Miami Marlins RTD: Thoughts on Don Mattingly Hiring and Dan Jennings Firing

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Oct 7, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Gerrit Cole (45) and catcher Francisco Cervelli (29) react after giving up a home run during the third inning in the National League Wild Card playoff baseball game at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

4. What were your initial thoughts on the Marlins landing Jim Benedict as the VP of Pitching Development? On a related note, what did you think about the Trevor Williams–Richard Mitchell prospect swap?

Ehsan Kassim: I don’t know much about Bendict, other than the fact he was with the Pirates during their turnaround. I don’t know what he did in that role and how much power he had helping the pitchers there get better. All reports seem to indicate he did an excellent job, but I’ll wait and see what he does with the Marlins. The Trevor Williams trade doesn’t make much sense, but it’s not a move that should really effect either team down the road, to be honest.

Daniel Zylberkan: I had never actually heard of him before the Marlins were able to hire him, but a lot of media reports all seem to say that he is a very accomplished pitching development “guru.” He helped the Pirates get to where they are today with their pitching. I feel like the Trevor Williams trade is hard to define, but it’s definitely down to the Marlins bringing in a guy that Benedict was invested in and wants to keep working with, even if it’s on a different team

Michael Sonbeek: I love the hiring. Jim is well-respected around the league. For the trade, it seemed like a head scratcher but maybe Jim knows a thing or two.

Sean Millerick: Abundant indifference at this stage? It is a good hire on the surface, but has minimal impact on the current lack of quality prospects in the minors, or ace-level talent beyond Fernandez on the big league roster. That needs to be addressed, as soon as the Winter Meetings. But do I feel a little better about pitching transactions going forward? Yes. The trade will take some time to form any type of opinion on. Clearly something about Mitchell clicked for the scouts; let’s hope it was the same something they saw in Kyle Barraclough and Carter Capps.

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Mark Laming: Benedict could do some good things for the Marlins extremely young pitching staff. Cosart, Fernandez, and Alavarez are all relatively young and impressionable maybe Benedict can make a strong impression on them. As for the Williams trade, it was a horrible decision. While Williams wasn’t projected to be something special he had hit AAA and was close to the majors, instead they turned him into a 20-Year Old hardly out of rookie ball and years until he hits the big leagues. All in all a horrible deal.

Christian La Fontaine: In a vacuum it’s a good hire, Jim Benedict is a smart guy and a good person to have in your camp. But since it’s the Marlins we’re talking about I hate it. This just feels like a cheap move, trying to develop the pitching talent already here instead of going to get new pitcher’s. Again, that’s usually a smart move, except there just isn’t enough pitching talent here to be developed. I don’t care about the trade, Mitchell seem bad but Williams wasn’t anything special so it really doesn’t matter.

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