Ely Sussman

I understood the experiment last season, and at least they were proactive coming off of that, which was getting him on the custom throwing program. I even get why they wanted to see a few more regular season reps this year. The rest is disappointing: the insistence that he play SS 100% of the time and keeping it going this deep into the year. Only takes a couple weeks (at most) to gauge whether or not he had improved his skill set enough to survive there.

The collection includes items from both of the franchise's World Series runs. Last week, I received a message from Matt, who goes by @MidMajorMatt on Twitter. A "huge Marlins fan" growing up in Philadelphia, he was turned off by the franchise's all-too-frequent rebuilds and switched his fandom to the local Phillies. Now, he's hoping to "find a good home" for his Marlins memorabilia. Matt has provided the following list of 18 items. He's willing to sell them separately if needed. Fish On First does not receive any sort of commission—just doing him a favor by spreading the word to our audience. Please message him here with any questions. 1993 inaugural season program 1997 NLCS program 1997 World Series VHS 1997 World Series champions picture 1997 World Series champions car flag 2000 Florida Marlins yearbook 2003 Florida Marlins yearbook 2003 Miami Herald World Series book Florida Marlins pin Florida Marlins pennant Dontrelle Willis poster (fair condition) Miguel Cabrera 2003 World Series bobblehead (still in box) Florida Marlins sweatshirt (size medium) Florida Marlins t-shirt (size large) Miguel Cabrera action figure (still in box) Marlins Park inaugural season pin Marlins on Deck program from April 2012 View full article

The day after making several costly defensive mistakes in the Miami Marlins' loss to the San Diego Padres, Ronny Simon speaks with the assembled media at Petco Park. Video courtesy of Sammy Levitt. View full video

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's road series against the San Diego Padres. Starting Lineup DH Agustín Ramírez 1B Eric Wagaman SS Otto Lopez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 3B Connor Norby C Nick Fortes RF Jesús Sánchez (L) 2B Javier Sanoja CF Victor Mesa Jr. (L) P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's road series against the San Diego Padres. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez 1B Eric Wagaman LF Kyle Stowers (L) DH Liam Hicks (L) 3B Connor Norby 2B Ronny Simon (S) CF Victor Mesa Jr. (L) SS Javier Sanoja P Max Meyer Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Bender is bullying right-handed batters through the first third of the season to re-establish himself as a trustworthy setup man. Taylor Ward was one of the hottest hitters in Major League Baseball. The Los Angeles Angels outfielder entered Sunday having recorded extra-base hits in 10 consecutive games, the longest such streak in Angels history. He was exactly who the Halos wanted at the plate in this situation: trailing 3-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning with two runners on, needing a home run to tie things up. To escape the jam, Anthony Bender leaned entirely on his best pitch. Bender made Ward flinch at a sweeper for called strike one. He threw another in a similar location, which Ward swung underneath and fouled back. He tripled down in an 0-2 count, but missed a few inches off the outside corner. The veteran right-hander finally put Ward away by inducing an ugly chase in the other batter's box. anthony bender sweeper vs taylor ward.mp4 Bender has been great against right-handed batters throughout his Miami Marlins career (.550 OPS allowed and 31.5 K% in 384 PA). However, he has achieved a new level of dominance in 2025 and it's largely because of this weapon. Opponents have a .031 batting average this season in at-bats ending with Bender's sweeper. No individual pitch type that's been thrown at least 100 times against major league competition is producing a lower BA, according to Baseball Savant. When Bender burst onto the scene in 2021, he had a standout slider that averaged 84.8 mph. Although his current sweeper has near-identical velocity (84.5 mph), it moves differently due to a change in mechanics. Bender lowered his arm angle following Tommy John surgery—it has changed from 25 degrees as a rookie to 17 degrees this season. That creates more gloveside break and reduces vertical drop. This is the first season of Bender's career that he has been consistently utilizing two distinct breaking balls. His reshaped sweeper is being complemented by a harder gyro slider. Bender's sweeper is the key to his success against same-handed batters, representing more than 60% of his pitch mix in those matchups. Against lefties, it's a kitchen sink approach—he is willing to throw five different pitches in any count, including both sweepers and sliders. Dating back to 2024, Bender has thrown 571 sweepers and yielded only one home run. Eventual National League Rookie of the Year runner-up Jackson Merrill took him deep on August 10. As it turns out, Bender was dealing with a right shoulder impingement at the time that would require a stint on the injured list, so even Merrill's achievement comes with an asterisk. Under the hood, Bender's age-30 campaign has been unremarkable. Through 21 ⅓ innings pitched, his strikeout and walk rates are both on pace to be career-worsts. He ranks in the sixth percentile among MLB pitchers in hard-hit rate allowed, yet it's only resulting in a .214 batting average on balls in play (the league-wide BABIP is .290). He has undeniably benefited from some good fortune. Bender was already the most likely midseason trade candidate in the Marlins bullpen because he has substantial high-leverage experience and is closest to free agency (eligible after the 2027 season). Miami's objective should be something similar to the Deyvison De Los Santos/Andrew Pintar package that they netted from the Arizona Diamondbacks last July in exchange for A.J. Puk. Maybe Bender's sweeper truly is a cheat code, but I now find myself wondering if he could be on the move well in advance of the deadline before the rest of the league has too many opportunities to solve it. View full article

Today's news roundup also includes a new interview with Marlins insider Craig Mish. The Xavier Edwards shortstop experiment has come to an end after 108 major league starts. MLB.com's Christina De Nicola was first to report the Miami Marlins' plan to use him at second base moving forward. Otto Lopez will stick at SS where he has been playing with Edwards sidelined by a left mid back strain. Sources have confirmed the position switch to Fish On First. Craig Mish of FanDuel Sports Network Florida adds that Javier Sanoja will be Lopez's backup, so Edwards will solely focus on 2B. It was a weird idea from the beginning. Edwards barely played any shortstop in 2023, his first year in the Marlins organization—he got far more reps at second base, third base and even center field with Triple-A Jacksonville. He struggled at several aspects of SS defense, particularly arm strength and accuracy. However, a new front office saw a path to him overcoming his limitations. After free agent signing Tim Anderson flopped during the first half of 2024, Edwards became Miami's full-time shortstop. He shattered even the most optimistic projections offensively (.328/.397/.423, 128 wRC+, 31 SB in 70 G). When accounting for his below-average glove, he contributed 2.2 fWAR. Edwards was hopeful that a customized offseason throwing program would yield better results. Unfortunately, it has not. The average velocity of his throws has actually gone down in 2025, ranking dead last among qualified shortstops. He lacks range at the position, too. Over the last two seasons combined, Edwards has accrued minus-12 defensive runs saved and minus-16 outs above average. With Edwards beginning a rehab assignment with Jacksonville tonight, he's on track to be reinstated from the injured list during the upcoming Marlins homestand. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville swept their doubleheader, 8-0 and 1-0. Eury Pérez was excellent (5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 72 pitches/46 strikes). It's looking like he'll make just one more start before returning to the majors. Also in the midst of rehab assignments, Dane Myers went 1-for-4 and played center field while Declan Cronin threw a scoreless inning of relief. Jack Winkler homered and stole two bases. Double-A Pensacola lost, 3-1. Robby Snelling (7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 89 pitches/60 strikes) made the longest start of his minor league career. High-A Beloit won, 3-0. Nick Brink (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 91 pitches/60 strikes) also made the longest start of his MiLB career. Michael Snyder is putting the finishing touches on an impressive month of May. After hitting a go-ahead home run on Wednesday, he has 19 RBI in 19 games with more walks than strikeouts. Low-A Jupiter won, 11-10. The 14-inning affair was the longest game played at any level of the Marlins org this season. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Craig Mish made another guest appearance on Fish Unfiltered (embedded below and available wherever you get your podcasts). He discussed Edwards, among many other topics, including the possibility of trading him in the not-so-distant future. 🔷 The Marlins' recent trip to Anaheim was special for Eric Wagaman, who grew up attending Angels games and earned his first MLB call-up with them last September, writes Christina De Nicola. 🔷 Nick Deeds of MLB Trade Rumors analyzes the breakout of Kyle Stowers while cautioning that poor plate discipline could come back to bite him. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 18 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Houston Astros starter Ronel Blanco is scheduled to undergo season-ending right elbow surgery next week. The aforementioned Tim Anderson was designated for assignment by the Angels. Hard to imagine him getting another big league opportunity after consecutive seasons of a sub-.500 OPS. The Colorado Rockies are now 25(!) games back of the NL West division lead and it isn't even June yet. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Gwinnett, 7:05 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola at Montgomery, 7:35 p.m. ET High-A Beloit at Lansing, 7:05 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona, 5:00 p.m. ET FCL Marlins vs. FCL Nationals, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's road series against the San Diego Padres. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez LF Eric Wagaman CF Kyle Stowers (L) SS Otto Lopez 3B Connor Norby 1B Matt Mervis (L) 2B Ronny Simon (S) C Nick Fortes P Ryan Weathers Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

Today's news roundup also includes reaction to an outstanding performance by Edward Cabrera. I knew the number would be high, but didn't expect to be this high. Barely a year and a half into Peter Bendix's tenure, the Miami Marlins have acquired 20 different players via waiver claims. That doesn't even count those claimed by them multiple times and trades for cash considerations, which are essentially deluxe waiver claims. Right-handed reliever Ronny Henriquez is one of Miami's most recent waiver wire pickups, and he's already proving to be one of their most impactful. The former Minnesota Twins farmhand has had 10 scoreless appearances in a row, lowering his ERA to 1.78 and culminating in his first career save on Sunday. Henriquez can put batters away with four different pitches, though he typically does it with elevated fastballs and low-and-away sweepers. Otto Lopez has separated himself from the pack as a well-rounded, everyday middle infielder, contributing 3.1 fWAR since debuting for the Fish. The rest of the rankings will surely change as the 2025 season wears on, but I currently have Henriquez right behind Derek Hill as the third-best waiver claim of the Bendix era: Otto Lopez Derek Hill Ronny Henriquez Declan Cronin Jesús Tinoco Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 7-3. Freddy Tarnok had his worst appearance of the year (2.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 6 BB, 1 K, 61 pitches/30 strikes). Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-2. The Blue Wahoos were swept in their six-game series hosting the Birmingham Barons. High-A Beloit lost, 5-1. It's been a rough transition for recently promoted outfielder Jacob Jenkins-Cowart (2-for-33 since joining the Sky Carp). Low-A Jupiter won, 4-3. Andrés Valor homered for the first time since April 11. He's also been successful on nine straight stolen base attempts. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Edward Cabrera's scoreless start on Sunday was among the best of his Marlins career. His breaking balls were especially effective—he registered seven strikeouts and 13 total whiffs on sliders and curveballs. Cabrera lowered his season FIP to 4.16, which is on pace to be a career-best. 🔷 I explained how opposing pitchers have been relentlessly attacking Matt Mervis with fastballs since his hot start to the season. Mervis has not driven in a run since April 23. 🔷 The Marlins held a swing-decision competition during their last homestand, as MLB.com's Christina De Nicola detailed. 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 17 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, reigning American League Cy Young award winner Tarik Skubal threw his first career shutout, striking out 13 batters and finishing the game with a 103 mph heater. Promising Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Jared Jones underwent Tommy John surgery. A five-game winning streak has carried the Tampa Bay Rays into second place in the AL East. The Athletics snapped their 11-game losing skid by upsetting the Philadelphia Phillies. The Colorado Rockies lost their 17th consecutive series to begin the season. Former Marlin Jean Segura announced his retirement. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Ryan Weathers) continue their road trip by opening a series against the San Diego Padres (RHP Randy Vásquez). The Padres are coming off a victory on Sunday, but they lost seven of their previous eight contests, largely because of a lethargic offense. Old friend Luis Arraez is only hitting .284 this season. The Marlins have a 42.5% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 8:40 p.m. ET. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the series beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off). 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: FCL Marlins at FCL Nationals, 12:00 p.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's road series against the Los Angeles Angels. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez LF Kyle Stowers (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Connor Norby DH Matt Mervis (L) CF Derek Hill 2B Javier Sanoja P Edward Cabrera Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article

For a couple weeks in April, it seemed like the Marlins may have found a useful platoon power bat, but MLB pitchers have quickly adjusted to Mervis. He's been completely overmatched since then. The Miami Marlins shrewdly bought low on Matt Mervis in December. Despite being a lifetime .268/.361/.508 hitter (121 wRC+) in the Chicago Cubs minor league system, Mervis wasn't going to have an extended runway to establish himself with their big league club. Meanwhile, the Fish could afford to be patient with him. For a brief stretch, he looked poised for a smooth take-off. Then, underlying mechanical issues delayed those plans. Weeks later, a solution is still nowhere in sight. "Mash Mervis" has turned into a Door Matt for Marlins opponents. Mervis has been a sub-replacement-level first baseman/designated hitter in 40 games played entering Sunday, slashing .175/.258/.386 (73 wRC+) with seven home runs. He is striking out in 38.3% of his plate appearances. Those overall numbers actually mask how unproductive he's been for most of his Marlins tenure. The slugger who once led all Minor League Baseball players in RBI for a season has gone more than a month without driving in a single run. His underlying batted ball data is even uglier than his results. If the Marlins were motivated to be contenders, he would have been demoted to the minors by now. Some all-or-nothing hitters are simply streaky, just a small tweak away from carrying an offense. Marlins fans will remember Jake Burger being a prime example of this in 2024. In Mervis' case, however, his struggles stem from the way pitchers have been attacking him differently. Mervis generates plus bat speed and utilizes a modest leg lift. And yet, he's still been unable to consistently time up fastballs. The league has noticed and bullied him with them, especially early in counts: The Marlins ensure Mervis has the platoon advantage as much as possible (92.9% of total PA), but that isn't helping. The average right-handed four-seam fastball in the majors this season has been 94.6 mph, according to Baseball Savant. The average right-handed sinker has been 93.8 mph. In plate appearances ending in four-seamers/sinkers with at least average velo, he has gone 2-for-26 with 17 strikeouts and two walks. That does not even includes sequences like the one Mervis had against José Soriano in the fourth inning on Saturday night. With runners on the corners and one out, his mission was simple: pull a fly ball to drive in a run. Soriano won the battle fairly easily, getting ahead in the count with four consecutive heaters, then tunneling his curveball off of that to get an awkward chase out of the zone for the K. merge-7muzhs.mp4 Optioning Mervis to Triple-A seems inevitable, though that is not an easy fix. Starters down there don't possess the same kind of fastball velo, and many of the relievers who do lack control of it (otherwise they'd already be in MLB). If nothing else, a minor league stint would potentially restore the 27-year-old's confidence. If the Marlins make that move, Eric Wagaman would take over as their primary first baseman, either with Liam Hicks handling the rest of the workload or Troy Johnston finally getting his shot. View full article

As of this writing, the MLB trade deadline is only 13 days and 12 hours away. I maintain the belief that Sandy Alcantara will remain with the Miami Marlins after the deadline passes, but the possibility of a departure cannot be entirely ruled out—this front office is always having conversations. If a strong enough package of young talent is offered to them, Alcantara's eight-year Marlins tenure could abruptly come to a close. Alcantara will take the mound at loanDepot park tonight and he's very likely to do so again next Wednesday. After that, the Marlins don't play again in Miami until August 1, when their roster will inevitably look different. Understandably considering his poor performance, fans haven't been buying tickets specifically to see Alcantara lately. If it's feasible for you to make it to the one of these home games, maybe make an exception, just in case the former ace becomes a former Fish at the deadline. Down on the farm, Luis Arana, Diwarys Encarnación and Almen Tolentino were named Dominican Summer League All-Stars. All three have put up terrific offensive numbers, but Arana has been particularly impressive, making the majority of his appearances at shortstop and striking out only 4.5% of the time. Also, it's his first minor league season, whereas Encarnación and Tolentino are repeating the level. DSL Marlins won, 3-0. Outfielder David Shirley went 0-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base in his MiLB debut. DSL Miami won, 3-2. Kevin Defrank (4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K) made his third consecutive scoreless start. His fastball velocity topped out at 100.4 mph. This video from Josh Norris of Baseball America includes swinging strikes on his changeup and slider, too. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 The Marlins will be without Connor Norby for most of the second half following left hamate bone surgery. "If you truly know me, you know how hard I’ll work to beat timelines and how hard I have and will continue to work to learn from this season and be better for it," he tweeted on Thursday. Graham Pauley should be the club's primary third baseman in the meantime. 🔷 Michael Petersen is back in the Marlins organization after being claimed off waivers from the Atlanta Braves. The right-handed reliever pitched out of Miami's bullpen last September. He'll report to Jacksonville this weekend. Jesús Tinoco was transferred to the 60-day injured list in a corresponding roster move. Tinoco has been on the IL for 45 days already. The Marlins are optimistic that he could be ready for reinstatement as soon as he's eligible on August 2. 🔷 In partnership with About The Fans, we made a Gus Bus t-shirt! It's available in black and heather deep teal (as pictured below). Use coupon code fof10 at checkout for 10% off your order. 🔷 On this day in 1995, the Marlins topped the Giants in 14 innings in large part thanks to Greg Colbrunn's 7 RBI. 🔷 More than 60% of Fish On First Twitter followers voted that, aside from Kyle Stowers, Eury Pérez is the likeliest player on the team to be selected as an All-Star in 2026. 🔷 Aram Leighton of Just Baseball delves into the significant progress that the Marlins have made this year and urges Bruce Sherman to provide the resources that his front office will need to continue piecing together a legitimate contender. 🔷 Per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the Marlins internally view Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards as their starting middle infielders moving forward. The prospects most impacted by that are Maximo Acosta and Jared Serna, both of whom have been used exclusively at shortstop and second base in 2025 and are already on the 40-man roster. Also on the prospect front, Jackson describes the Marlins as "inclined" to have Robby Snelling spend the rest of this season in the minors, "though that’s subject to change." 🔷 Emilio Barreras and his family were overcome with emotion after Barreras was drafted by the Marlins in the eighth round. 🔷 A pair of 2024 draftees, Grant Shepardson and Nate Payne, were ranked among Baseball America's top 25 Florida Complex League prospects. Shepardson is 14th and Payne is 21st. They're scheduled to make one more start each before the FCL season ends. 🔷 Chad Jennings and Tim Britton of The Athletic observe that corner outfield bats are in short supply on the trade market this year, which could boost Jesús Sánchez's value. 🔷 Congratulations to Matt Mervis and Sydney Leonard on their engagement. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, 13-year MLB veteran Kyle Gibson announced his retirement. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins host the Kansas City Royals in the opener of a three-game series. Following Alcantara, Cal Quantrill is lined up to start on Saturday and Janson Junk on Sunday. Bobby Witt Jr. was among the hottest hitters in baseball entering the break, slashing .369/.400/.631 during a 16-game on-base streak. Full organizational schedule below. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Royals series beginning at 6:00 ET. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Player status updates, insightful stats and more information to fully equip you for today's Marlins game. Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's road series against the Los Angeles Angels. Starting Lineup RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez CF Kyle Stowers (L) LF Eric Wagaman C Liam Hicks (L) 3B Connor Norby 1B Matt Mervis (L) 2B Ronny Simon (S) P Cal Quantrill Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below) View full article