On Monday, the Marlins introduced president of baseball operations Peter Bendix at loanDepot park.

It has been a whirlwind two weeks for Bendix, who had an in-person interview on Nov. 4, got hired the following day and then flew out to Arizona for the General Managers Meetings the day after. Once that event ended, Bendix took another flight to California to share his vision of the future with manager Skip Schumaker.

Here are some other things we learned on Monday:

Why hire a president of baseball operations?
"I've wanted a president of baseball operations for a long time," chairman and principal owner Bruce Sherman said. "It is a very, very complex job. It is not just about the 26-man and the 40-man roster. If you don't get international signings right, if you don't get the amateur Draft right, if you don't get player development, if you don't get analytics right ... it is a complex job."

How does Bendix plan to fill out the front office if the Rays don't historically allow those leaving the organization to bring others with them?
"It's just learning what's needed in the first place, what the openings are, what [are] the skills of people [we] have in place, you know, that sort of thing," Bendix said. "And then I've worked in baseball for 15 years, so you develop connections, you develop people, you know where to ask those questions and try to find really good people around the game."

How long does it take to build sustainability?
"Ask me in 10 years," Bendix said. "I don't know. It's something where the goal is to consistently try to make long-term decisions, while also keeping one eye on the short-term. That's what we're going to be always doing. That's what I'm going to be doing this week when we have decisions. That's what I'm going to be doing in five years when we have decisions. And keeping one eye on the short-term, one eye on the long-term, I think, allows you to build that sustainable success."

Coming off a playoff appearance, what might the payroll look like?
"We talked a little bit about payroll, but I'm not a believer you just throw a number out there," Sherman said. "I think [Peter is] going to have to evaluate all of that. You saw Josh Bell opted in. You know we didn't do the qualifying offer for [Jorge] Soler. Great player. [Peter] had an opinion on everything, and our [assistant general managers] really made the decision there. So I see us trying to be sustainable. I want to be in the playoffs every year. It's tough, as you know, but I'll take two out of the last four years. It's a pretty good average."

• Schumaker was named NL Manager of the Year, becoming just the eighth first-time skipper to receive the award. Read more >>

• Hitting coach Brant Brown is joining the Mariners' coaching staff, per sources. Read more >>

• The Marlins added Victor Mesa Jr. and Anthony Maldonado to the 40-man roster ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET deadline in order to protect the two prospects from next month's Rule 5 Draft. Read more >>

Sandy Alcantara spoke with Marlins Radio on Tuesday, marking his first public comments since undergoing Tommy John surgery on Oct. 6.

Alcantara, who said he has been rehabbing every day, hopes to be ready for the 2025 season. He addressed the idea that his right elbow might've been bothering him throughout a down season by his high standards rather than on the final pitch he threw on Sept. 3 in Washington.

"There are a lot of people saying that every time when I [have] a bad start, they say I got something on my arm, something affects my mind or something like that, but [it's] nothing like that," Alcantara said. "I just got hurt there in Washington. I just felt it after I threw that breaking ball, so there was nothing to affect myself, my arm. And when you get hurt, [it] doesn't matter what day, doesn't matter in the morning, in the night, throughout the day, so it is what it is, and you want to be perfect."

Alcantara went on to say there wasn't anything mechanical the Marlins could pinpoint leading to the injury.

"No, nothing like that," Alcantara said. "I think [it's] just bad luck, like everyone says. If you got the opportunity to watch me every time that I got an opportunity to be out there, I was doing my stuff, throwing everything I can, competing every fifth day, just having my best day every time when I get out there. But I was able to compete, I was able to keep myself positive and believe in myself."

"It's not easy being away from the family. Everybody knows how hard this is. Even when you're in the state that you are coaching or managing in, it's not easy, because you're just away for so long. And it's a real grind. It's unlike any other sport. So you have to have that real support system, and I've been with my wife since I was 18 years old, so she understands. We get this.

"There's a lot of ups and downs in this lifestyle, but they push me. There's sacrifices. I'm the guy that I'm not comfortable ever being comfortable. So I need challenges every single day. And they know that. They push me hard to be uncomfortable, and this has been probably the most uncomfortable I've been in my whole career of being so far away from my family.

"But I just feel like if I was going to do it, man, I've got be all-in on this thing. I feel like I had a staff that was also all-in. My bench coach was insane on how good he was and made me look good quite often. But yeah, my family being around, we'll celebrate later tonight and go to their favorite place not mine. That's usually how it works. And I like bourbon. I'll probably have a bourbon. It's going to taste really good probably tonight." -- Schumaker, on being able to celebrate his MOY win with his family

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