Ely Sussman

Marlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's AFL/winter ball notes: DH Jacob Berry, SS Nasim Nuñez and C Paul McIntosh combined for four hits and five runs scored as the Peoria Javelinas won their regular season finale.Luis Arraez became the first player since Mookie Betts to win back-to-back Silver Slugger Awards in different leagues and the first Marlin to win a Silver Slugger since J.T. Realmuto (2018). Here is the full list of 2023 winners.Elsewhere around baseball, the Tigers snatched play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti away from the White Sox. Outstanding hire, in my opinion.Tonight is an elimination game in the Arizona Fall League between the Peoria Javelinas and Scottsdale Scorpions. The victor advances to face the Surprise Saguaros in Saturday's championship game. Watch here beginning at 8:30 p.m. ET.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review concludes this week. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Marlins president of business operations Caroline O'Connor was the keynote speaker at the Katy Feeney Leadership Luncheon during the MLB Fall Business Meetings. O'Connor praised the Marlins for creating "an environment that was a meritocracy, really committed to having the best person in every role." Senior group sales & service executive Jessica Crosson was the Marlins' 2023 Katy Feeney Leadership selectee.On this day 20 years ago, Dontrelle Willis was named NL Rookie of the Year.Jorge Soler (DH), Luis Arraez (2B), Jake Burger (3B) and Tanner Scott (RP) are on the 2023 All-MLB ballot. Vote for them through November 19.Happy 24th birthday to Marlins IF Jordan Groshans. The Marlins acquired Groshans from the Blue Jays at the 2022 trade deadline and he quickly made it up to the majors. However, he didn't even sniff a call-up in 2023. He slashed .243/.339/.330 (74 wRC+) with only six home runs in 125 games while splitting defensive reps between third base and first base. Groshans is unranked on the latest iteration of the Fish On First Top 30.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/fe92bbde-fdad-46c9-abf3-98bebbba7047.mp4Photo by Danis Sosa/Fish On First

Marlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's AFL/winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, RF Dane Myers went 0-for-4.The Marlins are interested in re-signing Jorge Soler, Francys Romero reports. They aren't alone, of course: Romero estimates that about six MLB teams are currently pursuing the free agent slugger. We've seen this movie before, haven't we? While I believe the Marlins' interest is genuine, their willingness to spend what it requires to get the deal done for a free agent of this caliber is not. Soler will cost far more than the $36M he got from his previous free agent contract, and there will inevitably be a non-Marlins team that steps up with an irrational offer to secure his services.Soler (DH), Luis Arraez (2B), Jake Burger (3B) and Tanner Scott (RP) are on the 2023 All-MLB ballot. Fan voting counts for 50% during the selection process, with the other 50% being a baseball media panel vote. Vote through November 19.Elsewhere around baseball, the Angels hired Ron Washington to be their new manager. "Wash" returns to the skipper position for the first time in the decade, having previously had a successful run with the Rangers from 2007-2014. Most recently, he served as the Braves third base coach. Bryce Harper will continue to play first base for the Phillies in 2024. One would think that Harper would be physically able to return to his usual right field position following a full offseason of elbow surgery recovery, but the team boasts plenty of outfield depth. "Likely within the next week," Japanese star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will be posted by the Orix Buffaloes. He's projected to command a long-term, nine-figure deal to come to the U.S.We had a trio of guests join us for the latest , including two from the Rays The Roof podcast. The conversation focused mainly on Peter Bendix and the 2023-24 free agent class. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/Today is the Arizona Fall League regular season finale and it's "win or go home" for Marlins prospects on the Peoria Javelinas. A victory over the Salt River Rafters earns them a play-in semifinal berth. Watch here beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review concludes this week. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Aram Leighton of Just Baseball published his Marlins offseason outlook. He and I are aligned on several potential trade and free agent targets, including Tommy Edman and Iván Herrera of the Cardinals.Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

Marlins Podcast Episodes Tuesday's AFL/winter ball notes: Tough loss for the Peoria Javelinas, blowing a 7-0 lead to the Scottsdale Scorpions. SS Nasim Nuñez and C Paul McIntosh combined to go 1-for-10 with four strikeouts, while LHP Evan Taylor and RHP Zach McCambley combined to allow five runs (all earned) in two innings pitched. In the Dominican Republic, CF Dane Myers went 3-for-5 with his first winter ball home run.Twenty players from various levels of the Marlins organization elected minor league free agency. Jorge Alfaro, Enmanuel De Jesus, Jerar Encarnación, Charles Leblanc and Brian Miller previously played MLB regular season games for the Fish. Additionally, Colton Hock, Yeremin Lara, Brady Puckett and Henry Valencio have spent their entire professional careers with the Marlins up to this point.Embedded above, Peter Bendix gave his first public interview as Marlins president of baseball operations. He emphasized the importance of having the right people in place and being "disciplined" enough to make appropriate long-term decisions. He also indicated that the hiring of a general manager is not imminent.Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a new edition of Fish On First LIVE on /Twitter/Twitch. Special guest: Gabriel Garcia of Lemon City Live. With chiropractic care and functional health, La Pop takes a preventative approach that optimizes wellness and quality of life for all ages. Find out more here! https://fishonfirst.com/la-pop/Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. One more week until we fully turn the page to 2024. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers believes that the Marlins' hiring of Bendix "is a signal that (Bruce) Sherman wants to try to win like the Rays win, with a bottom-of-the-league payroll."Happy 34th birthday to Marlins legend Giancarlo Stanton. The only NL MVP winner in franchise history, Stanton became MLB's active career home run leader following the retirements of Miguel Cabrera and Nelson Cruz. He still has four guaranteed years remaining on the 13-year extension he originally signed in Miami. Photo by Kevin Barral/Fish On First

Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday's AFL/winter ball notes: LHP Luis Palacios is getting ready to make his debut with Venezuela's Leones del Caracas. Palacios had a heavy workload as a starter in the Marlins farm system this season (152.2 IP when including the postseason), mostly with Double-A Pensacola. I assume Caracas will use him as a reliever.To my chagrin, the Marlins did not issue a qualifying offer to Jorge Soler prior to Monday's deadline. Had they done so, Soler probably would've rejected it, thereby entitling the Marlins to a compensatory draft pick once he signs with another team. Instead, they're now poised to lose him for nothing. To be clear, Soler accepting the $20.325M offer would've made it incredibly challenging for the team to address other pressing needs for 2024. However, that is a calculated risk worth taking. Soler sticks out in a light-hitting MLB free agent class and should receive no shortage of lucrative multi-year offers.In more mundane news, the Marlins exercised Jon Berti's $3.625M club option. They also activated Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer and Anthony Bender from the 60-day injured list, and ran Tommy Nance through waivers, then outrighted him to the minors. Their 40-man roster is currently at 35.The 2023 National League Manager of the Year finalists are Brian Snitker (Braves), Craig Counsell (Brewers) and Miami's own Skip Schumaker. Voting for the award has already taken place, to be clear. This announcement means that Schumaker finished in the top three. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald presents his case to win. Elsewhere around baseball, Counsell has stunningly taken the job as Cubs manager...even though the Cubs weren't openly searching for one. Counsell was lured with a record-setting five-year, $40M contract to replace David Ross. The Mets have hired Carlos Mendoza and the Guardians have hired Stephen Vogt. Both will be first-time MLB skippers. Hard to imagine the Marlins signing any of them, but just FYI, the seven free agents who received qualifying offers are Shohei Ohtani, Cody Bellinger, Blake Snell, Aaron Nola, Sonny Gray, Matt Chapman and Josh Hader.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. One more week until we fully turn the page to 2024. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.The Marlins have until November 14 to determine which eligible prospects to select to their 40-man roster to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft. Alex Carver analyzes Troy Johnston, Anthony Maldonado, Victor Mesa Jr., Nasim Nuñez and Will Banfield.The Marlins Hot Stove Show is returning today at 5:00 p.m. ET and presumably includes an interview with Peter Bendix. There are 11 episodes scheduled over the next three months.Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

Marlins Podcast Episodes Sunday's AFL/winter ball notes: 3B Jacob Berry, SS Nasim Nuñez and RHP Ike Buxton each participated in the Fall Stars Game. The American League team won, 6-3. In the Dominican Republic, 1B Jerar Encarnación went 3-for-5 with a home run, RF Dane Myers went 2-for-4 with a game-winning RBI hit by pitch, and LHP Jefry Yan made a scoreless relief appearance.The Marlins just announced Peter Bendix as their new president of baseball operations, as had been widely reported on Sunday. Bendix spent essentially his entire baseball career in the Rays organization, ascending from intern to No. 2 decision-maker during his 15 seasons there. At the relatively young age of 38, he's now the No. 1 person in Miami's front office. The vast majority of our Twitter audience says they had never heard of Bendix prior to Sunday, but an even higher percentage of our website audience likes the hire. https://fishonfirst.com/news/marlins-hire-peter-bendix/While the Bendix news was spreading, the Marlins (as expected) declined their 2024 club options on Johnny Cueto and Matt Barnes. They're receiving buyouts of $2.5M and $2.75M, respectively—those payments count toward the 2024 payroll.Elsewhere around baseball, Gold Glove award winners were announced. Zack Wheeler took home the hardware for National League pitchers (Jesús Luzardo was a finalist at that position).The Marlins have one more contract option to make a decision on today: Jon Berti's $3.625M club option. Even if they turn it down, he'll remain with the organization entering his third year of arbitration eligibility. Today is also the deadline to extend a $20.325M qualifying offer to Jorge Soler. I recommend that they do it—Soler is highly likely to decline, at which point the Marlins would be entitled to a compensatory 2024 draft pick once he signs elsewhere.Roster moves are on the horizon, too. Today's the deadline to activate players from the 60-day injured list. For the Marlins, that means re-adding Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer, Anthony Bender and potentially Tommy Nance to their 40-man roster. Nance is a candidate to be waived, though the Marlins have ample space for him on their 40-man, so they can kick that can down the road.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. One more week until we fully turn the page to 2024. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Graphic courtesy of Miami Marlins

He's staying! The Miami Marlins acquired Josh Bell at the trade deadline with the assumption that he'd be on their roster through 2024. Bell almost performed too well as a Marlin, raising the question of whether the free agent market would value him at even more than the $16.5 million salary he was due to make. On Saturday, the Marlins announced that he was exercising his player option to remain in Miami. The Marlins don't make it to October without Bell. Splitting time between first base and designated hitter, he slashed .270/.338/.480 (119 wRC+) in 53 regular season games following his trade from Cleveland, including .287/.350/.543 (138 wRC+) at LoanDepot Park. The veteran switch-hitter was especially hot from the right side of the plate during that span. He was also one of the only hitters on the team who showed up for the NL Wild Card Series (4-for-8, 2 2B). This MLB free agent class is thin on everyday hitters like Bell. At age 31 and with a very durable track record, he would have received multi-year offers. However, that likely would've meant settling for a salary of less than $16.5M in 2024. By exercising his option, Bell is attempting to maximize his career earnings and betting on himself to pick up where he left off at the end of 2023. For fellow slugger Jorge Soler, opting for free agency was a much simpler decision. Soler's likelihood of re-signing with the Marlins was already low—this news makes it almost impossible to envision. Resources must be reserved for addressing several other areas of the roster (shortstop, catcher, starting rotation, etc.). Although we can expect Bell to see substantial playing time at first base next year, he has never been a strong defender there. He can co-exist with another first baseman on the roster, whether it's Marlins Minor League Player of the Year Troy Johnston or somebody who's not currently with the organization. Lots of permutations for the yet-to-be-filled front office to consider this offseason. Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images

Whoever takes over the Miami Marlins front office in the coming weeks has an intimidating assignment ahead of them. Even for the most brilliant mind, it will take a long time to put the organization on stable ground. This article details how I would spend the first winter in charge if Bruce Sherman were misguided enough to listen to me. MLB teams must constantly self-assess where they stand on the present vs. future spectrum: "How are you prioritizing major league success during the current season compared to the long term?" By the second half of the 2023 season, the Marlins had made an extreme shift toward the "present" side. They traded away several of their top prospects in win-now moves, challenged young pitchers with heavy workloads and paid half a million bucks for four innings' worth of Matt Moore to push them across the finish line. On a scale of one to ten, where one represents a full-on rebuild and ten represents going all-in to win, the Marlins were a nine. As enjoyable as it was to cover, it felt over-aggressive. If Kim Ng had been operating with legit job security, I have to imagine the club's approach would've been more measured. My offseason plan involves recalibrating to a seven out of ten on that aforementioned scale. The Marlins have alienated their fans in the past by taking a significant step back following every postseason appearance. There needs to be some urgency about snapping that cycle in 2024, while also stopping short of depleting an already-weak farm system and accepting that Sherman's budget will be lower than that of most other MLB teams. The blueprint below basically goes in chronological order from early November through pre-Opening Day extension talks, concluding with an overview of what my version of the 2024 Marlins would look like. 2024 Contract Options1B Josh Bell opts outMarlins exercise UTIL Jon Berti's club option ($3.625M salary)Marlins decline RHP Matt Barnes' club option ($2.75M buyout)Marlins decline RHP Johnny Cueto's club option ($2.5M buyout)I have spent too much time trying to anticipate what Bell will do with his option. It could go either way. He's been a replacement-level player over his last 200 games, which ordinarily would merit far less than a $16.5M salary. On the other hand, his most recent two months of performance fell in line with his above-average career norms. If forced to pick a side, I predict he'll opt out. Jorge Soler already made his decision to test free agency, as announced by the Marlins on Thursday. It was a no-brainer. Some team should be willing to give him Mitch Haniger money (3/$43.5M) given the dearth of high-end power bats in this free agent class. Despite their valuable contributions to the Marlins offense this season, I'm not eager to retain Bell or Soler at their fair market price. It's just too inefficient. They have both had prolonged stretches of inconsistency in their recent past. Also, I inevitably will be going outside the organization to address the team's premium defensive positions and pitching staff—resources need to be preserved for those items. I have previously written about Miami's 2024 club options. Those are easy calls. Rule 5 Draft ProtectionsMarlins select Victor Mesa Jr., Troy Johnston, Nasim Nuñez and Anthony Maldonado to the 40-man rosterYou're probably thinking, "Are there really that many players from this struggling farm system who are worth protecting?" In a vacuum, no. I don't think all of them would be selected in the Rule 5, but it's better to be safe than sorry when there is so little interesting depth behind them in the pipeline. Mesa is going to be my everyday center fielder at Triple-A Jacksonville. Johnston is making the Marlins Opening Day roster unless he poops the bed during spring training. I'd like to find out whether he can fake it in left field in addition to playing first base. Give Nuñez's bat another year to develop and ensure that teams enamored with his defense and baserunning can't snatch him away to fill out their bench. Maldonado will be in serious contention to crack the major league bullpen after steamrolling Triple-A competition. Other notable Rule 5 guys coming off productive 2023 campaigns include Will Banfield, Luarbert Arias and Griffin Conine. This far in advance, it would be pure guesswork to project which quality prospects will be eligible to draft from other organizations. Considering that the Marlins find themselves in the bottom half of the draft order and—under my direction—are still motivated to win now, I'm sitting out the major league phase of the Rule 5. After accommodating Mesa, Johnston, Nuñez and Maldonado while also bringing back Max Meyer, Trevor Rogers, Anthony Bender and Tommy Nance from the 60-day injured list, the Marlins 40-man roster is full. Roster CasualtiesMarlins release OF Avisaíl GarcíaMarlins non-tender and release C Jacob StallingsTo create more breathing room, I'm ready to turn the page on two veterans who are far removed from their respective primes after back-to-back disappointing seasons. It is time to bite the bullet on García, whose acquisition was the worst free agent deal in Marlins history. He is a classic sunk cost, having struck out in 30% of his Marlins plate appearances—he hasn't provided nearly enough run production to offset that. Can't count on him staying healthy, either. Is it possible that something clicks with his plate approach and he rediscovers his previous form as a lifetime average-ish MLB hitter? Yes, but that likelihood is so remote, I'd rather have the extra roster spot. I still owe García $29M, including $12M in 2024. Entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, Stallings is projected for a $3.6M salary, per MLB Trade Rumors. That's tolerable for an experienced, defense-first backup. Problem is, Stallings' defense has been decisively below average as a Marlin, and even by catcher standards, his bat is impotent. With Sandy Alcantara sidelined throughout next season (Stallings caught every Alcantara pitch in 2022 and 2023), I cannot justify keeping the soon-to-be 34-year-old. Now, for the fun stuff... Free AgencyDH/OF Jorge Soler rejects one-year, $20.3M qualifying offer from MarlinsMarlins sign OF Adam Duvall to two-year, $16M dealMarlins sign LHP Wandy Peralta to two-year, $10M dealMarlins sign RHP Jack Flaherty to one-year, $9M deal with up to $4M in performance bonuses based on games startedMarlins sign OF Jonathan Davis, DH/1B Miguel Sanó, RHP Spencer Turnbull and LHP Richard Bleier to minor league dealsI believe the qualifying offer value exceeds any 2024 salary that Soler will be presented with in free agency. However, there are far greater multi-year guarantees awaiting him. By rejecting the QO and ultimately landing elsewhere, the Marlins get a compensatory draft pick. That pick would likely come after Competitive Balance Round B, but there's an outside shot of it falling between the first round and Competitive Balance Round A if the bidding war escalates to at least $50M. Duvall comes with a steeper price tag than he did when the Marlins previously signed him three years ago. During the interim, he slashed .229/.286/.479 (102 wRC+) and produced 5.5 fWAR, homering 71 times in what amounted to two full seasons' worth of playing time. He's still capable of playing every outfield position at age 35. Best-case scenario, I get the 2021 version of Duvall, but the reasonable expectation for him is a good platoon player and clubhouse presence. I won't be scared away by Peralta's 5.06 FIP. He's a groundball machine who has repeatedly outperformed his peripherals. The veteran lefty's fit with this Marlins roster will make more sense once you peruse my trades. Every starting pitcher in Flaherty's price range comes with some warts, but I like his upside way more than, say, Johnny Cueto, who got similar money last offseason. The right-hander's fastball velocity has been in gradual decline. It would behoove him to put more trust in his changeup, and what better place to improve your changeup than the Marlins organization? The performance bonuses in this contract are $1M apiece for making 15, 20, 25 and 30 regular season starts. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/03/725c6d54-372f46c7-e8870e79-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4I would be handing out more than four MiLB deals to fill up big league camp. I'm just highlighting Davis, Sanó, Turnbull and Bleier as viable candidates to squeeze onto the Opening Day roster depending on injuries and other unforeseen events. TradesSt. Louis Cardinals trade UTIL Tommy Edman and C Iván Herrera to Marlins for RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Jacob Miller, OF/IF Javier Sanoja and C Joe MackNew York Yankees trade RHP Randy Vásquez, RHP Ian Hamilton and C Kyle Higashioka to Marlins for LHP Tanner Scott and OF Bryan De La CruzChicago White Sox trade DH/LF Eloy Jiménez and $3M to Marlins for RHP George Soriano and OF Kemp Alderman Milwaukee Brewers trade OF Hendry Mendez to Marlins for UTIL Garrett Hampson Houston Astros trade IF Tim Borden to Marlins for LHP Steven Okert Marlins trade RHP Tommy Nance to Tampa Bay Rays for cash considerationsEdman becomes my starting shortstop for 2024. Over the last two seasons, he has played more defensive innings there than at any other position, and he's handled the assignment well. He's a major upgrade over Joey Wendle in terms of run production and baserunning, plus he's under club control through 2025. Herrera is a lifetime .280/.391/.432 hitter in the minors who's coming off his best offensive season yet. He'll battle against Nick Fortes for an Opening Day job. I'm lower than most on Cabrera. I don't see a scenario where he becomes a consistently great starting pitcher. I'm not even certain that he's a top-five starter in my Sandy-less rotation. The Cardinals would undoubtedly appreciate him more. Miller is a 2022 draft pick who had an okay Low-A campaign. A contact-hitting utility guy, Sanoja is intriguing yet replaceable. Mack is far more talented than last season's 69 wRC+ would imply. Compared to Herrera, his developmental timeline aligns better with Willson Contreras' contract. Vásquez likely opens up next season in the Triple-A rotation. He figures to be a frequent flyer between Jacksonville and Miami. Hamilton impressed as a rookie and will be our go-to right-handed reliever in most high-leverage situations. Despite limited playing time, Higashioka has reached double-digit homers in three straight years. Solid backup catcher. Scott was too good in 2023. I don't have the budget to be committing $10M+ per year to any reliever over multiple years, and that's what he would be looking for in extension talks considering his degree of dominance and his status as a pending free agent. Who knows if his past control issues are fully behind him, anyway. Too much risk for me. Losing De La Cruz hurts as well because there is a higher level he could potentially ascend to, but he still doesn't have a firm grasp of the fundamentals entering his age-27 season. Jiménez is my Soler replacement. Not as dangerous against lefties, but a better pure hitter who's a lot younger. He has one more guaranteed year left on his then-historic, pre-debut extension. The White Sox have no path to contend in 2024, and frankly, Jiménez has had a frustrating career thus far. Due to injuries, he played even fewer games from 2021-2023 than Jazz Chisholm Jr. did. The cash in this trade represents the buyout of his 2025 or 2026 club option in case he disappoints, but I'm optimistic about getting three years out of him. https://mlb-cuts-diamond.mlb.com/FORGE/2023/2023-08/30/322cc1f7-8d5212f1-1f859c6f-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_16000K.mp4Soriano definitely upped his value over the last year. Sexy three-pitch mix. I still project him more as a middle reliever than a legit starter. Alderman is one of the few guys in the Marlins system with comparable raw power to Jiménez. Hasn't played above Low-A yet, though. Hampson, Okert and Nance are casualties of 40-man roster maintenance. Borden will report to Double-A and Mendez to High-A next season. Contract ExtensionsMarlins sign Luis Arraez to six-year, $92M extension with $16M vesting option for 2030Marlins sign Jesús Luzardo to six-year, $77.5M extension with opt-out after 2027 seasonMarlins sign Trevor Rogers to three-year, $17M extension with $12.5M club option for 2027 and $12.5M club option for 2028The breakdown of Arraez's extension is $12M in 2024 and $16M annually from 2025-29. His 2030 option vests if he places top 10 in the 2029 National League batting title race. It's based loosely on the contract that DJ LeMahieu signed with the Yankees during the 2020-21 offseason. There's simply nobody else quite like Arraez. I trust him to come fairly close to sustaining what he's done to this point in his career. He wants to be here and the fanbase adores him. Even assuming that he will gradually transition from second base to first base/DH, he's worth the investment. The breakdown of Luzardo's extension is $5M in 2024, $10M in 2025, $12.5M in 2026, $15M in 2027 and $17.5M annually from 2028-29. It's a less exploitative version of the extension that Sandy Alcantara signed during the 2021-22 offseason and edges out Eduardo Rodriguez's guarantee from his 2021-22 free agent signing with the Detroit Tigers. This deal structure gives me at least one extra year of club control over Luzardo while allowing him to test free agency right after his 30th birthday if he desires. The back end of the deal could become burdensome in the event of catastrophic injury, but it won't be truly crippling to my competitive chances regardless. The breakdown of Rogers' extension is $2M in 2024, $5M in 2025 and $8M in 2026 with $2M buyouts for both of the option years. It carries a maximum value of $40M over the next five seasons if both options are exercised. It's based loosely on the extension that Chris Paddack signed with the Minnesota Twins during the 2022-23 offseason. I love this buy-low opportunity on somebody who still has mid-rotation starter upside. The majority of Rogers' missed time in 2023 came as the result of a fluky injury to his non-throwing arm. He struggled in 2022, though not quite as much as his 75 ERA+ would suggest. Worst-case scenario, I can see him reinventing himself as a two-pitch reliever. I would also attempt to negotiate with Jazz Chisholm Jr. on a deal in the five-year, $50 million range, but I don't think we'd be able to find common ground on that. How these pieces fit togetherI'm envisioning an Opening Day rotation of Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, Braxton Garrett, Jack Flaherty and Trevor Rogers. The depth behind them includes Max Meyer, Ryan Weathers, Randy Vásquez and Patrick Monteverde. Keep in mind, Skip Schumaker is still the Marlins manager in this hypothetical. He's not beholden to using one specific guy as closer, but I figure he would put A.J. Puk first in line for save opportunities—Puk quietly finished 2023 on a high note. Compared to where we stood at the end of 2023, the catcher and shortstop situations have been clearly upgraded. I feel left field is also in better hands, but there's room for debate on that. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is overdue for a healthy season...right? Hopefully, Troy Johnston hits the ground running at first base. If he flops, the fallback plan would be for Jake Burger to take over and patch together third base with Jon Berti and Xavier Edwards. Accounting for all of the guaranteed contracts, the buyouts of club options, the projected salaries of arbitration-eligible players via MLB Trade Rumors and the pre-arb players needed to fill out the roster, these Marlins would have an Opening Day payroll of approximately $107M. If the postseason is within reach, Sherman will give me some wiggle room to add more as the season progresses. Despite my best efforts, I can't say I'm confident in these Marlins immediately making it back to the postseason. There's a lot of dead money on the books while Sandy Alcantara rehabs and Avisaíl García explores other opportunities. The departures of Jorge Soler and Josh Bell hurt, and even with them in the fold, they were outscored by opposing teams. Several talented but unestablished players must exceed expectations—I'm specifically looking at Meyer, Weathers and Herrera. What's your favorite move of mine? Your least favorite? The most unrealistic? Comment below to let me know. Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images

Marlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's AFL/winter ball notes: In the fall league, RHP Gabe Bierman (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K) struggled with his control, throwing nearly as many balls (24) as strikes (26). C Paul McIntosh hit his second home run and SS Nasim Nuñez went 1-for-4 with a stolen base. Today is your last chance to vote Nuñez into the 2023 Fall Stars Game. In the Dominican Republic, RF Dane Myers went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, his first extra-base hit of the winter.Jorge Soler, Yuli Gurriel, David Robertson and Joey Wendle all entered free agency. The Marlins have until Monday to decide whether or not to extend a qualifying offer to Soler.Soler and Luis Arraez are NL Silver Slugger finalists at second base and designated hitter, respectively. The award winners will be announced next Thursday. As a refresher, Jesús Luzardo is an NL Gold Glove finalist—we'll learn this Sunday whether or not he won that award.Elsewhere around baseball, reliever Joe Jiménez (three years, $26M) signed a contract extension with the Braves and infielder Max Muncy (two years, $24M) did the same with the Dodgers. Nelson Cruz is retiring from baseball this month upon playing his final few games in the Dominican Winter League. With Cruz and Miguel Cabrera both hanging up their cleats, old friend Giancarlo Stanton (402 HR) takes over as MLB's active home run leader.Our 2023 Marlins Season Review series keeps expanding. One more week until we fully turn the page to 2024. Check back daily for more articles from the FOF staff.Even during the offseason, we're asking you to support FOF by becoming a Super Subscriber! Our extensive Marlins GIF Database has recently been updated and re-organized, with new free agents moved into the "former players" folder. Save and use all the GIFs for yourself when you sign up.https://fishonfirst.com/fish-on-first-updates/super-subscriber-details/Allen Settle of Marlin Maniac mentions six low-cost players that he thinks the Marlins should target in free agency.For Immaculate Grid fans, Daniel Epstein of Baseball Prospectus is creating hypothetical 26-man rosters of players who spent time with two particular MLB teams. Here's what he came up with for Marlins/Tigers, Marlins/Royals, Marlins/Pirates, Marlins/Angels, Marlins/Guardians, Marlins/Rays, Marlins/Orioles and Marlins/Brewers.Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins