Offishial news, 12/7/20: Marlins coaches; PhiLOLies

2021 coaching staff likely set

The Marlins announced Friday that Keith Johnson is replacing Billy Hatcher as first base coach. He will also assume Hatcher’s duties coaching outfield defense.

Johnson managed the Marlins’ Triple-A affiliate in 2019, where he got well-acquainted with Lewis Brinson, Monte Harrison, Harold Ramirez and Jon Berti, among others. He would have returned to that position in 2020 had there been a minor league season.

Last month, El Extrabase reported that Al Pedrique is filling Johnson’s Triple-A shoes next season.

In another change, Lee Tressel will serve as strength and conditioning coach instead of Kevin Barr.

“The rest of the 2020 staff is expected back,” Joe Frisaro of MLB.com reports.

Phillies ph***ing themselves?

Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images

Arguably the most disappointing team from this past season, the Phillies have done nothing to improve themselves for 2021. With MLB player movement expected to intensify in the coming days, they still haven’t decided on a lead decision-maker for their front office (old friend Michael Hill is reportedly a candidate in their search).

Not only are the Phillies susceptible to losing J.T. Realmuto and their own key free agents to more motivated suitors, but they’re entertaining the possibility of further trimming payroll. Infielder Jean Segura has been mentioned in trade talks, and owner John Middleton made a panicked phone call to ESPN’s Buster Olney to do damage control after Olney reported that right-hander Zack Wheeler is being made available one year into his $118 million contract.

The Marlins have a very arduous path to NL East supremacy. At least they can count on there being one punching bag for them at the bottom of the division.

Walk-off links

• Tune into MLB Network at 2 p.m. ET today for the announcement of this year’s Roberto Clemente Award winner. Miguel Rojas is the Marlins’ nominee.
• A perfect encapsulation of the Marlins’ past, present and future! Here is video from Friday of future Hall of Famer Miguel Cabrera pushing Víctor Mesa Jr. on a sled while Rojas cheers them on.

• Every player in the Marlins organization is tasked with learning a second language.
• Updated stats for Marlins prospects in the Dominican Winter League: Lewin Díaz is 6-for-24, .250/.357/.292 with 6 K; Jesús Sánchez is 5-for-23, .217/.250/.304 with 7 K; Jorge Guzman has a 18.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP and 0 K in 1.0 IP; Joe Dunand is 16-for-47, .340/.418/.617 with 2 HR and 17 K. A more extensive winter ball update is coming Thursday.
• Vicent Baldayo invites Spanish-speaking Marlins fans to join his group on Telegram. If interested, send a Twitter direct message to @SalvajesMarlins to request an invitation.
• FiveThirtyEight appreciates the career of former Marlins catcher Charles Johnson.
• Coming soon to the Five Reasons Sports Network: Fish Bros. Good luck to Josean Santos, William Blas, Jon Andersen and Kevin Miller.
• Secret Base, part of our SB Nation family, is fast approaching one million subscribers on YouTube. Join in, won’t you? They are the masterminds behind this deep rewind of the Dee Gordon leadoff home run and a thorough chronology of how the post-1997 Marlins firesale planted the seeds for the improbable 2003 World Series title.