Ely Sussman

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?

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.

🔹 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

🔹 The new Fish On First video section is live! Our staff is busy year-round creating video content in the form of interviews, livestreams, podcasts, player highlights and more, so I'm very excited to make all of that more accessible than ever. 🔹 In conjunction with that, ads are now live on the site as well. If you don't notice them, that's because you are a teal SuperSub—funding our work at the highest level comes with many perks, including ad-free browsing. 🔹 Victor Mesa Jr. played in another exhibition for FEPCUBE on Monday, batting leadoff and starting in left field. Daniel Rodriguez was on the scene to witness the Cuban victory and speak with former Marlin Peter O'Brien postgame. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, the Twins and Mariners made a five-player trade sending infielder Jorge Polanco to Seattle, Justin Turner (1/$13M) signed with the Blue Jays and the Angels signed Aaron Hicks to a one-year deal. The Marlins showed serious interest in Turner last offseason at a similar price, but he signed with the Red Sox instead. No evidence that they pursued him as aggressively this time around. 🔹 We have published Caribbean Series team previews for Curacao, México and Nicaragua. Four more team previews to come leading up to the start of the tournament on Thursday. 🔹 Peter Bendix spoke somewhat candidly to Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald about the sorry state of the Marlins farm system. “Our farm system is really important," Bendix says. "It’s the lifeblood of what we do.” 🔹 SuperSub Loud Marlins Fan is seeking some company for the Marlins' first two Spring Training games. Contact him on Twitter if interested and available. 🔹 Lemon City Live's Alex Aguirre has brought back The First Pitch 3:05 Podcast. The debut of the pod's second season is embedded below. Marlins Podcast Episodes

🔹 The defending Caribbean Series champions, Tigres del Licey, defeated Estrellas Orientales on Saturday to clinch the Dominican Winter League title and earn an opportunity to repeat at this week's tournament. Ageless former Marlin Emilio Bonifácio played a major role in helping them get there. Tiburones de La Guaira clinched the Venezuelan title on Sunday. One of my personal favorites, Harold Ramírez, is a starting outfielder for them. Fish On First will be providing extensive Caribbean Series coverage here. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, the Tigers extended infield prospect Colt Keith (6/$28.6M). The deal could cover up to nine years if all club options are exercised. Keith is the seventh player to a receive a pre-debut contract extension of this nature and the second one this offseason, joining Jackson Chourio of the Brewers. Free agent Héctor Neris (1/$9M) signed with the Cubs, Adam Ottavino (1/$4.5M) signed with the Mets and Alex Wood (financials not yet reported) signed with the Athletics. 🔹 Kevin Barral asked A.J. Puk about competing for a starting rotation spot and his thoughts on the Marlins' front office changes. Kevin also wrote the first of our team-by-team Caribbean Series previews, leading off with Mexico. 🔹 Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald wrote about the critical relationship between Peter Bendix and Skip Schumaker. 🔹 Bendix divulged more about his personal life in the final part of his interview with MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. He's an alum of Cleveland Heights High School, graduating a few years ahead of Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. 🔹 Schumaker dressed up and jetted up to New York to accept his 2023 NL Manager of the Year award. Watch his full speech below. 🔹 For the first time in 2024, we're preparing a Marlins Jeopardy contest! Can't do it without a category of your audience questions. Submit them here for a chance to be featured on the show. 🔹 The Prospects 1500 staff ranked the top 50 Marlins prospects. 🔹 And lastly, congratulations to Parker Heyser. He is the winner of our SuperSub Eury Pérez jersey giveaway. We are immensely appreciative of everybody who has SuperSub'd through the first 10 days of our new site's existence! We'll do our best to make it a worthwhile investment throughout the year with more periodic giveaways like this. Marlins Podcast Episodes

After almost 24 hours of build-up, the Miami Marlins showed the world two additions to their 2024 uniform mix on Friday, as modeled by two of last year's most popular player acquisitions, Luis Arraez and Jake Burger. Arraez strutted around wearing the revised black uni, while Burger modeled a brand-new blue one. The Marlins have changed the lettering on their black uni from black to white, relenting to the years-long complaint that the black-on-black design was too difficult to read due to lack of contrast. That's a minor yet indisputable improvement, in my opinion. The blue addition has been brewing for years, according to former Marlins communications chief Jason Latimer. The club has utilized this variant of blue during Spring Training since the 2018-19 rebrand, but never for regular season games. Both the black and blue uniforms read "Marlins" across the chest, unlike the standard home whites and City Connect unis, which have "Miami" in that position. No specifics yet on how often or on what occasions you'll be seeing these worn on the field. Which of the two do you like more?

🔹 Thursday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, RF/3B Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4 with a walk, run scored and outfield assist. His Estrellas Orientales rallied from a 5-0 deficit to force extra innings, but still lost. They're facing elimination on Friday. In Panamá, C Christian Bethancourt helped Federales de Chiriquí to a blowout win. They can clinch a league championship (and a Caribbean Series berth) with another victory today. 🔹 Check out Marlins Media Day interviews on the Fish On First YouTube channel featuring Josh Bell, Jake Burger, Braxton Garrett, Bryan De La Cruz, Jesús Sánchez, Andrew Nardi, Nick Fortes and Ryan Weathers. Nardi said he has reworked his seldom-used changeup into a splitter and Weathers has added a two-seam fastball. Perhaps the most encouraging takeaway was De La Cruz admitting his defense and baserunning needed improvement and devoting the vast majority of his offseason work to those areas. Despite being in Miami's lineup practically every day, DLC accrued only 0.2 fWAR last season with those deficiencies negating a lot of his production at the plate. 🔹 The Marlins are updating their uniforms, as first reported by Billy Gil of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. The hints put out on Thursday suggest these are common sense improvements. We'll see them debut at today's FanFest. 🔹 Elsewhere around baseball, Joc Pederson (1/$12.5M) signed with the Diamondbacks and David Robertson (1/$11-12M) signed with the Rangers. Robertson's August slump in Miami didn't come back to bite him after all. He's actually getting a slight pay raise from the previous year. 🔹 Results are in from our January 2024 confidence poll. Combining results from the website poll and Twitter replies, the average response was 4.89 (on a scale of 1-10). I'll run the next poll in late February right before Spring Training games get underway. 🔹 Thanks to Cali from the Battered Marlins Fans podcast for joining us on the latest Fish On First LIVE. The show 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. 🔹 Baseball America posted their updated Marlins Top 30 prospects list, including new international signee Luis Cova at No. 4. Their list includes 2023 draft picks OF Mark Coley, RHP Xavier Meachem and LHP Emmett Olson—haven't seen them on anybody else's Top 30. 🔹 Follow Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral for live FanFest coverage. You can also listen to the Marlins Radio Network from 3-5 p.m. for interviews with Skip Schumaker, Jesús Luzardo, Tanner Scott and others. 🔹 One more reminder that we'll be selecting a SuperSub to win a Eury Pérez jersey! Sign up here by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET to be eligible to win it. Marlins Podcast Episodes

We were bracing for a subdued Marlins FanFest this year. The scheduling is unconventional and the fanbase is largely dissatisfied with the team's offseason idleness. Then on FanFest eve, a report by Billy Gil from The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz changed the mood: Well, I shouldn't be hyperbolic. There are some disgruntled people so fixated on the Marlins current roster and its flaws that they cannot generate any enthusiasm for cosmetic changes. However, from what we can see from the team's tease and deduce with common sense, this is good news. We clearly are not talking about a full-blown rebrand—those need to be unveiled much earlier in the offseason when they happen. The color scheme is staying the same as is the font. This is about taking more subtle steps in the right direction. In my opinion, the weakest link in the Marlins' pre-existing uniform rotation was the black-on-black, which had been used for both home and road games in 2023. It was simply hard to read the lettering, even when TV cameras provided a close-up view. Replacing the back lettering with white should make a significant difference. Years after I—then as site manager of Fish Stripes—began advocating for the Marlins to wear blue during meaningful games, they seem to be finally giving in. The blue Spring Training/batting practice uniforms have been extremely popular since debuting in 2019. Making that blue the base color of a regular season uni ought to be awesome. Separate article coming soon once the Marlins give us a complete view of these threads!