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Marlins Reportedly Fire Jim Benedict and Marc DelPiano

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The Miami Marlins have reportedly fired Marc DelPiano and Jim Benedict, who were both formerly with the Pirates, and signed away by the Marlins for high-profile roles. DelPiano was signed to be the vice president of player development, while Benedict was signed to be the vice president of pitching development.

Because both moves happened after the 2015 season, the Pirates got compensation. The Marlins signed DelPiano first, which isn’t an uncommon move. It is uncommon for a team to take two high-level people away from one organization. So when the Marlins wanted Benedict, the Pirates worked out a trade to get Trevor Williams in return.

Benedict and DelPiano were both assistant general managers with the Pirates. Both played big roles in advanced scouting for the MLB team, scouting the upcoming opponents a series or two before the Pirates would play that team. DelPiano contributed in a big way with free agent scouting, recommending Russell Martin, among others.

But the most known was Benedict, who played a big role with young pitchers and reclamation projects, and was part of the system that led to the Pirates having so much success from 2013-2015.

It’s not surprising to me that he didn’t have the same success with the Marlins. Everything I’ve heard about that organization sounds dysfunctional. Benedict had success with the Pirates because the scouting, development, and coaching departments were all working on the same page towards a common goal. You can’t just take a coach and expect the same results without the scouting or development.

I think Benedict and DelPiano would be great additions for the Pirates to try and bring back. I also think it would be difficult in either case, as the Pirates have already replaced them with internal options. For example, since Benedict left, the Pirates have promoted Scott Mitchell and Justin Meccage to higher roles. It would be tough to bring Benedict back in a role above them after watching him leave two years earlier.

At the same time, you want to have as much talent in the organization as possible, so if the Pirates can find a way to get Benedict and/or DelPiano back, it would be a good addition.

Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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