Miami Marlins should bet on upside, sign Kris Bubic

[Sean Millerick]

Rumor has it the Miami Marlins are in the market for veteran starting pitching. 

Now, if that sounds awfully familiar to anyone reading this, it should. Miami has been here before in recent offseasons. With Chris Paddack. With Cal Quantrill. With Johnny Cueto. With Wei-Yin Chen and Dan Straily. 

Just about every time the Marlins have tried to bet on a pitcher in free agency or trade for one with the intention of helping the team in the short term, the results have been less than wanting. You have to go back well over a decade to the likes of Javier Vazquez in 2011 and Mark Buerhle in 2012 for clear, unequivocal wins on this front. 

Understandably, it's only bringing in veteran talent to fill out the rotation that has been the problem. Finding and developing rookies? Not so much. Getting good arms in exchange for blowing up a roster? Chef's kisses for multiple GMs in club history. From Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez on down, it's been a ridiculously good century of the Marlins producing young aces. It's the back of the rotation that has been the issue. 

Part of Miami's problem here has been too much bargain-bin shopping for the most important asset in baseball. As the old saying goes, you get what you pay for. The Marlins have undoubtedly had some sickeningly bad luck on a few of these moves, with way too much falling off a cliff and not enough gradual regression. However, I think it's also fair to say that the upside has just been severely wanting. Far too many of these moves have been strictly for innings eaters who might achieve a sub-4.00 ERA. The downside is what you just saw last year with Paddack: somebody who's no longer MLB-caliber in any role (although North America's loss is Asia's gain).

Which brings us to Kris Bubic , the man who—pending a physical—the Marlins should pounce on as soon as possible. 

Why? Because the only thing really scary about him is health. Bubic has pitched like one of the better pitchers in baseball as recently as 2026. In 2025, he was an All-Star. He won't turn 30 until August, and for four straight seasons has been good whenever he's been on the mound. He gets strikeouts. He keeps the ball on the ground. He's stingy with the walks. In other words, this is not another Paddack or Tim Anderson signing, where you cross your fingers hoping an aging player turns it on one more time. He's good right now. Really, there's nothing not to like. 

Except for the fact that his arm could fall off at any moment. 

Granted, that's a valid concern. There's a reason he barely cracks the MLB Trade Rumors Top 50 free agents. The thing is though, the arm might not fall off. At the very least, it might stay on until Robby Snelling and Thomas White are ready. In which case, the Marlins would be getting an All-Star pitcher for a price they could easily afford. That same MLBTR prediction piece only has him projected for a one-year deal, two at the most, making slightly less money annually than they just paid Pete Fairbanks. Essentially, a prove-it deal. 

Sounds perfect.

If it works out? The club has added a borderline ace. Again, he's been that for two seasons now, and a good reliever before that. 

If it doesn't? The team can at least claim to have spent some real money once again on a free agent—something that is always of value for the Marlins from a PR standpoint. Not to mention having made an aggressive, win-now move.

It's a win no matter what for Miami. 

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