Our Noticias, 2/10/20: Fan interactions, team projections, position competitions, pending transactions

FanFest success

After an exhaustive social media search, I found only one grouch from Saturday’s FanFest. The vast majority of the 17,000-person crowd, Marlins fans and players alike, seemed satisfied. Our event coverage, featuring Anthony Garcia and Danis Sosa, is all here.

Take a listen to Anthony’s takeaways from the Derek Jeter “State of the Marlins” address, an update on the new playing surface and field dimensions, plus some storylines heading into Spring Training:

Transactions incoming!

Last Monday, the Marlins designated left-handers Jarlin García and José Quijada for assignment to make space on their 40-man roster. That means the seven-day window to resolve their situations closes later today.

García is a virtual lock to be traded. Inexpensive, coming off a career year and entering his age-27 campaign, he’s simply too valuable to give away—expect the Marlins to get an intriguing prospect in return. While there are reasons to worry about regression from him and the lack of minor league options is a turn-off, his departure weakens Miami’s 2020 squad and will add even more uncertainty to the bullpen.

As for Quijada, he might be a goner, too. Hard to find southpaws with a mid-90s fastball and multiple option years. It is worth noting that, aside from the Rockies, every MLB team enters the week with a full roster, so claiming the 24-year-old would require a corresponding move. That inconvenience increases the chances of him passing through waivers and remaining with the Fish.

ZiPS projections

Overall, Dan Szymborski’s model is more optimistic about the Marlins’ major league talent than at this time a year ago, but it doesn’t see any individuals establishing themselves as bonafide stars. ZiPS adores left-hander Alex Vesia—who barely has any experience above the High-A level—and believes Isan Díaz will make nice strides after his poor MLB debut, but these dismal projections for Lewis Brinson, Harold Ramirez and Magneuris Sierra would likely lead to them being leapfrogged on the outfield depth chart.

For reference, here are the Marlins projected WAR graphics from 2019 and 2020 (full projections available at FanGraphs):

Walk-off links

• Recent installments of the Fish Stripes Season Preview series include Matt Joyce, Harold Ramirez and Jazz Chisholm. More coming up this week!
• Wells Dusenbury of the Sun Sentinel concluded his tenure on the Marlins beat with a pair of articles
• Spring Training will go a long way towards sorting out the team’s defensive alignment, writes MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro
• Regardless of which position(s) he’s used at, Jonathan Villar is a true everyday player and José Ureña is still a trade candidate, Craig Mish reports
• Zack Raab has flexed his burgeoning Photoshop skills to create alternate logos for us to use on special occasions later this year

• Aram Leighton is just gettin’ started with the Locked On Marlins podcast, dropping the latest episode on Friday