Ely Sussman

Wednesday featured the most MLB free agent signings of any day so far this offseason, including former Miami Marlins utility player Garrett Hampson going to the Kansas City Royals. Hampson inked a one-year, $2 million deal for his age-29 season. Hampson began 2023 with Triple-A Jacksonville, but finished it on the Marlins postseason roster. He slashed .276/.349/.380 (101 wRC+) in 98 regular season games, posting a career-best 0.7 fWAR. He started at six different defensive positions, including 26 starts at shortstop. As covered in our Hampson season review, though, it's very unlikely that he replicates that offensive production moving forward. The Marlins also exhausted his final minor league option, so they wouldn't be able to send him down when he slumps or lacks a path to playing time. https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/2023-marlins-season-review-garrett-hampson/I frequently defer to MLB Trade Rumors' arbitration projections. They had Hampson projected for $1.3M in 2024 (his final year of arbitration eligibility). To see him non-tendered and quickly sign elsewhere for a substantially larger guarantee is eyebrow-raising at first glance. Even if the Marlins didn't want Hampson moving forward, how did they fail to get anything in return for him via trade? I'm giving the club the benefit of the doubt. Upon closer inspection, this seems to be a hole in the MLBTR model. Hampson made the pro-rated league minimum salary ($720k) in 2023 and MLBTR projected him for a raise of approximately $580k. However, in 2022 (his first arb-eligible year), Hampson's salary with the Colorado Rockies was $1.863M. I reviewed the MLB Basic Agreement and it says "the record of the Player’s past compensation" can be used during arbitration hearings. While the most recent season typically carries the most weight, Hampson's camp could—and presumably would—argue that his raise should be applied to his previous arb-eligible negotiation and exceed $2M for 2024. In that scenario, it's easy to understand why Hampson had negligible or even negative trade value. Anyway, good luck to Hampson with the rebuilding Royals, and good luck to the Marlins in their search for a shortstop. On the same day that they non-tendered Hampson, they traded for Vidal Bruján. Despite his impressive prospect pedigree and winter ball prowess, it's doubtful that Bruján hits as well as Hampson did in 2023. Certainly worth taking a flier on, but can't put serious expectations on him. Also on Wednesday, Joey Wendle, who started half of the Marlins' games at shortstop, agreed to a Hampson-like deal with the New York Mets. The Marlins' only free agent signings during the Peter Bendix era have been of the minor league variety (IF Tristan Gray and RHP Ignacio Feliz). Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire

Marlins Podcast Episodes Tuesday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, CF Vidal Bruján went 1-for-3 with a walk and two outfield assists. In Venezuela, LHP Luis Palacios made a 10-pitch relief appearance (0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K).Bruján and fellow recent trade acquisition Calvin Faucher are both changing uniform numbers with their new club. Bruján has gone from No. 7 to No. 17 and Faucher from No. 58 to No. 53. Those numbers were most recently worn by Chi Chi González and Paul Campbell, respectively.Peter Bendix has recruited a former Ray, Vinesh Kanthan, to be his director of baseball operations. Kanthan spent the last five seasons in the Rangers organization. "Kanthan will be involved in all aspects of baseball operations, with a focus on Major League operations and interdepartmental collaboration," according to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, and he'll be reporting to the Marlins' trio of assistant general managers (Brian Chattin, Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo).Elsewhere around baseball, the Brewers are attempting to extend their top prospect, Jackson Chourio, which signals their intent to put him on the 2024 Opening Day roster. Turning 20 during spring training, Chourio would be the youngest player in the majors if that happens. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic hears that the deal would guarantee more than $50 million. My guess (just for fun) is that Chourio will blow past that and get $96 million over the next eight years.Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a Marlins Jeopardy edition of Fish On First LIVE on /Twitter/Twitch. I'm competing on this one with Navi from Marlins Discord serving as guest quizmaster. 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! In an interview with the Marlins Hot Stove Show, Jesús Luzardo vows to continue wearing glasses on the mound for the rest of his career. Luzardo also describes the atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park for his postseason start against the Phillies and the importance of being "explosive" with his delivery.Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers finds clever connections that every newcomer to the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has with the Marlins.The Marlins have set up a "holiday hub" on their website, which includes their annual holiday bundle offer centered around Opening Day.Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images

Peter Bendix's front office is gradually filling out, with news breaking Tuesday afternoon that the Miami Marlins are hiring Vinesh Kanthan to be their new director of baseball operations, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald and Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. "Kanthan will be involved in all aspects of baseball operations, with a focus on Major League operations and interdepartmental collaboration," Christina De Nicola of MLB.com specifies. Kanthan worked alongside Bendix in the baseball operations department of the 2017 and 2018 Tampa Bay Rays. He spent the five seasons since then with the Texas Rangers, most recently as their assistant director of baseball ops. So this constitutes a promotion for Kanthan. The Rangers media guide describes Kanthan as having had "a heavy role" in building out the club's sports science lab and Arizona-based performance center "in an effort to create competitive advantages." More recently, he assisted in a wide variety of areas including roster management, contract negotiations and the salary arbitration process. Levi Weaver of The Athletic reported in greater detail about the latter and Kanthan's role in preserving the Rangers' decades-long streak of avoiding hearings with their arb-eligible players (for comparison's sake, the Marlins went to two hearings in 2023 alone). Side note: We recently set up a Super Subscriber-only channel within the Marlins Discord server. That will give you access to Kanthan's complete media guide bio! Here is Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker endorsing the Kanthan hire: https://twitter.com/donald_ecker/status/1729622264449040823Kanthan is Sri Lankan American. As part of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in 2021, he released this statement through the Rangers about what it's like being a minority in the baseball industry: Outside of baseball, Kanthan is a "superb pickleball player," Evan Grant tweets, hence my photo choice above. The Marlins are retaining all three of the assistant general managers that Bendix inherited (Brian Chattin, Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo). Kanthan will report to them, according to De Nicola. Photo courtesy of babolatpickleball/Instagram

Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, RF Vidal Bruján went 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, while LF Dane Myers went 0-for-1 off the bench.The Marlins claimed RHP Ryan Jensen, who had been designated for assignment by the Mariners last week. A former first-round draft pick of the Cubs in 2019, Jensen had been developed as a starter throughout his minor league career until moving to the bullpen in May. Jensen's 17.4% walk rate in 2023 was among the worst in the minors (min. 50 IP), though his fastball velocity tops out at 98 mph and he still has two option years left. No guarantee that there will still be room for him on the 40-man roster come spring training.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/71caec86-580f-4dd6-b39a-6819fa34bfb7.mp4Elsewhere around baseball, Sonny Gray (3/$75M) signed with the Cardinals, edging out Aaron Nola for the highest average annual value in MLB free agency so far. Gray can earn $100M over the next four seasons if his 2027 club option is exercised. Jason Heyward (1/$9M) re-signed with the Dodgers. Japanese LHP Shōta Imanaga has been posted by the Yokohama Bay Stars. His 45-day window to negotiate with MLB teams begins today.From Luis Arraez to Brad Ziegler, our latest episode of The Offishial Show is all about building the best possible roster of Miami era Marlins players (2012-present). Listen to what we came up with and submit your own version to be featured on the site!Louis Addeo-Weiss explains why five overlooked free agents/trade targets could be valuable additions to the 2024 Marlins.Mark Feinsand of MLB.com identifies Edward Cabrera as a potential trade candidate for the Marlins. I'd have to agree that Cabrera is the most obvious one considering we've already heard his name come up in trade negotiations over the last year and his role on the Miami pitching staff moving forward is unclear and the fact that he's out of minor league options.Fish On First has partnered with the Marlins Discord server! You can join the server for free to participate in around-the-clock Fish talk. There is also a private channel reserved for our valued Super Subscribers.We're also now on Bluesky. If you left Twitter this year (for a variety of understandable reasons), we will be making similar posts over there. Photo courtesy of rystacks24/Instagram

Ely Sussman enlists the help of Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral to assemble the best possible 26-man roster using only players from the Miami era of Marlins baseball (2012-2023). It's comprised of one hitter and one pitcher from each of those 12 seasons, plus one additional wild card hitter and pitcher. Subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube channel to watch video versions of every episode of The Offishial Show. Here is what we came up with: Disagree with any of our picks? Create your own ultimate roster using the form below! Loading…In a related exercise—back in our Fish Stripes days—Isaac built an all-time Marlins roster with players representing each of the first 26 full-length seasons in franchise history. Follow Ely (@RealEly), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Isaac (@IsaacAzout) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. Our Fish On First podcast programming includes The Offishial Show, Fish Unfiltered, State of the Fish, Swimming Upstream, Fishology and What a Relief. All new episodes are posted to FishOnFirst.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.

Marlins Podcast Episodes Sunday’s winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, CF Vidal Bruján went 0-for-3 and LF Dane Myers went 0-for-4. Bruján is now hitless in his last 19 at-bats (and 0-for-14 since being traded to the Marlins). In Venezuela, LF Javier Sanoja went 1-for-4 with 1 RBI. In Puerto Rico, C Jan Mercado went 0-for-3.The Marlins signed RHP Ignacio Feliz to a minor league deal. He has previously been with the Guardians, Padres and Orioles organizations. Splitting time with Baltimore's High-A and Double-A affiliates in 2023, he posted an alarming 9.57 earned run average in 28 relief appearances, though his peripherals were far closer to average. I assume that the 24-year-old Feliz will report to minor league camp next spring.https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/587bbdad-7248-44c7-88c1-666571107aa0.mp4Charles Leblanc has signed a minor league deal of his own to join the Angels. Leblanc made his big league debut with the Marlins in 2022. He spent this past season with Triple-A Jacksonville (.252/.384/.423, 108 wRC+ in 94 G), but didn't get another shot to play in Miami.Elsewhere around baseball, Kenta Maeda and the Tigers have agreed to terms on a two-year, $24M contract. Maeda has been a solid No. 4 starter for much of his MLB career. The right-hander's quality of work would've typically commanded a bigger payday on the open market, but his age (turning 36 in April) and lack of durability presumably held him back. Sonny Gray is on the verge of going to the Cardinals on what figures to be a much meatier deal. The 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame ballots have begun trickling in. I recommend Ryan Thibodaux's tracker.Kevin Barral analyzes free agent Eddie Rosario as a possible target for the Marlins.https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/eddie-rosario-free-agency-marlins/The MLB Rule 5 Draft is only 10 days away. Hans Herrera highlights five unprotected hitters who might intrigue the Fish.The Marlins' Black Friday Flash Offer is available for one more day. For $50, you get $100 worth of 2024 Marlins tickets to be used on whichever games and seating locations you like.Fish On First has partnered with the Marlins Discord server! You can join the server for free to participate in around-the-clock Fish talk. There is also a private channel reserved for our valued Super Subscribers.We're also now on Bluesky. If you left Twitter this year (for a variety of understandable reasons), we will be making similar posts over there. Photo by Kevin Barral/Fish On First

Marlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, 2B Vidal Bruján went 0-for-1 with a walk and RF Dane Myers went 1-for-4. In Venezuela, LF Javier Sanoja went 1-for-4 with 1 RBI.Elsewhere around baseball, the Mariners traded Eugenio Suárez to the Diamondbacks for reliever Carlos Vargas and catcher Seby Zavala. Strange move in a vacuum from the Mariners' perspective, but they'll likely be adding another veteran bat before the offseason is complete.It was a fun on Wednesday, in case you missed it. We take you behind the scenes of our Skip Schumaker interview, react to the MLB free agent signings that have taken place so far and more. 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-popOn , Trevor Rogers describes the injuries he suffered this season and why the second one—partially tearing his right lat off the bone—sidelined him for so long. Rogers says he's feeling 100% healthy now.Within this breakdown of Edward Cabrera as a potential Twins trade target, Max Kappel of Zone Coverage makes some fascinating observations about Cabrera's mechanics. "Cabrera could become a top-of-the-rotation part if he can correct this timing mistake to hit the zone more," Kappel believes.Jeff Conine did a with Foul Territory about his role as a special assistant to Bruce Sherman and his long playing career. Conine conceded that the Marlins don't have the revenue to justify signing star free agents, making it crucial for them to identify impactful homegrown players and commit to them. In honor of his uniform number, Jake Burger answered 36 questions about his personal life. Happy Thanksgiving to our FOF community, and "Happy Thursday" to Burger, who said it's his favorite day of the week.Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins

Marlins Podcast Episodes Tuesday's winter ball notes: Playing his first game in the Dominican Republic since being traded to the Marlins, 2B Vidal Bruján went 0-for-1 with three walks and his LIDOM-leading 13th stolen base. CF Dane Myers went 1-for-4. Javier Sanoja made his season debut in Venezuela as a pinch-hitter and left fielder.Thanks to Marlins manager Skip Schumaker for giving us 40-plus minutes of his time on the latest Fish Unfiltered. Although previously reported that Brant Brown had left Miami for Seattle, Schumaker specifies it's because Brown was hired to be their new bench coach (still no official announcement from the Mariners). Our conversation touched on a handful of individual Marlins players, Schumaker's introduction to Peter Bendix and much more. Elsewhere around baseball, the Cardinals added another free agent starting pitcher, Kyle Gibson (1/$11M). This comes on the heels of reuniting with Lance Lynn the day before. The Padres promoted Mike Shildt to be their new manager, filling the last remaining MLB managerial vacancy.Join us tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET for a new edition of Fish On First LIVE on /Twitter/Twitch. 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-popThis week on Big Fish Small Pod, Daniel Rodriguez is doing a series highlighting notable free agents for the Marlins to consider in each position group, continuing with outfielders. Subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your pods! Please leave us a rating and review.Braxton Garrett joined the to talk about his 2023 season, what's next and how he'll be spending Thanksgiving.Mark Feinsand of MLB.com considers Mitch Garver a logical free agent match for the Marlins.The Baseball America MLB Rule 5 Draft preview highlights Troy Johnston and Nasim Nuñez as possible selections.Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports that Marlins postseason shares are $10,154 apiece. The deeper a team advances, the larger their share (Rangers personnel got more than half a million bucks).Happy birthday to Peter Pratt. The Locked On Marlins podcast host turns 40 today. You'll notice that I frequently embed his shows in these news roundups. Subscribe to his channel if you don't already! Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

Ely Sussman discusses where things currently stand with the 2024 Miami Marlins payroll following the non-tender deadline (3:30), then takes on the enigma that is Vidal Bruján (16:45). How is it that a former MLB Top 100 prospect with solid contact skills from both sides of the plate continues to flop when given big league opportunities? What would qualify as a successful outcome for Bruján's career moving forward? Subscribe to the Fish On First YouTube channel to watch video versions of every episode of The Offishial Show. As covered in an article on Saturday, the Marlins' projected payroll—just accounting for players currently under club control—is within a couple million dollars of their 2023 Opening Day total. That's with huge holes still remaining at catcher and shortstop plus questionable depth at the corner outfield spots. https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/marlins-payroll-projection-11-18-23/Recently acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays, Bruján was critical of himself in a since-deleted Instagram post, saying "I fell short of what I expected from myself and what the organization knows I’m capable of doing." Bruján was widely considered one of the Rays' best prospects when he ascended to the Triple-A level. The Dominican switch-hitter posted above-average offensive numbers during each of his three seasons in Durham with a wRC+ of 111, 117 and 110 in 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively (100 represents league average). However, the time Bruján spent with the Rays during those same seasons was an entirely different story. He slashed .157/.218/.221 (28 wRC+) in 99 games played and didn't show marked improvement this past year. Even crediting him for his expected production based on batted ball quality, Bruján's .222 xwOBA is tied for second-lowest among players with at least 250 MLB plate appearances since 2021. StatheadBrújan has been super aggressive swinging at the first pitch (41.9% of the time vs. 29.6% MLB average) and his groundball rate increases when facing top competition (48% in MLB vs. 42% in AAA). His main deficiency is a lack of hard hits. Brújan has "barreled" only four balls in the majors, as defined by Statcast, representing 1.5% of his total plate appearances. The combination of limited bat speed (64.5 mph average in 2023), a small physical build and decent but not special contact skills makes it difficult to envision him reaching his perceived ceiling. All that being said, I approve of this trade from the Marlins' perspective (pending the identity of the player to be named later). Bruján could follow in the footsteps of former Chicago White Sox utility man Leury García, whose early-career production was equally awful before turning a corner at age 26. The downside of the deal is obvious: Bruján is out of minor league options and might not last even a single season in the Marlins organization if he continues to slump so severely. But if something clicks, he still has six years of club control left. Follow Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. Our Fish On First podcast programming includes The Offishial Show, Fish Unfiltered, State of the Fish, Swimming Upstream, Fishology and What a Relief. All new episodes are posted to FishOnFirst.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.

Marlins Podcast Episodes Monday's winter ball notes: RF Dane Myers went 1-for-3, but got caught napping off of first base. He was tagged out after turning his back to the action and breaking into a basketball jumpshot celebration of sorts.https://videopress.com/v/BAkhlMtD?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=trueElsewhere around baseball, Reynaldo López (3/$30M) signed with the Braves and Lance Lynn (1/$11M) signed with the Cardinals. Japanese star right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto was posted by MLB and the 45-day window for teams to negotiate with him has officially opened. The 2024 Baseball Hall of Fame ballot has been announced. The former Marlins players on the ballot are Gary Sheffield (10th year of eligibility), Mark Buehrle (fourth) and José Reyes (first). Zack Britton has retired. Britton, who spent his 12-year MLB career with the Orioles and Yankees, peaked in the mid-2010s as arguably the best reliever in the majors.This week on Big Fish Small Pod, Daniel Rodriguez is doing a series highlighting notable free agents for the Marlins to consider in each position group, continuing with infielders. Subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your pods! Please leave us a rating and review.A reminder that The Offishial Show is back on a weekly schedule, delivering new episodes every Tuesday. My latest show unpacks the enigma that is Vidal Bruján—why has the former top prospect struggled so much with his transition to the majors?Today, Fish On First is conducting an exclusive interview with Skip Schumaker. If you have last-minute questions for the Marlins manager, please comment below.Braxton Garrett is the guest on tonight's Marlins Hot Stove Show.Marlins Historian asks you to select which of the four most famous Marlins-related songs is the best. I'd be surprised if anything other than " " won the poll. Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images

Marlins Podcast Episodes Jazz Chisholm Jr. served as "Chant Leader" during Sunday's Miami Dolphins game. Ex-teammate and current free agent Jorge Soler also attended with his family. Elsewhere around baseball, we finally have a big free agent signing as Aaron Nola re-upped with the Phillies on a seven-year, $172 million deal. Nola received a full no-trade clause and doesn't have any opt outs, so get used seeing him face the Fish for many years to come.On a cheaper note, Kevin Barral wrote about Lucas Giolito and Matt Moore as potential Marlins free agent targets.https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/lucas-giolito-free-agency-marlins/https://fishonfirst.com/analysis/matt-moore-free-agency-marlins/This week on Big Fish Small Pod, Daniel Rodriguez is doing a series highlighting notable free agents for the Marlins to consider in each position group, beginning with catchers. Subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your pods! Please leave us a rating and review.Marlins first base coach Jon Jay interviewed for the Cubs' bench coach job, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today. However, the Cubs "have now decided to go in a different direction." For the time being, Brant Brown is the only 2023 Marlins coach to leave the organization.Jolly Olive of Jomboy Media treats us to a montage of Luis Arraez fouling off two-strike pitches that would've easily put away mere mortals.Happy 26th birthday to Marlins C Paul McIntosh. The former undrafted free agent has been one of Miami's best minor league hitters since signing in 2021, slashing .251/.371/.464 with a 122 wRC+. He reached the Triple-A level for the first time this season and figures to once again be a non-roster invitee at big league spring training.Congrats to former Marlins executive Michael Hill and Priscila Fonseca, who got married on Saturday. Marlins IF/C Bennett Hostetler and Taylor Hostetler tied the knot as well.https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz2PxZbOzmo/?hl=enhttps://www.instagram.com/p/Cz2WiMouu16/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins