Marlins trade former first-rounder Jacob Berry to Royals for cash

[Ely Sussman]

The Miami Marlins made a post-deadline trade on Wednesday, Fish On First's Isaac Azout has learned, sending Jacob Berry to the Kansas City Royals for cash considerations. Neither team has confirmed the move yet.

Berry, 25, was selected by the Fish with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. An excellent hitter at both Arizona and LSU, he received a $6 million signing bonus (third-highest in franchise history for a draft pick at the time).

Coming out of college, Berry did not have a home defensively. More than four years later, he still doesn't. The Marlins tried to make him fit at third base, but Berry never got comfortable there, committing 49 errors in 195 minor league games at the hot corner. He also tried 126 games in left field, 64 at second base, 49 at first base, 10 in left field and even one in center.

Poor fielding could be excused if the switch-hitter continued to rake, but Berry was the epitome of inconsistent. He got off to astonishingly slow starts in 2023, 2024 and 2025. He flipped the script this season, only to stop slugging from mid-May onward. Meanwhile, Triple-A Jacksonville's roster gradually got more crowded on the position player side. During the past month, the Marlins promoted Cam Cannarella and acquired Brayden Taylor and Jonathon Long via trade. Berry had been on Jacksonville's development list since July 25.

Berry's overall MiLB slash line is .245/.325/.377 with 35 home runs and 70 stolen bases. On the bright side, he has only struck out 18.6% of the time. He has more walks (46) than strikeouts (43) in 2026, albeit while repeating the AAA level.

Disappointing as his tenure with the Marlins org was overall, Berry delivered on Minor League Baseball's biggest stage when he clinched the 2025 Triple-A National Championship Game with a walk-off two-run home run.

Berry was not on the Marlins 40-man roster, hence why he was eligible to be traded post-deadline. He was not ranked on the FOF Top 30 prospects list.

The Royals will have club control over Berry through the 2028 season if they choose before he's eligible for minor league free agency.

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