Miami Marlins: It's kind of Opening Day!

Well it’s finally arrived, the first day of a brand new off season.

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With it comes a wild mix of emotions. The obvious sadness of not being able to watch the Fish every day is prevalent, but in the background there’s another feeling, hope. Hope that a new crop of free agents will lead to future success.

Hope that the next manager will last longer than an ice cream cone on a summer’s day. Hope, that maybe the next season will finally make us champions again.

I know your probably thinking, “oh no, I’m woefully unprepared”.

Not to worry my friends, Marlin Maniac has got you covered .

The first task of the off season, the hiring of a new manager, actually began a few weeks ago.

As covered recently by our own Mark Laming, the leading candidates to get the job are Bo Porter, Manny Acta, Dusty Baker, and over the weekend Larry Bowa entered the mix.

If your curious about who your favorite Marlins bloggers think should get the job you’re in luck! It was a topic in last week’s Round Table Discussion.

Moving up the chain of command, there’s been reports of “significant changes coming to the front office” from multiple sources. Exactly what those changes will look like is as of yet unclear with some sources stating that Mike Berger would assume the GM role, while others claiming Dan Jennings would transition back from the dugout.

We’ll give you more information as it becomes available so check back regularly.

Joe Frisaro broke the story via twitter last night that the Marlins would be taking steps towards building an analytics department. This development brings to light ownership’s refusal to adapt. Over the last 12 years analytics have become a key part of how most teams evaluate talent, by continuing to ignore them the Marlins put themselves at a distinct advantage. Still better late than never I guess, Loria does deserve some credit for finally making this investment.

If you don’t like advanced metric rest assured, Frisaro later promised that the Fish will not go 100% money ball.

On the player acquisition side of things there isn’t much to report yet beyond speculation and the barest of rumors. Marcell Ozuna seems to be on the trade block, partly due to his 2015 struggles, but also a few off he field incidents that may have offended management.

Rumored free agent/trade targets include Aroldis Chapman, David Price, Mike Napoli, Doug Fister, Jordan Zimmerman and Jonathan Papelbon. I wouldn’t be surprised if none of those guys end up on the team next year, but there names have come up connected to the Marlins so there worth keeping an eye on.

Finally it’s not related to the off season at all but still worth a mention.

Ichiro Suzuki took the mound for the first time in yesterday’s game against the Phillies. He featured a Fastball clocking in at 88 MPH, or as fast as Dan Haren, as well as what some described as a solid slider.

And that’s everything you need to know on this the first day of the off-season. We’ll be back with further updates as things continue to develop.

Follow Marlin Maniac on Twitter @MarlinManiac for all your Miami Marlins news, opinion and analysis!

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Miami Marlins: It’s kind of Opening Day!

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