Offishial news, 8/2/21: Draft pick signing deadline; early trade returns

New Marlins Game Recap

New Fish Stripes Podcast

• Sunday’s minor league scores: Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 4-3 (F/10); Double-A Pensacola won, 11-3; High-A Beloit won, 7-3; Low-A Jupiter lost, 5-3. Griffin Conine continues to lead MiLB in home runs...and strikeouts.
• FiveThirtyEight gives the Marlins a 47% chance to win their series opener against the Mets.
• First-round draft pick Kahlil Watson officially signed his professional contract Sunday morning and spoke about his five-tool talents. Watson could make his minor league debut as soon as this weekend.
• Meanwhile in the Big Apple, the Mets declined to sign No. 10 overall pick Kumar Rocker due to concerns over his physical. Rocker is planning to pitch elsewhere over the next year before re-entering the 2022 draft.
• A new Miami Herald column mentions that the Angels backed out of bold trade proposal on Friday that would’ve sent Max Meyer to L.A. and center fielder Brandon Marsh to the Fish. Craig Mish and Barry Jackson also report on why the Marlins didn’t get far in their pursuit of Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds, the “modest” contract extension offer they presented to Jesús Aguilar, their disinterest in retaining Jorge Alfaro beyond 2021 and more.
• Keeping tabs on recently traded Marlins: John Curtiss (Brewers) recorded the final out of the sixth inning on Sunday and earned a hold in the team’s win; Adam Duvall (Braves) is 2-for-12 with one run batted in through his first series; Yimi García (Astros) allowed a long home run to Mike Yastrzemski; Starling Marte (Athletics) is slashing .313/.421/.313 in 19 plate appearances and already has four stolen bases.
• Eddy Alvarez and Team USA are competing against host Japan in the baseball quarterfinals at the Tokyo Olympics.
• Check out Fish Stripes Live via our Twitter/Twitch/YouTube accounts from 6:10-7:10 p.m. previewing the Mets series.

• On this day in 2011, a young Justin Turner threw away the lead in a Marlins comeback win over the Mets.
• Kevin Barral presents last week’s top Marlins plays:

• Jesús Luzardo is scheduled to make his Marlins organizational debut on Tuesday for Triple-A Jacksonville. Nick Neidert is not listed among the Jumbo Shrimp’s upcoming starters, a big hint that he’ll be recalled to the majors for either Monday’s or Tuesday’s game.
• ABC Supply Stadium will begin hosting High-A Beloit home games this week, but that’s not necessarily a good thing for the community.
• Enjoy more than five minutes of Eury Pérez highlights courtesy of Prospects Live’s Ian Smith: