Kevin Barral

MIAMI FL—Within the first hour of Thursday's semifinal game, the Dominican Republic took a 2-0 lead. They never looked back on their way to defeating Panamá and moving onto the 2024 Caribbean Series championship game. Panama starting pitcher Harold Arauz saw his start get cut short after struggling through 2 ⅓ innings, where he gave up three runs, walked three and only struck out two. The first run that Arauz gave up, an RBI single to third baseman Dawel Lugo, drove in Gustavo Nuñez who worked a walk in his plate appearance. Lugo was tagged out trying to go for second base, which made it an early 1-0 game in favor of the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic's second run would come in after Junior Lake drew a walk and advanced to second base on a balk. Emilio Bonifacio drove Lake home on an RBI single. The third and final run that Arauz would give up happened after he was replaced by reliever Steven Fuentes. Yadiel Hernández had a sac fly, which drove in the inherited runner, Emilio Bonifacio. In his 3 ⅓ innings pitched, Fuentes struck out two, giving up one run off of four hits. In the top of the sixth inning, first baseman Kelvin Gutierrez drove in Yadiel Hernández, who had a base hit in his at-bat. This extended the Dominican Republic's lead to 4-0. Although Panamá had multiple attempts with runners in scoring position, Dominican Republic starter Cameron Gann gave Gilbert Gómez and his team 4 ⅓ strong innings of shutout baseball. Gann struck out two, walked two and allowed three hits. In place of Gann, Jonathan Aro entered the game in relief. A total of five relievers entered the game for the Dominican Republic. Although they allowed five hits and one RBI to make it a 4-1 game, Panamá frequently ran the ball into ground or swung underneath it. Their offense produced only one extra-base hit. Panamá plays one last game on Friday at 3:00 p.m. against the loser of the Venezuela/Curacao game to determine who will be the third-place team in the Caribbean Series. As for the Dominican Republic, they will now aim for their 23rd Caribbean Series win on Friday night against the winner of Venezuela/Curacao.

MIAMI, FL—For the second time ever and the first time since 1952, a no-hitter was thrown during the Caribbean Series. History was made on Wednesday night by Ángel Padrón as Venezuela beat Nicaragua by a final score of 9-0 to earn the number one seed for Thursdays' semifinal. Originally, the plan was for Padrón to go about 3-4 innings, but little by little, it became more apparent that the no-hitter was becoming more of a possibility. "In the fourth inning I thought about it," said Padrón following the game. "I saw the scoreboard and saw that I had a perfect game, but I think that I stayed calm, told myself that I wasn't going to think too much about it so that my emotions don't get the best of me and that is what I think I did, which was stay focused pitch-by-pitch, hitter-by-hitter and inning-by-inning and well, thankfully it was accomplished." Padrón went nine shutout innings, allowing zero hits, one walk and striking out four along with throwing 88 pitches. Nicaragua's starter was Yoanner Negrin for what would be their final game in the 2024 Caribbean Series as they tried to search for what would be their first and only win of the tournament. Despite giving up three runs, Negrin went five innings, struck out three, gave up eight hits and didn't walk anyone. Negrin provided plenty of length for his team, but at the end of the day, Nicaragua had to go with four relievers. Ramón Flores had to enter the game midway through replacing Venezuela center fielder Franklin Barreto, who came out due to an injury. Flores popped out in his first at-bat, but in his following one, he drove in the first two runs of the game on a bases loaded RBI single. Flores ended the night going 2-for-4 with two RBIs. He also made a great running catch in center for the final out of the seventh inning that kept the no-no alive. bkc5ZUdfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X1Z3bFZWRkpWQXdzQVhsVUFWd0FBQkFCZkFGaFRXd1VBVmdOUkExRUJCVkJTQmdRQw==.mp4 The final run that Negrin gave up wasn't totally on him. He allowed a base hit to Yasiel Puig, then was taken out and after Leonardo Reginatto also got a base hit, Alcides Escobar grounded into a double play that Puig scored on and gave Venezuela a 3-0 lead. The Tiburones would go on to score six more runs, including RBIs from Flores, Reginatto, Escobar, Odúbel Herrera, Wilfredo Tovar and Francisco Arcia. As for Nicaragua, they finish the tournament as the last-place team and the only team without a win, but Ozzie Guillén had a lot of praise and on top of that offered his help to Nicaraguan baseball. Following the final out, Guillén went up to manager Marvin Bernard and gave him a handshake and hug along with before the game, they had a long conversation. "Following the game, I went up to the Nicaragua dugout to let them know personally how thankful, proud and how good I feel watching Nicaragua competing in these tournaments," said Guillén. "I said it beforehand, we have to help Nicaragua. I spoke to their manager and I told him that I am fully in to do whatever it takes—besides be the manager—to help Nicaragua out as a baseball country." With that, Venezuela secures the 9-0 victory and Ángel Padrón secured his no-hitter. He joins Henderson Álvarez (2013) and Edinson Vólquez (2017) as pitchers to accomplish this feat at loanDepot park (Álvarez and Vólquez were both Marlins pitchers at the time). Venezuela becomes the number one seed in the Caribbean Series and will be the home team for Thursday's 8:00 p.m. game against Curacao. The ballpark roof will be OPEN. The Dominican Republic will take on Panamá in the 3:00 p.m. semifinal game where Panamá is the home team.

MIAMI, FL —For the Dominican Republic and Panamá, there was not much at stake during Wednesday's game with both teams already advancing to the Caribbean Series semifinals. Despite that, the afternoon pitching duel was worth the price of admission. One team had to eventually pull away and this time, it was Panamá who took the late lead and won. Panamanian right-hander Ernesto Silva went five innings, gave up one run off of five hits, walked three and didn't strike out anyone. Although the final line seems a bit concerning in terms of no strikeouts, Silva generated a lot of grounders to keep his team in the game. The run that Silva gave up was a Dawel Lugo RBI single, which drove in Emilio Bonifacio. For the Dominican Republic, Cuban starter Jorge Martinez went five innings, gave up one run off of three hits, walked two and struck out seven. The one run he gave up was a home run to Jhonny Santos, which made it an early 1-0 lead for Panamá at the time. Lisalverto Bonilla entered the game in relief of Martinez and that's when Panamá regained the lead. Christian Bethancourt, one of the newest members of the Miami Marlins, took Bonilla deep 397 feet to center field for a solo shot. The ball left the bat at 100.7 miles per hour and that was his first career Caribbean Series home run (as well as his first at LoanDepot Park at any level of competition). Through six games, Bethancourt has a .261/.370/.478/.848 slash line with a strikeout rate of only 11.1%. Gilbert Gómez's ballclub had their chances to fight back, but went 1-for-12 with scoring position, so Panamá ended up winning the game and finishing the Round Robin portion of the tournament with a 5-1 record. They aren't confirmed as the top seed yet as they await the Venezuela/Nicaragua result on Wednesday night (Venezuela can surpass them with a win). In either case, Panamá will play in the semifinals on Thursday.

MIAMI, FL—Following a 2-0 win over Curacao, the Dominican Republic clinched their spot in the 2024 Caribbean Series semifinals. With victories on Thursday and Friday, they will repeat as tournament champions. Before that, they still have Wednesday's game against Panamá at 3:30 p.m. After having just thrown 71 pitches and five scoreless innings, Tuesday's starting pitcher, Raul Valdes, spoke about his availability for the rest of the tournament. "I am always available," said Valdes following his outing. "I don't have any limits. I threw today and if the manager decides that I can enter the game in relief tomorrow, I can pitch every day. I don't have any issue with that." "That's what makes a pitcher like Raul [Valdes] a great piece, because we know that he will be available more than possibly other starters," said manager Gilbert Gómez. "But right now, it is just too early for us to just say that Valdes will be available for the final. We know that we can count on him and we know that he will be ready to go, but that is more of a group conversation and more with Raul himself. Just looking in terms of what happens (Wednesday), how he feels the next day and how our pitching staff looks. Then, that's when it is easier for us to make a decision." The oldest player in the tournament at age 46, Valdes is playing in his ninth Caribbean Series. This is a special one for the winter league vet as it would be the first one he would win in an MLB ballpark. "It would mean a lot," said Valdes. After striking out seven batters against Curacao, Valdes has 61 total K's in his Caribbean Series career, one away from tying the all-time record held by Juan "Terín" Pizarro.

MIAMI, F.L. - A game that was crucial for both teams who look to advance to the semi-finals saw Curacao starter Cody Mincey and Dominican Republic starter Raul Valdes keep their teams in it, but at the end of the day, one team had to strike and it was the Dominican Republic who won to a final score of 2-0. Cody Mincey, a former Marlins prospect took the ball in what was one of the most important games of the Caribbean Series for Curacao and went innings and didn't give up his first run of the game up until the bottom of the fourth inning where Gustavo Nuñez began the inning with a base hit and after a Robinson Cano fly out, Ramon Hernandez and Dawel Lugo had base hits, but it was Lugo's base hit which turned into an RBI single to drive in Nuñez and give the Dominican Republic a 1-0 lead. Despite the one run, Mincey ended the afternoon going 6.1 innings, striking out three, walking zero and giving up one run off of five hits. Following Mincey's exit, Curacao went with reliever Kevin Kelly who got the Suns out of the bottom of the seventh, but Franklin Van Gurp got into some trouble, allowing hits to both Emilio Bonifacio and Gustavo Nuñez putting runners on the corners with one out in the bottom of the eighth. Van Gurp was taken out and in his place, Shea Spitzbarth entered the game and thankfully, the most he gave up was a sac fly to Robinson Cano which scored a run, but Van Gurp is given that run scored. For the Dominican Republic, Cuban starter Raul Valdes was on the verge of history before being taken out after the top of the fifth inning. For Valdes, this is his ninth Caribbean Series and before he came out, he was one strikeout away from tying the top pitcher for most strikeouts in Caribbean Series history at 62, but Valdes was taken out with 61 strikeouts. Valdes shut down the Curacao offense through his five innings of work, only allowing two hits, striking out seven and not walking anyone. Valdes was also one strikeout away from tying Venezuela's starter Ricardo Pinto for the most strikeouts in a single game in the 2024 Caribbean Series which is eight. Following Valdes start, the Dominican Republic bullpen gave up one hit J.C. Mejia struck out the side in the top of the eighth and closer Jairo Asencio entered the game to finish the job and give the Dominican Republic their third win of the Caribbean Series and keep them alive. For Curacao, they have a make-or-break game with Puerto Rico in the morning, which would possibly send them to the semi-finals or eliminate them from the 2024 Caribbean Series. Currently, Curacao has a 3-3 record with the loss. For the Dominican Republic, they have one last game against Panama who are 4-0, so a lot will be indicated in the night game following this game which is Venezuela vs. Panama.

Every year, Dan Szymborski's ZiPS projection system uses data and past comps to project how individual players will perform. The accuracy of his projections obviously isn't perfect, but has been very good as of late. What does ZiPS have to say about 2024 Marlins players? Let's break it down. You can read Szymborski's original article about it and use these sortable tables. Thank you to the guys at the Just Baseball Show for inspiring this idea. You can check out their series of episodes reacting to ZiPS projections along with the rest of their great content on all podcast platforms. Position Players Right off the bat, Luis Arraez is projected to slash .316/.369/.418 with seven home runs, 59 RBIs and a 116 OPS+. In 2023, Arraez slashed .354/.393/.469/.861 with 10 home runs, 69 RBIs and a 132 wRC+. Although this does seem like a down year compared to what the Venezuelan second baseman did last season, ZiPS takes your whole career into account, but more specifically, the last three years. In 2022, prior to Arraez arrival in Miami, he slashed .316/.375/.420/.795 with eight home runs, 49 RBIs and a 131 wRC+. Although right now it makes sense to take the over on the ZiPS projection, it shouldn’t come to anyone as a surprise the projection placed on the Marlins second baseman. Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards 2019 22 MIN AL 92 366 326 54 109 20 1 4 28 2 2 36 29 .334 .399 .439 .838 124 143 2 1 0 3 1 475/6HD RoY-6 2020 23 MIN AL 32 121 112 16 36 9 0 0 13 0 0 8 11 .321 .364 .402 .765 113 45 2 0 0 1 0 4/H 2021 24 MIN AL 121 479 428 58 126 17 6 2 42 2 2 43 48 .294 .357 .376 .733 105 161 9 2 0 6 2 547H/D 2022 25 MIN AL 144 603 547 88 173 31 1 8 49 4 4 50 43 .316 .375 .420 .795 128 230 6 3 0 3 2 34DH/5 AS,MVP-13,SS 2023 26 MIA NL 147 617 574 71 203 30 3 10 69 3 2 35 34 .354 .393 .469 .861 133 269 18 4 1 3 10 *43/HD AS,MVP-8,SS In 2023, Jazz Chisholm Jr. slashed .250/.304/.457 with 19 home runs, 51 RBIs and a 103 wRC+. In 2024, ZiPS projected Chisholm to slash .249/.313/.451 with 19 home runs, 61 RBIs and a 107 OPS+. These projections line up with his usual career norms. To see different results, it will take the Marlins center fielder to play over 100 games in a season, which is where different projections may be seen in 2025. At least an uptick in most numbers. At the moment, it is hard to disagree with the projection. Defensively, ZiPS has Chisholm continuing to improve at center field with a plus-four DEF. In 2023, he ranked in the 87th percentile of outs above average, which was one of the best in baseball along with an arm strength in the 80th percentile. Where the metrics didn’t do him any favors, it was in DRS, where he was at minus-nine, but that should improve. ZiPS currently projects Jake Burger to once again have a strong season and continue his 2023 success by slashing .252/.308/.483 with 27 home runs, 74 RBIs and a 113 OPS+. Although projections show that Burger won’t continue to be the contact hitter that he was when arriving in South Florida, he will continue to show off his plus power and in fact lead the team in home runs. Unfortunately, ZiPS doesn’t see a world where Burger strikes out at a 21.7% like he did with the Marlins. It believes that Burger will go back to his career norms and strikeout 140 times, which would lead the team this upcoming season. Despite a solid 2023 season, ZiPS projects Jesús Sánchez to have a similar 2024 season. Sánchez came onto the scene in 2020 where he saw limited game action. In 2021, Sánchez had a 111 wRC+ with 14 home runs, but the strikeout percentage was high. 2022 was an up-and-down season for Sánchez, but still put up a 109 wRC+ and had a 14 homer season. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that with the lack of overall years, ZiPS thinks that Sánchez will have a repeat year with some improvements. He is projected to slash .252/.322/.443 with 18 home runs, 61 RBIs and a 108 OPS+. Along with a strong offensive season, Sánchez is projected to have a positive defensive season with plus-three DEF. If Sánchez can cut down on the strikeout percentage just a bit more into the 20-21% range, then it is possible that we see an overall better approach along with more success from the projected right fielder in 2024. If there is one player that ZiPS is high on (and rightfully so), it is Xavier Edwards who they have fourth on the team in WAR at 2.0. After slashing .351/.429/.457 with seven home runs, 47 RBIs and a 130 wRC+ at the AAA level, Edwards was called up to the big leagues where he slashed .295/.329/.333 with three RBIs. It does seem like ZiPS believes that Edwards will be earning plenty of playing time, especially given that Miami has yet to sign a shortstop, so having him play games at short will be something that may have played a factor. The highest-rated minor leaguer by ZiPS is Jake Thompson who ended the 2023 season with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. ZiPS has him slashing .248/.326/.414 with 12 home runs, 51 RBIs and a 102 OPS+. He is projected to be a 1.3 WAR player this upcoming season. Defensively is where I begin to have doubts with Thompson, but not ZiPS, projecting him at plus-four DEF. So far in the minors, Thompson has seen action in the corner outfield spots along with first base. 2022 24 2.8 Jupiter FLOR A MIA 34 141 120 23 35 13 0 3 16 0 1 20 32 .292 .397 .475 .872 57 6 1 0 0 0 2023 25 2 Teams 2 Lgs A+-AA MIA 103 397 335 63 93 15 3 18 53 6 0 47 72 .278 .385 .502 .887 168 6 13 0 2 0 2023 25 1.4 Pensacola SOUL AA MIA 14 58 48 6 13 1 0 2 9 0 0 9 11 .271 .379 .417 .796 20 0 0 0 1 0 2023 25 2.8 Beloit MIDW A+ MIA 89 339 287 57 80 14 3 16 44 6 0 38 61 .279 .386 .516 .902 148 6 13 0 1 0 Pitchers One of the more interesting projections on the starting pitching side of things is Braxton Garrett who is projected to have a 4.06 ERA, 4.10 FIP, 21.5% K in 136.0 IP. What fascinates me the most about the ZiPS projection for Garrett is the comparison section. The comparison that I am a fan of the most is the first one, which is José Quintana. Below are Quintana’s first three seasons in the major leagues compared to Garrett’s career up to this point (2020-2023) and you can see that Quintana leads in most categories, but primarily due to more overall games played in. Despite leading in most stats, Garrett isn’t too far off in ERA, ERA+ and actually strikes out hitters at a higher rate, but as expected less walks given less games. Garrett is just now starting to ramp up in terms of games played, so maybe doing this comparison in a couple years, we will have a lot more similarities than the ones we have now. Eury Pérez is coming off of a strong rookie campaign where he ended up throwing over 100 innings between the major and minor leagues. In 2024, ZiPS projected the young Dominican to throw 124.0 innings and have a 3.63 ERA, 3.71 FIP and 26.4 K%. The comparisons that ZiPS gives Pérez are Denny McLain, Dennis Eckersley and José Fernández. Although Pérez didn’t have the same rookie years that Eckersley and Fernández had, it gives you a good look at what players who were similar to Pérez in their age-20 season. Certainly a good amount of names to have, especially Fernández, a former Marlin himself who won the NL Rookie of the Year that season. It is very likely that Jesús Luzardo will be the Miami Marlins Opening Day starter in 2024. ZiPS projects that the Marlins number one starter will have a 3.88 ERA, 3.85 FIP, 26.8% in 153 ⅓ innings pitched. What stands out not only about Luzardo, but the remaining of this Marlins rotation is how low ZiPS has them at innings pitched after coming off of career highs in that category, but you look back even further, Luzardo and Garrett haven’t seen as much action as they did in 2023, which is why some of these comps see the compared player have more overall stats. When it comes to both Luzardo and Pérez, I would take the under on the ERA and expect Luzardo to pitch over that 153 ⅓ innings marker that they have him set at, which in the 2025 ZiPS projections, should increase the innings count. With Pérez, it is hard to know what will be the plan. Although we do know he will pitch over his 2023 total, we don’t know by how much more he will beat that. ZiPS does project Edward Cabrera to once again struggle in 2024, posting a 4.41 ERA, 4.53 FIP, 23.8% K, 10.9% BB in 112 ⅓ innings pitched. These projected numbers should come to no surprise given his 2023 struggles and late struggles in the 2022 season. Trevor Rogers, who only saw action in four games last year is set to pitch just over 100 innings according to ZiPS. He is projected to have a 4.06 ERA, 3.91 FIP, 23.7% K, 7.8% BB in 102.0 IP. These stats shouldn’t come as a surprise given that Rogers threw 107 innings in 2022 and 18 innings in 2023. He has only surpassed 110 innings once, which was in 2021 where he was the runner up for the NL Rookie of the Year. Despite heavily struggling in the second half of the season, ZiPS thinks A.J. Puk will have a 114 ERA+ (100 league average). What will be interesting is seeing how different these stats will be if he does end up going into that swingman-type role, taking on more innings of work. ZiPS projects minor leaguer Luis Palacios to be the best minor league pitcher for the Marlins, despite being projected to have a 4.69 ERA, 4.65 FIP, 13.7% K, 4.7% BB, 90 ERA+, but they have him giving Miami length with 128 ⅔ innings pitched. 2021 20 -1.9 Jupiter LASE A MIA 5 6 .455 3.88 4.02 12 10 1 2 0 1 65.0 48 29 28 10 16 0 66 5 1 0 265 0.985 6.6 1.4 2.2 9.1 4.13 2022 21 3 Teams 3 Lgs A-A+-AA MIA 8 7 .533 4.17 4.31 23 21 0 1 0 0 131.2 135 63 61 20 16 0 124 5 0 3 535 1.147 9.2 1.4 1.1 8.5 7.75 2022 21 -3.4 Pensacola SOUL AA MIA 1 0 1.000 2.70 2.70 2 2 0 0 0 0 10.0 4 3 3 2 4 0 9 1 0 0 38 0.800 3.6 1.8 3.6 8.1 2.25 2022 21 -2.1 Beloit MIDW A+ MIA 3 2 .600 4.85 4.85 7 7 0 0 0 0 39.0 45 21 21 7 7 0 33 4 0 1 165 1.333 10.4 1.6 1.6 7.6 4.71 2022 21 -1.0 Jupiter FLOR A MIA 4 5 .444 4.03 4.25 14 12 0 1 0 0 82.2 86 39 37 11 5 0 82 0 0 2 332 1.101 9.4 1.2 0.5 8.9 16.40 2023 22 3 Teams 3 Lgs AA-A+-AAA MIA 11 9 .550 4.30 4.61 25 23 0 0 0 0 144.1 142 74 69 29 31 0 110 7 4 2 594 1.199 8.9 1.8 1.9 6.9 3.55 2023 22 -4.9 Jacksonville IL AAA MIA 1 1 .500 5.28 5.28 3 3 0 0 0 0 15.1 16 9 9 6 3 0 12 1 0 0 62 1.239 9.4 3.5 1.8 7.0 4.00 2023 22 -2.3 Pensacola SOUL AA MIA 9 7 .563 4.62 4.95 19 17 0 0 0 0 109.0 114 60 56 21 26 0 81 5 4 2 456 1.284 9.4 1.7 2.1 6.7 3.12 2023 22 -1.1 Beloit MIDW A+ MIA 1 1 .500 1.80 2.25 3 3 0 0 0 0 20.0 12 5 4 2 2 0 17 1 0 0 76 0.700 5.4 0.9 0.9 7.7 8.50 2023-24 22 -5.9 Caracas VEWL FgW 0 0 2.70 2.70 8 1 1 0 0 0 10.0 14 3 3 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 47 1.800 12.6 0.0 3.6 3.6 1.00 At the end of the day, there are always players who will defy their projections, but with all the factors that ZiPS takes into consideration, these numbers can tip us off about guys who are likely to trend in a positive or negative direction.

On Monday, the Miami Marlins released their list of 20 non-roster invitees, a combination of minor league signings and some of the top prospects within the organization. Let's do quick hits about each of them. Pitchers The Marlins recently signed RHP Elvis Alvarado. Last year, he pitched in the Detroit Tigers system and then spent time in the Dominican Winter League with the Estrellas Orientales where he posted a 0.00 ERA in 12 ⅔ innings pitched. Alvarado at the age of 24 can still provide value as a prospect, so early on, it'll be interesting to see how he develops. Assuming he doesn't make the Opening Day roster, expect him to land in the AA-Pensacola or AAA-Jacksonville bullpen. RHP Matt Andriese has Rays ties along with many years of experience. The last time he pitched at the big league level was in 2021 when he was with Boston and Seattle. Since then, he spent time in Japan and most recently at the AAA level where he posted a 6.05 ERA. Andriese will be depth for the Marlins to have to make spot starts or become an opener. Hard to see him cracking the 26-man roster. RHP Luarbert Arias is one of the more underrated Marlins prospects. He had a 1.93 ERA at the High-A level and then a 1.69 ERA in AA. Based on performance and the nastiness of his slider, Arias certainly deserves the invite, especially at 23 years old, where he still has time to develop at his age. RHP Jeff Lindgren and RHP Kyle Tyler fall into the spot starter/opener group like Andriese. They will most likely be in the AAA rotation and make the quick dive down to Miami just in case they are needed. Returning to Miami is LHP Devin Smeltzer, who made spot starts for Miami as well as giving them length to save up the bullpen for future games. A 2023 Futures Game representative and Marlins Minor League Pitcher of the Year award winner, LHP Patrick Monteverde reached AAA-Jacksonville, but spent most of his time in AA last season where he posted a 3.32 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 9.00 K/9 and a 3.63 BB/9 in 114 innings pitched. Monteverde should get a start or two in the majors during the 2024 season, but hard to find room for him in the rotation initially. Catchers Will Banfield is coming off of his best offensive season, slashing .258/.302/.472/.773 with 23 home runs, 76 RBIs and a 100 wRC+ in AA. His raw power and plus defense behind the plate have always been there, but he's been lacking consistency, which is something that he needs to show in 2024 more than ever. Banfield will be able to elect minor league free agency after the season if not selected to the 40-man roster before then. Bennett Hostetler was one of the most improved prospects this past season, mainly after he made it to AA where he slashed .249/.371/.481/.851 with 14 home runs, 42 RBIs and a 128 wRC+. Hostetler should see reps at the corner infield spots as well. He was Pensacola's main first baseman by the end of 2023. Paul McIntosh is coming off a year where he didn't play as much due to injury, but was able to earn the promotion to AAA. In 2023, McIntosh slashed .244/.355/.419/.775 with 14 home runs and 46 RBIs. Where McIntosh struggled the most offensively was in AAA where he hit .230/.333/.380/.713 with five home runs, 13 RBIs and a 82 wRC+. His biggest question is behind the dish, given he has struggled there with throwing and blocking. In 2023 with the AAA Reds affiliate, Jhonny Pereda slashed .325/.405/.468/.873 with six home runs, 36 RBIs and a 124 wRC+. It makes sense to bring on Pereda to help out as depth considering that the organization lost Austin Allen, Santiago Chávez and Jacob Stallings through free agency. Infielders Jacob Berry is set to appear in his second Spring Training with the team. He is coming off a disappointing year, but was able to end it on a strong note in the Arizona Fall League slashing .265/.329/.441/.770 with two home runs and seven RBIs. For Berry, there is still hope that in due time the bat can improve, but at the moment, third base has been a struggle for him and a move to first would benefit him. Jose Devers made his MLB debut in 2021, but his name hasn't been heard much since then. He was finally healthy for the majority of 2023 and hit well at AA (.276/.352/.421/.773 with seven home runs, 46 RBIs and a 108 wRC+). Devers spent plenty of time at shortstop, but second base seems like the better fit for him right now. The first signing of the Peter Bendix era was Tristan Gray, who is an intriguing type of player. In AAA for the Tampa Bay Rays, Gray slashed .235/.312/.485/.797 with 30 home runs, 98 RBIs and a 93 wRC+. However, he was limited to only two games on their active roster. Gray has seen action in multiple spots of the infield and could provide useful power. Troy Johnston will have the opportunity to make the 26-man roster for the Miami Marlins this season. The first step will be improving on what he did last Spring Training, slashing .091/.167/.273/.440. His fantastic MiLB performance speaks for itself—he's ready for the next challenge once the Marlins have playing time available at first base or DH. Trey Mancini has won a World Series (2022 with the Astros) and spent seven years in the league with three teams. This is a low-risk move with the Cubs still taking responsibility for the first baseman's salary this season. Mancini is likely to opt out of his minor league deal at the end of camp or early in the season if he isn't selected to the roster. The youngest non-roster invitee is Javier Sanoja. The 21-year-old reached the High-A level in 2023. Overall, Sanoja slashed .298/.348/.388/.736 with four home runs, 67 RBIs and 37 stolen bases while playing in all 132 regular season games. This invite will help him gain valuable experience, but he realistically won't be called up to Miami until 2025 at the earliest. Outfielders Griffin Conine, son of Jeff Conine, earns the first Spring Training invite of his career. Despite a 20-home run season, Conine had a strikeout percentage of 34.9%. That's actually an improvement from his previous Marlins minor league seasons, but still concerning. His power to all fields and arm strength in the corners stand out. The 26-year-old will be able to elect minor league free agency after the 2024 season, so this is an important opportunity for him to prove himself. Marty Costes and Jonathan Davis can both play all three outfield spots and provide depth for when a player goes down. Costes came over in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 Draft, while Davis has experience with the Marlins from 2023, when his season ended early due to a meniscus injury.

MIAMI, FL—Although not mathematically eliminated yet, México saw any chance of a Caribbean Series comeback slip away on Monday afternoon against Venezuela. Venezuela's starter Ricardo Pinto kept his team in it. He struck out eight Mexican batters and only walked two. Pinto now holds the highest amount of strikeouts for any pitcher in this tournament. In the bottom of the third inning, the only run that Pinto gave up was an RBI single to Roberto Valenzuela who drove in Irving López. México's Zach Matson and Joe Van Meter combined to make that lead hold up until the seventh inning. After Odubel Herrera struck out, Leonardo Reginatto and Alcides Escobar both got base hits to set up Alexi Amarista. Escobar stole second, which put two runners in scoring position and on a 1-1 count, Juan Gámez threw Amarista a sinker which he took advantage of to drive in Reginatto and tie the game up at one apiece. Venezuela would go on to take a 3-1 lead as RBI singles from Wilfredo Tovar and Wilson Ramos would follow. Ozzie Guillén's club ended up scoring six runs on the night with more insurance runs scoring on a single from Wilson Ramos and a double from Luis Torrens. For the Tiburones, Guillén went with four more pitchers after Pinto. Jorgan Cavanerio, Silvino Bracho and Anthony Vizcaya threw scoreless innings and closer Arnaldo Hernández struck out two in the bottom of the ninth inning. The win for Venezuela gives them a comfortable 3-1 record, while for México, they fall to 1-4, with their only remaining game being against Nicaragua.

MIAMI, FL—Currently, Puerto Rico's Criollos de Caguas find themselves with a 3-1 record in the 2024 Caribbean Series. The most famous person on the team isn't an active player: it's former St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, who is serving as manager. For Molina, this is his third managerial experience. First, leading Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, then going to the Puerto Rican Winter League, and now, the Caribbean Series. In the WBC, Molina led Puerto Rico to the quarterfinals where they fell to México. They had the third-best pitching staff by ERA and 10th-best offense in terms of OPS amongst all teams that participated in the classic. His Caribbean Series group lacks offensive star power. They only rank sixth out of seven teams in OPS, but Molina is getting contributions from all parts of his lineup, creating a lot of opportunities to score. The bottom of the order has been dominant, with a 1.267 OPS from the No. 7 spot, a .833 OPS from the No. 8 spot and a .857 OPS from the No. 9 spot. "Well, we offensively have confidence in everybody," said Molina after the game. "We have a lineup that has a very good offense. We have Emmanuel Rivera batting eighth, I mean, I feel good with this lineup right now." As for the pitching, starter Daryl Thompson struggled in Saturday’s contest against the Dominican Republic, but even including that, the staff has combined for a 2.25 ERA to lead the tournament. At 41 years old, Molina has the chance to possibly make the jump to the MLB level soon with his experience and what he can provide in terms of knowledge of the game. Puerto Rico catcher/first baseman J.C. Escarra praised his current manager. "One of the great minds in catching and all-time," said Escarra. "I stay asking questions every day." Center fielder Johneshwy Fargas said he's "super confident that we have his name on our team." "That's been super important for us," added Fargas. "Just super confident with him out there as our manager." One of the biggest praises for Yadier Molina came from Venezuela's manager, Ozzie Guillén. "The accolades are there," said Guillén. "With the career that he has had, I think that Yadier was a manager when he wasn't a manager—when he was playing. He knows a lot about baseball. I think that he is preparing himself well...I think that he is showing it [in the Caribbean Series] his ability and knowledge of the game." Molina and his ballclub are back at it on Monday at 8:30 p.m. to play against Panamá, the only undefeated team left in the Caribbean Series (3-0 record).

MIAMI, FL—Venezuela had to immediately go off script on Sunday when scheduled starter Jhoulys Chacín was a last-minute scratch after suffering a right biceps strain. In his place, Venezuela manager Ozzie Guillén went with Tiago Da Silva, who struggled early on. Puerto Rico took advantage and never looked back, winning 6-2. Puerto Rico vs. Venezuela box score and play-by-play Da Silva would only go 1 ⅓ innings and give up three runs (two earned) and then would be followed by four relievers. Between all four relievers, Venezuela allowed five hits and three runs. The Puerto Rico offense, who struggled against the Dominican Republic's pitching staff on Saturday came back on Sunday and quickly scored three runs in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Bryan Torres began the game with a base hit up the middle followed up with a Vimael Machín ground out that moved Torres to second. J.C. Escarra, who was at first base on Sunday, drove in the speedy Torres on an RBI single to give Puerto Rico the early 1-0 lead. Left fielder Danny Ortiz would follow with a base hit. Catcher Jonathan Morales was about to ground out, but a bad throw by Venezuela shortstop Ehire Adrianza allowed Escarra to score, extending Puerto Rico's early lead to 2-0. A groundout in the top of the second inning by Bryan Torres would drive in Emmanuel Rivera who had a double in his at-bat and moved nine hitter Jack Lopez to second base as he had a base hit in his at-bat. Puerto Rico once again extends their lead, 3-0. Puerto Rico was able to tack on two more runs thanks to the bottom of the lineup, which has been the best in the Caribbean Series. Nelson Velazquez began the inning with a triple hit to left, which was followed up with Emmanuel Rivera grounding out, but Jack Lopez hit a sac fly to drive in Velazquez. The final run that Puerto Rico would score came in the top of the fifth inning when Danny Ortiz drove in Vimael Machín. Ortiz continues to be one of Puerto Rico's most productive bats in the lineup. In the bottom of the fourth inning, Venezuela scored their first run of the game off of an Alexi Amarista sac fly, which drove in Hernan Pérez. The second run that scored for Venezuela was off of a Ramon Flores RBI single which drove in Alexi Amarista to make it a 5-2 game. Venezuela would continue to pressure the Puerto Rico pitching staff throughout the entirety of the game, but they just never were able to find the big hit. Venezuela now goes to a 2-1 record while Puerto Rico goes to 3-1. On Monday, Venezuela is set to take on México at 3:30 p.m. In the press conference following the game, Ozzie Guillén mentioned that they will go with his "best starter," Ricardo Antonio Pinto. At 8:30 p.m., Puerto Rico takes on the only remaining undefeated team, Panamá.

MIAMI, FL—Following Venezuela's 4-2 win over Curacao, starting pitcher Luis Martinez, right fielder Ramon Flores and manager Ozzie Guillén spoke to the media and all had a lot to share in terms of the current state of the team as well as how difficult it is to play/manage and win it all in Caribbean baseball leagues. Luis Martinez gave his team five innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out two and walking one. For both Martinez and Flores, they hadn't played baseball in about three weeks, so coming back the way they did was crucial for Venezuela. "I think that since the first inning that I got on the mound, I didn't have the confidence that I usually do," said Martinez. "As I got deeper into the game, I think that is where I began to find my confidence. About three weeks without being able to pitch due to a finger injury took me out of the Round Robin, but I think that was what resulted in being able to win today's game and keep going." Ramon Flores was called upon to join the team for the Caribbean Series when La Guaira had to replace players due to visa issues. He had already been training in Miami at the time. Against Curacao, he went 2-for-2 with a two-run homer. "It's been an honor to be able to represent the Tiburones and Venezuela," said Flores. Ozzie Guillén has the opportunity to become the first Latin manager to ever win a World Series, winter league championship and Caribbean Series. He explained the differences between those experiences: Guillen was asked about the possibility of managing the Venezuelan national team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but he wasn't sure if that would be something he would do, especially since it is more than two years away and so many things can happen in the meantime. Guillen and his Tiburones will take on Puerto Rico on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. and they will look to improve their Serie del Caribe record to 3-0.

MIAMI, FL—The crowd of nearly 36,000 that spent their Saturday night enjoying Caribbean Series baseball did not leave disappointed. Although the Dominican Republic got out to an early 4-0 lead over Yadier Molina and Puerto Rico—propelled by Robinson Canó's two-run homer in the top of the third inning—Puerto Rico kept it close until the end. The D.R. bullpen was able to close it out. Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico box score and play-by-play After an Emilio Bonifacio base hit up the middle to begin the game, Puerto Rico starter Daryl Thompson struck out both Gustavo Nuñez and Canó which was then followed by catcher and FIU alum J.C. Escarra caught Emilio Bonifacio stealing second for the third out of the inning. A fairly quick inning by Dominican Republic starter César Valdez would not see Puerto Rico get much going despite a base hit from Heliot Ramos. The last time Robinson Canó hit a home run at Marlins/LoanDepot Park was for the American League in the 2017 All-Star Game. On Saturday, Canó extended the D.R. lead to 3-0 in the top of the third with his first-ever Caribbean Series home run, taking Thompson 372 feet deep. Canó would end the night going 2-for-5. He is slashing .364/.429/.636/1.065 during this tournament. After the home run, Molina made a pitching change and went with experienced big leaguer Alex Claudio, but Ramon Hernández got to him first with a double which was followed up with a Dawel Lugo RBI single to make it a 4-0 game. The first run for Yadi's club came in the bottom of the fourth inning thanks to a Danny Ortiz RBI double to center field which drove in Heliot Ramos. For Ortiz, he ended the night going two for four with an RBI and a double. This is Ortiz's ninth Caribbean Series. Puerto Rico added another run on a Johneshwy Fargas sacrifice fly, which drove in Ortiz. The fifth and final run for the Dominican Republic came in the top of the seventh inning. Cuban Yadiel Hernández got the inning started with a leadoff base hit which was then followed up with a Michael De La Cruz sac bunt. Hernández scored on an RBI single by Gustavo Nuñez to make it a 5-2 ballgame. Starter César Valdez gave the Dominican Republic length, which is something they weren't able to get out of starter Brooks Hall on Friday against Nicaragua who only went 3.2 innings. On Saturday, Dominican Republic manager Gilbert Gómez only had to go with three relievers. The veteran right-hander went five innings, allowing two runs off of six hits and struck out two while walking one. Between relievers, Cameron Gann, J.C. Mejia and Jairo Asencio they allowed one hit and struck out three, limiting Puerto Rico's offense to only seven hits on the night. This matchup broke the record for the most-attended Caribbean Series game ever, even outdoing the finals of past tournaments. Paid attendance was 35,972, which was a sellout. For both teams, they now have a 2-1 record. Puerto Rico takes the field next against Venezuela at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday. As for the Dominican Republic, they take on 0-3 México in what will be a must-win game for Naranjeros de Hermosillo to avoid elimination. That's expected to draw a big crowd as well as both teams' fanbases have showed up well throughout the tournament.

MIAMI, FL—Panamá was able to stay undefeated in the 2024 Caribbean Series thanks to a ninth-inning rally that included one of the newest members of the Miami Marlins in Christian Bethancourt. Panamá was down 3-1 to México entering the bottom of the ninth inning before scoring three runs for a walk-off win. Bethancourt contributed to the rally with a hard-hit double. México vs. Panamá box score and play-by-play The pitcher trying to pick up the save for México was Jake Sánchez. Trouble started when he faced Iván Herrera, who was hit by a pitch after working up a full count. Bethancourt followed Herrera by smacking the second pitch of his at-bat for a double (104.8 mph exit velocity). Another former big leaguer, Johan Camargo, hit an RBI double to drive in Herrera and make it a one-run deficit. To tie the game, Jean Arnaez battled out of a two-strike count to drive in Bethancourt on an RBI single to left field. Finally, to walk it off, Jhonny Santos hit an RBI triple. Through his first nine plate appearances of the tournament, Bethancourt is slashing .375/.444/.500/.944 with one walk and two strikeouts. He has been the starting catcher for Panamá in both of their games. Bethancourt should soon enough see time as the designated hitter, just to keep his bat in the lineup every day. Panamá (2-0) is set to take on Nicaragua (0-2) on Sunday at 10:30 am. and should be favored, although Nicaragua has held a lead in both of their games against Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.