Kevin Barral

Eury Pérez made his first start of the spring and 10-year MLB veteran Curt Casali had a lot of positives to say about the 20-year-old pitching phenom. JUPITER, FL—Eury Pérez took the mound on Monday, looking healthy and experimenting with a new pitch grip. There was a lot to take away from his 2024 spring training debut as the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals ended in a 1-1 tie. Eury Pérez makes his first start Although there was a lot of good in Eury Pérez's first spring training start, there was still some rust to take off. His whole arsenal was on display while going 1 ⅔ innings where he struck out three and gave up one run off of three hits, just not all of it was working well. His fastball was averaging 98 miles per hour and the slider was effective, but his curveball and changeup still need some work to be done. "I'll evaluate this is a good outing," said Pérez after his outing via translator. "I was out there trying to as always compete, and first one of the spring, trying new stuff and working on a few things." One of the new things Pérez worked on was his curveball grip. This was a decision he made along with pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. "The curveball is one of the things I'm working on during my bullpen sessions," said Pérez. "It's looking well, but in the game, not that good. I have to work on that. I have a different grip over the curveball, so it's something I have to keep working on in my bullpen sessions and then try my best during the games." Pérez used his curveball 14.0% of the time during his rookie season. Curt Casali's perspective Along with Pérez, his battery mate Curt Casali made his spring training debut. Casali was one of the last players Bendix signed to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. Most recently, Casali was with the Cincinnati Reds and slashed .175/.290/.200/.490, but for the 10-year veteran, his defense is what stands out the most. Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker had a lot of praise for Casali's simple but effective communication style. "He’s had really good young pitchers up and down (in Cincinnati and San Francisco)," said Schumaker before the game. "He's been around, he knows how to have simple messaging on the mound, even listening to him post-bullpens. It's just really simple messaging, which I think gives guys confidence when there are leverage situations or whatever. When they walk off, then you know they're ready to go.” Schumaker also noted that Christian Bethancourt "has done a great job already as well." Bethancourt in his lone game this spring went 1-for-2 with an RBI single. "It was incredible," said Casali about catching Pérez. "The life on his fastball is real. Feels like he's literally placing it in my glove. That's just how far it reaches. I thought his slider was really good today. Fastball location could probably do better. Had a really good curveball in the bullpen that just didn't really translate into the game. We tried a few times and didn't really have too many opportunities to throw the changeup, but in terms of first start of the spring, my first impression of him catching him for the first time, I thought it was good." What can Pérez do to improve in his next outing? "Going out next time, we need to be a little bit more around the zone. Get them into swing mode as fast as we can. His stuff should take a positive first step for him and I'm excited to see what he can do." Skip Schumaker's thoughts and game notes Here is Schumaker's assessment of Eury Pérez: "Some deep counts probably cost him pitch count-wise in spring training. His velocity was there. Thought his slider was good, changeup and curveball, probably not where he wanted it. Overall really good outing." Schumaker also noted that Pérez only threw his new grip curveball twice and that it had been working during sides and bullpens, it's just a case of it not translating to the game itself. The Marlins acquired Darren McCaughan from the Seattle Mariners this offseason and on Monday, he made his Marlins spring training debut, throwing one shutout inning, but walked two. "Probably too much around the zone today," said Schumaker. "Was playing with fire a little bit. With the bases loaded and that type of stuff, probably not ideal, but got out of it. I think the double play was really good up the middle, but I think he probably wants to throw more strikes than that and then get behind hitters, fell behind hitters. His slider is good." The second-year manager also noted that McCaughan threw the slider more, but has gone away from it due to how uncomfortable it feels when throwing it. Starting pitcher Braxton Garrett, who had been dealing with some general soreness this spring, threw what Schumaker considered his first real bullpen of the spring. It was a step in the right direction, but Garrett's availability for the Opening Day roster is unclear with only a month to go. “He's gonna have a couple more bullpens,” said Schumaker. “I'm sure you can think about where that is headed, but I think the reality is he needs a couple more bullpens. Need four or five before you get an outing out there. That was his first one. We'll see where he's at, anything can happen, but he's gonna need three more bullpens. He felt really good coming out of it today.” Recently signed Tim Anderson is getting back in the swing of things. He won't travel for the Marlins' road game against the Mets on Tuesday, but he's nearly ready for Grapefruit League action. "When he feels ready to go, we'll put him in a game," said Schumaker, "but I don't have like this one date that he's gonna go. He's gonna play the next couple days." View full article

In his first go-around as a non-roster invitee, Griffin Conine looks to learn from the Major League coaching staff and make the best of his opportunities. JUPITER, FL—Now entering his fourth full year with the Marlins organization, Griffin Conine is closer than ever to following in his father's footsteps. The 26-year-old son of Jeff Conine, Griffin was invited by the Marlins this year to be a non-roster invitee at big league camp. He's seeing a lot of action early on in Grapefruit League play. Through his first three spring training games, Conine is 3-for-6 with one RBI, but two strikeouts. "It's been a lot of fun so far," said Conine when Fish on First spoke to him. "Definitely a lot of new faces, meeting a lot of new people, always trying to introduce myself to as many people as I can and do as much as I can while I'm here to to make an impact and get comfortable around all these guys and get comfortable with this coaching staff and develop a rapport." The Marlins acquired Conine from the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2020 MLB trade deadline in exchange for Jonathan Villar. His best minor league season came in 2021 when he hit 36 home runs and 84 RBIs between two levels. He has recorded at least 20 home runs in every minor league season he has played since then. The biggest issue holding Conine back from reaching the majors has been his high strikeout percentage. In 2023, his K% was 34.0% in Double-A and then 38.5% in Triple-A. Overall, he owns a 35.9 K% across parts of five MiLB seasons. The MLB average is 22.7%. Defensively, Conine has primarily gotten reps in right field as a pro, showing more arm strength than Mr. Marlin himself had during his playing days. anFyb1hfWGw0TUFRPT1fQmdaVFZGME1WQVFBQ0ZVQVVBQUVBUUpWQUZFRlV3SUFWRlVOVTFjRUFBUUJCd0lI.mp4 Conine has a lot of competition for an outfield spot in Miami. Beyond the projected Opening Day outfielders, Jonathan Davis, Marty Costes, Victor Mesa Jr. and Dane Myers are all in camp as well. Davis and Myers both have big league experience on their side. For Conine to make his case during the course of the 2024 season, it would help to find a balance between contact and power hitting. The Marlins' first full-squad workout was less than a week ago, but Conine mentioned how much he has already learned from Skip Schumaker's coaching staff. "The main emphasis has just been getting to the top of the ball," said Conine. "I've definitely been under a lot in the past. Just kind of how my swing path plays. It's just evening things out. Feel versus real type stuff. Thinking about the barrel working above the ball, even if that's not the way that it unfolds on video. That's kind of what I'm realizing I have to feel to get the swing and so on." For Conine, being around big leaguers on a daily basis now could be valuable to him in the future. "Obviously the talent is better, so the more comfortable I can get now with that, I think will help me down the road for sure," said Conine. View full article

Anthony Bender had to undergo Tommy John surgery, which kept him out through the entirety of the 2023 season. He had a lot to say after his successful outing on Sunday. JUPITER, FL—Although the Marlins fell to the Washington Nationals in Sunday's spring training game, Anthony Bender won the day. The right-handed reliever made his first game appearance since August 13, 2022 against the Atlanta Braves. He would then undergo season-ending Tommy John surgery and miss all of 2023 as well. On February 25, 2024, Bender took the mound going one inning, gave up one hit, no runs, walked one and struck out one. He threw 19 pitches. "It was exciting for sure," said Bender following his outing. "It felt really good getting out there." Bender's velocity never left as his fastball was averaging 96.0 miles per hour. He went with a fastball/slider combo on the afternoon. The lone strikeout he had was against Trey Lipscomb, who he got on the slider. "Those are my main pitches for sure," said Bender. "We're dabbling with the changeup. We'll see when we break that out, but getting the first three out of the way, getting comfortable and we'll take off from there." During his time away, Bender explained that he also changed the way that he holds his pitches. "We'll see how those look and how the hitters react to them and then we'll kinda go off of that." Although he was able to complete the inning, after the first two outs, the 29-year-old righty got into some trouble. He gave up a base hit to Jacob Young, who went on to steal second, and then walked leadoff hitter Alex Call. With runners on first and second, Bender picked off Young at second to end the inning. "Was just trying to fill up the zone out there and working on some things," said Bender. "All the adrenaline setting in and came out after the walk and was trying to go with a pick here and looked back at (Luis) Arraez and it ended up paying off." Bender says that he was "itching to get back" in time to contribute for the Marlins during their 2023 postseason run, but wasn't quite able to. His advice to Sandy Alcantara and other pitchers who are going through Tommy John rehab? "Just listen to your body. Try not to push too fast. When you push too fast, your body pulls back a little bit. So you just gotta listen to your body and go through the proper steps of it." View full article

The Miami Marlins continue to prioritize pitching and add the former Cincinnati Reds right-hander to provide more rotation depth. Cuban pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez is coming to Marlins big league camp as a non-roster invitee, Francys Romero reported on Thursday night. Gutierrez's minor league deal adds more depth to an organization that already had a lot of quality starting pitching. In 2021, Gutierrez spent most of his rookie campaign in the Cincinnati Reds starting rotation, posting a 4.76 ERA, 5.22 FIP, 6.9 K/9 and a 3.6 BB/9 through 114 innings pitched. He even received a third-place vote for National League Rookie of the Year, placing eighth in the overall voting. The right-hander struggled in 2022, throwing only 36 ⅔ innings with a 7.61 ERA, 6.82 FIP, 7.1 K/9 and 5.9 BB/9 before undergoing Tommy John surgery. He came back from injury late last season and made rehab appearances between rookie ball and AAA, but never got called up. He was eventually DFA'd and elected minor league free agency. On January 24, Gutierrez threw a live BP in front of representatives from 10-15 MLB teams and one of them was from the Marlins. A month later, they have finalized an agreement with each other. In previous MLB action, Gutierrez had an average fastball velocity of about 93 mph, but that was up to 94-96 mph during his showcase at FIU, reports Francys Romero. Along with the fastball, the 28-year-old has a slider (83-84 mph), curveball (76-77 mph) and a changeup (81-84 mph). At the end, it seemed as if the Marlins and Chicago Cubs were the finalists for Gutierrez. He went with the team that is closest to home for him. There is some potential long-term upside for the Marlins here. They could have club control over Gutierrez all the way through the 2027 season via arbitration if they are satisfied with his production. View full article

It took until deep into spring training to get it done, but the Miami Marlins have made their first Major League free agent signing of the offseason and filled their void at shortstop. On Thursday morning, Jesse Rogers of ESPN broke the news that Tim Anderson is signing with the Miami Marlins on a one-year, $5M deal. It's the first major league free agent signing of the Peter Bendix era. Anderson would slot in as Miami's starting shortstop. The official signing is still pending a physical and corresponding 40-man roster move. In 2023, Anderson slashed .245/.286/.296/.582 with one home run, 25 RBIs and a 60 wRC+. Although Anderson had what was the worst season of his career up to this point, looking at every other year, the 30-year-old shortstop had posted a wRC+ over 100 in the past four years, most notably in 2019 where he put up a 128 wRC+ along with a slash line of .335/.357/.508/.865 with 18 home runs and 56 RBIs. More recently, in 2022, Anderson may have seen a major dip in fWAR, but was still hitting over .300 and had a wRC+ over the league average. Like most players the Marlins have brought in, Anderson would be a bounce-back candidate. Anderson isn't the same offensive star he once was back in the early stages of his career, but still a lot of reasons to like what he does at the plate. In 2022, Anderson struck out at a 15.7%, but had a more aggressive approach in 2024, with his K% going up 7.6%, but the BB% going up one percent. There is reason to believe that in a big ballpark like loanDepot park, Anderson would benefit given his ability to hit the ball well from gap-to-gap and fit somewhere between the third through sixth spot of a lineup. Even in 2023, he still hit the ball to all sides of the field, but just not as far as he did in years prior. Defensively, it's been an up-and-down road for the newest Marlin. His best season at shortstop came in 2018 where he had a 12 DRS and ranked in the 94th percentile of outs above average. Looking back at his last great season for the White Sox in 2022, Anderson had a -7 DRS and dropped to the 26th percentile in OAA, so you can say it's more realistic to use those latter numbers as the expectation for him moving forward. Some rumors have suggested Anderson has been an issue in the clubhouse in the past, but former teammate Jake Burger has insisted otherwise. Also, in a year where the Chicago White Sox lost 101 games, it's easier to understand why veteran players like him could get frustrated. Anderson's low point was on August 5 in a game against the Cleveland Guardians when he got into a fist fight with José Ramírez and was knocked to the ground by a punch. He would later serve a five-game suspension for the incident. For Anderson, a fresh start is what he needs, along with a team giving him a chance. A clubhouse with Luis Arraez, Skip Schumaker and other veteran pieces is an environment that should benefit him. He has an opportunity to win baseball games and go to the playoffs, while also re-establishing himself as a reliable shortstop who could earn a much larger contract next offseason, whether that comes from the Marlins or another club. View full article

Bennett Hostetler shares his excitement going into his first career big league camp. JUPITER, FL —When pitchers and catchers reported last Thursday, one of the new faces in the Miami Marlins clubhouse was 26-year-old Bennett Hostetler. Drafted by the Marlins in 2021 as an infielder, Hostetler was quickly converted to a catcher the following offseason. He made it to the Double-A level this past year and slashed .249/.371/.481/.851 with 14 home runs, 42 RBIs and a 128 wRC+ in his 71 games there. Although this is Hostetler's third spring training as a professional, this is his first with the major league team, which he is extremely honored to be a part of: "It was really cool for me. You get a phone call when I was just expecting coming down to go to minor league spring training, but to have the opportunity to be a part of this clubhouse for however long I'm here is a cool experience. I'm excited for myself and hopefully I'm on my way to whatever spot I get." After getting off to a great start at Low-A/High-A in 2021, Hostetler hit a wall in 2022. Playing all of his defensive innings behind the plate with High-A Beloit, he slashed .232/.316/.358/.674 with nine home runs, 53 RBIs and a 91 wRC+. His production was especially limited in home games (.232/.297/.316/.613 slash line). In 2023, Hostetler slumped badly at the very start of the season, but he received the promotion to Double-A Pensacola anyway. An overall better approach at the plate seems to have been what worked for the catcher/infielder. After only having a 2.9 BB% in Beloit, Hostetler increased that up to a 13.3 BB%. The K% went up just a tad bit. Along with showing more power, it seemed as though he finally found a good rhythm behind the plate as the backup to Will Banfield. By the end of the season, the Blue Wahoos used him as their primary first baseman to keep his bat in the lineup. "Sometimes all it takes is getting to a new location," said Hostetler when we spoke to him last Thursday. "I changed a couple things with my swing, made a couple adjustments to give myself a better chance to be on time for pitches and to do some damage." Hostetler has learned a lot going into his third spring camp as a pro, especially behind the plate. "For starters, I think just how fast everyone throws," said Hostetler. "You see it when you're hitting, but it's a lot different when you're catching. For me, it was just being able to control the pitching staff, to learn how to call a game, the ins and outs of catching that I wouldn't have normally thought of when I was playing in the infield." "I am happy with how far I've come catching-wise," added Hostetler, "but obviously there's still a long way to go." View full article

Episode #54 Isaac, Kevin and Ely react to the Marlins' first pitchers and catchers workout and the trade rumors involving their talented starting pitchers. Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral are joined by Ely Sussman to react to the Marlins' first pitchers and catchers workout and the trade rumors involving their talented starting pitchers. Can the Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates find common ground on an Edward Cabrera deal? Why does the front office continue to "listen" on Jesús Luzardo offers rather than try to extend him? Is Max Meyer a candidate for the Opening Day roster? Those topics and more are covered on Episode #54. Find Fish Unfiltered on the Fish On First YouTube channel, our new-look Apple Podcasts channel and wherever else you get your pods. FOF's audio programming also includes The Offishial Show, Big Fish Small Pod, Swimming Upstream and more. Follow Isaac (@IsaacAzout), Kevin (@kevin_barral), Ely (@RealEly) and Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) on Twitter. Join the Marlins Discord server! Complete Miami Marlins coverage here at FishOnFirst.com. View full article

At the start of Spring Training, Marlins first baseman/designated hitter Trey Mancini speaks to Fish On First's Kevin Barral. View full video

At the start of Spring Training, Marlins left-hander Patrick Monteverde speaks to Fish On First's Kevin Barral. View full video

Jesús Luzardo was among the Marlins pitchers who threw his first bullpen session of Spring Training on Thursday. Following his bullpen, he spoke to the media about everything he has been working on and looking ahead to this season. JUPITER, FL—The first pitchers and catchers workout of Marlins Spring Training is in the books. Coming off a breakout 2023 season, left-hander Jesús Luzardo held an extended press conference on Thursday about this milestone. "It feels great to be back around the guys, around the whole team," said Luzardo. "Feels like everyone has a nice upbeat mentality and kind of energy going into this year. I think we're all very excited and looking forward to it. I know everyone put in a lot of work in the offseason. We're excited to get out and show it to you this year." In 2023, Luzardo threw a career-high 178 ⅔ innings and reached a career-high 208 strikeouts, earning the honor of starting Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series. What was Luzardo's main takeaway? "For me, it's really the health. Just being able to stay on the field and take the ball every five days is what's most important for me. Being able to be available for the team, whenever they need me. That's something that I want to keep keep going and 2024." Catching Luzardo's bullpen was new acquisition Christian Bethancourt. He and Luzardo had never been teammates before, but their first bullpen together looked encouraging and you could hear them communicating in Spanish throughout. "It just kind of came out," said Luzardo. "We're both Latin, but he speaks really good English as well. We kind of mix and match...A guy like [Bethancourt] who's bilingual, it just helps a lot being able to talk to both the Latin guys and American guys, whatever it might be. It's very helpful on a team." Luzardo mentioned the addition of a curveball to his arsenal. In 2023, his pitch mix included a four-seam fastball, slider, changeup, sinker and occasional cutter. Trade rumors have swirled around Luzardo this offseason now that he is established as a quality starting pitcher and seems unlikely to receive a long-term extension from the Marlins. Most recently, Craig Mish of SportsGrid and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles discussed a potential Luzardo trade, but Baltimore was just never able to meet the asking price. "I was never involved in any of those conversations," said Luzardo. "It's just part of the business that it comes with. I love being here. I love being a Marlin. I've been a Marlins fan my whole life. Grew up in South Florida. The longer I could be here, the happier I'll be, but at the end of the day, it is what it is. Whatever happens happens, but like I said, I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to be a part of this team." The full list of pitchers who threw bullpens on Thursday: Luzardo, Ryan Weathers, George Soriano, Matt Andriese, Bryan Hoeing, Max Meyer, Jeff Lindgren, Calvin Faucher, Roddery Muñoz, Sixto Sanchez and Anthony Bender. View full article

After a 2023 season that saw Victor Mesa Jr. improve in several aspects of his game, the Marlins outfielder looks to learn as much as he can from the experienced group of veterans here in big league camp. JUPITER, FL—On Thursday, pitchers and catchers all fully reported to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium (with a few exceptions). Several position players were also working out with the team ahead of schedule including Fish On First top outfield prospect Victor Mesa Jr. who was recently added to the 40-man roster after a successful season at the AA level. Fish On First had the opportunity to speak to Mesa about his expectations going into Spring Training. "Just getting ready for this opportunity," said Mesa. "This is going to be my fifth or sixth year here. I am grateful for this opportunity with the team. I am excited at the same time. I wanna work, I wanna feel like home and I wanna fit in here." Mesa has steadily risen through the Marlins farm system since signing as an international free agent in 2018. Last season, Mesa slashed .242/.308/.412/.720 with 18 home runs, 76 RBIs and a 91 wRC+. Mesa Jr. got off to a strong start with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos, but slowed down after the All-Star break. At 22 years old, "The Chosen One" looks to start at AAA in 2024 if he has a strong spring. "Pretty nice," said Mesa describing his 2023 season in Pensacola. "Pretty good crowd there, pretty good season. We just missed out on the last game and lost the finals, but pretty good. I felt pretty comfortable, especially in Florida where there's much better weather all the time, but pretty good." This offseason, in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, the Marlins had to decide who to protect in the major league portion of the draft. Along with RHP Anthony Maldonado, Mesa was selected to the 40-man roster, showing that the organization is high on the Cuban outfielder. "It was great news," said Mesa. "I am not going to say it gives me confidence because, on the 40-man or not on the 40-man, I am going to go out on the field and give my 100%. I am thankful that the organization considered me as a good option, but I am ready for this opportunity." Other outfielders in Marlins big league camp include Jazz Chisholm Jr., Avisaíl García, Nick Gordon, Jesús Sánchez and Bryan De La Cruz. The 22-year-old Mesa is excited to learn from all of them. "Jazz and Avi, I know all of them already, but just excited to learn from everyone. I am here to learn since I am practically new with this, but I want to learn from everyone. You need to learn a little bit every day to try to be better every day, so you gotta do what you gotta do." View full article

Newly added to the Marlins 40-man roster, outfielder Victor Mesa Jr. talks to Fish On First about his expectations for Spring Training and his experience playing for the Cuban Professional Baseball Federation. View full video

A 10-year MLB veteran, Marlins non-roster invitee Curt Casali addresses the media prior to the first pitchers and catchers workout of Spring Training. View full video