Ely Sussman

On Monday out in the desert, OF Andrew Pintar went 2-for-4 with two stolen bases and UTIL Dalvy Rosario went 0-for-3. The Peoria Javelinas lost, 7-1. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Clayton McCullough was officially named the new Marlins manager. Here is the full press release about it with quotes from Bruce Sherman, Peter Bendix and McCullough, who wants to install "a culture that is built on determination, focus, and care.” His introductory press conference is likely to be sometime next week. 🔷 Not official yet, but per multiple reports including one from Andrew Baggarly and Katie Woo of The Athletic, Miami's new hitting coach will be Pedro Guerrero. When Gabe Kapler managed the Phillies and Giants, Guerrero was on both of those coaching staffs, and now they're reuniting in Miami. The former infielder turns 36 next month. In 2024, John Mabry, Bill Mueller and Jason Hart combined to coach the Marlins' major league hitters. The team struggled in terms of both plate discipline and power, though there was significant improvement during the second half of the season. 🔷 Fish On First ran a Twitter poll asking how long McCullough would last as manager. The vast majority took under 4.5 seasons. 🔷 In wrapping up the Choque de Gigantes tournament, Marlins president of baseball operations Caroline O'Connor said that FanFest will be held on February 8, which is the Saturday before pitchers and catchers report to spring training. It's a return to normalcy after last year's edition was awkwardly held on the final Friday of January. 🔷 One more plug for our new Bluesky account! As far as I know, FOF is the only outlet on the nascent social media network that is providing daily Marlins content. 🔷 As currently constructed, the Marlins roster is projected for the fourth-fewest fWAR in the majors, writes MLB.com's Mike Petriello. They're ahead of the Nationals, White Sox and Rockies. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, finalists were announced for each of the major BBWAA awards. The award winners have already been selected, but they're keeping it under wraps until next week and teasing us with the candidates who finished top three in the voting. Of note, Paul Skenes is the first rookie to be a Cy Young finalist since José Fernández in 2013. Marlins podcast episodes

You see it all the time from players who just contributed to a World Series title. Days after winning it all, a bunch of them get to test free agency, and oftentimes, the best contract offer they receive comes from a team that's substantially worse. The window is so tiny for them to make careers out of their athletic gifts. When it's a difference of many millions of dollars or an expanded role that positions the player to earn many millions of dollars the next offseason, they understandably prioritize that over running it back with the reigning champs. Concluding a six-week managerial search, the Miami Marlins are hiring Clayton McCullough as we learned on Sunday night. Approaching his 45th birthday, McCullough is getting his first opportunity to manage at the major league level. He's joining a club that holds its spring training camp in Jupiter, Florida, which is where his family already makes their offseason home. Frugal as the Marlins are known to be, his new skipper's salary will certainly exceed whatever he made as Los Angeles Dodgers first base coach. Seems like a no-brainer. And yet, I was surprised to find that McCullough's move has no precedent over the last couple decades. Coming off a championship, it's typical for all of the key members of the MLB coaching staff to be retained. While they covet money and promotions just like players do, they have time on their side. Exceptional coaches are invited to interview for bigger jobs every offseason, and the qualities and experiences that make them exceptional are not at risk of suddenly vanishing. They don't have to act like mercenaries. Shoutout to the BR Bullpen from Baseball-Reference for expediting this research. According to their encyclopedic entries, the last time a major league coach for a World Series-winning team left the following winter to manage a different team was Alex Cora. The bench coach for the 2017 Houston Astros, Cora was hired by the Boston Red Sox. However, this comes with a couple key distinctions. Cora accepted the gig in between the end of the American League Championship Series and the start of the Fall Classic—he didn't know whether or not the Astros would win it all! Secondly, the Red Sox team he took over had won consecutive AL East titles and spent aggressively in the process. It turns out that in 2018, he'd be managing a roster with the highest payroll in baseball. He was hopping from one competitive situation to another. Prior to Cora, the most recent example I see is old friend Ozzie Guillén. After serving as third base coach for the triumphant 2003 Florida Marlins, he left to manage the Chicago White Sox. As was the case with Cora's Red Sox, Guillén's new club was already positioned to contend and quickly won a championship themselves. McCullough knows that he's taking a less glamorous job in Miami. The 2025 Marlins are not being assembled to maximize wins. They should improve upon this past season's 62-100 record, but finishing any higher than last place in the NL East would constitute an upset. All other coaches in recent memory have decided to be more patient/selective in pursuit of their managerial ambitions coming off a WS title. A few examples: Dave Martinez—2016 Chicago Cubs coach, 2018 Washington Nationals manager Brandon Hyde—2016 Chicago Cubs coach, 2019 Baltimore Orioles manager Pedro Grifol—2015 Kansas City Royals coach, 2023 Chicago White Sox manager It made sense for both McCullough and the Marlins to explore the possibility of a partnership, but ultimately, it's surprising that they wound up together considering the circumstances.

On Friday, OF Kemp Alderman and OF Andrew Pintar were named National League Fall Stars. The Fall Star Game is being held tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET, airing on MLB Network and MLB.com. Pintar is expected to appear in the game, but not Alderman. In the Dominican Winter League, Deyvison De Los Santos went 1-for-4 and played third base again. Troy Johnston went 0-for-5. Here's more Marlins news and content as the wait for a managerial hire continues: 🔷 Fish On First is now actively posting on Bluesky! If you use it yourself, please give us a follow as we branch out to yet another social media network. 🔷 In renegotiating their local television deal with FanDuel Sports Network Florida, the Marlins "did not need to accept a large rights fee reduction," per the Miami Herald's Barry Jackson. For context, the Cardinals are getting roughly 25% less from FDSN Midwest than they were originally guaranteed. 🔷 I took a closer look at the Marlins' decision to select RHP Luarbert Arias to their 40-man roster. He has Andrew Nardi-like potential. 🔷 This offseason's cut-off for Super Two arbitration eligibility has been set at two years and 132 days. Tough break for Jake Burger (2.127), who fell five days short of that. Instead of getting a pay raise of a couple million dollars, he will earn a tick above the league minimum's salary in 2025 and become first-time arb-eligible in 2026. Without any financial incentive to trade him, Burger is highly likely to open next season with the Fish. 🔷 Congrats to Jake and his wife Ashlyn on the birth of their second child, Penelope Pearl. She has been diagnosed with Down syndrome. "The love and support we felt from our family and from those (in) the community with children that have special needs has been mind-blowing and has allowed us to feel a sense of purpose," the Burgers told People. "We know our journey is just beginning with our sweet Penelope but knowing the love and support around us makes that easier." 🔷 Dylan White of Baseball America reveals which minor league pitchers ranked highest in BA's Stuff+ model this season, sorted by age: Among 18-year-olds, LHP Keyner Benitez (95 STF+) ranked 10th. Among 19-year-olds, RHP Eliazar Dishmey (112 STF+), LHP Thomas White (109 STF+) and RHP Noble Meyer (108 STF+) ranked second, fourth and sixth, respectively. Among 20-year-olds, RHP Karson Milbrandt (108 STF+) ranked 10th. Among 21-year-olds, RHP Xavier Meachem (111 STF+) ranked eighth. Among 22-year-olds, RHP Josh Ekness (119 STF+) ranked second. 🔷 The Chiba Lotte Marines announced they will begin the process of posting RHP Roki Sasaki. Sasaki, who just turned 23, has a career 2.10 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 32.7 K% in four NPB seasons, and he throws gas. On talent alone, Sasaki's market value would be comparable to Yoshinobu Yamamoto's, who signed with the Dodgers for $325M last winter, but due to his age, MLB considers Sasaki an international amateur free agent. That means his signing bonus is capped at whatever teams have available in their international bonus pools. Presumably, Chiba Lotte will wait so that Sasaki's signing takes place on January 15 or later when the 2025 IFA period begins and teams' bonus pools are replenished. The Marlins will have a bonus pool of $7,555,500, the vast majority of which has already been unofficially committed to Latin American players. Throughout the past year, the industry's assumption has been that the Dodgers are favorites to land Sasaki, but the restrictions on his contract value level the playing field. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Estrellas Orientales and Navegantes del Magallanes won their games on the first day of the Choque de Gigantes tournament at loanDepot park. Follow Fish On First's Kevin Barral for on-site coverage of the rest of the tournament. The Phillies promoted Preston Mattingly—yes, Don's son—from assistant general manager to GM. Zach Neto (Angels) underwent shoulder surgery that may impact his availability for Opening Day.

With all due respect to the Savannah Bananas, traditional baseball is about to return to loanDepot park. Seven weeks removed from the final 2024 Miami Marlins homestand, teams from international winter leagues featuring dozens of past and present MLB players will convene for the inaugural Choque de Gigantes (Battle of Giants) tournament. Click any of the links below to jump to a specific section: What is Choque de Gigantes? Game Schedule & Concert Lineup Familiar Names How to Watch/Listen What is Choque de Gigantes This three-day interleague tournament, which runs from November 8-10, 2024, brings together winter ball teams from the Dominican Republic (LIDOM), Venezuela (LVBP) and Puerto Rico (LBPRC) under the same roof. It's an unprecedented logistical experiment taking place in the middle of the Dominican and Venezuelan regular seasons and right at the start of the 2024-25 Puerto Rican season. This year's participants are Navegantes del Magallanes (LVBP), Leones del Caracas (LVBP), Cardenales de Lara (LVBP), Criollos de Caguas (LBPRC), Cangrejeros de Santurce (LBPRC) and Estrellas Orientales (LIDOM). Game Schedule & Concert Lineup The loser of the opening game (Pool A) between Estrellas Orientales and Cardenales de Lara is one-and-done. Whoever triumphs in the semifinal matchup between the Pool A and Pool B winners will play three times. The other teams will play two games apiece. All concerts will be held on the West Plaza. Friday, November 8 3:00 p.m. Pool A: Estrellas Orientales vs. Cardenales de Lara Tickets (starting at $8 plus fees) Parking (starting at $20 plus fees) 6:00 p.m. Concert: Adelmo Gauna y Sus Cokis 8:00 p.m. Pool B: Navegantes del Magallanes vs. Leones del Caracas Tickets (starting at $34 plus fees) Parking (starting at $25 plus fees) Saturday, November 9 1:00 p.m. Pool C: winner of Pool A vs. winner of Pool B Tickets (starting at $11 plus fees) Parking (starting at $20 plus fees) 4:00 p.m. Concert: Charlie Aponte 6:00 p.m. Pool D: Cangrejeros de Santurce vs. Criollos de Caguas Tickets (starting at $19 plus fees) Parking (starting at $25 plus fees) Sunday, November 10 1:00 p.m. Pool E (third-place game): loser of Pool B vs. loser of Pool D Tickets (starting at $10 plus fees) Parking (starting at $20 plus fees) 4:00 p.m. Concert: Porfi Baloa y sus Adolescentes 6:00 p.m. Pool F (final): winner of Pool C vs. winner of Pool D Tickets (starting at $19 plus fees) Parking (starting at $25 plus fees) Familiar Names The following players with multiple seasons of MLB experience are listed on their teams' active rosters (former Marlins): Abraham Almonte (Estrellas Orientales) Oswaldo Arcia (Leones del Caracas) José Barrero (Estrellas Orientales) Vidal Bruján (Estrellas Orientales) Diego Castillo (Navegantes del Magallanes) Max Castillo (Cardenales de Lara) Alex Claudio (Criollos de Caguas) Yonathan Daza (Leones del Caracas) José De León (Criollos de Caguas) Felix Doubront (Cangrejeros de Santurce) Edwin Escobar (Cardenales de Lara) Neftalí Feliz (Estrellas Orientales) Deolis Guerra (Navegantes del Magallanes) Junior Guerra (Navegantes del Magallanes) Gorkys Hernández (Cardenales de Lara) Travis Lakins Sr. (Criollos de Caguas) Zac Lowther (Estrellas Orientales) Vimael Machín (Criollos de Caguas) Tucupita Marcano (Navegantes del Magallanes) Richie Martin (Criollos de Caguas) Diego Moreno (Cardenales de Lara) Vidal Nuño (Leones del Caracas) Peter O'Brien (Navegantes del Magallanes) Spencer Patton (Estrellas Orientales) José Peraza (Navegantes del Magallanes) René Pinto (Leones del Caracas) Wilin Rosario (Estrellas Orientales) Keyvius Sampson (Cardenales de Lara) Ali Sánchez (Cardenales de Lara) Pablo Sandoval (Navegantes del Magallanes) Miguel Sanó (Estrellas Orientales) Héctor Santiago (Criollos de Caguas) Frank Schwindel (Estrellas Orientales) Magneuris Sierra (Estrellas Orientales) Alfredo Simon (Navegantes del Magallanes) Raimel Tapia (Estrellas Orientales) Tomás Telis (Cardenales de Lara) Wilfredo Tovar (Leones del Caracas) Ildemaro Vargas (Cardenales de Lara) How to Watch/Listen In the United States, FOX Deportes (Spanish) and MLB Network (English) will be the exclusive television broadcasting homes of the tournament airing across both networks and their streaming platforms. The Marlins have also reached agreements with 1Baseball Network, DAZN, FOX Sports, Meridiano Televisión, SimpleTV, Televen, and WAPA TV to broadcast the series internationally.

It's shaping up to be a "let the kids play" type of season for the Miami Marlins in 2025 where they will lean heavily on individuals with limited MLB experience. Some are poised to get their very first taste of the majors, such as right-handed reliever Luarbert Arias. Although Arias was passed over for opportunities late in the 2024 campaign when the Marlins were scrambling for bullpen arms, they expressed their affection by selecting him to the 40-man roster on Monday to avoid losing him in minor league free agency. Signed by the San Diego Padres out of Venezuela in 2017, Arias had only progressed to the Low-A level by the end of the 2021 season. The Marlins took a flier on him in the minor league phase of that year's Rule 5 Draft. In three seasons since then, Arias ranks tied for second among all Marlins prospects with 112 MiLB pitching appearances. That is a testament to his durability—zero injured list stints—and also how conservative his development has been. In most cases, if you post a sub-3.00 ERA and 30% strikeout rate over such an extended period with no health concerns, you stop accruing minor league stats because you get called up! That call-up should be coming at some point next year now that Arias is on the 40-man and has a full season of Triple-A reps under his belt. He battled through inconsistent stretches at the beginning and end of 2024, but for three months right in the middle, from May 17 through August 18, he surrendered only three earned runs in 36 ⅔ innings pitched (0.74 ERA). Arias limits hard contact for the most part. With Jacksonville, the average exit velocity against him was 87.7 mph, identical to what Anthony Bender allowed for the Marlins. Bender ranked in the 78th percentile among qualified MLB pitchers. A key difference between them, however, is that Bender reliably induces ground balls while Arias has been an extreme flyball pitcher. He has had a 30.2 GB% since joining the Marlins org—that is just barely outside the bottom 1% of all minor leaguers with 100-plus innings pitched during the same span. Also, Arias does not spin the ball with the same proficiency as Bender. Arias' fastball velo varies quite a bit, peaking at 99 mph, but dipping as low as 90 mph (average of 94.2 mph). Here he is freezing future teammate Connor Norby at 97 mph for a ꓘ. R1pQYllfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0JnbFRWVlpRQlFFQVdnUUFWUUFBQWxkZkFGbFdVMWdBVndBRUNRRlhWMVZSQmxFRA==.mp4 Arias posted extreme reverse platoon splits in 2024, allowing a .807 OPS to right-handed batters and a .541 OPS to lefties. That looks to be a mirage created by batted ball luck. His home run, strikeout and walk rates held very steady regardless of handedness, and he didn't have meaningful splits in 2022 or 2023. In terms of pitch mix and characteristics, delivery and body type, Arias resembles a right-handed version of Andrew Nardi. The Marlins' decision to select him would be validated if he's able to mirror Nardi's effectiveness.

Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix spoke to MLB.com's Martin Gallegos during this week's just-completed GM Meetings in San Antonio, Texas. As relayed via Christina De Nicola's Marlins Beat newsletter, here is what Bendix said in regard to possible offseason player movement: "We will be very much involved in the free-agent market. We will be very much involved in the trade market. There's a lot of different ways that we can make our club better.” You will recall that last offseason—Bendix's first as Miami's POBO—he utterly failed to make the club better. With the Marlins coming off a 2023 postseason berth, his most accomplished acquisitions, shortstop Tim Anderson and catcher Christian Bethancourt, struggled so badly that both were released before the All-Star break. Anderson was the only member of the 2023-24 free agent class to receive a guaranteed major league deal from the Fish. This time around, Bendix has more payroll flexibility with which to operate, but external expectations for the club are lower coming off a 62-100 campaign. Fish On First has highlighted Harrison Bader, John Brebbia, Jakob Junis and Yoán Moncada as free agents who should be attainable on short-term, relatively cheap deals.

On Wednesday out in the desert, Brandon White (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 35 pitches/20 strikes) couldn't complete the first inning, largely because he was betrayed by the defense behind him. Dalvy Rosario went 0-for-3. The Peoria Javelinas lost, 8-1, committing six errors along the way. In the Dominican Winter League, Jesús Sánchez went 0-for-2, Deyvison De Los Santos went 0-for-4 and played third base, Vidal Bruján went 0-for-4 with a walk and Troy Johnston went 0-for-2. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 At the GM Meetings, Peter Bendix indicated that the Marlins are nearly done with their managerial search, per MLB Network's Jon Morosi and the New York Post's Jon Heyman. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald added that Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough completed his in-person interview already, so feels like we're just waiting for McCullough to formally accept the position. It's frankly unclear who else they would pivot to if he turns them down. 🔷 The following Marlins minor leaguers reached the end of their contracts and elected free agency on Monday: RHP Delvis Alegre, RHP Elvis Alvarado, C Will Banfield, RHP Justin Evans, OF Diego Infante, RHP Yeuris Jimenez, RHP Angel Macuare, RHP Robinson Martinez, LHP Luis Palacios, RHP Edgar Sánchez and RHP Raffi Vizcaino. The organization also released RHP Angel Hernández, OF José Made and RHP Juan Ortega. In the aftermath of these moves, Nick Fortes is the only member of the Marlins' 2018 draft class who is still around. 🔷 Baseball America updated their ranking of the top 10 Marlins prospects for 2025. Unsurprisingly, LHP Thomas White is No. 1. Most notably, BA has OF Luis Cova ranked fourth, OF Jakob Marsee ranked 10th and 1B Deyvison De Los Santos excluded. To me, that shows they heavily prioritize plate discipline when projecting how these players will fare in the majors. 🔷 A former Marlins top prospect himself, Sixto Sánchez has fallen far short of fulfilling his potential. Then again, so did many of the pitchers who highly regarded entering the 2021 season. 🔷 Louis Addeo-Weiss likes reliever John Brebbia as a reclamation project for the Marlins. 🔷 The inaugural Choque de Gigantes is being held at loanDepot park beginning on Friday. Here's my guide to enjoying this winter ball tournament. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, longtime Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks signed a one-year, $2.5M deal with the Angels. The Padres extended manager Mike Shildt through the 2027 season. The Padres went 93-69 in Shildt's first season at the helm, an 11-win improvement from the previous year. Shohei Ohtani underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a labrum tear in his left shoulder. He is expected to be ready for spring training. Marlins podcast episodes

The Miami Marlins finally moved on from Sixto Sánchez. The decision was obvious and overdue, but it's shocking nonetheless to reflect on. Just a few years ago, Sánchez was a legitimate candidate to emerge as the franchise's most valuable and most marketable player; now, he is more expendable than Mike Baumann or Jhonny Pereda. Sánchez was a highly regarded prospect at the time of his acquisition in February 2019. As far as I can recall, Marlins fans were not excited about trading J.T. Realmuto, but getting somebody with his upside as the deal's centerpiece was making the best of a bad scenario. His stock only went up following an impressive handful of major league starts in 2020. The Marlins overcame a COVID outbreak to sneak into an expanded postseason field. If not for Sixto, they likely would've fallen short of that achievement. Sánchez's prospect eligibility remained intact entering 2021. He was still only 22 years old and had pitched at a 4-5 fWAR level when extrapolated over a full-length season. Understandably, practically every reputable national outlet ranked him among MLB's top prospects. Baseball America had him at No. 6, FanGraphs had him at No. 39 and MLB Pipeline had him at No. 15. Four seasons isn't quite enough to gauge what a former prospect has become in some cases, but I thought you would find this context useful. The following pitchers were also consensus Top 50 MLB prospects according to the pre-2021 Baseball America, FanGraphs and MLB Pipeline lists: RHP Ian Anderson—108 ERA+ and 3.8 fWAR in 272.1 IP RHP Logan Gilbert—106 ERA+ and 12.4 fWAR in 704.1 IP LHP MacKenzie Gore—97 ERA+ and 5.2 fWAR in 372.2 IP LHP Asa Lacy—no MLB experience RHP Matt Manning—94 ERA+ and 2.7 fWAR in 254.0 IP RHP Max Meyer—77 ERA+ and -0.4 fWAR in 63.0 IP RHP Casey Mize—97 ERA+ and 2.4 fWAR in 291.0 IP RHP Luis Patiño—82 ERA+ and 0.0 fWAR in 136.1 IP RHP Nate Pearson—89 ERA+ and -0.2 fWAR in 142.0 IP RHP Grayson Rodriguez—95 ERA+ and 3.8 fWAR in 238.2 IP RHP Sixto Sánchez—97 ERA+ and 1.1 fWAR in 74.2 IP LHP Tarik Skubal—123 ERA+ and 12.5 fWAR in 571.1 IP Skubal and Gilbert are now in a tier of their own. The former should win the 2024 AL Cy Young award unanimously, while the latter led the league in innings pitched. They have turned into exactly the kind of top-of-the-rotation arms that talent evaluators envisioned. On the other end of the spectrum, there is Sánchez and Lacy. It's unlikely that either of them ever makes another start or high-leverage appearance in the majors again. In large part due to injuries, their careers may be unsalvageable. Everybody else is somewhere in between. This is not only a Sixto Sánchez article, but a Thomas White article as well. White has been Fish On First's top-ranked Marlins farmhand throughout the last six months. Entering 2025, I would expect the rest of the industry to agree on that (BA already does). He has a tantalizing combination of pitch quality, results against older competition and physical projectability. Assuming White is still prospect-eligible in 2026—his age-21 season—he should be a consensus Top 50 guy, just like Sánchez was a half-decade earlier. The hype is deserved...and yet it does not guarantee anything. Pitcher health is so unpredictable, and the talent gap between the upper minors and the majors has never been bigger. By 2030, White could be the ace of the Marlins or he could be a Triple-A afterthought. At FOF, we get to know Miami prospects thoroughly on and off the field. We'll make educated guesses about what they're ultimately gonna become, but particularly on the pitching side, the range of outcomes will always be wide.

On Monday out in the desert, OF Andrew Pintar went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and UTIL Dalvy Rosario went 0-for-2 with a walk. The Peoria Javelinas won for change, 3-2. However, it's mathematically impossible for them to get back to the .500 mark by season's end. The Arizona Fall League announced its eight home run derby participants. OF Kemp Alderman is tied for second in the league in homers, but he was not included after having missed two full weeks and counting for his wedding and honeymoon. In the Dominican Winter League, OF Jesús Sánchez went 2-for-3 with 1 RBI and UTIL Vidal Bruján went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI. Troy Johnston's 13-game hit streak was snapped. I put together a brief highlight package of the streak. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Sixto Sánchez's Marlins tenure is over. Rated as the organization's top pitching prospect as recently as 2021, his career has collapsed due to chronic shoulder issues. Rather than reinstate him from the 60-day injured list, the Marlins passed him through waivers and he elected free agency on Monday. 🔷 Marlins relievers John McMillon, Anthony Maldonado and Michael Petersen were claimed off waivers by the Phillies, Athletics and Blue Jays, respectively. McMillon and Maldonado were on the short list of most dominant relievers in the minor leagues in 2023, but the former finished this season with an elbow injury, and the latter is very reliant on his slider and had shaky results in his first taste of the majors. I still would've held onto Maldonado in order to evaluate him further in spring training rather than to essentially lose him for nothing. 🔷 Lefty Josh Simpson passed through waivers without being claimed. As a 2019 draft pick, he has to remain with the Fish for another year before qualifying for minor league free agency. Simpson missed the first half of 2024 while recovering from left elbow ulnar neuritis and upon returning to action, the life and command of his fastball just wasn't there, contributing to a 6.19 ERA in 16 innings against MiLB competition. He owns a terrific 34.9% strikeout rate over the course of his minor league career and figures to be at spring training as a non-roster invitee. 🔷 With Luarbert Arias eligible for minor league free agency himself, the Marlins held onto the right-hander by selecting him to the 40-man roster. Acquired three years ago via the Rule 5 Draft, Arias has a 2.78 ERA, 3.75 FIP and .198 BAA in 184.2 IP since then while climbing from Low-A to Triple-A. He's got a prototypical four-seamer/slider pitch mix with occasional changeups. He turns 24 next month. I don't mind the decision, but would've personally prioritized fellow pending free agent Elvis Alvarado instead. cmUwZVZfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X1ZRWUZCZ0VNQUFJQVhWTlFBZ0FBQTFkVUFGa0JBVllBVVZSV1V3UlhCUVlHQ0FjQQ==.mp4 🔷 MLB Trade Rumors published their annual Top 50 free agents list, including contract and team predictions. Only No. 36 Kyle Higashioka and No. 49 Harrison Bader were mocked to the Marlins, and those were guesses by individual writers, not staff consensus predictions. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Silver Slugger award finalists were announced, including Marlins 1B/3B Jake Burger. He qualified in the "utility" category along with Luis Arraez, Mookie Betts and Bryan Reynolds. Award winners will be announced on November 12.