New Marlins manager McCullough previews expectations as team reports for spring training
As the calendar flipped from 2024 to 2025, and then again from January to February, new Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough started to get a little bit antsy.
“You get that itch,” McCullough said. “It’s the rhythm of the year. It’s time for baseball to get started.”
The Marlins begin spring training workouts on Wednesday when pitchers and catchers report to the team’s complex at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium in Jupiter. The first full-squad workout is scheduled for Monday.
McCullough spoke with reporters on Friday at the team’s pre-spring training media day at loanDepot park and laid out what has been done this offseason and what he expects entering his first camp.
Here are the highlights.
▪ McCullough said the most important thing for him to accomplish this offseason was putting his coaching staff together. His 11-person staff is almost completely overhauled, with bullpen coach Brandon Mann the only holdover from last season.
His full staff, in addition to Mann: Bench coach Carson Vitale, hitting coach Pedro Guerrero, assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon, pitching coach Daniel Moskos, field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt, assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman, first base/infield defense/baserunning coach Tyler Smarslok, third base coach Blake Lalli, catching coach/bullpen catcher Joe Singley, and performance and data integration strategist Bryson Nakamura.
“We had some heavy lifting to do,” McCullough said. “Feel great about those that we that we have on board. We already have some down in Jupiter and have been down for a few days. So the chance now — [after] so many video calls we’ve had and messages electronically — to finally sit down in person and just talk about players, talk about how we’re going to go about doing thing, there’s gonna be a lot as newness for all of us, and we’re gonna have to forge our own path with how we’re going to work together.”
▪ McCullough said he has “done my best” to reach out to every player who will be at spring training, whether that is in person or via text or phone call. He wanted to make “some type of a connection before knowing that the real work is ahead when we all get together in Jupiter.”
▪ As for his roster, he noted the Marlins “have a ton of arm talent,” which has been the team’s strength the past few years but was decimated by injuries last season.
Sandy Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner, returns to be the ace of the rotation. Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera should be next in line. The final spots in the rotation seemingly going to two of Max Meyer, Valente Bellozo or Adam Mazur
Eury Perez is still recovering from Tommy John surgery and is on pace to return around the All-Star Break. Braxton Garrett is out for the season after undergoing left elbow UCL revision surgery in December.
▪ With bullpen, McCullough singled out Anthony Bender, Andrew Nardi (who will be behind schedule to start spring training), Calvin Faucher and Declan Cronin. Beyond that, “there’s some opportunities there” for others to break through on the roster in camp.
▪ Regarding position players, McCullough said he’s most excited to “watch the eagerness, the hunger the youthful energy” the group brings. The 20 position players on Miami’s 40-man roster have an average age of 25.2 and no one is older than 29.
Among the key players to watch who will be on the big-league club are infielders Xavier Edwards and Connor Norby plus outfielder Jesus Sanchez. Prospects to keep an eye on include catcher Agustin Ramirez and first baseman Deyvison De Los Santos.
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