Kevin Barral

Josh Bell speaks to Fish On First about the importance of Tuesday's comeback win and how he's working to break out of his early-season slump. View full video

Miami Marlins outfielder Jesús Sánchez addresses the media after being removed early from Monday's loss, accompanied by interpreter Luis Dorante. View full video

As the Marlins dropped their seventh straight game and to 6-24 on the season, outfielder Jesús Sánchez made a lackluster play in the outfield, costing a run and resulting in a teammate's injury. MIAMI, FL - On Monday night, the Miami Marlins looked to avoid their first four-game series sweep of the season, but were unsuccessful. Starting pitcher Trevor Rogers gave up three runs and despite a Jazz Chisholm Jr. two-run homer, the Marlins bullpen gave up four runs in the top of the seventh inning which helped Washington Nationals defeat the Miami Marlins by a final score of 7-2. On their way to losing a seventh straight game, Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker made a statement move by removing Marlins outfielder Jesus Sanchez from the game after the Dominican outfielder made a costly lackluster play. The right-fielder attempted to cut a ball off in the gap and once he retrieved it, Sanchez back-pedaled five times, allowing Alex Call to reach second with ease. Sanchez's throw was delayed and Tim Anderson ended up suffering a mild left thumb sprain on the slide from Call and was removed from the game. Following Sanchez's mistake, starting pitcher Trevor Rogers surrendered a two-run homer to CJ Abrams. "I have literally no rules except for giving me everything you have," said Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker following the game. "He lost the ball in the lights. I've lost the ball in the lights many times. I felt like the effort wasn't there, so I decided to remove him from the game." Sanchez then spoke on the issue and he accepted his mistake and knew that he deserved to be removed from the game. "I didn't get upset," said Sanchez when asked if he was upset when he was taken out. "I took myself out of the game. That's something I have to understand and he made that decision." Prior to the game, Schumaker mentioned that he would like to see Trevor Rogers complete six innings. On Monday night, Rogers was only able to complete and allowed three runs on four hits and three walks. Rogers also struck out three. The home run that Rogers gave was on a 2-0 count where the Marlins starter went with a middle-middle fastball. CJ Abrams took Rogers deep to right field for his seventh home run of the season, giving Washington a 2-0 lead. The final run Rogers surrendered came in the fifth when he walked Jesse Winker with the bases loaded. Rogers' biggest frustration is not being able to go deep into games, something he made clear during his postgame press conference. "The only thing is that I can't go deep into ballgames," said Rogers. "I am really pissed off right now and I'm not happy with it." The last time Rogers completed six innings was on April 14, 2023 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Schumaker added. "I thought he was good. I think he'll tell you a couple of walks hurt him. I put one of the guys on obviously in Senzel to get to Winker, but other than that, I thought there was some soft contact. Thought he pitched well, overall. Think the fifth inning just caught up to him a little bit." The Marlins offense, despite being limited to four hits, made the game interesting in the bottom of the sixth inning. Vidal Brujan, who pinch hit for Sánchez, got a base hit and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit his fourth home run of the season, making it a 3-2 ballgame. d The Nationals blew the game out of reach for the Marlins in the top of the seventh inning, though. Calvin Faucher, who struggled on Friday, made his first appearance since then and struggled once again, unable to find the zone and gave up a hit. He was taken out in place of Andrew Nardi, who along with Faucher, gave up a total of four runs, with only one of them being being earned. With the loss, the Miami Marlins have lost their first four-game series against the Washington Nationals since 2014, lost their first series against the Nats since April 30-May 2 of 2021 and first time they lose a series against Washington in Miami since June 25-27 of 2019. The Marlins are now losers of seven straight, holding a 6-24 record. On Tuesday, the Marlins kick-off a three-game set against the Colorado Rockies. Sixto Sánchez will take the mound in game one at 6:40pm. The Rockies will counter with right-hander Ryan Feltner. View full article

Prior to Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix addressed the state of the Miami Marlins. MIAMI, FL—The Miami Marlins are off to the worst start in franchise history and currently on pace to win 35 games. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix did not hide his disappointment while addressing the media prior to Sunday's game. "It's been very frustrating. There's no other way to characterize it," said Bendix. "It's not the start I was hoping for, it's not the start anybody on this field was hoping for. I've been happy and impressed with the way the group has really held it together." Marlins manager Skip Schumaker shared the same sentiments the night before. Christian Bethancourt, who recently came back from the IL, collected his first hit of the season on Saturday, while Nick Fortes had a -4 wRC+ through 53 plate appearances as of Sunday morning. "I think it's very fair to say that our catchers have struggled," said Bendix. "I think both of these guys have track records to suggest that they're going to bounce back. These guys have a lot of talent, especially defensively, with our pitching staff and lot of the things that don't show up in their stats. I'm also very confident that their offensive performance is going to improve." Starting pitcher Jesús Luzardo was placed on the 15-day IL Friday due to left elbow tightness. With Luzardo heading to the IL, that opens up a second spot in the Marlins rotation, meaning depth is needed more than ever. With Max Meyer recently sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville, the Marlins rotation has seen Sixto Sánchez, Roddery Muñoz and Anthony Maldonado make spot starts. The Marlins lost each of the games that they started, in part because they couldn't last deep into those games. In regards to Luzardo, there's no new update—results of the testing that was done recently has not arrived yet. "We're always going to be addressing the depth," said Bendix. "The more guys that are injured, the more important that depth is. Unfortunately, that's something that is the case around the league. We knew this was going to be the case. It will be opportunities for guys to step up...We're going to have guys with that opportunity and it's up to them to take it." This past offseason, Bendix signed only one player to a major league deal: Tim Anderson. Through 26 games as a Marlin, the shortstop is slashing .222/.263/.244 with four RBIs and a 45 wRC+. Bendix did note that it is still only April and he's not ready to jump to conclusions about his offseason acquisitions. He did note he's been pleased with reliever Calvin Faucher. How much more losing would it take for the Marlins to begin behaving like "sellers" and shop some of their top current players in exchange for long-term assets? "We're always assessing," said Bendix. "We're assessing those moves from day one of the season, determining what the 26-man roster should look like, who should be on the team, who should be in AAA, what trades we might want to make and waiver claims. All of that is really an ongoing process." View full article

Prior to Sunday's game, Marlins outfielder Dane Myers discusses his promotion from Triple-A Jacksonville and how he fought through an early-season slump. View full video

Marlins right-hander Anthony Maldonado reacts to his performance on Friday against the Washington Nationals. Maldonado started the game and went three scoreless innings in his major league debut. View full video

The Marlins took an early lead thanks to the bottom of their lineup, but there weren't enough contributions from the rest of the team. MIAMI, FL—In a bullpen game that the Marlins entered with low expectations, Anthony Maldonado made his major league debut on Friday and impressed over three shutout innings. He was followed by various relievers who only gave up a total of three runs to the Washington Nationals. All-in-all, the Marlins offense only scored one run and the top four hitters in the lineup didn't generate a base hit. The 3-1 loss dropped the Marlins to 6-21 on the season. Prior to the beginning of the game, Schumaker noted that about nine of the players were out on the field getting early work. "We're doing different types of drills, machine and different type of drills...we're doing everything and it's not lack of effort. Those guys are putting in the effort and trying and the care factors are there and that's what I think is more frustrating." After taking a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a Nick Fortes RBI single, driving in Vidal Bruján who had a multi-hit night, the Marlins would be shut out throughout the rest of the game. Hitters one through four in the lineup—Luis Arraez, Bryan De La Cruz, Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Josh Bell—combined to go 0-for-14 at the plate. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker placed the blame on the lack of offense. "We scored one run," said Schumaker following the game. "It's tough when we're scoring one run and putting real pressure on the bullpen to throw scoreless inning after scoreless inning." In the top of the eighth inning, with the ballgame tied at one apiece, the Marlins went with Calvin Faucher. Entering the game, Faucher had not given up a run through five appearances. Faucher put himself into a bases-loaded situation with one out. Joey Meneses drove in the game-winning run on an RBI single. While Schumaker noted that Faucher uncharacteristically struggled with his control, he added, "that's not the reason why we lost, in my opinion. No offense tonight is what I think the story was of the game." Outside of appearances in the rookie-level Florida Complex League, Anthony Maldonado had never started a professional game before. On Friday, Maldonado gave the Marlins three shutout innings, only allowing three hits and striking out two. Maldonado's slider immediately came into play generating six out of his seven whiffs. The right-hander went with a slider/sinker combo along with just one cutter that he threw for the seventh whiff of the night. "I was trying to not let the moment get too big," said Maldonado following the game. "Taking the game pitch by pitch and really taking in the moment, and that's what a lot of veteran guys told me to do: just breathe and pitch. I thought I handled the emotions pretty well." Following Maldonado, making his Marlins debut was Kyle Tyler, a minor league free agent signing who was called up last week. He gave the Marlins two-plus innings, giving up one run and striking out one. Going cutter-heavy with a taste of the curveball and only one slider thrown, Tyler pitched primarily to contact, inducing five ground balls and one pop fly. For the Nationals, Trevor Williams went five innings and lowered his ERA to 2.70. Three Washington relievers combined to strike out seven Marlins over four scoreless innings. The Marlins will look to rebound on Saturday as Edward Cabrera takes the mound against Nationals rookie Mitchell Parker. First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. View full article

Washington Nationals rookie Nasim Nuñez discusses life as a Rule 5 Draft pick and his excitement to play in Miami as a visitor. MIAMI, FL—The call before the call-up came on December 6, 2023. Marlins prospect Nasim Nuñez learned that he had been selected by the Washington Nationals in the MLB Rule 5 Draft. "I had faith in my ability that whatever happens is gonna be the best thing for me," Nasim Nuñez told Fish on First on Friday at loanDepot park. "The Nationals picked me up, so it was the best thing for me." Having been in the Marlins organization since 2019, Nuñez admitted "it was weird coming through here" on the visitor's side. "I got drafted, I always dreamed of making the big league team with them, so it was definitely weird." Making the jump from Double-A—where Nuñez spent the 2023 season—to the major league level isn't an easy thing to do. Most prospects stop at Triple-A before debuting, and even then, they may have to return to the minors to make more adjustments (top-ranked MLB prospect Jackson Holliday being the latest example of that). Nuñez is facing a unique challenge. Being selected in the major league portion of the Rule 5 Draft means his team cannot option him down at any point this season. "At the end of the day, baseball is baseball," said Nuñez. "It's the same game. It's just more people, around new types of people. It's learning how to maneuver through everything else while not playing every day. I'm getting my work, learning and watching things very carefully." Through the first 24 games of the season, the Nationals find themselves with a modest 10-14 record. Nuñez has rarely seen the field, only stepping into the batter's box twice and playing in a total of seven games (most recently on April 20). Compare that to last year when he played 125 minor league games and 20 more in the Arizona Fall League. "I treat it as if I am a starter every day," said Nuñez. "I am doing the same thing I would do if I was playing in Double-A. It's the same thing." Although the former top prospect isn't a Marlin anymore, he still keeps up with some players. "Those are friendships and relationships that you are going to have forever," said the 23-year-old. Nuñez is motivated to go up against any opponent, so to kick off this four-game set against the organization that left him unprotected is just another day at the office for him. "You can say there's a chip, but I wanna beat every team just as bad as I wanna beat this one." View full article

Key quotes from Marlins front office executives Peter Bendix and Gabe Kapler during their recent live interviews on Pensacola Blue Wahoos game broadcasts. The Pensacola Blue Wahoos have been welcoming a few special guests to town during their ongoing homestand. Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and assistant general manager Gabe Kapler each made trips to see the organization's Double-A affiliate up close. They also made separate appearances on the team's game broadcast—Bendix on Tuesday and Kapler last Friday—to speak about the current state of the minor leagues and a myriad of other topics. Here's what they had to say. "One of my main responsibilities—at least how I see it—is supporting (director of player development) Rachel Balkovec," said Kapler. "I tackled that role with the Los Angeles Dodgers many years ago, so I have a decent feel for what at least I believe is a good job. Mentoring Rachel is something I've really been enjoying and getting a chance to really work alongside her." Kapler noted that she's an incredible leader with a great motor, comparing her to how he was back in his days with the Dodgers as aggressive, very "forward-thinking" and innovative. "I want to help her not step on the land mines that I stepped on early on in my career." On the topic of player development, Kapler hammered down the importance of providing minor leaguers with feedback and suggesting adjustments that could take them to the next level: "I think the first thing that I can do and we can do is recognize when a player is on a path that's not gonna get them to the major leagues. When we know that's the case, we take very aggressive action with them. We want to be very aggressive in our player development. We want them to try things, even at the expense of not feeling good or feeling a little bit awkward or uncomfortable. If many of them stay on the same path, one, two, three, four years from now, they're going to be released from baseball and we wanna give them every opportunity to reach the major leagues and perform well." As one possible example of this, left-hander Devin Smeltzer has lowered his release point this season and is seeing great results so far as a reliever with Triple-A Jacksonville (0.96 ERA and 13 K in 9.1 IP). Kapler explained that he'll be syncing up his visits to MiLB affiliates during Marlins road trips. Bendix's interview took place while the Marlins were on their way to suffering their 19th loss in 25 games. "We haven't been consistent." said Bendix about the club's poor start to the season. "We have a lot of good arms, good pitchers and a lot of good young position players. It seems like every game there's been something that goes wrong that is somewhat unexpected and don't expect will continue, but it's a different thing each game. It's a long season, though. It's still April and there's a lot of baseball left to play." The POBO said his focus was on amateur prospects last weekend and that Pensacola was the first Marlins affiliate he has visited in person. He'll be visiting each affiliate at least once over the course of the season. Throughout his interview, Bendix noted how important it is to have a winning culture not just at the major league level, but even at the lowest levels of MiLB. He values that the Blue Wahoos are always in contention for the Southern League championship and that Low-A Jupiter last season won the Florida State League championship. "The player development system is really the lifeblood of every organization, but especially an organization like ours and an organization like the Rays," said Bendix. "You need to have those quality players constantly coming through your system. When you have quality players in the minor leagues, it also leads to wins and competitive teams. A lot of it is drafting well, developing well, signing international players and just constantly being on the lookout for how you can do things better." Bendix was asked about catcher Joe Mack, who was behind the plate for that game after having been newly promoted from High-A Beloit. "High draft pick, a lot of pedigree," said Bendix. "Really good tools on him. Still very young. Had a difficult season last year, but there were some positives signs as well and then he really showed those positive things in the couple weeks down in Beloit. Seeing the plate discipline, hitting the ball hard, good work behind the plate and all of the reasons he got drafted, it was nice to see that and get him a challenge up here." Mack slashed .347/.467/.571 with two home runs and seven RBIs through 13 games in Beloit. Tuesday was his second game with Pensacola. Another name Bendix spoke of was outfielder Shane Sasaki, who was acquired by the Marlins in a three-team trade right before Opening Day. Through his first 15 games at the AA level, Sasaki is slashing .250/.300/.304/.604 with four walks and seven stolen bases. "Shane is somebody who does everything pretty well," said Bendix. "He's really a player where the sum of the parts exceeds any individual part, but he's a good defender, runs the bases well, steals bases, has a little bit of power, good eye at the plate and it's just a combination of very positive things." Prior to his arrival to the Marlins organization, Sasaki had never produced a wRC+ under the league average 100 when he has more than 100 plate appearances. Last season at the High-A level, the Hawaiian slashed .301/.375/.465/.840 with seven home runs, 39 RBIs and a 130 wRC+. Bendix appreciates that the Blue Wahoos consistently draw large crowds and surround Marlins prospects with a lively gameday atmosphere. "Being able to play in front of fans at such a well-done stadium, taken care of so well, the in-game entertainment, all the little details that really do matter and contribute to the positive environment for these players, contribute to the pressure and the stakes and all the things that you can't really develop without actually having a really strong support." The major league team looks to salvage a game against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday. The Marlins will send out former top prospect Sixto Sánchez to the mound for what is expected to be an opener situation with recently called up Kyle Tyler piggybacking him. First pitch is at 7:20 p.m. View full article

Despite matching the class of the National League East in hits, the Miami Marlins were shut out for the second time in 2024. In their attempt to win back-to-back games for the first time in 2024, the Miami Marlins had to take on the division rival Atlanta Braves. For the first of three games, the Marlins summoned Ryan Weathers. Coming into Monday night's matchup, the Braves had won five out of their last six games since last facing the Marlins and they would extend that to six out of seven, defeating the Marlins by a final score of 3-0. Coming off a ten-strikeout performance against the San Francisco Giants, Ryan Weathers only struck out one against the hot-hitting Braves. In his 5 ⅔ innings pitched, Weathers gave up three runs off of six hits and walked three. Compared to his last start, he wasn't able to get hitters to bite. Against the Giants, Weathers generated 19 whiffs, but on Monday against Atlanta, he generated only six. Weathers went away from his sweeper this go-around, using it 13% of the time compared to 34% last Tuesday. Against the Braves, the Tennessee native went with the changeup/fastball combo. His lone strikeout of the game came on the fastball, getting Austin Riley to swing and miss in the bottom of the fifth inning. The damage against Weathers occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning. He surrendered a two-run homer on a changeup to Travis d'Arnaud, making it a 2-0 ballgame. The third run of the game would be a David Fletcher RBI single, driving in Adam Duvall, who Weathers had walked. Offensive Woes in Truist The top of the first inning would mark the Marlins' best opportunity to put runs on the board. Back-to-back singles for the Marlins set up Jazz Chisholm Jr., who got to Braves starter Bryce Elder for a double, but Luis Arraez tried to go from second to home and was caught on the way to scoring what would've been the first run of the game. Bryan De La Cruz advanced to third on the play. A Josh Bell fly ball wasn't deep enough to drive in De La Cruz and Jesús Sánchez flew out to end the inning. The Marlins tagged Elder for eight hits, but were unable to score off of any. Through seven innings, the Marlins out-hit the Braves, with the tandem of Ryan Weathers and reliever Burch Smith giving up seven hits. It wouldn't be until the bottom of the eighth inning when the Braves matched the Marlins in the hits category. Elder became the ninth different pitcher (10th occurrence overall) where a starter has allowed 8 or more hits to Marlins hitters without allowing a run. The last to do it was Jack Flaherty in 2023. As for the Marlins, they grounded into two double plays and had runners in scoring position in three different innings. This marked the team's second time being shut out in the 2024 season (also on April 8 vs. the Yankees). In game two of the three-game set, Trevor Rogers will take the mound for the Fish on Tuesday. First pitch will be at 7:20 p.m. View full article

While Burger is sidelined with a left oblique injury, red-hot Otto López gets a chance to fill the offensive void. Prior to Monday's game, the Miami Marlins will place infielder Jake Burger on the 10-day IL due to the left oblique injury that he suffered during Sunday's loss to the Atlanta Braves. With Burger going on the IL, infielder Otto López is being recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Through 16 games this season, Burger is slashing .228/.281/.421/.702 with three home runs and 15 RBIs. Defensively, Burger has been splitting time between third base (against right-handed starters) and first base (against lefties). He had played in every Marlins game so far, but felt discomfort in the first inning on Sunday while running down the first base line. Last season with the Chicago White Sox, Burger suffered the same injury and missed the minimum 10 days. As of Monday morning, it's unclear how the severity of this injury compares to that one. It's unfortunate timing regardless because the Marlins are scheduled to play games on 10 straight days before their next off day and the offense has struggled even with Burger in the lineup. While Burger is sidelined, expect Emmanuel Rivera to see an increase in playing time at both infield corners. On April 4, the Marlins claimed 25-year-old Otto López via waivers from the San Francisco Giants. Through seven games with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Lopez raked, slashing .556/.600/.926/1.526 with two home runs, five RBIs and a 289 wRC+. López last appeared at the Major League level in 2022 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays this past offseason. During his pro career, López has seen action at second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots (mainly shortstop while in Jacksonville). He is sort of like a right-handed-hitting version of Vidal Bruján, who also suffered an injury scare on Sunday. He is considered day-to-day with a right knee issue. López is set to make his Marlins debut against the team that let him go. Game one of the three-game set against the Giants is at 6:40 p.m. with Edward Cabrera on the mound for the first time this season. View full article

The Marlins lost each of their first five regular season series while Cabrera rehabbed from a shoulder impingement. The Miami Marlins will be activating Edward Cabrera from the injured list on Monday, sources tell Fish On First. He will start against the San Francisco Giants on Monday in place of A.J. Puk, whose scheduled start is being pushed back due to sickness, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The club has not yet announced Cabrera's return and a corresponding move will be needed to add him to the active roster. Last season, Cabrera made 20 starts for the Marlins and posted a 4.24 ERA, 4.43 FIP, 10.7 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9 through 99 ⅔ innings pitched. Cabrera's command has always been an issue throughout his stints at the Major League level, but in his two games (one start) this spring, he didn't walk anyone. When warming up to make his third spring game appearance on March 10, he suffered a right shoulder impingement which landed him on the 15-day injured list. The righty's command issues resurfaced in his first two rehab starts, walking four in his first start and three in his second start. Cabrera would have his best rehab start last Wednesday, going 5 ⅔ innings, striking out nine and walking one. His fastball is sitting 97.3 mph and topping out at 98.6 mph, so from a velocity standpoint, he looks to be back to full strength. Cabrera's return gives the Marlins a second right-handed starter along with Max Meyer and more pitching depth. Although Meyer is off to a hot start, the Marlins rotation as a whole has been mediocre with a 4.70 ERA and 43 walks (second-most in MLB), averaging less than five innings per start. It won't be much longer until Braxton Garrett returns from his injury too as he has gone through two rehab starts already. The Marlins will take on the Giants in the opening game of a three-game set beginning at 6:40 p.m. View full article