Offishial news, 2/14/23: Nic Enright’s cancer fight; let the kids pitch; more rule changes

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• With FanFest and football season now in the rearview mirror, our 2023 Marlins Season Preview is revving up! Bookmark this page to get every article in the series.
• Nic Enright is battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. As told to Christina De Nicola of MLB.com, the right-handed reliever felt a crick in his neck in late December and was diagnosed with the cancer from there. Fortunately, it is a treatable disease via immunotherapy (rather than chemotherapy). Enright has already returned to throwing and begins Spring Training with “no physical limitations.” Enright says, “I’m going to continue to tackle this challenge with the same perseverance that I do baseball.”

• The rule placing a runner on second base to begin extra innings is here to stay, as decided by Major League Baseball’s joint competition committee. Originally added as a COVID season wrinkle, the rule has been in place since 2020, during which time the Marlins are 20-19 in extra-inning games (compared to 147-198 in regulation games). The rule passed unanimously, as did a new restriction on position-player pitching. Teams must be leading by 10 or more runs in the ninth inning, trailing by eight or more runs, or playing in extra innings to let a position player pitch.
• Remember the Marlins’ pursuit of free agent Yuli Gurriel? Craig Mish of the Miami Herald clarified that they offered him a guarantee of more than $2 million on a one-year deal, but Gurriel “sat on it for a week without responding” and Miami rescinded it. The 38-year-old remains unsigned.
• In speaking to the Herald’s Jordan McPherson, Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said top prospects Eury Pérez and Dax Fulton will appear in games early on in the Grapefruit League while several veteran starting pitchers are away at the World Baseball Classic. Stottlemyre expressed a desire to use Sixto Sánchez as a starter this year, but admitted that he has yet to face live batters.
• Ted Lerner passed away at age 97. The owner responsible for re-establishing baseball in Washington, D.C., ceded control of the franchise to his son, Mark, in 2018. “Guided by love for his family and passion for his hometown, Mr. Lerner dedicated his life to the creation of a better city and a winning ball club,” the Nationals said in their press release.
• Aram Leighton of Just Baseball explained why he likes the JJ Bleday/A.J. Puk trade for both teams and both players involved.
• Marlins bench coach Luis Urueta has been named general manager of the Dominican Winter League’s Gigantes del Cibao. He served as the team’s field manager this past winter.
• Like many of you, Eno Sarris of The Athletic points to the head-scratching defensive fits as the biggest question for the Marlins entering Spring Training.