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On this January 29th, (and every year on this date, in fact), four members of the extended Marlins’ family enjoy their birthday.
Rony Cabrera (22)
Rony Alexander Cabrera is a 5’11”, 175 lb. second baseman and utility infielder from Coche Venezuela. After going undrafted, he joined the DSL Marlins in the Dominican Republic for the 2013 season as a 17-year-old. A right-handed hitter, Cabrera connects to all fields but possesses warning track power at best, evidenced by just seven career round-trippers.
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In 45 games he put up a .253/.307/.376 slashline, with four triples and 18 RBI. Laterally promoted to the GCL Marlins in 2014, he slashed .265/.269/.323. Notably, he only drew two walks in 160 plate appearances. He later went 10-for-33 with the Batavia Muckdogs to close out the season.
In 2015, Cabrera joined the Greensboro Grasshoppers and got into 108 contests, and slashed .248/.277/.330 with 25 extra base hits and 26 RBI. The next year, he split his time between the Muckdogs, the Grasshoppers, and the Jupiter Hammerheads, aggregating a .217/.263/.253 slash with 26 RBI.
Last season, Cabrera totaled 57 games between the Muckdogs and the Grasshoppers, with a .240/.270/.330 slashline. He’s currently still rostered with Greensboro.
Ben Candelaria (43)
Benjamin Junior Candelaria was a 5’11”, 160 lb. outfielder from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays took him in the 20th round of the draft, with the 569th overall choice.
Candelaria started with the GCL Blue Jays after the draft, and over the next seven seasons also made stops for Toronto with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays, the St. Catharines Blue Jays, the Hagerstown Suns, the Dunedin Blue Jays, the Knoxville Smokies, and the Syracuse SkyChiefs. He played in the Detroit Tigers organization in 1999, with the Jacksonville Suns.
After slashing .296/.372/.430 with the St. Paul Saints in 2000, Candelaria joined the Marlins through free agency. He closed out the season going 17-for-66 in 20 games for the Portland Sea Dogs.
In 2001, Candelaria split the campaign between the Calgary Cannons and the Portland SeaDogs, getting into 90 contests and slashing .314/.368/.500 with seven homers and 44 RBI. 2002 would see him again spend time with the same two clubs, and aggregate a .281/.321/.391 in 40 combined games. He has spent this offseason with La Guaira in the Venezuelan Winter League.
Brian Edmondson (45)
Brian Christopher Edmondson is a 6’2”, 175 lb. right-handed pitcher from Fontana, California. In 1991, the Detroit Tigers chose him in the third round with the 78th overall choice out of Norte Vista HS.
After four seasons in Detroit’s system, the New York Mets selected Edmondson off waivers, and three years after that, the Atlanta Braves selected him from the Mets in the Rule 5 Draft. The Braves waived him on June 4th, 1998, and that’s when the Marlins got their hands on him.
The Marlins would see Edmondson pitch in 43 games and earn a 4-3 record with a 3.79 ERA, 32 K’s in 59 1⁄3 innings, and a 1.53 WHIP. He earned a 1.60 WHIP for Florida in 1999, going 5-8 with a 5.84 ERA in 68 relief appearances. He struck out 58 batters in 94 innings.
After missing the 2000 season with a torn labrum and rotator cuff, Edmondson returned in 2001 to play for Florida between the Brevard County Manatees, the Portland Sea Dogs, and the Calgary Cannons, going 9-10 with a 4.19 ERA, a 1.298 WHIP, and 57 K’s in 81 2⁄3 innings. 2002 would see him in the Tigers system, and later with the Cleveland Indians farm system.
Dan Chergey (47)
Daniel Martin Chergey is a 6’2”, 195 lb. right-handed pitcher from Thousand Oaks, California. The Marlins took him in the 22nd round of the 1993 draft with the 631st overall pick off of the Cal Poly Mustangs. In four college seasons, he totaled a 32-19 record with a 3.53 ERA, 294 K’s in 457 innings, and a 1.32 WHIP.
Chergey spent a total of five years in Florida’s minor league system, between the Elmira Pioneers, the Brevard County Manatees, the Edmonton Trappers, the Portland Sea Dogs, and the Charlotte Knights. He totaled a 17-20 lifetime record in minor league ball, starting in 15 of his 232 appearances and earning a 3.90 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP while whiffing 329 in 397 innings.
Thanks for reading a little about Florida / Miami Marlins history today. Check back tomorrow and every day for a little more, and if January 29th is your birthday, too, well then Happy Birthday to you, too.