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My predictions with Juan Soto were that he'd sign with the Mets for 15 years and $675 million, so I was only off on the money part. Although I wish the Marlins would spend money on bringing talent to Little Havana, I'm also not too keen on maxing out on one player either (although I'll give Shohei the exception). I didn't think his contract would be surpassed for a while, but it only took a year. It's like going all in on a specific stock, with a high risk/reward ratio. The Mets have a strong lineup, but still need to resign Pete Alonso, and they have questions marks at their rotation and bullpen. He's still in his prime and pretty much has played full seasons the last few years so it'll pay off the most these next few years. I'm sure Soto will be a "Marlin killer" when he plays us by driving in runs and contributing to key moments in the games.

I'm going to make a note. As I mentioned in my previous blog, Amed Rosario would be a good fit for the Marlins, as mentioned on MarlinManiac. I didn't include him in my payroll blueprint since his name wasn't option, but in this case, the Fish could switch Xavier Edwards to centerfield and Rosario would be our everyday shortstop.

My only change would be that we sign Harrison Bader, and we send Kyle Stowers down to the minors. Signing Bader would be a good idea for the Fish. C: Nick Fortes ($1.60M) 1B: Jake Burger ($0.80M) 2B: Otto Lopez ($0.80M) 3B: Connor Norby ($0.80M) SS: Xavier Edwards ($0.80M) LF: Jesus Sanchez ($3.20M) CF: Harrison Bader ($8.00M) RF: Griffin Conine ($0.80M) DH: Jonah Bride ($0.80M) 4th OF: Dane Myers ($0.80M) 5th OF: Derek Hill ($0.80M) Utility: Vidal Brujan ($0.80M) Backup C: Jhonny Pereda ($0.80M) NA: Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Sandy Alcantara ($17.30M) SP2: Jesus Luzardo ($6.00M) SP3: Ryan Weathers ($0.80M) SP4: Braxton Garrett ($1.80M) SP5: Edward Cabrera ($2.20M) RP: Calvin Faucher ($0.80M) RP: Andrew Nardi ($0.80M) RP: Jesus Tinoco ($0.80M) RP: Anthony Bender ($1.40M) RP: Declan Cronin ($0.80M) RP: Mike Baumann ($0.80M) RP: Lake Bachar ($0.80M) RP: Xzavion Curry ($0.80M) NA: Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 37.89% under budget

Basically, the Marlins won't do anything this offseason. That wouldn't surprise me.

You can never go wrong with trying to improve data and analytics. It's going to be used more for businesses and companies in the future.

You make a fair point. There are several reasons why players are more injured than ever now. I believe overuse of players can be a big reason why. When I played baseball, it was pretty much year-round. Fall season, spring season, and summer season. Basically, those want to go far and get a college scholarship need to play the sport all year long and just focus on it. It's not rare at all for great young athletes to be playing for their school or local park and represent a travel team at the same time. Velocity for pitchers is definitely another reason. Pitchers are throwing harder than ever nowadays. There are lots of stats backing that point. This has created additional stress on the shoulder and elbow, thus increasing the Tommy John surgery rates. Also, the MLB season is long and up until the last couple of seasons, games were averaging over 3 hours. This only increases the risk of any player getting hurt for whatever reason.

I'm in total agreement with you that it would be awkward timing to trade their best starting pitchers since they're all coming off long IL stints. Edward Cabrera is the player with the best chance of getting traded this offseason. Question is, will any team be willing to pull that off? He was promising in the '22 and '23 campaigns, but he regressed last season. He had double the number of losses when compared to wins and his ERA was just south of 5.0. He has a good 5 pitch mix (4 seamer/changeup/curveball/slider/sinker) but it seems like batters figured him out more and took advantage so hopefully he can get back to form next season. I predict the Marlins will wait till the summer, depending on where they are in the standings, but a move is definitely imminent.

The painful reminder for every hardcore Marlins fan although the Christian Yelich trade is arguably now the worst trade in Marlins history because at least some of the returns in the Cabrera trade lasted longer with the team and went on to have better careers (Andrew Miller in particular). I'm all for Harrison Bader if they invest in him wisely. I don't think the Fish are planning to trade Sandy anytime soon, but you never know what the front office has in mind. I just don't see any team biting either for him since he's coming off surgery.

This is an excellent article recapping the history of the Marlins owners. I definitely learned something new from each of them. Bruce Sherman sure has had the worst luck in signing free agents, but I'll give him credit for successfully hosting international baseball events. It's not surprising that these events crowd Loan Depot Park more than actual Marlins games, and that's something that needs to be fixed going forward. He was also recently able to push for the renovations in Jupiter, which something his predecessor couldn't get done. It may be hard to believe sometimes but Jeffrey Loria has had the best history with the Marlins amongst the 4 owners. He's had the most winning seasons and the most high-profile players in our 31 seasons as a franchise. However, he was responsible for making some of our worst trades ever (Derek Lee, Adrian Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera/Dontrelle Willis, and even the infamous blockbuster trade with the Blue Jays). As pointed out in the article, he always had a revolving door of managers. John Henry deserves some recognition for keeping it real with his intentions of wanting a stadium in Miami strictly for baseball only. When he saw there was no chance of that happening, he came out swinging and broke even with the sale. Wayne Huizenga is of course the most respectable owner on this list because he was a South Florida legend. He was truly invested in bringing sports franchises to the Miami metro area and he'll always be remembered for that. Unfortunately, as quickly as the Marlins rose to fame and greatness in 1997, he quickly tore that team apart with the first fire sale in 1998. Perhaps it isn't surprising he was known for tearing franchises down... he was the founder of Waste Management after all.

Sandy Alcantara has to be the only untouchable on the starting rotation. No team will bite for him coming off TJ surgery. Also, he's owed $17.3 M the next couple of seasons after '25. Eury Perez too could be considered untouchable. I think Royce Lewis has potential to be a player to watch out for if he's given the opportunity to play around 120 games next season. I believe it'd be a mistake for us to get rid of Ryan Weathers now. He's not arbitration eligible yet and showed lots of improvement in '24. He dropped his ERA by nearly 3.0, increased his strikeouts, and allowed less walks, all while increasing his workload through innings pitched and allowing less runs. If things go well for him, he could have more wins than losses next season. I agree on Braxton Garrett and Jesus Luzardo. If we're out of it by the trade deadline and they're healthy, it would make sense to get a good deal out of them, but my guess would be that Jesus Luzardo gets traded first. Braxton Garrett doesn't have a contract as hefty so I could see the Fish retaining him for another year or two. Luzardo has another 2 years of arbitration left and Garrett has another 4 years left.

I'm glad to hear about the much-needed improvements at Roger Dean Stadium that have been talked about for a while now. It's been years since I was last there so I should make a trip there next spring. Yes, it's very ironic that the Spring Training games are more expensive than the actual regular season games.

The Dolphins get exposed to good teams when they're not playing in 70+ degree weather at Hard Rock to mediocre teams. Our team isn't physical enough and that's been the same issue for the last couple of seasons, I wouldn't be surprised if we won the last 5 games only to then lose to either Buffalo, Kansas City, Baltimore, or Pittsburgh in the Wild Card.

There's always a first time for everything, right??!! Here's the first Fish on First thread on other Miami sports. Anyone else here a die-hard fan of Miami sports as a whole besides the Marlins (Heat, Dolphins, Panthers, Inter Miami, Hurricanes)? Let's talk about them. - Heat The Heat's season has been about as average as it could get (currently 8-8). Against Eastern Conference opponents, they've beaten all the teams below them in the standings that they've faced (Pacers, Pistons, Hornets, 76ers, and Wizards). I'll be going to the Raptors game on Friday, whom are in the bottom part of the standings so we'll if the trend continues. On the other hand, they've lost to all the teams above them (Magic, Knicks, and Bucks). Some of their games have been fairly close. In fact, 7 of their 16 games have been decided by 5 points or less. I was in attendance for their heartbreaking 1 point loss against the Kings earlier this month as well as their super charging overtime win against the Mavericks this past Sunday. With 5.3 seconds left, we were down 114-122 when Duncan Robinson handed the ball to Jimmy "Buckets" for the game tying dunk. That was the best Heat game I've attended thus far as it was my first time witnessing overtime basketball. - Dolphins Looking back in recent seasons, it seems as if the Dolphins have a roller coaster of a season where they always turn things around one way or another to be in the hunt for the Wild Card. It's never smooth sailing. Just taking a look a back, they started off 2021 with a win, then lost 7 in a row (1-7), followed by a 7-game winning streak (8-7). They ended the season 9-8. 2022, was infamous for being a pattern of wins and losses. They won 3 games, lost the next 3, then had a nice 5-game winning streak, and then followed up with a dismal 5-game losing streak. Yet again, they finished 9-8 with a crushing loss to the Bills in the Wild Card. Last season was an exception as always had a winning record, but we can never forget that brutal Monday Night Football game where they allowed the Titans to score twice in the last 5 minutes. Even though, the Fins won their next 2 games, it was clear that game was the turning point of the season since it was the first domino piece that prevented them from winning the AFC East. This season was beginning to look forgettable real fast. I was at the home opener against the Jaguars. Of course, on my way to the stadium, I was getting notifications on my phone from news outlets regarding Tyreek Hill's traffic incident. As I anticipated, it was affecting the team's play as they seemed rusty during a lot of their drives. Luckily, we prevailed with the game winning field goal. When Tua got hit the next game, I instantly knew it was a concussion and that our offense would be impacted. Losing 4 of their next 5, the Dolphins couldn't even hit the 20-point mark. That showed how non-existent the offense was without Tua. When I was at the Cardinals game, it seemed that the Fins were back, until Tua cost us safety and they eventually won on a last second field goal. However, this team looks different now coming off of 3 straight victories. Will we win a true road game in the cold tonight on Thanksgiving in Green Bay? There's hope. - Panthers The bar for the Panthers is officially high now. Coming off a President's Trophy season, a surprise Stanley Cup season run, and an official Stanley Cup win, the Cardiac Cats are expected to bring championships now every season. We have to give all the credit to the GM Bill Zito for putting up this roster together by drafting the right picks and building a proper core. Players come and go for teams but those are the key foundations for a roster. We were looking good at the start of the season, with a few blunders here and there where we'd lose games, but then we were looking unstoppable when we won 7 in a row. However, that was washed away when we lost 6 of the next 7. I was at the game last night, and it was a great feeling to see the Panthers look more complete as a team, especially on defense and special teams. We may have a target on our back being the Stanley Cup champs, but I think we can get on another winning streak real soon again to prove it was no fluke. Funny enough, it seems like we score either once or 5 goals when I attend their games this season. - Inter Miami With a team headlined by ex-Barcelona players (aka Interlona); Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez, and Sergio Busquets, roster mainstays Robert Taylor, Leonardo Campana, and Noah Allen, as well as a coach who had ties with Messi, the expectations for a League Cup where there. Inter Miami had hope after a better-than-expected 2022 campaign, but then kicked 2023 off to an atrocious start. Even with Messi on the squad last season, we couldn't quite get things going for a playoff run. This season, I attended more games, and we won them all pretty easily, including the last regular season game where we beat NYC FC 6-2 to win the Supporter's Shield Cup. I'm starting to think that winning the Supporter's Shield Cup is just as unlucky as winning the President's Trophy in hockey. Most teams don't reach the MLS Cup after winning that award. I was so disappointed at the stadium after losing that match to Atlanta. It just seemed unreal that we looked outmatched in the playoffs when we had cruised through the season. Hopefully we regroup and advance further in the playoffs next season. - Hurricanes We got some Canes over here??? The "U" is back now!!! After years and years of mediocracy and disappointment, this team is truly something special. It's best one we've had since the Larry Coker days in the early 2000's. I picked the right season to attend all of their home games. Cam Ward and Xavier Restrepo have made Hurricane games fun to watch again. It seems as if every game, one or the other has broken a record. The only issue with the Hurricanes as we all know is the secondary. It's the only reason we've been close at halftime, or even until the end of the game at times. The Virginia Tech game was a real test. I remember pulling out my phone before the last play and hitting the record button as I knew that anything could happen. It was going to be a controversial play no matter what the refs would've called so I was glad we got away with that one. For the California game, I remember being so disappointed at Flanigan's while watching it. They were closing while we were down by 3 touchdowns, so I decided to catch the rest at home. I was still confident that we'd come back for some reason, so I watched till the end, and I was jumping up and down in front of the TV on that last drive when Cam was making those amazing passes. Still, I knew that if we ended up losing a game this season, it would've occurred whenever the offense just wouldn't click during a game and that ended up being the Georgia Tech game. Should we be nervous about this upcoming road game in Syracuse? I think we should be fine.

I briefly remember him from the 2011 season but then he disappeared for good from the majors. Hopefully, he's the right man for the job.

I'm surprised Mel hasn't been hired yet to join a team's pitching staff. He's definitely a dark horse candidate for the job.

Nardi needs to step it up and rebound next season. This team is going to depend on him and Bender to carry the bullpen.

I enjoyed watching Hanley Ramirez play at his prime (2006-2010) when I was growing up. I like that you point out his defensive limitations because it's true that it was the main liability for him as a player. He was a great player but that alone is what separated him from the elites in the game. That 2010 game is infamous as I remember all the story lines behind it. He had potential to be even greater than what he already was if it weren't for the injuries that started to pile up in the early 2010's. He's the best Marlin not named Giancarlo Stanton in my opinion. Remember, Ramirez was almost our first MVP in 2009 (finished 2nd), but it was pretty clear that Albert Pujols had the better stat lines overall.

I"m definitely glad to see us looking into 5-tool players

I hope the Marlins can one day develop a successful international player that can be just as good a player as Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto

We've got nothing to lose, so let's see what they've got in terms of talent. I'm not yet sold on Vidal Brujan so Ronny Simon should provide some competition. Heriberto Hernandez could be a player to watch since he has the power potential we're lacking. My guess is that Robinson Pina will be the first to be called up since he's nearly big league ready and has a 4-pitch mix.

The one thing I’ll miss from him is the legendary “and that’s a Marlins win!”

I believe Deyvison De Los Santos will be the first one called up of those 3. He's ranked as our 4th best prospect and I'm sure we could utilize a power hitting corner infielder with potential mid-season, depending on where we are in the standings and of course if we have anyone on the injured list. I'm not yet sold on Jared Serna yet because he needs more AAA experience. Give him a full season there and then reassess in 2026. He does have speed and can play multiple positions but may be best suited at 2nd. Dax Fulton definitely needs more time in the minors as well. He was out for the entire 2024 season and already has a past with Tommy John surgery. It would be nice to see him lower his ERA more in the minors this upcoming season.

My guess is that maybe some team takes on DLC for a minor league contract as an NRI with a Spring Training invite. That’s probably the best case scenario for him.

People in Wisconsin sure do love their old-fashioned drinks and cocktails! Seems like they're trying to attract the Happy Hour crowd to their Friday night games.

This is somewhat surprising. Severino did a great job, but I did prefer Rich Waltz. His play-by-play commentary was more exciting during big time plays. My first choice for his successor would be Steve Goldstein (Panthers/Dolphins and now FIU football commentator) but he's busy with those sports so I really doubt he'd do the Marlins too. I'm not really too familiar with the common names that currently do play-by-play or are analysts, but it'd be cool to have a former Marlin doing the job. I know Mike Lowell, Al Leiter, Cliff Floyd, Kevin Millar, and Ryan Dempster work with MLB Network, and Dontrelle Willis does broadcast for the Dodgers and is an analyst for Fox Sports 1. Perhaps Jeff Conine can come back? Maybe it's just wishful thinking and an outsider comes in for the job.