Marlins hire former OF Hollandsworth as TV analyst

For the second consecutive year, the Marlins are changing the color analyst on their television broadcasts.

The Marlins and Fox Sports Florida plan to hire former big-league outfielder Todd Hollandsworth as the new TV analyst on games, alongside play-by-play man Rich Waltz, according to a source.

[Update: The hire was just announced.]

The Marlins used four TV analysts last season – Eduardo Perez, Al Leiter, Preston Wilson and Jeff Conine – but preferred to have one analyst for the entire season.

They would have had interest in Perez serving that role, but he was unable to commit to that because of his ESPN gig.

Hollandsworth, who applied for the Marlins TV job last year, has been working as a pre-game and postgame analyst for the Chicago Cubs since 2009. Though he hasn’t worked a lot of games, the Marlins and Fox believe he has considerable potential.

Hollandsworth, 43, hit .273 with 98 home runs and 401 RBI in a 12-year career. He won a World Series during his one season with the Marlins in 2003, hitting .254 that year.

“We are thrilled to have Todd join our Marlins broadcast booth this upcoming season,” said FOX Sports Florida SVP / General Manager Steve Tello. “Todd returns to South Florida with a wealth of baseball expertise, and we believe his unique perspectives and experience in both television and radio will bring exciting color commentary to our Marlins telecasts.”

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the FOX Sports Florida team, and I look forward to bringing my passion and enthusiasm for the game of baseball to the Miami Marlins fan base,” Hollandsworth said. “They are a great young team, and I look forward to covering them beginning this season.”

The Marlins did not consider bringing back analyst Tommy Hutton, who was dropped after the 2015 season.

This story was originally published December 22, 2016 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Marlins hire former OF Hollandsworth as TV analyst."