DALLAS -- A little more than a month ago, Clayton McCullough was celebrating in downtown Los Angeles in a World Series parade. Since then, he has interviewed for Miami¡¯s open managerial position, become the 17th skipper in franchise history and immersed himself in president of baseball operations Peter Bendix¡¯s vision.

Here are some of the highlights from McCullough¡¯s session on Monday afternoon on Day 1 of the Winter Meetings:

What¡¯s the latest on his coaching staff?
Joining McCullough are bench coach Carson Vitale, hitting coach Pedro Guerrero and pitching coach Daniel Moskos. The Marlins are still looking to fill out the roles of first-base coach, third-base coach, assistant pitching coach and bullpen coach. Expect there to be an assistant hitting coach as well.

¡°We've been able to get the majority of the staff in place, still have some spots that we need to fill out,¡± McCullough said. ¡°That's something we're working on daily. We understand where we are right now in the calendar, but then also we have a really strong candidate pool for the positions we have open and just want to do our due diligence on getting it down to where we feel like we have a very cool staff that can contribute in different ways. So we're getting close.¡±

McCullough is the elder statesman at 45 years old, followed by Moskos (38), Vitale (36) and Guerrero (36). Vitale and McCullough worked together in the Dodgers¡¯ player-development department during the mid-2010s under Gabe Kapler, who is a Marlins assistant general manager. McCullough called Vitale the perfect complementary piece because of his work ethic, baseball mind and ability to connect with people.

¡°We were looking for staff members, guys who would be innovative, forward-thinking, add to our culture,¡± McCullough said. ¡°We've hit home runs in those areas, from those that we've hired, and the same kind of qualities we're looking for in the other [coaches]. ... Coming into this with our roster and where we're at, they're looking to have development at the forefront, and also going to have a lot of innovative ideas, be able to blend in some different experiences and come from different organizations, different backgrounds. So it just feels like we're off to a really good start there, and they've hit the ground running.¡±

Have the Marlins brainstormed a lineup and rotation?
When asked whether Xavier Edwards would be the shortstop and Connor Norby the third baseman, McCullough acknowledged the Marlins haven¡¯t started plotting that out yet. The focus remains on hiring the coaching staff before getting everyone together to discuss those decisions.

McCullough did, however, single out Edwards for his on-base and baserunning abilities, Norby for his upside, Otto Lopez for his defense and Jesús Sánchez for his power. Of all the players McCullough was most looking forward to seeing what he could prove next season, it was right-hander Edward Cabrera.

¡°I guess what's exciting is it's going to be opportunities for those [guys] there to go try to come up and make an impact and grab a hold of some Major League spots,¡± McCullough said. ¡°And on the pitching side, starting to get some of these names back from last year. Getting Sandy [Alcantara] back and Jes¨²s [Luzardo] back, and Edward Cabrera has got a tantalizing arsenal and arm. I think he's ready for a breakout.¡±

How can the coaches help the current roster get better on the field?
The Marlins finished with the fourth-fewest Defensive Runs Saved in the Majors. They also tallied the second-fewest walks and fifth-lowest OPS, leading to the National League¡¯s lowest-scoring lineup.

¡°Run prevention being an important aspect of us having success here, and the defense is a big part of that, so definitely looking to just raise the floor of our defense as a whole,¡± McCullough said. ¡°Hitting the cutoff man, making the routine plays routine, collecting outs that we should, especially with a pitching staff [that] you get the benefit of maybe some better health this year, you get some guys that have some experience under their belt, and they're going to need us to play solid defense.

¡°And then the offensive side, the ability of controlling the strike zone, just making the at-bat quality as a whole top to bottom. You're just trying to create as much pressure on an opposing pitcher and staff as you can by working a good at-bat, swinging at what you want to. You're kind of passing the baton to the next individual in the lineup.¡±