Cessation

The Marlins wrapped up Spring Training at Roger Dean in Jupiter and now head to Miami for 1 more Pre-Season Game tomorrow. All before officially kicking off the 2025 Season on Thursday against the Pirates. The official 26 man Roster has yet to be announced by the Club, though it's not hard to read between the lines a little bit.

The Fish were unable to make it out of Spring without Injuries, as happens with many Teams. Left Hander Ryan Weathers, who had lost weight in the Off-Season, went down with a forearm strain, and looks like best case scenario will miss a very good chunk of the Season again. The heavier 2024 Weathers made only 16 Starts for the Marlins/yet was terrific when on the Mound, as he was again this Spring.

Fellow talented Starter Edward Cabrera tallied all of 4.2 Innings in the Grapefruit League, due to ineffectiveness followed by blister issues. Cabrera as well will begin the Season on the I.L. However, the Right Hander should be back before the end of April.

2 of the bigger power threats inside the Fish Lineup will also begin 2025 on the Injured List. Longest tenured Marlin Position Player Jesus Sanchez & 2nd year standout Connor Norby both went down with oblique injuries at different stages in Camp. Keep in mind Obliques are usually around a month.

The biggest Position battle coming into the new year for the Marlins was First Base. The Fish Front Office desperately wanted Matt Mervis to win the 1B job, and possibly platoon with an Eric Wagaman type. Mervis got off to a solid start in Spring, but currently finds himself in a 0-18 stretch, to go along with 12 strike outs. Nevertheless, I don't see the Marlins pivoting from the former Cub this close to Opening Day, especially seeing as the recent Norby injury will force more playing time at Third for Wagaman & Jonah Bride.

The Bullpen will be headed by Calvin Faucher, along with Anthony Bender. Jesus Tinoco will also be in the mix, despite really rough results during the Exhibition Season. Somebody like Tinoco, who was brilliant post All-Star Break for the Fish, is deserving of a spot in the 'Pen, even if the leash might/should be short should the struggles persist. 

Speaking of struggles, George Soriano has given up 9 Runs in his last 3 Spring Outings. While inconsistent Anthony Veneziano didn't have the best of Springs either, pitching to 6.25 ERA over his last 7 appearances. Yet both Soriano & Veneziano have the leg up by continuing on the Marlins 40 Man Roster.

We mentioned the Fish will play 1 more Pre-Season Game tomorrow, in what is a bit of a tradition, facing the New York Yankees in Miami prior to Opening Day. The first time I can recall a little Yankees tune-up was 2008, when 2 Friday & Saturday crowds drew 30,227 and 32,229.

When the Marlins opened up their new Stadium back in 2012, two Exhibition Games were scheduled with the Bronx Bombers, to serve as a bit of a soft landing if you will, before allowing full capacity. Though as you can see below, that didn't stop limited crowds of 25,000 and over 30,000 to try and fill up Marlins Park before Officially filling up Marlins Park a few days later.

The 2nd Exhibition Contest of the Yankees Series in '12 also featured the debut and then disappearance of the these crazy orange helmets.

. . .

The last time the Fish & Yanks hooked up in Miami just prior to the Regular Season was 2016. When a lot smaller crowds on both a Friday night and Saturday afternoon showed up in Little Havana. Attendance was 12,819 and 13,499, even despite the late Jose Fernandez having pitched in the first Game. We might see a similar number tomorrow. One, because this Exhibition was just announced in January. But 2, in view of the fact the Contest starts @ 1 p.m on a Tuesday.

Either way, it's almost Opening Day. Go Marlins!