Nate Karzmer

For the first time in franchise history, Miami went a full-length season without picking up a win over Pittsburgh. The finale of the 2024 sweep took place almost a year to the day that the Marlins secured a postseason berth on the same field. There was a party in Pittsburgh 347 days ago as the Miami Marlins secured their first full-season playoff berth in twenty years right in front of a young, up and coming Pirates squad. Many members of the team even stayed behind to watch their opponents soak in the moment or to use the scene for extra motivation moving into 2024. The Pirates will fall short of reaching the postseason themselves this year, but at least they got back at Miami in head-to-head competition. After sending the Marlins into an instant spiral during the season-opening series way back in March, Derek Shelton and Co. doubled down in their second meeting back at PNC Park. Wednesday afternoon's 3-1 win ensured a season sweep over Miami, a perfect 7-0 record. Leading the way was Bailey Falter, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Jonah Bride and Cristian Pache singled, leading to Falter's departure. As expected, the lefty didn't overpower Miami's lineup, topping out at 92.9 mph on his four-seamer, although he demonstrated some pretty serious swing-and-miss stuff. Falter collected 18 whiffs across 93 pitches (38%), with ten of them coming on his slider. Additionally, the breaking pitch was responsible for three of Falter's five strikeouts. "Falter was really good." Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said postgame. "Fastball at top of the zone that we couldn't get on top of...just a lot of weak contact and strikeouts. The slider was super effective as well. We just couldn't flush anything...Today was his day and he was just better than us today." Similar to the first three games, Miami did rally late, putting the tying run on first after Pache's second hit of the day put his team on the board. Kyle Stowers reached on an infield single—his third hit in two games—to load the bases for Xavier Edwards, but Miami's best contact hitter couldn't pass the baton, flying out to, you guessed it, former Marlin Bryan De La Cruz to put a bow on the series. Of Note - Wednesday was a bullpen day from the start, as Jonathan Bermúdez got the ball. Bermúdez displayed shaky command and was unable to get in front of hitters consistently which led to him allowing three earned runs on three hits in just two innings of work. - Following Bermúdez and John McMillon's injury-shortened appearance was Xzavion Curry, who kept Miami in the game as a long reliever. "He saved us", said his manager. "He kept us in the game, I can't say enough about what he did...he pitched." - McMillon was removed from the game after just two pitches (both fastballs that registered far below his usual velocity). He left the game with tightness in his right forearm area, per Schumaker. - Declan Cronin continued his eye-catching streak of keeping balls in the yard. Up Next Miami heads to the nation's capital to face the Nationals, a team they faced just last week in South Florida. Darren McCaughan toes the slab for the Fish, opposing another lefty, rookie Mitchell Parker. Parker was dominant in his last start against Miami in mid-June, tossing six innings of one-run ball. First pitch is slated for 6:45 ET. View full article

Griffin Conine's milestone proved to be crucial to Miami's victory over the Giants. The club improved to 3-1 when the second-generation Marlin is in their starting lineup. Stepping into the box for his first at-bat of Saturday night's game on a picture perfect night in San Francisco, Miami Marlins outfielder and new call-up Griffin Conine knew exactly what he was looking for. "Game plan was to get on his heater up. He threw me a lot of heaters at bat, took some good swings. Just felt like I was a touch late, so wanted to catch one out front, and he gave me one." Giants starting pitcher Mason Black "gave" Conine a 91.7 mph four-seamer middle-up, and Miami's anticipated rookie did not miss it. The 27-year-old drubbed a 112.5 mph line drive to right field for his first big league homer. The foul pole was the only obstacle that stood in its way from plunging deep into McCovey Cove. That gave the Marlins an early 2-0 lead. Behind a steady five-plus innings from Edward Cabrera and another round-tripper off the bat of Connor Norby, they held onto that lead for the rest of the night, ending with a competitive 4-3 win to even the set at one game apiece. "Surreal is the word that keeps popping up in my head," Conine said. "It feels like a dream." When asked by Bally Sports Florida's Craig Minervini if he ever envisioned his first blast hitting the foul pole, Conine jokingly noted "Never, not once. I think that might be the first time I've ever hit the foul pole on a homer." With his long ball, Conine has already achieved a career cycle in less than a week since his awaited promotion to The Show. Through 17 plate appearances, Miami's newest slugger is OPS'ing .919, showing the impact he can make at the highest level . "That's why I'm here, obviously, to achieve a dream and all that, but I'm here to help this team win, and anytime I can do that, I'm doing my job." Conine's strong start as a Marlin doesn't stop at the plate, either, as manager Skip Schumaker mentioned postgame. "Every hit so far except I think one's been extra-base hits, so he's got that. He provides really good defense too. So he's a smart baseball player. It's not that not surprising that you know how he grew up." Of Note - Schumaker had high praise for his starter: "I was really excited to see him attack after that first inning. After that, he really was attacking inside the strike zone with all of his pitches." Cabrera didn't stack as many swings-and-misses as most have grown to expect from the flamethrower with just three. Instead, Cabrera was more in the zone than usual with a 62% strike percentage. The righty relied on his four-seamer the most, throwing his heater 39% of the time (had been averaging 26% usage this season entering Saturday). - Norby's sixth-inning solo shot was the third homer in his near two-week-long tenure with the Fish, as well as his ninth extra-base hit. - David Hensley delivered the lone RBI not from a homer with a productive groundout in the top of the seventh. - The waiver claim crew in the bullpen was nearly perfect, as Xzavion Curry and John McMillon both delivered hitless outings, while Jesús Tinoco allowed one hit, although it was a costly solo blast from Michael Conforto. Up Next The first pitch for Sunday's rubber match is scheduled for 4:05 ET. Giants 2024 All-Star Logan Webb, who pitched to the tune of a 2.16 ERA in the month of August, takes the mound for Bob Melvin's club. Darren McCaughan is slated to make his first start of the season for Miami. View full article

Tormented by poor swing decisions, Kyle Stowers went 5-for-52 at the plate to start his Marlins tenure, but he has put together an impressive week and a half since then, including an eight-hit series at Coors Field. The Miami Marlins instantly added Kyle Stowers to their big league club after acquiring him at the trade deadline. The 26-year-old ex-top prospect who never got a true, sustained look as a member of the Baltimore Orioles slid into the middle of manager Skip Schumaker's lineup. Understandably, everybody was intrigued to see what he'd do with the opportunity. The El Cajon, CA, native responded by putting together one of the most disappointing stretches in recent memory. In his first game as a Marlin, Stowers wore the golden sombrero, striking out in each of his four at-bats. Through his first 16 games, he had a .096/.175/.096 slash line, with 23 strikeouts, three walks and just five hits. Although there was reason to be concerned about the considerable amount of swing-and-miss in Stowers' game, the most prevalent issue plaguing him was his chase rate. Through the same 16-game stretch, Stowers was chasing pitches outside the zone at an alarming 40.3% clip, leading to a painful increase in strikeout numbers. It all seemed to click for Stowers starting last Monday, when his good friend Connor Norby got the call to join him in the majors. Norby relayed to the media that he went up to Stowers when he saw him in the clubhouse and said, "You're gonna start raking again now that I'm here, right?" In 10 games with Norby on the roster, Stowers has certainly held up his end of the bargain, hitting 12-for-31 (.387), with his most notable performance coming Thursday afternoon at Coors Field in the finale against the Colorado Rockies. Stowers led the way with three hits, including a double, and four RBI's as the Marlins picked up a 12-8 win and series split. "He's a good overall hitter," said Schumaker postgame. "It's just when he's in the strike zone. I could say that about 100 different guys in the major leagues—still a young guy in this league, still trying to figure out the league as well. The league adjusted. He adjusted. So that means that he's a really good athlete, because he adjusted to the league. "It's going to be one of those chess matches every single day. That's how you survive in this league. I'm really proud of him, of how he's adjusted," As his manager mentioned, a big catalyst of Stowers' success has been healthier swing decisions. Since last Monday, Stowers' chase rate has dropped to 30.4%, still fourth-highest on the team in that time frame. However, the near-10% improvement has helped Stowers to find his stroke, and strike out significantly less. "I mean, new manager, new to coaching staff, new hitting staff, new team, meeting new people every single day. I think that definitely changes things. Now, he settled in. I think this is more the version you're going to see than the first couple weeks version." Of Note - Stowers wasn't all alone on offense, as Derek Hill capitalized on the "fun" atmosphere at Coors with his second multi-homer game of his career. The entirety of Miami's offense combined for 18 hits, a season high. - Connor Norby continued to impress, reaching base five times on two hits, two walks and a fielder's choice. Additionally, he extended his hit streak to 10 games. Norby is creeping up on Gary Sheffield and Juan Pierre, who share the record for longest hitting streak to start a Marlins career at 12 games. - Declan Cronin exited the game in the sixth with left knee discomfort. - Valente Bellozo, perhaps the most fly out-reliant pitcher in all of MLB, did not have a fun day at the office. Rockies hitters sent out three homers, two of which came off the bat of Brendan Rodgers. Up Next Miami wraps up their 2024 west coast slate in the Bay Area with a weekend set against the San Francisco Giants. Friday night's game one is a classic "Late Night With The Fish" with first pitch slated for 10:15 ET. Adam Oller makes his third start for Miami opposite of 2023 NL Cy Young winner and bonafide ace Blake Snell. View full article

The 20,223 fans at loanDepot park on Saturday were treated to an exciting albeit tough Marlins loss. Traded from Miami to San Diego earlier this season, Luis Arraez recorded the game-deciding RBI while Tanner Scott earned the save. MIAMI, FL—Midway through, Saturday afternoon’s matchup between the visiting San Diego Padres and the Miami Marlins looked very familiar. Back in late May, knuckleballer Matt Waldron led his team to a 4-0 win after stifling Miami’s lineup for six scoreless innings. Facing a vastly different set of hitters in this rematch, Waldron had comparable results and had mowed down the Marlins entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the only blemish being a Vidal Bruján solo homer. The Marlins had other plans, though. As soon as the lineup flipped to Xavier Edwards at the top, Miami’s bats exploded. Including Edwards, seven consecutive Marlins reached base, notably Jesús Sánchez and Otto Lopez, who both collected opposite-field doubles. When it was all said and done, the Fish batted around and tallied six runs on four hits, three walks, a hit by pitch, a sacrifice fly and walked out of the inning leading 7-3. fcc1686c-ed6b29f7-da2f1e6a-csvm-diamondx64-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 Marlins manager Skip Schumaker was naturally impressed with his offense’s ability to get to a guy like Waldron. “We had a lot of good at bats against him," Schumaker said postgame. "That's not easy. I mean, he throws 90 miles an hour. That feels like it's 95-96 because of the knuckleball. If you're sitting on the knuckleball, it's just really effective. But we put (together) really good at-bats. I think Otto Lopez had a big hit. Jesús Sánchez had a really good day, and then Burger’s, just, you know, as hot as anybody in the league.” San Diego entered the contest tied for seventh in MLB with 29 comeback wins on the season, including one just the night before. The Padres began chipping away in the top of the seventh with two runs courtesy of Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth off Declan Cronin. The big swing the Padres were desperate for came in the top of the eighth of the bat of—you guessed it—rising phenom Jackson Merrill. The 21-year-old deposited a hanging sweeper from Anthony Bender into the seats to knot things up at seven. It was Merrill’s second game-tying blast in as many days. “He's killing us, especially late in the games. It's not fun to watch. It was fun to watch before he got here, and it's not so much fun to watch right now, because it just feels like any time in leverage, he's just been the guy over there at 21 years old. It's just super impressive.” said Schumaker. The Padres weren’t done in the eighth. After playing some small ball, the one and only Arraez came up clutch, just like he did so many times in a Marlins uniform, legging out an infield single to put his new club back in the lead, but not for too long. Going back to July 1, Jake Burger has been one of the best hitters in the sport. During that span, Burger entered Saturday’s game slashing .293/.353/.650 with 13 of his 20 homers and has come up big countless times for a Marlins team that has needed him to. He did it once again with his team down a run. Burger just pushed out his 21st shot of the year off, with the ball bouncing off the top of the wall into the Padres bullpen. Burger appreciated the electric reception he received from the larger-than-usual loanDepot park crowd on his trip around the bases. “It fired me up. You don't get a chance to hit a game-tying home run very often. Give a couple fist bumps, almost black out in those situations. And I think I turned to one of our trainers, and like, 'Dominican heritage night is electric.' I think every night should be Dominican heritage night, but, yeah, it was an unbelievable showing by our fans, and we heard everybody cheering for USA basketball when they won the gold medal there. So they got us a little more fired up as well.” After a scoreless ninth for both teams, Schumaker turned to John McMillon in his team debut. McMillon did allow the placed runner at second to cross, but allowed no hits, as the run scored on an Arraez groundout to Jonah Bride at first base. If the Marlins wanted to extend or win a game they fought so hard in, it would have to come against another friend turned foe that took the mound for the tenth, that of course being Tanner Scott. Instead, after allowing a bunt single to Derek Hill to lead off the inning, Scott recorded three consecutive outs to secure a 9-8 win and series victory for his new team. The final out of the game was a strikeout of Burger. "I’ve seen him do it all year, last two months, and he's as good as it gets…He's nasty. Hope I get another chance to face him, but he won that battle and we'll it leave at that,” noted Burger on his ex-teammate. TGw3UU9fVjBZQUhRPT1fQXdaWVVBWUJCUW9BREZRSFZRQUFCd0FGQUZsVVVRQUFCbFJRVXdSVUJWRlNWZ01I.mp4 Lost in the chaos is Marlins starter Roddery Muñoz, who enjoyed a solid start against the aforementioned deep Padres lineup. “I assess this outing as a good one. Thank God. I believe we're showing improvement little by little and I'm happy I was out there. Competing and trying to help the team in any way we can and hopefully, we can continue that growth” said Munoz via translator. Munoz found success with his offspeed and good command, as his slider and changeup missed Padres bats for most of the night. For the first time this season, Munoz walked nobody. Schumaker was impressed with the young righty. “I thought Roddery handled a really good lineup as good as he could and got outs when needed, like big, big-time outs when needed in leverage spots. Again, the no walks is a huge plus for him, and a lot of leverage in that lineup. So I thought five innings was really good for him, especially kind of a bounce-back type of outing.” The Fish and Friars are set to complete their season series Sunday on SpongeBob Day at loanDepot park. Dylan Cease, who tossed the second no-hitter of the 2024 season a couple weeks ago, takes the mound looking to break out the brooms. Max Meyer toes the slab for Miami. Meyer ran into trouble in his last start against the Reds due to overreliance on his fastball and slider and indecent command. First pitch is scheduled for 1:40 ET. View full article

What has been working so well for Miami's newest middle-of-the-order bat? MIAMI, FL—When Miami Marlins utility man Jonah Bride was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville on July 4, the third-year player out of South Carolina was looking forward to translating what he learned as a member of the Jumbo Shrimp to prosperity on a big league roster. It might've taken a couple of weeks and a lot of faces from the Marlins lineup to find new homes elsewhere, but Bride has finally gotten the opportunity to play every day. To say he's capitalized on it would be an understatement. Entering Saturday's game, Bride has slashed .308/.438/.641 since the July 30 trade deadline with three multi-hit games, four homers and a 7/11 BB/K ratio. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker has leaned on Bride to bring pop in third and fourth spots of the order and Bride has done just that with multiple clutch base hits to start rallies or even give his team a sizable lead like he did in Atlanta a week ago. "Just going out there every day, competing and having consistent time has been good for me and it's a testament to the coaching staff and all the guys around here" said Bride. "It's a hard game, so every day it's gonna be a grind, and if you can get some consistent time and get comfortable up there, definitely always gonna be a help." Bride drew a walk on Saturday to extend his on-base streak to 12 games. It's the longest active streak among Marlins players. What distinguishes Bride from most of his teammates is patience at the plate. He has swung at only 19.5% of first pitches while averaging 4.21 pitches seen per plate appearance (the team's average in 3.74). Defensively, Bride has taken most of his reps at first base, a position he played just a handful of times a season ago. Similar to his expanded role in the lineup, the increased looks he's gotten at the cold corner have been key. "I played a lot of first base—maybe not so much at this level, so it's definitely a work in progress with the full work and everything every day, but the guys have made it easy with the throws and stuff to first base. Just getting the reps every day, going out there with (infield coach) Jody (Reed) and getting the early work, just doing everything I can to be as good as I can out there." Now heading into the final quarter of the 2024 regular season, Bride doesn't have a specific goal outlined. Instead, he sees it as a great opportunity to mesh with his new teammates and build momentum into next year. "I just wanna go out there and win games with this team, continue to get to know all these new guys and have a good time and have a good vibe in the clubhouse. I think everything's been good lately. Everyone's having a good time, and we can go out there and play hard and set the tone for next year." View full article

Iffy command and overreliance on his two best pitches hurt the former third overall pick yet again on Tuesday night. MIAMI, FL—The Elly De La Cruz show continued on Tuesday night in South Florida. The second-year phenom collected his fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth hits of the series between his Cincinnati Reds and the Miami Marlins, and there are two games still remaining in the four-game set. De La Cruz spearheaded his offense’s outburst, as the rest of the Reds lineup tallied 13 hits with eight of them coming off Miami’s starter, Max Meyer. Miami’s bats were only able to muster up four hits courtesy of the impressive outing from the arm opposite of Meyer in Nick Lodolo in what ended up being a decisive 8-2 Reds win. In his last start when he battled a notoriously powerful Braves lineup, Meyer got hurt when he left too many pitches over the heart of the plate and stuck too close to his fastball and slider instead of mixing in his changeup to keep hitters guessing and stay unpredictable. Those exact same problems persisted in his first game back at loanDepot park since mid-April. Meyer’s inability to effectively locate his pitches—notably his fastball—led to a quick departure on Tuesday. Reds hitters recorded 10 hard-hit balls and the 25-year-old allowed a career-high three walks before being relieved by Emmanuel Ramírez following the fourth inning. “His command was off. You could see it. From early on, a lot of three-ball counts, three walks, a hit by pitch. Just kind of uncharacteristic of him,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said of his starter postgame. "Slider didn't really have its shape," Schumaker continued. "No swing-and-miss on his changeup. Just a rough start for Max. You know, he's a young pitcher. He's going to have these coming off a major surgery first year back. He's going to have a couple of these. And unfortunately, he had one tonight." In addition to substandard command, Meyer leaned heavily on his four-seam and slider, throwing those pitches a combined 77% while throwing his changeup 12 times (16%) plus a handful of sinkers. Meyer’s limited changeup usage also bit him last week in Truist Park when he threw the pitch 12% of the time. Simply put, two-pitch starting pitchers are unheard of at the big league level. If Meyer wants to secure a spot in the rotation moving forward—a job that’s only going to be harder to lock down when Miami gets their best arms back from the injured list—it is imperative that either his changeup or sinker develops into a pitch that can occasionally finish off hitters or at least put him in more favorable counts. “I just didn't have it tonight. I didn't have my good stuff tonight. I know I can be a lot better. I'm gonna be a lot better,” said Meyer postgame. After Ramírez’s lone inning in relief, Schumaker turned to Darren McCaughan to eat the final four innings. McCaughan, who pitched for Miami for the first time since early May in the infamous 20-run A’s game, was solid albeit a little lucky, only giving up one run. Unluckily for Meyer, in addition to not having his best stuff, he had the seemingly impossible task of retiring the newest Fish killer in De La Cruz and the rest of the powerful Reds lineup. De La Cruz, who had four hits and a homer in game one of the set on Monday night, somehow had an equally impressive encore with four more hits (two of them doubles) and a stolen base. Schumaker raved about Cincinnati’s star, noting “Elly’s a special player. He's reminded me a lot of (Fernando) Tatís Jr. in his first couple years. The size, the strength, the speed, power combination...he's a freak..” In addition to EDLC, the Reds were powered by Tyler Stephenson and Ty France who both sent home fans with souvenirs and tightened the Reds' grip on the lead. On the contrary, Miami’s offense produced another dud after being shut down by Lodolo and the southpaw's four-seam/curveball/changeup mix. Two of the four hits for the Marlins came, unsurprisingly, off the bat of Xavier Edwards, who extended his on-base streak to 23 games. It is tied for the current longest streak in baseball with the Phillies’ Alec Bohm. First pitch for game three of the four-game set between these two teams is slated to start Wednesday night at 6:40 ET. Valente Bellozo takes the ball for Miami coming off an impressive start in Cobb County. Andrew Abbott, who Marlins hitters found success off of less than a month ago at Great American Ball Park, looks to claim the series win for his Reds. View full article

Three Braves left the yard and Charlie Morton was as steady as ever as another road trip to Cobb County starts out on the wrong note for the Marlins. Dating back to a season ago, in eleven games played at Truist Park, the Miami Marlins are now 1-10 against the Atlanta Braves following Thursday night's series opening 4-2 loss. In the majority of those previous matchups, Atlanta's high-powered offense led the way, a theme that was prevalent yet again with Max Meyer on the bump for Miami. After Meyer punched out Flipped Fish and new Brave Jorge Soler in the bottom of the first, Austin Riley, who entered the contest with 13 blasts in 70 career games played against the Marlins, took flight with an opposite field 342-foot solo shot to put Atlanta on top early. To make matters worse, the meat of the Braves order, spearheaded by Marcell Ozuna and 2023 NL MVP fourth-place finisher Matt Olson, also saw Meyer well. Ozuna took a poorly placed Meyer four-seamer—which plagued Meyer throughout the night—into center, followed up by an Olson two-run homer to give starter Charlie Morton an early 3-0 cushion. Aside from the rough opening inning and additional homer off the bat of Orlando Arcia in the third, Meyer enjoyed a solid night and was able to persevere into a five-inning start. Per usual, the 25-year-old leaned on his wipeout slider the most, throwing it 40% of the time and racking up 8 of his 13 whiffs with the pitch. His aforementioned fastball, however, was less exemplary due to shaky command. Four of Meyer's seven hits allowed came on the heater including Arcia's moonshot. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said his starter "attacked the zone...He was really good through the next four innings. He had a tough first inning, that happens. It shows you what kind of mentality he has and to get through five was pretty impressive today." Meyer's seven strikeouts agains the Braves marked a career-high. Emmanuel Ramírez and George Soriano delivered scoreless innings in relief of Meyer. Unlike his six earned-run performance against Miami in mid-April, Morton carved up Marlins bats all night aside from an unearned run in the fifth, a Nick Fortes sacrifice fly that plated the speedy Forrest Wall. "Uncle Charlie" struck out six Marlins, only walked two and collected five of his patented groundouts, two of them being double plays. Schumaker joked postgame about Morton's longevity and dominant curveball. "I faced him and he was tough ten years ago, and he's still doing it...he's still throwing 95, 96 mph down in the zone. He can throw it at the top as well...and a really good curveball...He was really good again tonight." Following Morton's departure, the Marlins were able to scratch across another run in the seventh courtesy of the hot-hitting Jake Burger, who came into the game hitting .391 since last Friday's game in Milwaukee with three long balls. Burger scorched a single into the outfield to plate David Hensley. Unfortunately for Miami, that's all they were able to get, as the back end of Brian Snitker's bullpen was lights out in the eighth and ninth, locking up the 4-2 victory for the Bravos. Valente Bellozo is Miami's probable starter for Friday's game. In his last start on July 2 against the Red Sox before being sent back down to Triple-A Jacksonville, Bellozo went five innings and allowed five earned runs, but demonstrated solid off-speed, led by his sweeper, and a good cutter. Rookie Spencer Schwellenbach takes the ball for Snitker's club, riding high after a strong month of July. In his last start against the streaking Mets, Schwellenbach dominated with seven innings of shutout ball. First pitch is scheduled for 7:20 ET. View full article

The Pirates possess some of the most exciting young talent in baseball. Adding Jazz Chisholm Jr. would go a long way toward keeping them in contention for the 2024 postseason. What could a potential deal look like between the Fish and Buccos? Jazz Chisholm Jr. is one of the biggest names who could potentially be dealt in advance of the July 30 MLB trade deadline. Chisholm's combination of tools, youth, club control and 2024 production make him a potential target for many teams and easily the most valuable trade chip on the Miami Marlins active roster. Should the Marlins be shopping Chisholm or building around him? You could make strong arguments both ways, but like it or not, the team's intentions are clear: they're focused on infusing more young talent into their farm system with the expectation of contending several years down the road. Investing in the current major league roster is not a priority. If the Fish receive a fair offer for their Bahamian star, he will be on the move. Leading up to the deadline, FOF staffers will be proposing hypothetical trades that the Marlins could make involving Chisholm. The series continues with the Pittsburgh Pirates. How Chisholm fits in Pittsburgh In 2024, Pirates manager Derek Shelton has platooned Jack Suwinski and Michael A. Taylor in center field, and received very poor production from both players. After an encouraging first couple of years in Pittsburgh, the former is slashing a woeful .187/.270/.332 with -9 DRS in center. Suwinski was sent down to Triple-A in late May. The latter has arguably been even worse with a lowly .198/.259/.271 slash line. Taylor has had zero extra-base hits with runners in scoring position this season. The 2019 World Series champion is still more than solid defensively—he owns a 7 DRS—but that does not make up for his issues at the plate. Chisholm could instantly rejuvenate the Pirates lineup with some much-needed pop and speed in center field that would couple very nicely with fellow exciting names such as Oneil Cruz, Bryan Reynolds and Ke’Bryan Hayes. Mentoring Chisholm in the Steel City would be none other than former NL MVP Andrew McCutchen. According to Jim Bowden of The Athletic, McCutchen’s positive influence would be the “most important” factor in making a Chisholm-Pirates trade succeed long term. Even for the low-payroll Pirates, Chisholm's current $2.625 million salary would be a bargain. If this young team runs out of steam and misses out on a playoff berth, he still has two additional years of club control remaining. Trade proposal Pirates receive CF/2B Jazz Chisholm Jr. Marlins receive RHP Thomas Harrington, SS Yordany De Los Santos, OF Tony Blanco Jr. and OF Lonnie White Jr. The Marlins would be going for a deep prospect package in this scenario, headlined by Thomas Harrington. He's had incredible results with a 2.44 ERA and 2.51 FIP in 12 appearances (11 starts) since being promoted to Double-A. His microscopic 3.5% walk rate this season is among the lowest in the minors. Sharp command and a nasty changeup help the righty overcome below-average fastball velocity. YmtYOHdfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0FBUUhWUUpXVkZjQURnTUdWZ0FBQ0E5ZUFGbFJWMWtBQjFFQVVRQUdVRlZkVVZSWA==.mp4 The rest of the package adds position player talent. After receiving Deyvison De Los Santos from Arizona in exchange for A.J. Puk, Miami adds another D.L.S. to their system, this time in the form of Pittsburgh’s #10 prospect, per FanGraphs. Yordany De Los Santos signed with the Pirates back in 2022 for $1.2 million, one of the largest bonuses in his class. Still just 19 years old, the shortstop crushed FCL pitching this past season, slashing .344/.407/.505 with 8 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR and 24 stolen bases. “De Los Santos' tools are exciting, but his maturity, baseball IQ and instincts are really through the roof,” notes MLB Pipeline. Defensively, Pipeline is unsure if De Los Santos will stick at shortstop as he progresses, saying “he has a good arm and those instincts help, but he’ll have to be a bit more twitchy to stay at the premium position. He’s seen time at third base throughout his brief pro career, and it’s possible he’ll end up at the hot corner permanently down the line.” Another one of De Los Santos’ FCL teammates would join him on the flight to Miami in Tony Blanco Jr. (FanGraphs #15). Blanco, the son of former big leaguer Tony Blanco, also enjoyed a stellar season against FCL competition in his first year in the United States. Standing at an imposing 6’7" with tons of projectability, Blanco slashed .305/.385/.505 with 12 2B, 4 HR and a 12/31 BB/K ratio. His season ended a couple weeks early due to injury. Signed as an outfielder, Blanco has also spent some time at first base and is likely to stick there long term. The final piece coming Miami’s way is Lonnie White Jr. (FanGraphs #32). Peter Bendix and Co. would be buying low on White, who was pegged as the tenth-best prospect in the Pirates system in spring training, per MLB Pipeline. A rough year thus far in High-A Greensboro has damaged the stock of the 64th overall pick from the 2021 draft. White owns a batting average of .184, an OPS of .699 and a not-pretty BB/K ratio of 22/77. What continues to make White so intriguing is his athletic ability and combination of power and speed. Coming out of high school, White was signed to play wide receiver at Penn State before the Pirates convinced him to forgo his college commitment. Pipeline grades White’s power tool a 50, and run a 70, and although the fourth-year player has struggled, he has still put up 12 homers and 9 stolen bases. Previous Chisholm trade proposals Building a Yankees trade package Building a Mariners trade package Which other teams do you want us to include in this Chisholm trade package series? Comment below to let us know. View full article

Agreed on leaving Sanchy in there against lefties, the season has been lost for quite some time, so at this point, there's nothing to lose. Let guys get their reps. I am with Skip though on the removal of Cabrera. I'm all for seeing how pitchers work out of intense situations, but he walked his last batter on four pitches and his pitch count was creeping up.

Seven of the nine starters in Miami's lineup reached base en route to their most impressive series victory of 2024. MIAMI, FL—There was an upbeat buzz at loanDepot park on Wednesday starting in the early afternoon, when Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara threw his first bullpen since undergoing Tommy John surgery around 4:00 p.m. The vibes remained high into the early hours of the evening on the diamond, as the Marlins lineup pushed across three runs early with a Josh Bell homer and timely hitting from Xavier Edwards and Nick Gordon against Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chayce McDermott, who was making his big league debut. Marlins starter Edward Cabrera showed some improvement against the AL East-leading Orioles for most of the night, but after he loaded the bases in the sixth, he was relieved by Huascar Brazobán, who proceeded to allow a game-tying bases-clearing double to Colton Cowser. In the bottom of the frame, though, Miami re-took the lead after Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Bryan De La Cruz got all three runs back with clutch swings. Also clutch was the back end of the Marlins' bullpen, which shut down the Orioles in the final three innings, securing a 6-3 win and an outstanding series win. While the majority of the Marlins bats enjoyed good nights, the two standouts were, without a doubt, Chisholm and Edwards. Chisholm entered the contest slashing a fine .300/.391/.500 since the All-Star break. He continued his impressive run with the eventual game-winning hit in the sixth that just got over third baseman Ramón Urías' head. The speedster was able to turn into a hustle double, his second in as many nights, Marlins manager Skip Schumaker praised his star's improved ability to hit left-handed pitching postgame, saying the two-bagger was a "huge hit against a lefty once again. You know, (he's) having really good at bats against left-handers." Other than a gap in slugging, Chisholm entered Wednesday's game slashing almost identical lines regardless of pitcher handedness: .252/.324/.351 against southpaws as opposed to .251/.325/.444 against righties. As for Edwards, it was just another run of the mill multi-hit night, as the 24-year-old recorded his eighth such game in the month of July alone. With his third hit in the eighth inning, he notched his second career three-hit game of his career. Schumaker also raved about his shortstop. "He's taking really good at-bats. He's taking his walks, he's not really punching out and stealing bases. We knew that he was going to get on base and hit, but I honestly I didn't know he was gonna hit this good. He's a good hitter, but he's impressing me more and more from the right and left side." As a player who's big on sticking to his brand of baseball, when asked about how nice it is to see his game translate so well to the big league level, Edwards said it "definitely feels good. Just helping the team win because that's what I feel like I can do. Come in every day, do my best and try to do the little things, something that I can to help us win the game. And we've got off to a good start this series." After taking yet another walk in the second inning, Edwards extended his on-base streak to 11 games. As for Cabrera on the mound, it was an interesting night. The flamethrower sat down four O's and only allowed four hits, but also, unfortunately, walked four, which ended up being the reason he was relieved so early and got a no-decision for his efforts after Cowser's aforementioned double to plate the runners he left on for Brazobán. The last Marlins starter to earn a win was Jesús Luzardo way back on June 11. Aside from the free passes in the latter half of his start, Cabrera's stuff looked as good as ever, in particular his off-speed. Cabrera relied on his changeup and curveball the most, throwing both at a combined 63% clip. The power-changeup generated four whiffs, while the breaking ball missed six bats. When asked about how he felt in the first four innings, Cabrera said via interpreter, "Good. Under control. Thank God I can say that. I was feeling really, really good." After Brazobán, Miami enjoyed three hitless innings out of the 'pen from Andrew Nardi, Calvin Faucher and, of course, Tanner Scott. After allowing a leadoff walk to start the ninth, Scott made quick work of his former team to earn his 18th save of the season. The Fish look to break out the brooms Thursday at 12:10 ET, and it will certainly not be an easy task as 2021 NL Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes takes the mound for Brandon Hyde's club. Burnes has dazzled in his first season as an Oriole, owning a 10-4 record and 2.38 ERA. On the mound for Miami is Roddery Muñoz, who is set to make his 11th start of the season. Muñoz will be looking to lower his season ERA of 5.14 against a very deep lineup in the first base dugout. View full article

Former Marlins manager Fredi González, who's now bench coach of the Baltimore Orioles, discusses his return to Miami, notable players from his Fish tenure and his goals for the rest of the 2024 season. View full video

Jeff McNeil and Francisco Lindor combined to clobber three home runs, which was just enough to fend off Miami's late rally on Monday night. MIAMI, FL—Entering Monday night's series finale against the Miami Marlins, New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil had Yonny Chirinos' number, to say the least. In five at-bats against Chirinos, the former batting champion recorded four hits and an RBI, and when McNeil came to the plate in the second inning, he continued to flex his dominance over the 30-year-old Marlins starter with a two-run home run into the second deck. The fourth inning featured a McNeil sacrifice fly to drive in another run, along with Francisco Lindor's first of two blasts of the night. Miami chipped away in the fifth and seventh with solo homers from Josh Bell and Bryan De La Cruz. In the ninth, they loaded the bases against two-time All-Star Edwin Díaz, but couldn't finish the job with the potential tying run on second base, falling 6-4 and splitting their first series of the second half. In his first few starts, Chirinos ran into problems with hard-hit balls and getting into intense situations with runners on base. In his past two starts though, free-passes have plagued Chirinos the most, along with too many hittable pitches. Chirinos allowed nine hits, six hard-hit balls, five walks and one hit batter, that being José Iglesias in the fifth with the bases loaded. Iglesias' RBI HBP was the lone run not driven in by Lindor or McNeil. Chirinos relied on his slider more than any other pitch on Monday night, throwing the breaking ball 46% of the time. Additionally, the slider generated four of Chirinos' seven whiffs. Marlins manager Skip Schumaker—who was ejected from the contest in the eighth inning following a slew of poor calls from home plate umpire Rob Drake—said of his starter, "He's gonna give up hits, you know, especially to a lineup like that. But when you give the free passes plus the hit by pitches, you know that's what it makes it tough on him." Chirinos said via translator, "You never want to give a walks when you're out there. And I think it's something, you know, I haven't pinpointed exactly, but it's just about making those adjustments start to start and I think I'll be able to do that." In regards to Miami's lineup, they answered McNeil's homer in the second with an RBI double from Vidal Bruján, who would've made it to third standing up if he was running full speed out of the box. In addition to De La Cruz's blast, he had two other hits on the night to salvage a tough series, as he recorded just one hit in the first three games of the set. He previously contributed only one extra-base hit during the entire month of July. Schumaker displayed confidence in his outfielder, saying he's "a good hitter. He has unfortunately some peaks and valleys this year. When he's had some of those valleys, it's been extended...The good news is when he gets hot, he gets really hot and so, you know, really good swings." Huascar Brazobán, Anthony Bender and JT Chargois followed Chirinos out of Miami's bullpen. Brazoban and Bender threw up zeroes, but in the top of the ninth, Chargois—who possessed the lowest ERA in Miami's 'pen going into the contest, albeit with the help of some luck—gave up his first earned run since July 2 in the form of Lindor's second homer of the night, this one going to the opposite field, spawning an eruption from Mets fans in attendance. Trailing 6-3, Miami sent out the bottom of their order against Díaz and put the pressure on in a hurry. A Nick Gordon single, Chisholm walk and De La Cruz ground ball that Díaz misplayed loaded the bases for the Fish with one out for Bell, who was able to plate Gordon from third with a fielder's choice, bringing up Jake Burger with the tying run 180 feet from home plate. Unfortunately for Burger and Marlins faithful, he popped out to McNeil to lock up a series split. Schumaker praised his players for the rally they put together in the ninth. "You get the tying run at the plate, it's all you can hope for with a closer like Díaz on the mound". Miami is back in action on Tuesday night as they welcome the second-best team in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles, to town. Albert Suárez takes the ball for Brandon Hyde's club, sporting a 2.82 ERA on the season. The Marlins have yet to announce a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40. View full article

After failing to meet expectations as a starter, the hard-throwing lefty has turned himself into a legitimate trade chip as a back-end bullpen arm. Entering the 2024 regular season, it’s reasonable to say nobody on the Miami Marlins had more momentum and hype than left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk. Puk dazzled in spring training, where he was called upon to start games for the first time since 2019 due to injuries in Miami’s rotation. The former first-round pick and top prospect started four games (13.2 IP) and allowed just two earned runs, pitching to the tune of a 1.31 ERA with a BB/K ratio of 4/23. After his stellar showing in the spring, Puk earned the number two spot in the rotation and had Fish fans and the front office alike buzzing. What ensured, however, was very on-brand for the 2024 Marlins. Puk’s first start against the Pirates was a complete 180 from the version of him that flashed just weeks before, as he was only able to complete two innings after walking six Buccos, amounting to four earned runs. Poor location and inability to go deep into games were two themes that continued to haunt Puk in his next three outings, as the 6'7" lefty combined for eleven walks against the Angels, Yankees and Cubs, while not being able to get through five innings one time. After a seven-earned-run blowup outing in Chicago where he was only able to top 93 mph on his four-seam fastball, Puk was placed on the 15-day IL with shoulder fatigue. In mid-May, Puk re-joined the big league club, although this time around, he was back in the bullpen. From his first outing back in the 'pen through June 17, he was still below-average, sporting a 4.61 ERA and 4.54 FIP across 11 appearances, highlighted by a three-run homer off the bat of Tyler Freeman in a 2-2 ballgame on June 9. Positively, though, Puk demonstrated much better control across all his pitches as evidenced by only three walks allowed in that span. To rub salt in the wound of Puk's middling performance, JJ Bleday, who was sent to Oakland in exchange for Puk back in February 2023, enjoyed one of the best stretches of his young big-league career, slashing .260/.345/.488 with 16 extra-base hits in the same month-plus span. While Puk was allowing less free passes, things still needed to change if the one-time closer wanted to get high-leverage innings like he did a season ago. The change was a simple tweak of a pitch grip. On June 23 against the Mariners, instead of throwing his patented sweeper that saw so much success a season ago, Puk threw a harder slider with the same grip he used back in college. Ever since, Puk has been nothing short of dominant. Entering Tuesday, Puk has not allowed an earned run since going back to his old breaking pitch. In 12 appearances, he has allowed three hits and three walks, while striking out 19. What has changed about the slider specifically? Following his 1-2-3 outing against the meat of the White Sox order on July 6, his manager, Skip Schumaker, noted the increase in velo and "much different break." "And then, you saw how the frontdoor two-seam at 97 to (Luis) Robert to strike him out," Schumaker added. "That's real stuff. That's not easy to hit." On the same day, when asked about the thought process to revert to the old pitch, Puk said he "went back to the harder slider, (I) kind of got away from the sweeper. I don't know if it was a little more bigger this year, or a little slower than what it was last year. So I just needed to make an adjustment and come back to the harder one." h2tp9m_1.mp4 With the up-and-down first half behind him, Puk stated before Sunday's game that he's "real confident" at this stage of the season. "I'm feeling good. I'm just looking out there, just trying to win some ballgames here and just keep helping the team." Puk also detailed that "getting comfortable back in the bullpen" was one of the reasons he was able to push through his rough start. Now in the middle of July, Puk has cemented himself as a legitimate trade candidate as we inch closer and closer to the MLB trade deadline on July 30. With his club control carrying through the 2026 season, Puk could net a solid return of prospects for Peter Bendix and Co. or be packaged with somebody like Jazz Chisholm Jr. to entice a contender to part with true impact talent. View full article