Ely Sussman

The veteran center fielder would bolster a Marlins defense that ranked among MLB's worst in 2024. Fresh off a long postseason run with the New York Mets, Harrison Bader is set to become a free agent. Could Bader be a fit for the Miami Marlins entering 2025? Harrison Bader overview Previous teams: St. Louis Cardinals (2017-2022), New York Yankees (2022-2023), Cincinnati Reds (2023) and New York Mets (2024) MLB career: .242/.305/.392 slash line and 13,1 fWAR in 778 games 2024 season: .236/.284/.373 slash line and 1.3 fWAR in 138 games Entering age-31 season in 2025 More factors to consider Defense: Center field is the only position Bader has played since August 2018 when he got his first opportunity to be an everyday starter, and he remains remarkably consistent there. From his rookie year onward, Bader has perennially ranked in the 90th percentile or higher in outs above average, according to Baseball Savant. That includes 10 OAA (95th percentile) this season. He recorded only one outfield assist in over 1,000 innings as a Met, but he compensated for that with his elite range. Meanwhile, Marlins center fielders combined for only 1 OAA in 2024 (ranked 23rd out of 30 teams). Offensive drop-off: Even at his peak, the inconsistency of Bader's bat prevented him from sticking as an everyday guy throughout a full season. He is now pretty far removed from sniffing league-average production. Each of the last three seasons, he has posted a sub-.300 on-base percentage with an overall wRC+ of 85 or under. Bader was practically an automatic out this past August/September, hence why he seldom stepped to the plate during the postseason. There is hope that he could recapture some of his early-career form with a more disciplined plate approach. Platoon splits: Bader historically hits for good power against left-handed pitching. With the platoon advantage, he has a career slash line of .249/.315/.461 (109 wRC+) with 26 home runs in 676 plate appearances. He's just very volatile from year to year. 2c9dbba7-3c152b6a-f8f23991-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Postseason experience: Although his direct impact on the Mets' October success was minimal, at least Bader was along for the ride. He has played in five of the last six MLB postseasons with three different clubs. As currently constructed, the Marlins do not have anybody on their roster who knows what it's like to win a division title or reach a league championship series. Bader provides intangible value from that standpoint. Come the 2025 trade deadline, contenders—assuming the Marlins aren't one themselves—could take that into account when shopping for reliable role players. Price: After earning a $10.5M salary in 2024, Bader seems to be in line for a slight pay cut. Looking back at the 2022-23 offseason, I see the one-year contracts signed by Adam Duvall ($7M guaranteed) and Kevin Kiermaier ($9M) as close comps. Because Bader is younger than they were, let's go with the higher number. Would the Marlins be willing to bring in the journeyman on a one-year, $9M deal? Alternatives to Harrison Bader The Marlins have internal options who could be auditioned in center field instead, including Dane Myers, Kyle Stowers, Derek Hill, Javier Sanoja and Victor Mesa Jr. They all have Triple-A experience, but several would have to go back down to Jacksonville when the season begins if Bader was signed. That's fine, in my opinion. "Let the kids play" does not need to mean "only play kids" when realistically, none of them profile as everyday regulars at that position. Over the course of the season, hopefully they exceed expectations and then Bader's role can be adjusted accordingly. This free agent class is thin on notable alternatives to Bader. Cody Bellinger would be the clear No. 1 center fielder if he decides to opt out of his Chicago Cubs contract. It's safe to assume the Marlins won't be paying what it takes for him. Other than that, veterans Manuel Margot and Michael A. Taylor could be had on very cheap one-year deals. View full article

Today's news roundup also includes another notes from opening night in the Dominican Winter League. On Wednesday out in the desert, OF Andrew Pintar, OF Kemp Alderman and INF Jay Beshears were all in the Peoria Javelinas starting lineup, each reaching base safely at least once. RHP Brandon White (3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 60 pitches/33 strikes) had mixed results in relief. Alderman was honored as the Arizona Fall League's co-Hitter of the Week. Leading 7-1 at one point, Peoria ultimately lost, 8-7. They now have a 2-6 record, which is worst in the AFL. It was also opening night for the Dominican Winter League (LIDOM). Marlins minor leaguers INF Deyvison De Los Santos (Gigantes del Cibao), 1B/OF Troy Johnston (Toros del Este), RHP Elvis Alvarado (Estrellas Orientales), RHP Austin Roberts (Gigantes) and RHP Anderson Pilar (Gigantes) are all on active rosters. Johnston started in right field and went 0-for-3 with a walk in his season debut. Alvarado and Pilar made one-inning relief appearances, with Alvarado striking out the side. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Alex Carver and Kevin Barral collaborated on their annual Swimming Upstream season-in-review super-pod. The first part includes analysis of key prospects from rookie ball through High-A. The second part of the conversation—covering prospects who were in the upper minors—will be available on Friday wherever you get your podcasts. 🔷 Additionally, Alex wrote about the breakout season of C Ryan Ignoffo, who had minimal experience behind the plate prior to 2024. 🔷 Jesús Luzardo and Anthony Bender visited patients at Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital on Monday as part of a collaboration between the Marlins and AutoNation to fund cancer research. hRsfuN3oQ8rCKe9v.mp4 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is in "active discussions" with a group led by Dave Stewart regarding the possibility of selling the franchise, according to The Athletic's Brittany Ghiroli. Reinsdorf has owned the Sox since 1981. He has yet to address the report publicly. The Dodgers took a 2-1 lead in the NLCS, shutting out their opponent for the fourth time in their last five games. Shohei Ohtani homered in the eighth inning to fully put the game out of reach. 🔷 Today's MLB postseason schedule: New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians, 5:08 p.m. ET (ALCS Game 3) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets, 8:08 p.m. ET (NLCS Game 4) Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Today's news roundup also includes a pair of Marlins earning spots on the 2024 MLB All-Rookie Team. On Tuesday, Rawlings announced the 2024 Gold Glove Award finalists. The Marlins' best defensive player, Otto Lopez, was not included among the three NL second base finalists—he was edged out by Ketel Marte, Brice Turang and Bryson Stott via a combination of manager/coach balloting and the SABR Defensive Index. Lopez was not an everyday player throughout the season, but based on my understanding of the criteria, he was eligible for the award . Every major league coaching staff got to see Lopez play second base in person at various points and he graded out extremely well statistically, so this is a bummer. The last full-season Marlins player to win a Gold Glove was Marcell Ozuna in 2017. Using that as an endpoint, this is the longest drought the franchise has ever had between Gold Glovers. However, Adam Duvall won the 2021 NL Gold Glove as a right fielder, a season he began in Miami and finished with the Braves. He played 96.6% of his RF innings as a Marlin (primarily being deployed in LF/CF with Atlanta). Should that count? Anyway, in the desert, LHP Patrick Monteverde (3.0 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 61 pitches/42 strikes) allowed three home runs. In relief, LHP Justin Storm (0.2 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 32 pitches/18 strikes) did not fare any better. On the brighter side, CF Andrew Pintar went 1-for-4 with two stolen bases. The Peoria Javelinas lost, 19-9. You can watch the full game broadcast here. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 At least Otto Lopez got some recognition from MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo, who picked Lopez as the first-team second baseman on his MLB All-Rookie Team. Double play partner Xavier Edwards was also included as the second-team designated hitter (amusing considering he did not start a single Marlins game at DH). 🔷 Happy 23rd birthday to LHP Dax Fulton. Fulton looked to be a vital piece of the Marlins' pitching future two years ago after leading the entire farm system in strikeouts. Alas, he's been sidelined by elbow issues since early 2023. In his minor league career, Fulton has posted a 4.27 ERA and 3.72 FIP in 229 ⅔ innings pitched (51 G/48 GS). 0ckx8x_1.mp4 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Rays have determined that Tropicana Field—its roof torn apart last week by Hurricane Milton—will not be ready to host Opening Day, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports. Numerous options could be in consideration to serve as the team's temporary home. Aside from Tropicana, loanDepot park is the MLB ballpark next closest to Tampa, though most of the originally scheduled Marlins and Rays home games for the 2025 season fall on the same dates. The Yankees defeated the Guardians again, building a 2-0 lead in the ALCS. The Phillies extended manager Rob Thomson through the 2026 season and announced that his entire major league coaching staff is set to return in 2025. 🔷 Today's MLB postseason schedule: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. New York Mets, 8:08 p.m. ET (NLCS Game 3) View full article

Today's news roundup also reflects on MLB stars who played for the Marlins during the twilight of their careers. On Monday out in the desert, OF Kemp Alderman showed he is human after all, merely going 0-for-3 with a walk. Fellow Marlins prospects OF Andrew Pintar (1-for-4) and LHP Justin King (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 40 pitches/22 strikes) also played. The Peoria Javelinas lost to the Glendale Desert Dogs, 5-3. The full broadcast of the game is available here. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Alderman told MLB Pipeline's Jim Callis that his priorities during the AFL are to improve his defense and swing decisions. 🔷 Kevin Barral listed 10 of the best players who ended their MLB careers with the Marlins, including a pair of Hall of Famers. 🔷 Random Marlins stat of the day: Jesús Sánchez ranks fifth on the all-time loanDepot park home run list (32). He's one away from tying Jazz Chisholm Jr. for fourth place. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Mets led wire to wire against the Dodgers to even up the NLCS at one win apiece. Francisco Lindor led off the contest with a home run and Mark Vientos gave them plenty of breathing room with a second-inning grand slam. The Dodgers briefly made things interesting in the sixth inning, but went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position overall. On the American League side, the Yankees won their series opener, taking advantage of five wild pitches by the Guardians. Giancarlo Stanton's 439-foot home run was the 13th of his postseason career. Minimum 100 plate appearances, the only players in MLB history with a higher career postseason slugging percentage than Stanton are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Randy Arozarena. 🔷 Today's MLB postseason schedule: Cleveland Guardians vs. New York Yankees, 7:38 p.m. ET (ALCS Game 2) View full article

Bradley Woodrum, who worked for seven seasons in the Marlins analytics department, discloses his salary history and gives advice to baseball job-seekers. View full video

All 15 pitches that Miami Marlins RHP Jun-Seok Shim threw for the Peoria Javelinas on October 12. This was his first official professional appearance in more than a year (and his first since being acquired by the Marlins). View full video

The Marlins traded Scott at the deadline with the understanding that other teams with deeper pockets are poised to outbid them for his services in free agency. He'll be the top reliever available. The San Diego Padres should have no regrets about the six-player deal they struck with the Miami Marlins on July 30. To fortify their bullpen down the stretch, they acquired Bryan Hoeing and Tanner Scott in exchange for prospects, and the results were outstanding. Hoeing and Scott combined for a 2.16 ERA in 50 innings of work, with the pair stranding 25 of the 26 baserunners they inherited. San Diego's post-trade deadline record of 36-18 was the best in Major League Baseball, propelling them to the NL's top Wild Card spot. The Padres seemingly had enough arms to close out the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. Unfortunately, their offense was halted by a once-in-a-generation scoreless streak. Regarded by many as the most well-rounded roster entering October, they were eliminated from the postseason on Friday. Not even arbitration-eligible yet, Hoeing should be an impactful, versatile and cost-efficient piece of the Padres' 2025 pitching staff. Bringing back Scott won't be cheap, however. The 30-year-old All-Star is entering free agency for the first time in his career and certain to draw widespread interest. Over the last two seasons, Scott has been MLB's most valuable reliever. He leads all of his peers in fWAR (4.5), bWAR (7.6) and win probability added (8.17) since the start of 2023. He has even tacked on 5 ⅓ innings of scoreless postseason performance. The bearded lefty offers an awesome combination of swing-and-miss stuff, suppression of hard contact and durability. This isn't to say that Scott is flawless. Control has been an issue. With the exception of 2023, in all of his other qualified seasons, he has ranked in the bottom 10th percentile of MLB pitchers in walk rate, including 7th percentile in 2024 with a 12.2 BB%. You could poke holes in Scott's résumé from a consistency and trustworthiness standpoint. He has typically been a slow starter in March/April. Also, he has never spent a full season as his team's closer, though he very likely would have this year if not for the Marlins' decision to trade him. Scott earned a salary of only $5.7M in 2024. That should skyrocket next season and for several seasons beyond that. He isn't quite in the same tier as Edwin Díaz and Josh Hader, who recently received the largest reliever contracts in baseball history, guaranteeing $102M and $95M, respectively. Scott's teammate, Robert Suárez, set the market for non-closing RPs when he re-upped with San Diego for $46M after the 2022 season. All of these deals spanned five years. I also find the $11M average annual value of Robert Stephenson's contract last winter to be a relevant data point, establishing a floor for Scott. My prediction: Scott will ultimately sign a five-year, $57.5M deal ($11.5M AAV). As much as the Marlins valued his contributions, don't expect them to make a formal offer. View full article

After nearly two decades in professional baseball, could Albernaz get his first opportunity to manage a major league team? The Miami Marlins have big shoes to fill after breaking up with manager Skip Schumaker. Although the official announcement didn't come until after their regular season finale, it had been an open secret throughout the 2024 season that change was coming, so the Marlins front office has had ample time to consider what qualities they're looking for in his successor. In addition to Luis Urueta, who served as Schumaker's bench coach over the last two years, Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that Craig Albernaz is "a big candidate" for the job. Albernaz is finishing up his 19th season in professional baseball, nine as a player and 10 as a coach. Most of that time was spent with the Tampa Bay Rays organization where he crossed paths with current Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. Albernaz was a catcher at Eckerd College, which is practically walking distance away from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL. He signed with the then-Devil Rays as an undrafted free agent in 2006 and played eight minor league seasons with them, tasting Triple-A in five separate years but not showing enough potential with his bat to earn a call-up to the majors. The final season of his playing career was 2014 with the Detroit Tigers' Double-A affiliate. Per FanGraphs, Albernaz's 50 wRC+ from 2006-2014 was a bottom-10 mark among all MiLB players who had 1,000-plus plate appearances during that same period. On the other hand, it speaks to his defensive ability and character that he was retained for as long as he was despite those limitations at the plate. Returning to the Rays organization, Albernaz ironically began his post-playing career as a minor league hitting coach in 2015. He managed at the Short-Season A and Low-A levels in 2017 and 2018, respectively, winning Midwest League Manager of the Year honors for the latter season. He then spent 2019 as Tampa Bay's minor league field coordinator before making the leap to a major league coaching staff, serving as bullpen/catching coach of the San Francisco Giants for all four seasons of Gabe Kapler's managerial tenure (2020-2023). Kapler is now an assistant general manager for the Marlins. craig albernaz giants camp 2021.mp4 It's unclear how much influence Kapler will have on who the Marlins hire, but Albernaz described him as "an elite communicator" on the Elite Baseball Development Podcast in 2022. When the Giants fired Kapler last year, Albernaz was interviewed by the Cleveland Guardians for their managerial vacancy. As richly reported by Zack Meisel of The Athletic, Stephen Vogt and Albernaz are close friends who navigated the process together even as they were directly competing for the top job in Cleveland. The Guardians chose Vogt as skipper, but he immediately recruited Albernaz to join his staff as bench coach. They have led their new club to within a win of the American League Championship Series (ALDS Game 5 vs. the Detroit Tigers is on Saturday). More from Meisel's article: Albernaz spends his afternoons thinking up every possible scenario that might arise during a game so Vogt isn’t caught unprepared. Vogt dubbed him “the hardest-working person in baseball,” an “Energizer Bunny” who stays up “all hours of the night diving into one small thing if it can help one of our players get just a tick better.” Vogt was ejected only once during the 2024 season, so Albernaz's experience as an acting MLB manager has been limited to a couple innings thus far. That is part of the risk of hiring a first-timer, though Schumaker also came to the Marlins fresh off a single season of bench coach duty and handled the transition well. Presumably, Albernaz will formally interview with Miami soon after the Guardians' playoff run ends. View full article

Offishial News for 10/9/24 The only sensible place to begin is by sending my well wishes to any of you whose homes (or whose family members' homes) are in the path of Hurricane Milton. Please prioritize your safety over these next couple days. On Tuesday out in the desert, the Peoria Javelinas lost their first Arizona Fall League game, 15-13. Three Marlins prospects were involved—Kemp Alderman went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run and started in left field, Andrew Pintar went 1-for-5 with a single and a sacrifice fly while manning center field, and LHP Justin King struggled in relief (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 1 K). You can rewatch the game here. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Fish On First LIVE returns on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. ET. It's a special edition of Marlins Jeopardy, focused fully on the bizarre 2024 season, featuring Marlins radio broadcaster Kyle Sielaff as a contestant. We will be filling an entire category with audience submissions. Use the form embedded below or click here. Loading… 🔷 I have been humbled to receive a lot of positive feedback about the latest episode of The Offishial Show, a sitdown with former Marlins coordinator of baseball information services Bradley Woodrum. Linking to it one more time for anybody who missed it! 🔷 Fish On First SuperSub David Tobin is looking to unload well-preserved Marlins media guides from throughout the team's history. Contact him if interested. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Mets and Padres have pushed the higher-seeded Phillies and Dodgers to the brink of elimination, winning Tuesday's games by the final score of 7-2 and 6-5, respectively. The Rockies signed Bud Black to a one-year contract extension. Coming off back-to-back-to-back last-place finishes in the NL West, Black's tenure will presumably end after 2025 unless there is a meaningful uptick in the club's winning percentage. Luis Tiant passed away at the age of 83. One of the greatest Cuban baseball players ever (and one of the first to achieve MLB stardom), Tiant is best known for his stints with the then-Guardians and Red Sox. The Guardians, Brewers and Twins announced that their television broadcasts will be produced and distributed by MLB moving forward, splitting up with their local Bally affiliates. 🔷 Today's postseason schedule: Cleveland Guardians vs. Detroit Tigers, 3:08 p.m. ET (ALDS Game 4) Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets, 5:08 p.m. ET (NLDS Game 4) New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals, 7:08 p.m. ET (ALDS Game 4) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres, 9:08 p.m. ET (NLDS Game 4) View full article

Offishial News for 10/8/24 On Monday, Fish On First recorded an extended interview with Bradley Woodrum, whose seven-year tenure with the Marlins analytics department ended last month. We covered a ton of ground, such as how he got his foot in the door in the first place, the challenges that his department faced, his optimism for the franchise's future and why "there are no greater fans on earth than Marlins fans." Subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your podcasts! Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 Kevin Barral projected what the 2025 Marlins Opening Day roster could look like if the team stood pat this offseason. Defense would still be a major weakness, in my opinion. 🔷 Our staff collaborated on an updated FOF Top 30 list. Kevin and I co-hosted a Twitter Space to explain the most significant changes and show some love for the honorable mentions who just missed the cut. 🔷 Josh Norris of Baseball America ranked RHP José Paulino among the top Dominican Summer League prospects of 2024. "Paulino’s stuff is as loud as any in the DSL, even if the results might not necessarily bear it out," Norris writes. "The 17-year-old’s fastball has peaked at 99 mph and sat around 95-97 mph. He backs the heater with a slurvy breaking ball in the high 70s featuring high spin rates and a seldom-thrown changeup that averaged around 87 mph." 🔷 As mentioned last week, the Marlins and Bally Sports Florida are renegotiating the terms of their local television deal. Assuming that their partnership continues, the network will be rebranded from Bally to FanDuel next season, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal. This is contingent on Diamond Sports Group emerging from bankruptcy, which will be determined during a November 14 court hearing. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, each of the ALDS/NLDS matchups are tied at 1-1. Kerry Carpenter's ninth-inning home run off of Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase accounted for all of the scoring in the Tigers/Guardians game, while the Royals rallied for four runs in the top of the fourth to even their series with the Yankees. Although it wasn't enough to erase the deficit, Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his first career postseason homer in the bottom of the ninth. a4o5bt.mp4 🔷 Speaking of Chisholm, happy 20th birthday to INF Abrahan Ramírez, who the Marlins acquired from the Yankees as part of that trade package. Ramírez has posted an elite 153 wRC+ in three seasons of rookie ball. He should be an everyday player with Low-A Jupiter in 2025. 🔷 The Arizona Fall League season has begun. The Peoria Javelinas, whose roster includes Marlins prospects, play their opening game today at 4:30 p.m. ET. 🔷 Today's MLB postseason schedule: Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets, 5:08 p.m. ET (NLDS Game 3) Los Angeles Dodgers vs. San Diego Padres, 9:08 p.m. ET (NLDS Game 3) Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Bradley Woodrum, the team's former coordinator of baseball information services, explains how Marlins minority owner David Ott has become more involved behind the scenes in recent years. View full video