Ely Sussman

The Marlins made a small but seemingly very popular move on Sunday, acquiring Matt Mervis and cash considerations from the Cubs for Vidal Bruján, who had been designated for assignment earlier this month. Both players are entering their age-27 season and have had awful MLB production thus far, though at least Mervis has a minor league option left so he doesn't need to be forced onto Miami's Opening Day roster unless he merits a spot. Mervis is an extreme pull hitter who makes a lot of loud contact. The main concern is how much he whiffed in 2024, particularly late in the season (40.2 K% in August/September). Perhaps the Marlins feel his midseason hamate injury contributed to that lousy finish. Mervis' playing time figures to come at first base and designated hitter against right-handed pitching. Look out for an updated Fish On First roster projection later this week. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 RHP Freddy Tarnok has signed a minor league deal with the Fish and received an invite to big league camp, per Just Baseball's Aram Leighton. He will "get a shot to start" despite mainly being used as a reliever in Triple-A last season (never surpassed 2.1 IP in any appearance). Tarnok's workload has been severely limited since 2023 due to shoulder, calf and hip injuries. His fastball sits around 95 mph and his arsenal includes a slider, curveball and changeup. He briefly pitched in the majors for the Braves and Athletics from 2022-2023 (4.70 ERA, 6.84 FIP and .211 BAA in 15.1 IP). 🔷 Including the Mervis/Bruján swap, the Marlins made 15 substantial trades in 2024. Did they get enough value in return? I summarized all of their activity here. 🔷 While training at Tread Athletics, Declan Cronin demonstrated how he grips his four-seam fastball and his keys for throwing it effectively. 77m9l2.mp4 🔷 Danny Martinez writes about the Marlins' struggle to elicit local fan support and why the fans themselves are not to blame. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Corbin Burnes (6-YR/$210M) signed with the Diamondbacks, reportedly settling for less guaranteed money than the Blue Jays and Giants offered him. Josh Bell (1-YR/$6M) signed with the Nationals. Bell was previously in Washington from 2021-2022, posting a higher wRC+ (130) and lower strikeout rate (16.1%) there than he has during his tenures with any other teams. Bell was an everyday first baseman back then, but the 32-year-old slots in as their primary DH this time around. Marlins podcast episodes

Several times throughout their history, the Miami Marlins have seized control of a seller's market, making numerous trades in quick succession that push back their competition timeline in pursuit of a long-term objective. It was not immediately clear what direction Peter Bendix would steer the franchise upon being hired in November 2023, but he began following that familiar script soon after the start of Miami's disastrous 2024 campaign. While it's way too soon to draw conclusions based on the results, now's an appropriate time to reflect on a hyperactive year and try to quantity what the Marlins parted with compared to what they received in return. Baseball Trade Values got a bad rap in the early 2020s when wishful fans constantly concocted and screenshotted proposals using the free-at-the-time trade simulator to make their favorite teams substantially better without accounting for the desires of the other team(s). But all things considered, BTV does a nice job of appraising major leaguers and minor leaguers with the same currency (surplus trade value, expressed in millions of dollars). The BTV model acknowledges the inexactitude of its player valuations. A lot of information about players isn't publicly available, so their site publishes a low, median and high estimate for each of them. The high value is typically 50% above the low. When a trade is reported, they'll tweet out the median estimates of the assets involved (examples here). The following list includes all of the substantial trades made by the Marlins during the past calendar year, meaning those that sent players in both directions as well as the Josh Bell partial salary dump. In a few cases (denoted by ???), traded minor leaguers were not previously in BTV's system because they were unranked by public prospect evaluators. Let's count them as $0.5 million apiece. 2024 Marlins trade activity summary -February 11 (MIA/MIN)—Marlins acquired Nick Gordon ($0.2M surplus trade value) for Steven Okert ($3.5M) -March 27 (MIA/NYY/TB)—Marlins acquired Shane Sasaki ($1.3M) and John Cruz ($1.9M) for Jon Berti ($4.7M) -April 6 (MIA/HOU)—Marlins acquired Valente Bellozo (???) and cash considerations for Jacob Amaya ($2.6M) -May 4 (MIA/SD)—Marlins acquired Dillon Head ($8.9M), Jakob Marsee ($5.7M), Nathan Martorella ($4.2M) and Woo-Suk Go ($0.7M) for Luis Arraez ($5.3M) and cash (approx. $7.9M) -July 25 (MIA/AZ)—Marlins acquired Deyvison De Los Santos ($8.0M) and Andrew Pintar ($2.5M) for A.J. Puk ($8.2M) -July 27 (MIA/NYY)—Marlins acquired Agustín Ramírez ($11.1M), Jared Serna ($5.6M) and Abrahan Ramírez (???) for Jazz Chisholm Jr. ($33.6M) -July 30 (MIA/BAL)—Marlins acquired Connor Norby ($10.1M) and Kyle Stowers ($0.1M) for Trevor Rogers ($18.0M) -July 30 (MIA/AZ)—Marlins acquired cash considerations for Josh Bell (-$4.7M) and cash (approx. $3.6M) -July 30 (MIA/SEA)—Marlins acquired Will Schomberg (???) for JT Chargois (-$0.4M) -July 30 (MIA/SD)—Marlins acquired Robby Snelling ($10.6M), Adam Mazur ($8.0M), Graham Pauley ($6.0M) and Jay Beshears ($1.1M) for Tanner Scott ($5.5M) and Bryan Hoeing ($0.1M) -July 30 (MIA/PIT)—Marlins acquired Garret Forrester ($1.1M) and Jun-Seok Shim ($0.8M) for Bryan De La Cruz ($3.2M) -July 30 (MIA/NYM)—Marlins acquired Wilfredo Lara ($0.5M) for Huascar Brazoban ($8.3M) -December 11 (MIA/TEX)—Marlins acquired Echedry Vargas ($7.3M), Max Acosta ($2.4M) and Brayan Mendoza ($0.7M) for Jake Burger ($11.0M) -December 22 (MIA/PHI)—Marlins acquired Starlyn Caba ($22.2M) and Emaarion Boyd ($0.9M) for Jesús Luzardo ($21.9M) and Paul McIntosh ($0.8M) -December 29 (MIA/CHC)—Marlins acquired Matt Mervis ($0.4M) and cash considerations for Vidal Bruján ($0.0M) Some of the Marlins' trades were "rejected" by the BTV model at the time—they got too much in return for Scott/Hoeing and not enough for Chisholm or Rogers. Overall, a total of $132.3 million in surplus value went out and $123.8 million came in. You could argue that the Marlins made up for that $8.5 million gap with waiver wire acquisitions. While many of those claims amounted to nothing, Otto Lopez and Declan Cronin currently hold a combined $15.1 million in surplus value after being designated for assignment less than a year ago. There's also Jonah Bride ($1.6M), who was acquired for cash considerations. The vast majority of MLB veterans traded away by the Fish were under club control beyond 2024. A handful of them have since been released anyway due to downturns in their production combined with rising salaries. At least they got something in return for Berti, Chargois, De La Cruz, etc. before it was too late. As he adds negotiating experience, perhaps Bendix will "fleece" his peers more frequently with the tone and timing of his moves, but ultimately, the key to sustainable winning is player development. Player values change based on projected performance in relation to contracts and years of control. If the Marlins provide their guys with the right coaching guidance and analytical feedback, they'll turn out better than the rest of the industry anticipated.

Signed via international free agency in 2025 ($3.7 million bonus) April 2025 update: Salas is a lean, 6'2" switch-hitter who has excellent plate discipline and the ability to play two premium positions. He has been used most frequently in center field during the first month of his minor league career. Salas' two older brothers, José and Ethan, currently play in the minor leagues and signed their own multi-million dollar deals in 2019 and 2023, respectively. The 17-year-old Salas is the youngest player competing at the Low-A level. FOF Top 30 history January 2025: #2 March 2025: #4 May 2025: #4 June 2025: #3 August 2025: #5 September 2025: #5 October 2025: #6 January 2026: #11 April 2026: #13

Acquired via trade from the Phillies in December 2024 December 2024 update: Boyd made a good impression in his first full pro season, but a promotion to High-A in 2024 was met with a decrease in contact and an increase in whiffs. Against better stuff, particularly breaking stuff out of the zone, Boyd struggled. His lack of loft also persisted as he posted a 52% ground ball rate. Despite being on base much less, Boyd’s speed persisted as he stole another 27 bases. Boyd's defense was still solid as well as he showed the ability to cover all necessary ground and then some in center field, where he saw more time compared to 2023.

Acquired via trade from the Phillies in December 2024 January 2026 update: The headliner coming to Miami in the Jesús Luzardo trade, Caba received a $3 million signing bonus as an international amateur free agent. He is a disciplined hitter from both sides of the plate, but his right-handed swing produces much more impact. He has tallied at least as many walks as strikeouts during each of his first three professional seasons. Defensively, Caba is already nearing MLB readiness. He shows extremely intuitive reads off the bat, goes to both sides of the field, has lightning-quick hands and exceptional athleticism overall. That raises his floor considerably. Caba was the youngest Marlins prospect who participated in the Arizona Fall League this year. Injury history Left thumb sprain in 2025 Professional awards/accolades/milestones 2025 Fall Stars Game selection 2026 Spring Breakout participant FOF Top 30 history March 2025: #2 May 2025: #5 June 2025: #4 August 2025: #8 September 2025: #7 October 2025: #9 January 2026: #8 April 2026: #6

Acquired via trade from the Yankees in July 2024 April 2025 update: Ramírez played third base in his organizational debut with Low-A Jupiter. Professional awards/accolades 2024 Florida Complex League All-Star

Welcome to the Miami Marlins, Eric Wagaman. The 27-year-old former Los Angeles Angel is Miami's first major league free agent signing of the offseason, receiving a one-year split contract as announced by the club on Friday afternoon. Utility man Vidal Bruján was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. The AP reports that Wagaman gets a $770,000 salary if he sticks in the major leagues, slightly above the $760,000 MLB minimum. He'll earn a pro-rated $200,000 salary for any time spent in the minors. He has all three of his minor league options remaining. Wagaman entered the pros in 2017 as a 13th-round draft pick and stayed with the New York Yankees organization through the 2023 season, never topping 88 games played in a single season. The Angels picked him in the minor league phase of last winter's Rule 5 Draft. With health and opportunity on his side, he hit well against Double-A and Triple-A competition (.274/.339/.469, 129 wRC+, 17 HR and 10 SB in 121 G). Wagaman made his MLB debut on September 10 and served as the Angels' everyday third baseman during the final few weeks of the 2024 season (.250/.270/.403, 86 wRC+, 2 HR and 0 SB in 18 G). The Angels non-tendered Wagaman in November and he elected free agency. Wagaman crushed left-handed pitching prior to his call-up, slashing .365/.421/.615 in 114 plate appearances with the platoon advantage. That's probably what the Marlins liked most about him—their offense collectively had a 75 wRC+ versus lefties last season, ahead of only the Chicago White Sox. ujwp7m.mp4 Defensively, Wagaman rarely played anywhere but first base while in the Yankees system. That changed in 2024. From the start of the season through mid-June, he played a combination of first, left field and right field. The hot corner became his primary position during the second half. If Jonah Bride (1B) and Connor Norby (3B) continue to get everyday reps entering 2025 (like they did to close out 2024), Wagaman figures to see most of his action at left, right and DH. If Wagaman works out, he still has all of his club control ahead of him (at least three years away from arbitration eligibility and at least six years away from free agency). As for Bruján, his lone Marlins season (.222/.303/.319, 73 wRC+, 2 HR and 5 SB in 102 G) was the finest of his major league career, but that's not saying much. He made very poor quality of contact and lacked the athleticism or intangibles to compensate for that. His best asset was his versatility, making appearances at every position on the diamond except for catcher. Despite his impressive prospect pedigree, the Dominican switch-hitter is at best a replacement-level player. Prospect Javier Sanoja and minor league signing Ronny Simon are candidates to occupy Bruján's role in 2025. Miami's 40-man roster remains full.

Originally published on November 21, this article has been updated following a report from The Athletic that the Miami Marlins are "expected to be among the highest revenue-sharing recipients next year," pressuring them to substantially increase payroll or else risk a grievance from the Major League Baseball Players Association. With Jesús Luzardo off the books for 2025, the Marlins are projected for one of Major League Baseball's lowest payrolls. Even by their usually frugal standards, it's an ugly look. For luxury tax calculation purposes, which includes player benefits and other miscellaneous expenses, Roster Resource has them just shy of $83 million. While it's obvious that the Marlins will not be ready to contend for the postseason, there are potential transactions to be made that would continue to bolster their farm system. What if that payroll flexibility was used to facilitate salary dumps? The Marlins could offer to take on an underperforming veteran player who's nearing the end of their contract, accepting the responsibility for most/all of their remaining salary. To balance out the trade, the other team would be expected to include one or more prospects. It helps the other team reallocate funds towards free agents who can actually help them win games, while giving Miami more candidates to develop into long-term contributors. The table below was featured in a recent report from The Athletic's Evan Drellich about the future of MLB's television rights. Many teams have had to accept a reduction in rights fees while transitioning away from the traditional regional sports network model or renegotiating with their RSN partner. The Marlins are among the few who are getting "effectively the same" revenue that they originally forecasted, and they ought to leverage that to expedite their rebuild. Here are four players around the league making way more money than they're worth who I could see being bundled with prospects on their way out the door. Christian Vázquez (Minnesota Twins) 0.8 fWAR in 2024 Owed $10M in 2025 This one was included in my Marlins offseason blueprint. The Twins have a top-heavy roster with Carlos Correa, Pablo López and Byron Buxton accounting for a massive percentage of their total payroll. With that trio being essential to their competitive chances, they'll need to shed money elsewhere to re-emerge with a better overall roster come Opening Day. The 34-year-old Vázquez is a two-time World Series champion who still provides good defense, but his bat has declined to the point where he's best suited for a backup role. He could be a valuable mentor to Marlins catching prospects Agustín Ramírez and Joe Mack. Steven Matz (St. Louis Cardinals) 0.1 fWAR in 2024 Owed $12.5M in 2025 cd2d11a2-3c79bb5e-ab144d72-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 The Cardinals have been particularly forthcoming about their plans to cut payroll next season. Veteran right-handers Sonny Gray and Miles Mikolas might be on the move, but I can't imagine Bruce Sherman taking on that much money. In addition to being oft-injured during his Cardinals tenure, Matz has been humbled with multiple demotions to the bullpen. Perhaps the Marlins pitching staff is depleted by spring training injuries for the second straight year and it creates a starting rotation void for him to fill. Otherwise, he profiles as a low-leverage reliever. Kenta Maeda (Detroit Tigers) 0.0 fWAR in 2024 Owed $10M in 2025 The elephant on the Tigers' books is Javier Báez. He is completely immovable with three years still left on his deal. Maeda is an older, right-handed version of Matz who could conceivably have some value to the 2025 Marlins because of his versatility and reliable strike-throwing. Myles Straw (Cleveland Guardians) 0.0 fWAR in 2024 Owed $6.4M in 2025 and $7.4M in 2026 Here is Straw's top highlight with the Guardians from the past year: d11ed25d-ad122de9-0a44b8c0-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 That's from February 26. Yes, very early in spring training. Straw was outrighted to the minors at the end of spring camp and spent all but one week of the 2024 season playing in Triple-A. Clearly, he is not in Cleveland's plans moving forward. The Guardians surprisingly won the AL Central title despite paying Straw to do nothing. To repeat as champs of a deep division, they'll have to be more efficient. Straw might not have a role to fill with the Fish, either. He's a prototypical defensive replacement/pinch-runner. Finding room for the 30-year-old on their active roster will depend on how they align the rest of the outfield. Because of that uncertainty and the total guaranteed dollars owed to him, this trade should bring back more valuable prospect(s) than the others.

I've decided to temporarily make Offishial News a weekly series that runs every Monday from now through the start of spring training (when there will once again be articles every single weekday). And what a day to run a new edition in the aftermath of Sunday's four-player trade that sent Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies. 🔷 Since last spring training, a Luzardo trade has just been a matter of "when" rather than "if." The Marlins never seriously engaged in contract extension talks with the talented left-hander despite coming off a great 2023 season, and they were reportedly intent on flipping him for prospects prior to the 2024 trade deadline had he not suffered a back injury. Despite not having appeared in a game since June 16, the Cubs made an aggressive push for Luzardo earlier this month. The Phillies swooped in after that fell through. 🔷 It's the first Marlins/Phillies swap since the J.T. Realmuto blockbuster nearly six years earlier. At least for one season, Luzardo and Realmuto will get to be battery mates. 🔷 The Fish also parted with C/OF Paul McIntosh in the trade. You may recall that McIntosh mashed his way onto the back end of the FOF Top 30 list in the not-too-distant past. However, the Marlins have made it clear how they feel about him, acquiring Agustín Ramírez from the Yankees, selecting Liam Hicks in the Rule 5 Draft and even allowing Jhonny Pereda to cling onto their 40-man roster. Already 27 years old, McIntosh didn't have path to the majors with them in 2025. Wishing all the best to P-Mac. 🔷 The headliner in the Luzardo/McIntosh package is INF Starlyn Caba, who immediately becomes Miami's top position player prospect. Having just turned 19 years old, Caba is a plus runner and potentially elite defender at shortstop. Although he barely hit his own weight for Low-A Clearwater in 2024, he drew more walks than strikeouts. Expect Caba to spend the majority of next season repeating Low-A. 🔷 The Marlins are also buying low on OF Emaarion Boyd. The 21-year-old Mississippian is another speedster who had a .239/.316/.330 slash line (90 wRC+) at High-A. 🔷 Barring further offseason moves, the Marlins should have an intriguing competition for the final spot in their starting rotation, with Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers, Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera poised to take the other spots (health permitting). 🔷 Listen here to the instant reaction to the trade, featuring myself and several FOF staffers. 🔷 Peter Bendix said on Sunday that the 2025 Marlins major league coaching staff isn't quite ready to be announced, but we're seemingly nearing the finish line. Alon Leichman will be Miami's assistant pitching coach and assistant pitching director. 🔷 The Savannah Bananas return to loanDepot park from March 1-2 and have already announced that each of their two events have sold out (74,000 combined tickets). It could be a very, very long time before consecutive Marlins home games draw that kind of crowd. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, it was an extremely busy weekend. The Mets re-signed Sean Manaea (3-YR/$75M). The Yankees signed Paul Goldschmidt (1-YR/$12.5M). Rangers and Joc Pedersen have reached an agreement (contract terms not yet known). In what amounts to a corresponding move, Texas dealt Nathaniel Lowe to the Nationals in exchange for Robert Garcia. As a result, old friend Jake Burger is poised to play a lot of first base in 2025. The Guardians traded Josh Naylor to the Diamondbacks for Slade Cecconi and a Competitive Balance Round B draft pick, then filled their own 1B void by reuniting with Carlos Santana (1-YR/$12M). Wil Myers announced his retirement. One of the best players in baseball history, Rickey Henderson, died at the age of 65. Marlins podcast episodes

The Miami Marlins have been willing to consider trade offers for left-hander Jesús Luzardo ever since Peter Bendix took over their front office, but the latest negotiations involving him recently hit a snag, according to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score. During a radio interview on Wednesday night, Levine said he didn't know what went awry. His best guess is an issue with player physicals may have prevented the Chicago Cubs from continuing to work toward a deal. The Marlins and Cubs were far enough along in talks last weekend to exchange specific prospect names, per Levine. "Marlins want young controllable bat back," he tweeted on Saturday, adding that either outfielder Owen Caissie or second baseman James Triantos would likely be sent to Miami if they could finalize the trade. Caissie is the fourth-ranked Cubs prospect on Baseball America's list and widely regarded as a Top 100 prospect across Major League Baseball. He slashed .278/.375/.472 at Triple-A last season (121 wRC+) with 19 home runs and 11 stolen bases in 127 games. The No. 7 Cubs prospect, Triantos was equally productive offensively at Double-A/Triple-A, though more so because of his contact ability and speed (.300/.346/.427, 123 wRC+, 7 HR, 47 SB in 115 G). Both players are entering their age-22 season. It would be unsurprising if the lumbar stress reaction that sidelined Luzardo for the majority of 2024 complicated the negotiations. The 27-year-old is expected to be full ready for spring training, but he has not pitched in a game since June 16 when his fastball velocity plummeted to 3 mph below his season average. That's why it always seemed more logical for the Marlins to hold onto him entering 2025, at least long enough to make several Grapefruit League appearances and demonstrate he has regained the quality of stuff he previously had. As Sean McCormack wrote about on Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles and Minnesota Twins are among the teams that could potentially pursue Luzardo if the Cubs turn their attention to other pitchers.

Covering the Miami Marlins from out of market, I stream all of their games via MLB.TV. Yes, all of them, even throughout the slog that was their 2024 regular season. It was apparent instantly that the Marlins would not be competitive, and as the summer wore on, their major league roster was largely populated by placeholders who were unlikely to have a future with the organization. But no excuses: in the interest of providing thorough coverage, I continued to watch. Every pitch of every Marlins game? Not quite. I would switch over to the radio broadcast if my dog needed to go on a mid-game walk. At least a handful of times, I checked out in the late innings of a blowout. Some commitments I made to family and friends unavoidably overlapped, preventing me from witnessing all 26 of the home runs allowed by Roddery Muñoz. Please forgive me. Actually, only 146 of Miami's 162 games were available to me live on MLB.TV. There were 15 games against the New York Mets and New York Yankees affected by regional blackouts and one against the Cleveland Guardians shown exclusively on FS1. I attended some of those in person and watched the rest on cable. The annual MLB.TV recap that was emailed to me on Wednesday verifies my extensive, borderline unhealthy Marlins viewing habits, stating that I reached my max of 146 games. It was also unsurprising to see all 30 teams included in the recap (select Yankees and Mets games were exempt from blackouts through Roku's series of Sunday broadcasts). However, I was shocked to learn that my next most-streamed team was the 121-loss Chicago White Sox, followed closely by the 101-loss Colorado Rockies. Those were the three very worst MLB teams of 2024. Despite how it looks, I swear, Marcello, I'm not "addicted to watching bad baseball." Without having the hard data to prove it, I'm confident the American League pennant-winning Yankees were really my No. 2 team in terms of total games, somewhere in the 110-125 game range. My routine was to watch the Marlins on my computer on a full-screen setting, at least during the somewhat competitive portions of the game. I regularly watched the Yankees on a second (muted) screen during the many instances when they and the Marlins played at the same time. MLB.TV fails to account for that. If the Marlins game grew dull, I'd often open the stream of another live MLB.TV game and split my screen between the two. The caveat is, I strongly prefer to watch games from the beginning rather than joining midway through. That meant a lot more of my attention devoted to teams playing outside the eastern time zone. Not to pile on the White Sox and Rockies, but I'm unimpressed by their current local television booths. Particularly in Chicago's case, I almost always switched to the video feed of their opponent's TV broadcast for entertainment and informational purposes. Although I watched a ton of bad baseball, at least I wasn't listening as partisan voices attempted to excuse it. Overall, I got a glimpse of more than half of all MLB games that were played in 2024. MLB.TV had me at 1,157 games, which is 47.6% of the 2,430 total, then add on the Yankees and dozens of national TV exclusives that I saw outside of the app. Rest assured, the gap wasn't so large between my viewership of terrible teams compared to the rest of the league. If anybody reading this also accrued way too much MLB.TV mileage last season, feel free to share your recap graphic in the comments.