Offishial news, 2/20/23: Sandy vs. Jazz; playoff precedent; soccer-style uniforms

Fish Stripes staffers providing credentialed coverage at today’s Marlins workout: Isaac Azout (@IsaacAzout), Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) and Noah Berger (@Trainboy100)

Marlins Podcast Episodes

• The following pitchers are scheduled to throw live batting practice at Marlins camp today: Daniel Castano, Johnny Cueto, Braxton Garrett, Bryan Hoeing, Tommy Nance, Eury Pérez, A.J. Puk, Josh Simpson and Will Stewart.
• I found four recent MLB teams that made the leap from non-competitive to postseason qualifiers in a single year and had intriguing similarities to the current Marlins. That article is part of our comprehensive 2023 Marlins Season Preview, as are new player breakdowns of Jorge Soler (by Kevin Barral) and A.J. Puk (by Louis Addeo-Weiss).
• Pretty anti-climatic: Sandy Alcantara faced Jazz Chisholm Jr. during live batting practice on Sunday, but the matchup ended as an incomplete plate appearance on a 3-2 count, Chisholm told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola. Alcantara faced five Marlins batters for five pitches apiece, simply getting his work in rather than pitching a simulated game.
• Nasim Nuñez, the finest defensive infielder in the Marlins organization, joined Aram Leighton of Just Baseball for a video breakdown of some extraordinary plays he made during the 2022 season.

• White Sox minor leaguer Anderson Comás came out as gay. The 23-year-old outfielder appears to be the only openly LGBTQ+ player who’s under contract with an MLB organization.
• Hialeah’s own Manny Machado will opt out of the $160 million remaining on his Padres contract next offseason. Most of you know better than to even entertain the possibility of the Marlins making a serious bid for a player of his caliber, especially with Machado reportedly seeking a guarantee of $400 million (which would set a new MLB free agent record).
• Elvis Andrus, who played surprisingly well for the White Sox late last season, is re-signing with them on a one-year, $3 million deal. Shortstop is the only position that Andrus has played during his major league career, but at age 34, he’ll be making the switch to second base.
• The Marlins Jeopardy landing page has been updated with full replays and answer keys from the previous 25 contests. Periodic reminder: submit your own Marlins-related trivia for a chance to be feature on future episodes (we will do at least one more before Opening Day).
• Tanner Allen has created his own online hitting course for $399. Allen’s professional career in the Marlins farm system has been very disappointing, but he was a durable star and national champion at Mississippi State (.336/.411/.522 in 210 G).
• This year’s MLB arbitration hearings have wrapped up. The Marlins lost both of their hearings (against Luis Arraez and Jesús Luzardo), but the other teams combined to go 13-4.
• Danny Kaufman reimagined each MLB team with soccer-style uniforms. Here are his home and road designs for the Marlins: