What new front-office hires bring to the Marlins

This story was excerpted from the Marlins Beat newsletter, written by Paige Leckie. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

The Marlins have had a busy week thus far. Not only did they add 21 prospects on Monday, when the international signing period opened, but the next day they made official some major front-office hirings:

Gabe Kapler: Assistant general manager
Rachel Balkovec: Director of player development
Vinesh Kanthan: Director of baseball operations
Frankie Piliere: Director of amateur scouting

Kapler and Kanthan have been hard at work for just over a month, as they helped contribute to the Marlins’ Winter Meetings strategy. Kapler joins Miami after managing the Phillies from 2018-19 and the Giants from ‘20-23. Prior to that, Kapler has extensive experience as a 12-year Major League vet and a member of the Dodgers’ front office from 2015-17.

Kanthan comes to the Marlins after five seasons with the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. He spent the past two years as their assistant director of baseball operations. Kanthan has climbed the ladder in MLB since starting his career in 2016 in the Phillies’ ticket services department.

Balkovec is perhaps the most exciting of the hires (at least for a fellow woman in sports like me). She has an impressive resume, including becoming the first woman to: manage a Minor League team (the Yankees’ Single-A Tampa Tarpons from 2022-23); serve as a full-time hitting coach in an MLB organization; and work as a full-time strength and conditioning coach in affiliated baseball.

For more about Balkovec and what she brings to the table (which is a lot), check out this article.

As for Piliere, he joins the Marlins after six years with the Mariners, three of which he spent as the assistant director of amateur scouting. He has a depth of experience suited to the position, including working for sites like FanGraphs and D1Baseball.com.

While the Marlins still have an opening for senior director of international operations, they’re not actively pursuing any candidates. For the time being, assistant general manager Oz Ocampo is taking on the responsibilities on top of his current role.

“That search is not currently happening,” Ocampo said on Monday. “So I’m currently overseeing the space and working with our leadership team."

As such, it’s likely the Marlins are done hiring. They still have an opening for a GM, if they decide to pursue that, but after the success of 2023, these hirings seem to be ushering in a new era of Marlins baseball.