So far, at least, Jeffrey Loria’s defense against the suit filed by Miami-Dade related to his claim of no net proceeds in his sale of the Marlins isn’t going so well. Loria’s lawyers attempted to argue that the summary they turned over to Miami-Dade was legally sufficient under the stadium contract and that no further explanation was necessary. Judge Beatrice Butchko disagreed, contending that Loria’s summary was “a problem.”

Here’s why that matters: because, on a basic level, it’s never a good sign for a defendant when the judge suggests that his case has “a problem” at the beginning of proceedings. And here’s why else: the court also vacated the previously set deadline for Miami and Miami-Dade to object to Loria’s numbers — and, more importantly, opened discovery. Which means Loria now has to start turning over his financial and supporting documents to Miami-Dade attorneys.

At the end of last week, I explained how Miami could possibly get back some money from Jeffrey Loria by filing an accounting suit and seeking to freeze the $50 million still escrowed from the sale of the club. On Friday, Miami-Dade County did exactly that, asking for Loria to explain his “fuzzy math” and asking the court to freeze the escrowed monies.

It’s still not terribly likely that Miami-Dade gets back anything close to its investment, although there is a good chance that the County could get something. And depending on what the protective order in this case looks like, it’s possible that Jeffrey Loria could be compelled to open his books.

In 2009, the City of Miami and County of Miami-Dade agreed to pay for 75% of a new stadium for Jeffrey Loria’s Miami Marlins. The projected stadium cost was $645 million, so Miami and Miami-Dade — or, more technically, Miami and Miami-Dade taxpayers — agreed to cover up to $480 million of stadium-building costs, largely from from hotel taxes. (According to some reports, Miami and Miami-Dade ended up paying about $347 million.) Miami and Miami-Dade also agreed not to receive any of the money from the stadium at all. No money from ticket sales, no money for concessions or naming rights. All Miami and Miami-Dade got in return was a guarantee that, if Jeffrey Loria sold the team, they would get a percentage of the net sale proceeds.

In October 2017, Jeffrey Loria did sell the Miami Marlins — for $1.2 billion. Under the terms of that stadium deal, Miami and Miami-Dade are entitled to 5% of the net sale proceeds. So good news for Miami and Miami-Dade, right? Well, not this time: Loria has told them he actually lost money on the sale of the team. So despite that gaudy list price, Miami and Miami-Dade stand to get nothing at all.

On the surface, Loria’s claim seems pretty implausible. After all, he bought the then-Florida Marlins in 2002 for $158 million, $38 million of which was a loan from Major League Baseball. Even after accounting for paying back the loan, that’s still a difference of over a billion dollars. Remember, though, that according to the stadium deal, Miami and Miami Dade agreed to receive 5% of the net proceeds (i.e. profits), not gross proceeds (i.e. the sale price), in the event of a sale.

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No matter what you think about the Marlins’ rebuild, there’s no getting around the fact that they’re rebuilding. Or, to put it in Derek Jeter’s words, building. The Marlins had what might’ve been baseball’s best outfield, but it’s been completely dismantled, and then some. Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was traded. Outfielder Marcell Ozuna was traded. Outfielder Christian Yelich was traded. Infielder Dee Gordon was traded, and moved to the outfield. You could say the Marlins have traded four starting outfielders, then, which doesn’t seem like something that’s normally possible, but here we are, and the regular season is going to be rough.

From the Marlins’ perspective, 2018 hardly matters anymore. That is, in terms of major-league success. It’s going to be a bad season, and all they’ll care about is player development, and making more moves. I don’t think the Marlins much care if they win 50 or 60 or 70 games. This being a season like any other, though, we can still analyze the Marlins, for our own fun. I’m sure the team understands the numbers will be ugly. Just how ugly might they be?

This post is interactive. Following the text will be one single poll.

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Ben Lindbergh and Jeff Sullivan banter about the new spring training camp for free agents, return to the topic of why so many high-profile free agents remain unsigned, discuss Todd Frazier’s contract with the Mets, and talk about whether a proposed “Tank Tax” is a solution in search of a problem. Then they preview the 2018 Dodgers (19:54) with LA Times Dodgers beat writer Andy McCullough, and the 2018 Marlins (1:02:11) with Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson.

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The Marlins have already had what would be a record-setting sell-off. Not only have they completely dismantled arguably the best outfield in baseball; they’ve also traded away a quality second baseman about to move to center. So, in a sense, the Marlins’ teardown has involved the trading of four starting outfielders, and there’s only so much meaningful selling left to do. Dan Straily could get something, sure. Justin Bour is better than his pretty much non-existent reputation. Yet the one jewel left is J.T. Realmuto. He’d be the ticket to one last Miami blockbuster.

Realmuto is a catcher who turns only 27 years old in a month and a half, and he’s got another three seasons of club control. As a player, Realmuto is incredibly valuable, and, even more, he’s expressed an interest in getting the chance to play for someone else. Even though Realmuto’s actual leverage here is low, the Marlins wouldn’t hesitate to grant his wish, should the right offer come along. And, say, wouldn’t you know it, but the Nationals could use a quality backstop! Matt Wieters probably shouldn’t be that guy. Miguel Montero isn’t likely to be that guy. The Nationals have been included in catcher rumors all offseason long.

It seems like there should be a reasonable fit. And maybe something here will actually happen. It’s just that there’s a stumbling block: The Nationals are already perhaps too good.

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The Marlins are hiring a Head Software Developer and a Software Developer.

Position: Head Software Developer

Position Summary:
The Head Software Developers will be responsible for creating the code that power the applications used by the entire Baseball Operations department. Opportunities for full stack and skill specialists exist at this time. The successful applicants will work in a collaborative, result-oriented, team environment.

Essential Functions:

• Writing clean, concise, modular code
• Backend – Java 8, Spring, SQL
• Frontend – web fundamentals (HTML, JS, CSS), Angular, Bootstrap, jQuery
• Build tools – Maven for Java; Gulp (or similar) for JS

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Proficiency in more than one of the stated development skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communications, decision-making, and organization skills
• Passion to learn and create

Suggested Education & Experience Guidelines:

• Experience with agile development lifecycle
• Experience with source control
• Development experience in other languages such as .NET / C#, Python, and R
• Experience working in a development team
• Degree in Computer Science or Information Systems, or equivalent job experience
• A minimum of 5 years’ experience

Bonus Experience:
Experience with Mobile iOS development – Objective C & Swift

To Apply:
Please email materials (resume, cover letter, etc.) to marlinsanalyticsjobs@gmail.com.

…

Position: Software Developer

Position Summary:
The Software Developers will be responsible for creating the code that power the applications used by the entire Baseball Operations department. Opportunities for full stack and skill specialists exist at this time. The successful applicants will work in a collaborative, result-oriented, team environment.

Essential Functions:

• Writing clean, concise, modular code
• Backend – Java 8, Spring, SQL
• Frontend – web fundamentals (HTML, JS, CSS), Angular, Bootstrap, jQuery
• Build tools – Maven for Java; Gulp (or similar) for JS

Qualifications & Requirements:

• Proficiency in more than one of the stated development skills
• Excellent interpersonal, verbal and written communications, decision-making, and organization skills
• Passion to learn and create

Suggested Education & Experience Guidelines:

• Experience with agile development lifecycle
• Experience with source control
• Development experience in other languages such as .NET / C#, Python, and R
• Experience working in a development team
• Degree in Computer Science or Information Systems, or equivalent job experience
• A minimum of 1 year experience

Bonus Experience:
Experience with Mobile iOS development – Objective C & Swift

To Apply:
Please email materials (resume, cover letter, etc.) to marlinsanalyticsjobs@gmail.com.

Thursday’s Christian Yelich deal with Milwaukee netted Miami four prospects: OF Lewis Brinson, 2B Isan Diaz, OF Monte Harrison, and RHP Jordan Yamamoto. Full, deeper reports on each of these players is available on our Brewers pref list, but below are condensed summaries of each.

Lewis Brinson, CF (60 FV) – It’s important to note that Brinson opinions among scouts and executive vary pretty widely, especially for a player who has performed at the upper levels of the minors. Some people just don’t think he’s going to hit, but Brinson has made relevant swing adjustments multiple times as a pro and his strikeout rate has dropped every season. It’s been a very reasonable 20% over the last two years and he has monster complementary tools in plus power and plus speed.

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Despite recording 86 wins and finishing just a game out of the Wild Card in 2017, the Brewers have been pretty quiet this offseason. Of course, a lot of teams have been pretty quiet this offseason. Milwaukee added Jhoulys Chacin, which helps, and they’ve brought back Yovani Gallardo, which might help. But little more than that.

Well, until now. The Brewers’ offseason just got loud. In the midst of a busy winter themselves, the Marlins — who’ve already moved Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, and Dee Gordon — have now sent what is likely their most valuable asset, Christian Yelich — to Milwaukee.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic had it first, and the Brewers made it official.

Brewers receive:

• Christian Yelich, OF

Marlins receive:

• Lewis Brinson, OF
• Monte Harrison, OF
• Isan Diaz, INF
• Jordan Yamamoto, RHP

We expected that the package would be significant given Yelich’s talent and a contract that will pay him around $10 million a year for the next five seasons. It is big with Brinson as the headliner. The young outfielder just appeared 18th on Baseball America’s recently released top-100 list, while Eric Lohenhagen placed a 60 future-value grade on Brinson, making him one of the best prospects in baseball.

The deal isn’t just Brinson and filler, either. Longenhagen listed Monte Harrison as the third-best prospect in the Brewers system, with Isan Diaz close behind at the six spot. All three profile as average regulars at least. Yamamoto is more of a project, but he has an above-average curveball.

Just a few days ago, Jeff Sullivan examined a potential Brewers trade for Yelich:

What the Brewers have assembled is a cheap, young foundation. They have dozens of would-be major-league contributors, average starters or plug-in role players. Everyone has his own share of upside. But looking at the 2018 Steamer projections, the Brewers don’t have a single player in the top 150. By WAR, you find Jimmy Nelson ranked at No. 156, and Nelson seemed to break out last season as an ace, but he’s also going to miss the start of the regular season, because he’s coming off major shoulder surgery. And Nelson, it turns out, is the Brewers’ only player in the top 300. I don’t mean to suggest that Steamer is flawless, and I don’t mean to suggest that Ryan Braun or Domingo Santana or Chase Anderson are bad. But this isn’t a club with an obvious star. The best player is a question mark, because of his health. Stars aren’t everything, but good teams tend to need them, which could explain the Brewers’ pursuits. They know they already have plenty of upside, but it’d be good to also have some higher-end certainty.

The Brewers have that higher-end certainty. They might still do more.

The moderator, MLBNetwork’s Jon Morosi, suggested slyly at one point that if any of the panelists cared to consummate a trade, the event could be paused in order for them to do so. He then proposed that maybe “Miami could spin Christian Yelich to the Rockies.”

Amid appreciative laughter from the audience, the question “What would it take?” rang out. Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill, sitting immediately to Morosi’s left, responded with a smile: “Back up the truck.”

———

Held this past Monday at the Harvard Club of Boston, the “MLB Executive Panel Q&A” was organized by the Friends of Harvard Baseball and the Harvard Varsity Club. Along with Hill, the panelists included Colorado Rockies VP/general manager Jeff Bridich, Oakland A’s general manager David Forst, Boston Red Sox VP of player development Ben Crockett, and Peter Woodfork, a senior VP of baseball operations in the commissioner’s office. All are former members of the Harvard baseball team, while Morosi, a self-described “slap-hitting second baseman on a team of slap-hitting second basemen” — played on the junior varsity.

Not everything said on Monday night was on the record, but several of the stories that were shared can be repeated to the population at large. Along with the aforementioned exchange, here are some of them.

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