Offishial news, 11/11/22: Coaching hires; signings begins; Reynolds selected to roster

Marlins Podcast Episodes

• Thursday’s fall/winter ball updates: José Salas and Cameron Barstad each went 0-for-2 and Chandler Jozwiak pitched well out of the bullpen (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) in the final game of the Arizona Fall League regular season; Jerar Encarnación went 1-for-3 while playing first base in a rare loss for Águilas Cibaeñas. Final AFL stats for Salas, Barstad, Jozwiak and others can be found here.
• I am beyond thrilled about the news of right-hander Sean Reynolds being selected to the Marlins 40-man roster. Miami’s fourth-round draft pick in 2016, the organization originally envisioned Reynolds as a position player, but those plans were stymied by strikeout issues. He pivoted fully to pitching in mid-2021 and has gradually improved his command and fastball velocity. In 84 ¹⁄₃ career minor league innings, Reynolds has posted a 3.74 ERA and 3.88 FIP. I would temper expectations about him contributing to the major league pitching staff in 2023 (his age-25 season), but there’s legitimate upside here.

• The corresponding move to get Reynolds on the 40-man was trading Payton Henry to the Brewers for teenage outfielder Reminton Batista. This comes barely a year after the Marlins acquired Henry from Milwaukee in exchange for John Curtiss. Henry hasn’t hit much in The Show (.186/.314/.209, 62 wRC+ in 51 PA) and missed a chunk of the 2022 season due to a right thumb injury.
• Skip Schumaker’s coaching staff will include Jon Jay (reported by Katie Woo of The Athletic) and Jody Reed and Rod Barajas (reported by Jon Heyman of MLB Network). The Jay news broke while Daniel Rodriguez, Adam Akbani and Louis Addeo-Weiss were recording a “Fishology” podcast episode, so I clipped their live reaction.

• One of my favorite free agent targets for the Marlins, Robert Suárez, is off the market after reaching a five-year, $46 million deal to stay with the Padres.
• Willians Astudillo is taking his talents to Japan (h/t Sung Min Kim). Astudillo raked for Triple-A Jacksonville in 2022, but did little to impact winning during his stints on the Marlins active roster.
• Baseball America’s top 10 Marlins prospects are Eury Pérez, Max Meyer, Jacob Berry, José Salas, Yiddi Cappe, Sixto Sánchez, Jake Eder, Dax Fulton, Peyton Burdick and Jordan Groshans (in that order). Nasim Nunez was prominently featured on their “best tools” list for his infield arm, baserunning and strike-zone discipline.
• Voting for the 2022 All-MLB Team is underway. You can vote daily for Sandy Alcantara through November 22.
• No surprise, MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand selected Pablo López as the Marlins’ top trade chip this offseason. Neil Raymond of Marlin Maniac suggests trading López to the Red Sox for Alex Verdugo and Triston Casas.
• Happy birthday to Nick Fortes. The Marlins catcher turns 26 today. Fortes is a career .238/.310/.427 hitter (109 wRC+) in the big leagues who is under club control for Miami through at least 2028.
• Congratulations to Jasen Vinlove, who will be the new team photographer for the Marlins. He’s already very familiar with covering games at LoanDepot Park from his previous gig with USA Today.