American entrepreneur Jeffrey Loria purchased the Miami Marlins back in 2002 and owned the team for 15 years before selling it to a group that featured Derek Jeter in 2017. In a recent interview with the Miami Herald, Loria claimed Jeter “destroyed the ballpark.”

One of the biggest issues that Loria had with Jeter was the fact that he got rid of a sculpture that erupted whenever the Marlins hit a home run or won a game.

“Destroying public art was a horrible thing to do,” Loria said.

Loria’s friend, artist Red Grooms, designed the home run sculpture as part of a $2.5 million contract with Miami-Dade County.

When the Miami Marlins signed 2018’s number one international prospect Victor Victor Mesa for $5.25 million, they were expecting him to become one of the big building blocks of their future. Unfortunately, the Cuban outfielder has never come close to living up to the hype and his time with the Marlins organization may have just reached its end without him even tasting the major leagues.

On Monday, Francys Romero of beisbolfr reported that Mesa abandoned the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, which is the Marlins AAA affiliate. According to Romero, Victor Victor had “disagreements with the coaches and he’s not expected to return.” I was able to confirm that report and can add Mesa has been away from the team since June 20, when they began a road series against the Gwinnett Stripers. His last appearance with Jacksonville came on June 16.

Per Yordano Carmona of Pelota Cubana, Mesa did travel with the team to Gwinnett, but hours after arriving, he left in another vehicle and went back to Jacksonville. He was then placed on the restricted list.

In a move that many anticipated was coming, the Marlins optioned rookie right-hander Eury Pérez to Double-A Pensacola on Friday afternoon. In corresponding moves, Miami recalled No. 23 prospect Sean Reynolds from Triple-A Jacksonville, selected left-hander Robert Garcia’s contract from Jacksonville and designated for assignment Jeff Lindgren.

The news isn’t much of a surprise considering the Marlins have been monitoring Pérez’s workload since the get-go. The 20-year-old surpassed his single-season career high for innings (78) with six frames of one-run ball in Thursday night’s 3-0 loss to the Cardinals. Between six starts at Double-A Pensacola and another 11 in the Majors, Pérez is at 84 1/3 innings in 2023.

“It’s always hard when somebody gets sent out,” general manager Kim Ng said. “It definitely wasn’t ideal. You definitely feel for players when you have to send them out. But listen, he was a pro. I think after it, he understood, and he’s very focused on making his way back here.”

So after a 1:10 game against the Twins in Miami Wednesday, the Marlins flew to New York, where they’d have a day off on Thursday before starting their series against the Mets Friday afternoon.

If you get in at a decent hour, there’d probably be a nice dinner in New York. If you got in late, probably a $60 room service salad or maybe a couple of slices from Ray’s, just around the corner.

Having traveled as long as I did, and having essentially seen and done everything there is to see and do in every major league city, I’d spend most of my time on the road in my room working unless there was a day off. But I’d make sure to get a good meal or 2 if possible in most cities. I had favorite spots in every stop.

Days off on the road during the grind of a long season are incredibly welcome. I’d do my best to take advantage of those days. If we had a day without a game in New York, I’d generally get lost in the city for several hours, walk through Central Park or wherever my spirit carried me. Lunch with a friend. And there’d always be a show and a great dinner on the itinerary on that off night.