Ely Sussman

I have said/written very little about Miami Marlins outfielder Avisaíl García during the brief existence of Fish On First. The site went live in May 2023, and by then, what more was there to add? It was already apparent that his $53M contract was a sunk cost. García was absent for the vast majority of last season's fun due to back and hamstring injuries. When he was on the field, his production was somehow even worse than it had been in 2022. Across 135 total games played as a Marlin, Avi has slashed .215/.260/.316 (59 wRC+) and accrued -1.1 fWAR. Had he been healthier and continued on that same pace, hindering a team with postseason ambitions, he might've been released many months ago despite the financial ramifications. García is probably going to be on the 2024 Marlins Opening Day roster. During his first offseason as Miami's president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix had several opportunities to designate the struggling 32-year-old for assignment to create openings on the 40-man for new acquisitions—every time, Bendix DFA'd (and subsequently lost control of) other players instead. Entering Thursday, García ranks second on the Marlins with 18 Grapefruit League plate appearances, repeatedly getting chances to put what he learned from training alongside Luis Arraez into practice (he has not capitalized on those chances thus far). All indications are that he will be evaluated in regular season games before facing the risk of unemployment. But let's spend a few minutes exploring an alternate universe where the painful, appropriate decision has been made. What else could the team do with that valuable roster spot? Regardless of García's presence, these 12 hitters seem to be locked into active roster spots: Catchers Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes Infielders Tim Anderson, Luis Arraez, Josh Bell, Jon Berti and Jake Burger Outfielders Vidal Bruján, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Nick Gordon and Jesús Sánchez It's a malleable group. Fortes and Bell are limited to catcher and first base, respectively, but every other player could be utilized at multiple positions depending on what the team needs. Looking inside the organization first, the other hitters on the 40-man roster are INF Jacob Amaya, INF Jonah Bride, INF Xavier Edwards, OF Victor Mesa Jr. and OF Dane Myers. Amaya would contribute the best possible shortstop defense. Edwards went 37-for-41 on MLB/MiLB stolen base attempts last season and looks to be the best bunter in Jupiter. Still relatively new to full-time hitting, Myers is an impressive athlete with the potential to be a good run producer if he elevates the ball more. Notable non-roster invitees at Marlins big league camp include Jonathan Davis, Tristan Gray, Troy Johnston and Trey Mancini. Do you dare to dream about the Marlins making a last-minute free agent signing? There aren't any candidates left for a García-esque long-term deal, but available veterans like J.D. Martinez, Adam Duvall and Tommy Pham could help. On the cheaper side, what about betting on the intangibles of future Hall of Famer Joey Votto? Yes, he's still out there. The Marlins starting rotation looks terrific this spring, even beyond the projected top five starters. An extra roster spot on the position player side would lend itself to a wider variety of trade possibilities, such as swapping one of Miami's arms for a controllable bat. Think Christopher Morel of the Cubs or Ezequiel Duran of the Rangers. What would you do to fill Avi García's shoes? Let us know in the comments.

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs...

Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Monday, Trevor Rogers and Ryan Weathers combined to toss six scoreless innings against an Opening Day-caliber Astros lineup. Nick Gordon's diving catch in center field certainly helped. Jonah Bride delivered the go-ahead home run in the eighth. The Marlins won, 2-0. Prior to the game, the first round of cuts from big league camp were announced: INF Jacob Berry, LHP Kent Emanuel, C Bennett Hostetler, RHP Jeff Lindgren, RHP Darren McCaughan and LHP Patrick Monteverde. 🔷 Braxton Garrett has been ruled out of the Marlins Opening Day rotation, per Skip Schumaker. Garrett says his left shoulder feels "much better" than it did when he reported to camp, but he isn't even facing live batters yet. Barring setbacks, he should be fully stretched out by the middle of April. 🔷 Renovations to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium have been pushed back an additional year, as Joe Capozzi explains. The bulk of the work will begin at the end of 2025 spring training and they're aiming to complete the project in time for 2026 spring training. Here's a look at the new two-story "Fan Zone" that will replace Roger Dean's old-school bleacher seats: 🔷 In minor league news, INF Cobie Fletcher-Vance retired. During his two seasons in the Marlins organization, Fletcher-Vance slashed .244/.307/.338 (72 wRC+) in 164 games, primarily playing third base. The 26-year-old briefly tasted Triple-A, but spent the vast majority of that time with Double-A Pensacola. Best of luck to Cobie on whatever comes next. A 2019 Marlins draft pick and Air Force officer, INF Nic Ready has been activated after nearly two full years on the military leave list. 🔷 Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE streaming on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. 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. 🔷 Today's game: Nationals (LHP Patrick Corbin) vs. Marlins (LHP Jesús Luzardo) at 1:10 p.m. No television coverage. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Lucas Giolito (who signed with the Red Sox in free agency) could miss the entire season with a right elbow injury. The Athletics unveiled renderings of their proposed 33,000-seat Las Vegas ballpark. Marlins podcast episodes

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs...

In advance of the team's 10th Grapefruit League game, the Miami Marlins announced their first round of spring training cuts on Tuesday morning. All of these players remain with the Marlins organization—they just weren't serious candidates to earn Opening Day roster spots. They'll appear in spring games less frequently moving forward as the established big leaguers gradually increase their workloads. In alphabetical order: INF Jacob Berry (.375 BA, .944 OPS in 9 PA during Grapefruit League play) reassigned to minor league camp LHP Kent Emanuel (22.50 ERA, 5.00 WHIP in 2.0 IP) reassigned to minor league camp C Bennett Hostetler (.000 BA, .000 OPS in 3 PA) reassigned to minor league camp RHP Jeff Lindgren (3.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP in 3.0 IP) reassigned to minor league camp RHP Darren McCaughan (0.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 2.0 IP) optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville LHP Patrick Monteverde (0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP in 4.0 IP) reassigned to minor league camp Berry ranked 14th and Monteverde ranked 15th on our newly updated Fish On First Top 30 prospects list.

Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Monday, A.J. Puk (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K) and Edward Cabrera (3.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) continued the trend of Marlins rotation candidates holding opponents scoreless. Tanner Scott walked all four batters he faced. Skip Schumaker insists that Scott will get his s*** together if he doesn't have to wait so long in between outings. The Yankees won, 3-2. 🔷 Every March 5, the Marlins hold a ticket sale. They're offering two Vista level (upper deck) tix to Opening Day for $30.50—that's $22.32 per seat after fees. For a better bargain applying to 30 of their weekday games later in the season, you can get a pair of Home Run Porch seats for $5 each ($9.35 after fees). The offer applies for orders of up to eight tickets. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Zack Wheeler signed a three-year, $126M contract extension with the Phillies, keeping him in the NL East through the 2027 season. Josh Donaldson announced his retirement. 🔷 Braxton Garrett (shoulder soreness) and JT Chargois (neck spasms) hope to advance even closer to game action today when they throw a bullpen session and live batting practice, respectively. Chargois is much more likely to be ready in time for Opening Day. Remember to bookmark our Marlins injury/rehab tracker! 🔷 Today's game: Marlins (LHP Trevor Rogers) vs. Astros (RHP Ronel Blanco) at 1:05 p.m. Expect Rogers to pitch two innings. Vladimir Gutierrez is also making his 2024 Grapefruit League debut in relief. Houston's television broadcast is available through MLB.TV. 🔷 MLB Pipeline updated their Marlins Top 30 prospects list. I disagree most strongly with how highly they ranked Jacob Berry (No. 5) and Brock Vradenburg (No. 17), both of whom have first base-only profiles and haven't produced at the plate early in their pro careers. Pipeline continues to put a heavy emphasis on collegiate stats. Marlins podcast episodes

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs...

Fish On First is providing extensive coverage on location throughout Marlins spring training. Click here to keep up with our latest updates. 🔷 On Sunday, both of the Marlins' scheduled games got rained out. It's especially disappointing because it wipes out one of the few locally televised spring games that would've been on Bally Sports Florida. The games will not be made up. 🔷 Enjoy our new prospect voting tool! Don't agree with the Fish On First/Fish on the Farm Top 30 list? Submit your own version. There are 50 candidates listed for the 30 spots, plus you can include a write-in player. Just sign in/create a free FOF account to use it. 🔷 Jorge Soler reiterates to Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase that the Marlins did not have any direct negotiations with him once he became a free agent. 🔷 Christina De Nicola of MLB.com has an updated Opening Day roster projection. It includes A.J. Puk in the starting rotation and Sixto Sánchez in the bullpen. My own updated projection will be coming later this week, and spoiler alert, Sánchez won't make the cut (despite how entertaining that would be). 🔷 Skip Schumaker raved about utility player Vidal Bruján, as Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald details, leaving little doubt that he'll stick on the active roster. It's not like Schumaker has much of a choice—the Marlins just acquired Bruján this past offseason, trading three prospects in the process. 🔷 The first round of cuts from Marlins big league camp are expected within the next 48 hours. It will impact younger players who didn't have a chance to make the team anyway, such as Javier Sanoja and Jacob Berry. There are 65 players in camp; that number should be coming down into the 50s. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, old friend Jordan Groshans cleared waivers and was outrighted to the minors by the Yankees. 🔷 Today's game: Marlins (LHP A.J. Puk) vs. Yankees (RHP Clarke Schmidt) at 6:40 p.m. Edward Cabrera will be piggybacking Puk. Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo all played on Sunday for the Yanks, so don't expect to see any of them in the lineup (still too early in the spring for MLB regulars to play back-to-back games). No television coverage, but Alex Krutchik, Alex Carver and Noah Berger are there for you. 🔷 Fascinating find by BrooksGate: the Marlins are the only current MLB team to never win 20 of the first 30 regular season games. Marlins podcast episodes

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal SuperSubs...