Insight, thoughts on the Marlins’ broadcasting dismissals and factors in play

More insight and fallout after the Marlins dumped Kyle Sielaff, Jeff Nelson, Craig Minervini and Rod Allen on Friday, along with several other changes:

▪ When teams replace one announcer with another, fans typically debate the change solely through the prism of their talents as a broadcaster, which includes both the objective (accuracy, attention to detail) and subjective (their likability and emotional connection with viewers, among other qualities).

But in this new era of baseball broadcasting, when the Marlins and most other teams no longer pocket a rights fee from a regional sports network, there’s another factor now very much in play, too: The announcers’ ability and willingness to sell the product.

After leaving soon-to-be-shuttered FanDuel Sports in January, the Marlins now make much of their TV revenue from viewer subscriptions and ad sales. And the team values broadcasters who have a significant social media footprint and use it to promote the product. And if you can actually sell a bunch of subscriptions, all the better!

Here’s an example: Craig Mish, who will now host all the Marlins pre- and postgame telecasts (after sharing the package with Craig Minervini last season), has 43,000 followers on X, and is considered by many of those followers, and others, to be the top baseball insider in Florida.

Minervini, conversely, has fewer than 7000 followers and hasn’t posted on his X account since January 2023.

Mish’s inside information on the pre-game shows, combined with his willingness to promote subscriptions, produced tangible results with viewer sales last season, we’re told. And he has learned the craft of hosting, mastering it to the point that the Marlins feel confident entrusting him with all 155-plus pre-and post-game shows next season.

Minervini, a polished and skilled host, did good work in the Marlins studio for a quarter century. But that’s seemingly no longer enough under MLB’s “eat what you kill” television approach, where teams must generate their own revenue from subscriptions.

It’s not completely a coincidence that the Marlins kept popular former players Gaby Sanchez (as their primary TV analyst) and AJ Ramos (as their sole TV studio analyst) – but not Jeff Nelson and Rod Allen, who had no ties to the team beyond their announcing jobs. Their Marlins lineage wasn’t the primary reason why they were retained, but it certainly didn’t hurt.

If you’re a familiar face, and a popular former player, that naturally gives you a leg up if the Marlins like your on-air work.

Similarly, Kelly Saco and Jeremy Tache — who were retained as sideline reporters — are viewed by the Marlins as assets not only as broadcasters but also, to an extent, as Marlins ambassadors who promote the product.

Saco churned out dozens of Marlins videos, which are available with a Marlins.TV subscription. Tache hosted a well-received “Talking with Tache” segment in which he interviewed former Marlins greats and others.

Several media chains and hedge funds that own newspapers now judge writers as much by their ability to sell the product (through subscriptions and page views) as the quality of their work.

That is now the case with the Marlins, albeit to a lesser extent. (Even if you’re a prodigious subscription-seller, the Marlins are not going to put you on the air if you’re not any good at broadcasting.)

That we’ve arrived at this point — where helping sell/promote the product is a valued asset for the Marlins — was unavoidable after the nation’s largest regional sports network realized it couldn’t afford to pay MLB, NBA and NHL rights fees and remain solvent.

▪ The decision to replace Sielaff with (in all likelihood) Marlins radio voice Jack McMullen had nothing to do with selling subscriptions.

This was more about McMullen enjoying strong support among the handful of Marlins executives who made the decision. They view the team’s radio announcer as having star potential and high-end natural broadcasting chops.

In our view, Sielaff had strong on-air presence and a distinct style that made him unique in a cookie-cutter world of announcers. After talking excessively during his first season-and-a-half, he smartly became more concise in recent months.

But we’re told he didn’t help himself when he vented, on social media, about fans blasting the Marlins for removing Eury Perez after he pitched seven perfect innings of a July 5 game in Sacramento.

Sielaff, on X, called fans who criticized the move “brain dead.”

“Just a startling amount of brain dead people on here today,” he said, noting manager Clayton McCullough was in an “impossible spot” and made “the right decision.”

Lesson Number 1 in any business: Don’t insult your customers (or in this case, your viewers.) Sielaff was firmly told by the Marlins not to do that again.

Ultimately, though, his dismissal was simply a subjective decision in a very subjective business.

I would have offered him a chance to return to radio, but Sielaff politely declined to comment on his exit and didn’t want to speculate about whether he would have been willing to return to radio if he had been asked.

The Marlins believed asking him to return to radio would be awkward and decided everyone needed a fresh start.

Regardless, Sielaff is plenty good enough to be in a big league booth somewhere. Hopefully he’ll get that chance.

▪ Sielaff handled his firing with class.

“I gotta keep this short or you guys will hit me with that ‘I’m not reading all of that’ meme,” he posted on X in what he told me will be his only public comment for now.

“Forever grateful. From 22-years-old to 36. A long time! You guys are the absolute best. Thank you for everything. Keep supporting. Keep cheering. Nothing but love!”

That’s the high-road way to exit when you’ve been fired.

▪ Minervini, on the other hand, openly questioned the Marlins’ decision in a post on his Facebook page.

“Look, it wasn’t my call,” he said. “ But I’ve had an incredible run of 25 straight years, a Marlins TV record on the broadcasts. It has been a Big-League Blast…Big-G style!

“I was informed today that the team was not bringing me back. Why, is unclear. The ole “going in another direction” schpiel !

“What’s strange is I was told during our in-season review that I was “the best host” on our broadcasts. Think about that. You are told by your immediate bosses that you are tops, #1, the “best host” on our show.

“They went on to say they loved the mix of humor, knowledge and energy. That’s rewarding. We don’t do our jobs for that, but it’s nice to be appreciated. So, how (and why?) does this happen? So, yes, that does stick in your craw a bit. Hey, I’m human! ”

Minervini calmed down from there, delivering a more graceful goodbye.

“Ultimately, however, the team has control of the TV personnel,” he wrote. “They made the call here, period. I wish them the best. Great run, but I’m not done.

“Thanks to Clayton McCullough, the managers, players, owners and execs [through] the years and of course my great TV colleagues who are more like friends. The Kyles [Sielaff] and Kellys [Saco], the Jess [Blaylock], Gaby [Sanchez], Rods [Allen], THuts [Tommy Hutton] and Nellie’s [Jeff Nelson]. The AJs [Ramos], JPs [Arencibia], PWs [Preston Wilson] + Pavs [Carl Pavano]. And of course, my longest running co-hort, Mr. Marlin himself [former studio analyst Jeff Conine].

“Honestly, the number one job of a host is to be a team player. That is, like a point guard. You run the show to get the best out of your unit. To make the others better, with setups and sometimes, challenges. I always strived to do that.”

He also thanked his colleagues on radio and several former Bally/FanDuel executives.

“And mostly thanks to you, the fans,” he wrote. “The comments, the hello’s at the desk, the smiles. Man, I can’t explain that look when someone asks if they can shake your hand! And now, even your reaction to this, is heartwarming. I’ll see ya soon. Podcast, game show, documentary, stay tuned!

“I hope you know I truly loved every minute of our time together. And lastly, if you are looking for a Host/Play-by-Play guy, who loves telling great stories, you know where to find me.”

Kudos to Minervini for smoothly navigating studio shows for 25 years. Hopefully this won’t be the end of his three-decade-plus run in our market.

▪ So why not keep everyone? The Marlins believed they simply had too announcers (12) — more than most teams — and wanted to establish more defined roles. By contrast, the Heat has five announcers (albeit for less than half the number of games).

▪ There was another factor in play with the Marlins’ decision to retain Sanchez and Ramos.

The Marlins value analysts who see the game through a modern lens, who understand the contemporary approach of using data and analytics and making greater use of the bullpen in the middle innings.

You don’t necessarily need to agree with everything the Marlins front office and manager do. But they want their analysts to at least be able to explain why they do what they do, and possess what the Marlins consider a strong knowledge of — and ability to articulate — how the game is played today, both with managerial decisions and roster construction.

I don’t think the Marlins would have a problem if an analyst says: “The Marlins often yank their starters because data shows batting averages rise the third time a pitcher faces a batting order. In this particular case, I think Ryan Gusto is on a roll and I would let him go one more inning.”

The Marlins respected Nelson, and the quality of his work was fine. But he was more of an old-school analyst, in their eyes, and he didn’t have great support in the front office, we’re told.

The game is managed a lot differently than it was 15 years ago, and the Marlins want analysts who can coherently express that evolution when game situations call for it.

Here are details on the Marlins’ new hitting coach hired Monday.

This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 4:37 PM.