Ely Sussman

I wonder if the Marlins would even take Jones over Agustin Ramirez if given the chance. Deeply concerning strikeout issues and overall consistency as a hitter this season, facing the same competition that Ramirez thrived against. Would have been a more "popular" headliner, but Bendix genuinely does not care about public perception. He has brought that mindset over from the Rays.

Even without Jazz Chisholm Jr., the Marlins continued their high-scoring ways and secured another surprising series win against a division-leading opponent. In his first major league start since April 13, not only was Max Meyer competing against the Milwaukee Brewers, but also the news that one of his most talented teammates, Jazz Chisholm Jr., had been traded in a four-player deal. The Miami Marlins right-hander lasted just four innings on Saturday night, but his remaining supporting cast did brilliantly in a 7-3 victory to beat the Brewers in their own building for the second consecutive night. Although the Brewers entered Saturday at 15 games over .500, the lineup opposing Meyer was not particularly daunting. Christian Yelich is sidelined by a back injury and hot-hitting rookie Jackson Chourio missed this contest due to an ear infection. Even so, Meyer had a lot of trouble putting batters away. Using his standard four-seam fastball/slider/changeup pitch mix, the 25-year-old couldn't find a weapon to generate swinging strikes. He had only four whiffs, matching the lowest single-game total of his professional career (excluding the abbreviated 2022 outing where he damaged his UCL in the first inning). "I think a lot of it was more location than anything," manager Skip Schumaker said postgame. As you can see below, the Brewers rarely chased Meyer's pitches outside of the strike zone. Many of his in-zone offerings caught the middle of the plate, making them easy to put in play or at least foul off. Meyer would require 85 pitches despite not making it two full trips through the lineup. He averaged 5.31 pitches per plate appearance—for context, no qualified MLB starter is over 4.24 Pit/PA this season. Inefficiency aside, Meyer successfully kept Milwaukee off the scoreboard for a while. He held a 2-0 lead with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the fourth inning. Willy Adames extended the frame with a well-placed grounder to the left side, reaching safely on an infield single. Meyer then issued a full-count walk to Jake Bauers. Longtime Marlins killer Rhys Hoskins drove them both in with a three-run home run to left field. In 88 career games against Miami, the former Phillie is slashing .267/.395/.577 with 23 homers. The Marlins put runners on base in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, but couldn't manufacture any additional runs. In the top of the seventh, however, the bottom of their order ignited an improbable five-run rally. Facing Jared Koenig, who had taken over for starter Aaron Civale in the previous inning, Emmanuel Rivera mashed a fly ball to the right-center wall that Blake Perkins couldn't haul in (generously ruled a triple). Vidal Bruján drew a walk and Nick Fortes followed with a bunt single to the right side that tied the score at 3-3. Against righty Elvis Peguero, Bryan De La Cruz singled up the middle to put Miami in front. Josh Bell stayed on his recent power binge and supplied insurance with a three-run homer, going yard for the fourth consecutive game. a0fe28de-b84b27b2-950631ab-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Overall, the Marlins went 5-for-8 with runners in scoring position, one of their best performances in that department in 2024. Bryan Hoeing, Huascar Brazoban and Calvin Faucher combined for five scoreless innings in relief of Meyer. Hoeing picked up his first win of the season in the process. He has a 1.50 ERA when working out of the bullpen. Other observations 🔷 This was the fifth game in a row that the Marlins have scored at least six runs. Consider that through their first 100 games of the season, the offense averaged only 3.5 runs. 🔷 Thanks to a ninth-inning walk, Xavier Edwards extended his on-base streak to 14 games. His .434 OBP this season leads the National League among players with at least 100 plate appearances. 🔷 For the first time all year, Nick Fortes' batting average has climbed above .200. Rookie right-handers Kyle Tyler and Tobias Myers are probable starters for Sunday's series finale. It'll also be the final game that the Fish play prior to the trade deadline. First pitch at 2:10 p.m. ET. 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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's road series against the Milwaukee Brewers. View full article

Made official early Saturday evening, the Marlins are receiving three prospects in exchange for their dynamic leadoff man, including catcher Agustin Ramírez. The Miami Marlins have struck a deal to move their most valuable trade deadline chip. Jazz Chisholm Jr. is going to the New York Yankees in exchange for catching prospect Agustín Ramírez and infield prospects Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramírez. The trade has been announced by both teams. Chisholm finishes his Marlins career with a .246/.309/.440 slash line (103 wRC+) and 8.0 fWAR in 403 career games. He earned a National League All-Star selection in 2022. This news breaks almost five years to the day that he was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the 2019 deadline. During his age-26 season, Chisholm was leading all Marlins players in runs batted in (50), runs scored (46) and stolen bases (22). His .730 OPS was tops on the team among those with at least 100 plate appearances. Chisholm will very likely slide into the leadoff spot for his new club, where the Yanks have received an 83 wRC+ from their No. 1 hitters this season. With that role vacated in the Marlins lineup, expect Xavier Edwards to get an extended opportunity there. Forrest Wall is seemingly first in line to fill Chisholm's spot on the active roster. Other teams presented the Marlins with "very competitive offers" for Chisholm, according to Craig Mish of SportsGrid. The Marlins "felt this was the best one." Ramírez, who turns 23 in September, is slashing .269/.358/.505 with 20 home runs in 87 Double-A/Triple-A games this season, stealing 18 bases in 20 attempts. Baseball America is encouraged by the progress that he's made, ranking him third on their latest Yankees Top 30 prospects list behind only Jasson Dominguez and Spencer Jones (I had suggested Jones as the potential Jazz trade centerpiece in a proposal earlier this month). A crucial question here is whether Ramírez will stick at catcher long term. In 2024, he has made 50 starts behind the plate and 22 at first base, surrendering 90 steals as a catcher with a microscopic 9 CS% rate. Worth noting, though, he caught at least 20% of would-be base-stealers in each of his previous seasons. Reviews of his framing, receiving and blocking have been mixed for the right-handed-hitting Dominican. Ramírez will go straight onto Miami's 40-man roster and seems likely to make his major league debut before year's end. Baseball America recently ranked Serna 11th in the Yankees system. He has shown surprising game power despite his tiny 5'7" stature, including 19 homers last year in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League and 13 homers through 88 High-A games this year. During the 2023-24 offseason, Serna played for Charros de Jalisco in his native Mexico. As a 21-year-old, he performed extremely well against much older winter ball competition, slashing .310/.365/.478 in 61 games. Defensively, the Yankees have been developing Serna as a shortstop. The Fish can do the same given their lack of viable alternatives at the High-A and Double-A levels. Not yet on the 40-man, Serna will be eligible for the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. The younger Ramírez, 19-year-old Abrahan, has raked in rookie ball with a .333/.454/.467 slash line across three Dominican Summer League/Florida Complex League seasons. He's a native of Acarigua, Venezuela. He was unranked on BA's Top 30. All things considered, this is an okay return for an above-average regular under club control through 2026 who has plus tools, but a lengthy injury history. It's painful nonetheless to see the Marlins ship away a fan favorite who may be just entering the prime of his career rather than focus on retaining him long term. View full article

100% agree. Bell is hitting well enough now and has enough of a track record that there should be a place to send him (as long as the Marlins eat almost all of his salary).

I'll still guess that the Yankees wind up landing him, but it could going a dozen different directions. Scott is so clearly the best available option at his position.

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 SuperSubs. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's road series against the Milwaukee Brewers. View full article

Explaining why Meyer is making his return to the Marlins active roster now after more than three months in Jacksonville. "Max is back," as Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported. Instead of making his scheduled start on Friday for Triple-A Jacksonville, right-hander Max Meyer is being recalled by the Miami Marlins. He's expected to face the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend in what will be his first major league action since April 13. Meyer has been building up to this moment for several weeks. For the majority of his Jumbo Shrimp stint, he started on a once-per-week schedule and never exceeded four innings in any appearance. The objective was to pace Fish On First's third-ranked prospect so he could continue pitching competitively throughout a full-length season while being responsible with his overall workload coming off Tommy John surgery. Throughout the past month, Meyer has been gradually lasting deeper into his starts and getting re-acclimated to shorter rest. Most notably, he worked on "normal" (by MLB standards) four days' rest between his July 9 and July 14 outings. In 15 starts since being optioned, Meyer has posted a 4.34 ERA, 4.43 FIP and 1.48 WHIP in 58 innings pitched. His best results came recently, surrendering only two total runs in his final 19 frames. The decision to option Meyer in the first place was highly controversial after he began 2024 with back-to-back-to-back effective performances. The Marlins were 3-12 through 15 games, with two of those wins coming in Meyer starts. Beyond taking post-Tommy John precautions, the team wanted to see Meyer develop into a more complete pitcher instead of relying so heavily on his signature slider. Meyer's MLB pitch mix: 49% sliders, 34% four-seam fastballs, 15% changeups, 2% sinkers Meyer's Triple-A pitch mix: 41% sliders, 38% four-seam fastballs, 19% changeups, 2% sinkers Frankly, I'm still skeptical of the changeup. It has flashes of being a quality pitch, but lacks consistency—Meyer recorded only five of his 69 Triple-A strikeouts using it. The Marlins starting rotation has been in complete disarray since Jesús Luzardo (back) and Braxton Garrett (elbow) got hurt last month. Why did the club wait so long to call upon the former top draft pick, cycling through other arms who don't have major league-caliber stuff? Because the front office wanted to exploit Meyer's situation for their long-term gain. Meyer entered 2024 with one year and 82 days of MLB service time (written as 1.082). He accrued 18 more days (pushing his total to 1.100) at the time of his demotion. Upon reaching 172 days of service, a player is credited with a full year, which made July 21 a magic date in Meyer's case. If the Marlins held him down until then, he could only max out at 1.171 by the end of this season, leaving him five years short of qualifying for free agency instead of four. Mission accomplished: Meyer will now have to wait until after the 2029 season to test the open market. Meanwhile, Miami starters outside of Trevor Rogers have been predictably bad during that span, keeping them near the bottom of the standings and optimizing their chances of winning the 2025 MLB Draft lottery. It's been embarrassing to watch. MLB and MiLB combined, Meyer is at 75 innings so far this season. He has the opportunity to make up to 12 more starts through year's end if he sticks in Miami's rotation. That would push him past his previous single-season high of 111 innings pitched from 2021 and position him to make every scheduled start in 2025 with minimal restrictions. View full article

Offishial News for 7/26/24 On Thursday, Roddery Muñoz matched his season-worst by allowing six earned runs to the Orioles. However, a pair of Jazz Chisholm Jr. diving catches prevented the deficit from getting even worse and the offense came to life late. The Marlins ultimately lost, 7-6, but rallied from down 6-1 in the eighth inning to force extras. It's the first time all season that this team has scored at least six runs in three consecutive games. Josh Bell went 6-for-13 with two home runs during the series. Down on the farm, Double-A Pensacola won, 4-3. LHP Jonathan Bermudez carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and threw 111 total pitches, which I believe is the highest single-game total for any pitcher in the Marlins organization in 2024. C Paul McIntosh set a Blue Wahoos franchise record with 126 career runs scored. High-A Beloit lost, 3-2. Good outing for LHP Thomas White (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 75 pitches/54 strikes). Low-A Jupiter won, 7-1. OF Kemp Alderman extended his on-base streak to 15 games. FCL Marlins won, 5-2, concluding their 2024 regular season schedule. They posted the Florida Complex League's highest winning percentage and best run differential. DSL Marlins won, 6-5. DSL Miami won, 8-7. Here's more Marlins news and content: 🔷 A.J. Puk is joining the reigning National League champions, as announced by the Marlins and Diamondbacks on Thursday night. Recently pitching as well as he ever has and under club control through 2026, I set high expectations for what Puk should be worth on the trade market and this deal met those expectations. The left-handed reliever brought back nearly as much prospect value as Luis Arraez! 🔷 Deyvison De Los Santos is the headliner. At just 21 years old, the righty hitter leads Minor League Baseball with 28 home runs this season, posting a 155 wRC+ across the Double-A and Triple-A levels. There are concerns about his swing decisions and long-term defensive home (likely first base). My closest comp for him is Dayán Viciedo, who played for the 2010-2014 White Sox (and is still playing professionally overseas into his mid-30s). Not yet on the Marlins 40-man roster, expect De Los Santos to break through to the majors during the first half of the 2025 campaign. 🔷 Andrew Pintar is a 2022 draft pick with above-average speed. The 23-year-old has been developed mainly in center field this season. He got promoted to Double-A shortly before the trade. Pintar has spent time on the injured list during each of the last two seasons. 🔷 The trade overshadows another Marlins transaction from earlier in the day. Outfielder Forrest Wall was claimed off waivers from the Braves and optioned to Triple-A. Wall has played 28 career MLB games and has a strong chance of getting called up to Miami in the event of a Jazz Chisholm Jr. blockbuster. 🔷 Speaking of Chisholm, The Athletic's Jim Bowden confirmed that the Pirates, Mariners, Phillies and Yankees have had "discussions" with the Marlins at various points. Bowden believes Pittsburgh is the best landing spot for him. Ken Rosenthal later reported that the Bucs have scouted Bryan de La Cruz as well. 🔷 Through 33 Marlins series, here's an updated look at the Prediction Time leaderboard. Make series predictions with us all season long when you become a Fish On First SuperSub. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Randy Arozarena was dealt to the Mariners for a three-player package that included RHP Brody Hopkins, who I had mentioned in my Chisholm-to-Seattle proposal. Dylan Cease threw a no-hitter, only the second in Padres history. Josiah Gray underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure, putting his entire 2025 season in jeopardy. Coming off shoulder surgery, Clayton Kershaw threw four innings in his 2024 debut. The Mets beat the Braves to pull within a half-game of the National League's top Wild Card spot and the Rangers won their fifth game in a row. Kevin Kiermaier confirmed that he will retire this offseason. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter LHP Trevor Rogers) begin their road trip against the Brewers (RHP Freddy Peralta). Josh Bell is only two hits shy of 1,000 for his career. MLB.com's Christina De Nicola details how Bell's season has turned around after working with his father over the All-Star break. The Marlins have a 36.1% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 8:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Join us for a new episode of Fish On First LIVE tonight from 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET on YouTube/Twitter/Facebook. We'll have continued coverage of the Puk/De Los Santos/Pintar trade. FOF LIVE is presented by Berger & Hicks. If you’ve been injured as a result of somebody else’s negligence, give them a call at (305) 670-7050. 🔷 Today's MiLB schedule: Triple-A Jacksonville at Norfolk, 6:35 p.m. ET Double-A Pensacola vs. Biloxi, 7:05 p.m. ET High-A Beloit vs. Wisconsin, 7:35 p.m. ET Low-A Jupiter vs. Daytona, 6:30 p.m. ET DSL Marlins at DSL Miami, 11:00 a.m. ET Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Watch all 28 home runs that Deyvison De Los Santos hit with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization in 2024 prior to being traded for A.J. Puk on July 25. De Los Santos blasted 14 long balls each with the Double-A Amarillo Sod Poodles and Triple-A Reno Aces while also being among the youngest players in each league. View full video

On Thursday afternoon, just as Jazz Chisholm Jr. was playing what might have been his final Miami Marlins home game, Jim Bowden of The Athletic made a guest appearance on Pittsburgh radio station 93.7 The Fan to discuss the Pirates' approach to the trade deadline. Staying in the thick of the NL Wild Card race despite awful center field production, Pittsburgh is unsurprisingly in on Chisholm, according to Bowden: "Pittsburgh, Seattle, Philadelphia and the Yankees—those four in particular, I have confirmed have had discussions. I've also heard that the Phillies aren't sure that he's a good fit in their clubhouse with what they're trying to do. I'm not sure the Yankees are sold as well. I know Seattle is definitely in." Bowden went on to share his opinion that the Pirates are "the best spot" for Chisholm, with Andrew McCutchen's positive influence being the "most important" factor. This season, Pirates center fielders—mainly Michael A. Taylor and Jack Suwinski—are collectively slashing .208/.272/.298 with a 61 wRC+. Chisholm has been candid about preferring to play the infield moving forward, but he reminded everybody of his defensive potential on Thursday with two outstanding diving catches. 1997ebe4-857a916d-7a21c0ea-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Bowden says in a recent conversation between he and Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, Bendix expressed that "he just wants the best possible players he can get in return" for Chisholm, regardless of position. On Thursday morning, Bowden published a mock trade proposal that would bring RHP Braxton Ashcraft and C Henry Davis to Miami. Personally, I'm very skeptical Pittsburgh would part with Davis at this deadline, selling low on the No. 1 overall pick from the 2021 MLB Draft. Also, there isn't much age difference between these 24-year-olds and the 26-year-old Chisholm, which makes them odd choices to rebuild the Marlins organization with. Nate Karzmer will present his own Jazz-to-the-Pirates proposal on Friday morning. Here is my Mariners proposal from earlier this week. View full rumor

Thanks a lot for your loyal viewership/readership...I agree. This is Cabrera's last stand as a viable rotation candidate. There's a clear runway for him to prove himself right now. Most likely, his poor control and mistakes deeper into his starts will be too much to overcome, but let's find out. A team in this situation should be willing to leave him in too long rather than pulling him out too early.

If there was a sincere belief in Edwards being a solid defensive shortstop, then the front office would likely see things differently. Realistically, 2B is the best position for both of them and Edwards is the cheaper/younger/more controllable option.