Ely Sussman

Just in time for the MLB Winter Meetings, the Miami Marlins added more firepower to their front office on Friday by agreeing to hire Gabe Kapler, per Craig Mish of SportsGrid. Kapler will serve as assistant general manager with an emphasis on player development, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The hiring is "not yet official," Mish clarifies. You probably know Kapler primarily from his stints managing the Philadelphia Phillies (2018-2019) and San Francisco Giants (2020-2023). His clubs combined for a .526 winning percentage (456-411 record) and one postseason berth. Kapler also played 12 seasons in the majors as an outfielder, concluding with the 2009-2010 Tampa Bay Rays where he may have crossed paths with a young Peter Bendix. In between, Kapler spent three seasons as director of player development for the Los Angeles Dodgers. His tenure there (2015-2017) overlapped with the minor league careers of future like stars Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger, Walker Buehler and Julio Urías. Marlins principal owner Bruce Sherman has been blunt about the need for his organization to do a better job producing homegrown impact players. The 48-year-old Kapler gets the same title as Brian Chattin, Dan Greenlee and Oz Ocampo, the assistant GMs who Bendix inherited from the previous Marlins front office. This news comes just a few days after the hiring of Vinesh Kanthan as director of baseball operations. Kanthan will report to Chattin, Greenlee and Ocampo (and presumably Kapler as well). It must be mentioned: Skip Schumaker has only one guaranteed year remaining on his contract. The reigning NL Manager of the Year told Fish On First that he and Bendix have "had a lot of really good conversations" and communicate daily, but it's not uncommon for a new front office boss to handpick their own manager. If the Marlins take a significant step backwards competitively in 2024, I wouldn't be shocked if Schumaker leaves the organization and Kapler replaces him in the dugout. Photo courtesy of gabekapler/Instagram

Marlins Podcast Episodes Thursday's winter ball notes: In Venezuela, LF Javier Sanoja went 2-for-3 with a stolen base and three runs scored. He still hasn't been struck out through his first 30 plate appearances. In Puerto Rico, C Jan Mercado went 0-for-4.RHP Kyle Tyler is the Marlins' latest minor league signing. Tyler has a 2.20 earned run average in limited MLB experience (16.1 IP), but spent the entire 2023 season as a starter with the Mariners' Double-A Arkansas affiliate. Overall in the minors, he's got a 4.22 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 391 K in 392.2 IP (106 G/60 GS). He'll be a non-roster invitee at spring training. https://sporty-clips.mlb.com/e61d5aea-0776-4e05-a1ff-791a0d75982c.mp4Former Marlins minor leaguer LHP Jefry Yan is having an outstanding season in the Dominican Winter League. Miami is among a handful of teams (from both MLB and NPB) expressing interest in him, per Jefferson Pozo.Elsewhere around baseball, Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that Shohei Ohtani's contract "will surge well beyond $500 million" in guaranteed money. A Juan Soto trade "is edging closer to becoming a reality," Passan adds.The Rule 5 Draft finally arrives next week. This FanPost by Hans Herrera highlights a dozen available pitchers for the Marlins to consider.https://fishonfirst.com/fanposts/2023-rule-5-draft-pitchers/Glenn Geffner's View from the Bleachers discusses various ways that the Marlins could find more offense this winter.Neil Raymond of Marlin Maniac thinks the Marlins should sign J.D. Martinez (who was also mentioned in Geffner's piece).The Pensacola Blue Wahoos announced start times for their 2024 regular season home games, moving up weeknight first pitches by half an hour, from 6:35 p.m. CT to 6:05 CT.Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

Marlins Podcast Episodes Wednesday's winter ball notes: In the Dominican Republic, RF Vidal Bruján went 3-for-7 with 2 RBI and a stolen base during a doubleheader. In Puerto Rico, C Jan Mercado went 1-for-4 with an RBI triple.MLB teams have expressed interest in acquiring Edward Cabrera and Trevor Rogers from the Marlins, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports. "If the Marlins trade a starter," Rosenthal adds, "they almost certainly would need to replace him with a veteran free agent on a one-year deal." Despite missing almost all of 2023 due to injuries, I imagine Rogers would carry more value than Cabrera due to his rookie-year brilliance and remaining minor league options.Elsewhere around baseball, there was a much-needed flurry of free agent signings over the last 24 hours. Nick Martinez (2/$26M) and Emilio Pagán (2/$16M) signed with the Reds, Luis Severino (1/$13M) signed with the Mets, and former Fish Joey Wendle (1/$2M) and Garrett Hampson (1/$2M) signed with the Mets and Royals, respectively. I wrote in greater depth about Hampson here. The Brewers and top prospect Jackson Chourio are reportedly closing in on an eight-year, $80 million extension. With two club options tacked on at the end, Chourio will be under their control for an entire decade. If you read Wednesday's Offishial News, I was correct on the length of the deal, but went too high on the dollar amount. Great deal for Milwaukee despite the obvious risk involved.I took a break from quizmaster duties to compete on the latest , claiming a hard-fought win over FOF colleagues Isaac Azout and Nick Turok. Thanks again to Navi from Marlins Discord for 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 with Locked On Marlins, Victor Mesa Jr. discussed his 2023 season, reaction to being selected to the 40-man roster and 2024 outlook and goals. Mesa is the fourth-ranked prospect on our FOF Top 30 list.MiLB.com included Mesa among their 2023 Marlins Organization All-Stars. Director of minor league operations Hector Crespo commented on most of the selections. Most notably, he boasted about Evan Fitterer's uptick in velocity ("this year, he sat 94-97") and insisted that the Marlins are "still really high" on José Devers.Louis Addeo-Weiss explains why Chase Utley, a newcomer to the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, belongs in Cooperstown.Scotty Atkins (Double-A Pensacola) and Jaymeson Wilcox (High-A Beloit) won Head Groundskeeper of the Year in their respective minor leagues. Pensacola's Cedric Bascom was the Southern League's Visiting Clubhouse Attendant of the Year. Congratulations to Gladys and Luis Arraez on delivering their third child, Esthela. Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images

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