corbin Burnes(!) by shoving six scoreless innings against the Brewers en route to winning April 2021 NL Rookie of the Month honors. Jordan Groshans continues to tumble down the defensive spectrum and his lifetime .108 ISO in the minors has shown no signs of improving. That being said, the former first-round draft pick is still only 24 years old. The 26-year-old Zach Zubia figures to begin this season at the Double-A level. He has been a consistent on-base machine (.415 OBP in 2023), albeit while facing younger competition. With Troy Johnston still in the system and Jacob Berry likely to move to first base in the future, Zubia is redundant for the Marlins. Assuming that you're only getting one year of Adames, would you want the Marlins to make this trade? View full article

Possibly! My own article on this coming shortly 👀

Chisholm had been seeking a $2.9M salary in his first year of arbitration eligibility, but the panel sided with the club. An arbitration panel has ruled that Jazz Chisholm Jr. will make a $2.625M salary for the 2024 season, as reported by Jon Heyman of the New York Post on Thursday. Chisholm and the Marlins went to a hearing this week after being unable to bridge a $275k gap in the salary figures they filed (Chisholm had filed for $2.9M). Last season, Chisholm slashed .250/.304/.457 with a 103 wRC+ and 22 stolen bases, producing 1.9 fWAR in 97 games played. On a rate basis, those numbers are extremely similar to his career norms. He did that while transitioning to a new defensive home: center field. Chisholm had stints on the injured list for right turf toe and a left oblique strain. The former required offseason surgery, but he'll be at full strength for the start of Spring Training. On the current free agent market, even considering his lack of durability, Chisholm would be valued at a salary that is many multiples higher than the figures exchanged in this case. His agility and bat speed are exceptional, he can contribute at a premium defensive position and he just turned 26 years old. That's a moot point, however. In arbitration, the sides present arguments for their proposed salary based on the precedent set by other players who have comparable major league service time (Chisholm is at three years and 75 days). Chisholm will have to wait until after the 2026 season to test free agency (unless he is released prior to that). As the roster is currently constructed, Chisholm would be the eighth-highest paid Marlin this season. In total, 18 MLB players are scheduled to go to arbitration hearings between now and February 16, including Miami's Luis Arraez and Tanner Scott. View full article

Here's what you should know with 56 days to go until Marlins Opening Day... 🔹 The 2024 Caribbean Series is now underway at LoanDepot Park! Thursday's games are Nicaragua vs. Puerto Rico at 10:30 a.m., Curacao vs. México at 3:30 p.m. and Venezuela vs. Dominican Republic at 8:30 p.m. Both Kevin Barral and Noah Berger are covering the tournament for Fish On First. 🔹 Happy 26th birthday to Jazz Chisholm Jr. The middle infielder turned center fielder has accrued 6.0 fWAR in 302 games played over parts of four major league seasons (all with the Marlins). Chisholm and the Marlins went to an arbitration hearing on Wednesday, per the Associated Press, so we should be finding out shortly whether the panel awarded him a salary of $2.625M or $2.9M for this season. 🔹 The Marlins announced on Wednesday that they've reached a five-year deal with ESPN to air Spanish-language broadcasts of the Caribbean Series. Every game of this year's tournament is streaming on ESPN+ and most are also available on ESPN Deportes. English broadcasts will be on Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Sun. 🔹 Isaac Azout got his ninth career Marlins Jeopardy win in dramatic fashion. Real-life Jeopardy! champion Alec Chao earned a respectable 3,425 points in his debut on our program. Fish On First LIVE is now 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. 🔹 Daniel Rodriguez's Small Pod discusses Trey Mancini, Adalberto Mondesi and top Marlins prospects. Periodic reminder: we have a new Apple Podcasts feed. Apple listeners, make sure you are following the channel that has our new logo (and please considering rating/reviewing). 🔹 RHP Noble Meyer ranks 76th on Kiley McDaniel's Top 100 MLB prospects list on ESPN. Meyer continues to be seen as a consensus top-100 talent on 2024 preseason lists, though most other outlets have him ranked even higher than McDaniel does. 🔹 FIU student Carlton Gillespie did an excellent job detailing the origin of Peter Pratt's Marlins fandom. Peter's latest Locked On Marlins episode is embedded below. Marlins Podcast Episodes View full article