Marlins designate Austin Slater for assignment as Esteury Ruiz rejoins team

Fish On First can report that outfielder Esteury Ruiz has completed his minor league rehab assignment and will meeting the Miami Marlins in San Francisco for their upcoming series against the San Francisco Giants. According to Marlins.TV's Craig Mish, outfielder Austin Slater is being designated for assignment in a corresponding roster move. The club has not made any move official as of Wednesday evening.

Less than a month ago, Slater signed a one-year free agent contract worth $1M. The Marlins valued the 33-year-old's track record against left-handed pitching. Nearly all of Slater's work came versus lefties (26 of 28 plate appearances), but he still struggled, slashing .174/.286/.174/.460 with a 40 wRC+ in 12 games played.

Slater is expected to clear waivers. Due to his MLB service time, he has the right to reject an outright assignment to the minors and elect free agency. Mish adds that there was an advance consent clause in his contract. Because the Marlins moved on from Slater within the first 45 days of the season, he will not receive the remainder of his $1M.

Ruiz was from the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired via trade in December. He is coming off a 2025 season where he spent most of the time in Triple-A, slashing .304/.412/.511/.923 with 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 63 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. Those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt given he was repeating the level and played in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League. Ruiz owns a lifetime .241/.296/.343/.639 slash line across parts of four MLB seasons.

Ironically, the Marlins might not have signed Slater at all if not for Ruiz going down with a left oblique strain near the end of spring training. The injury was supposed to keep him sidelined for 6-8 weeks, but as manager Clayton McCullough said on the most recent Fish Unfiltered episode, "it's been a pretty miraculous recovery." The Marlins' next game on Friday marks five weeks to the day of the injury.

"It's been a pretty miraculous recovery."

On the rehab front, Esteury Ruiz is set to play a full 9 innings in Triple-A tonight. Christopher Morel will play 5 innings at first base.

From our upcoming @FishOnFirstPod episode, dropping tomorrow... pic.twitter.com/tD3RQ5oNfG

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) April 21, 2026

In five rehab games with Triple-A Jacksonville, Ruiz slashed .118/.211/.294/.505 with a home run, which he hit on Wednesday.

Esteury Ruiz leadoff bomb 💣 https://t.co/PT4j8tRnBA pic.twitter.com/vwzacbWp7F

— Fish On First (@FishOnFirst) April 22, 2026

Similar to Slater, Ruiz will face predominantly left-handed pitching. He is also a multi-dimensional player because of his elite speed and center field experience. He should make his first start as a Marlin on Saturday when veteran lefty Robbie Ray is scheduled to start for the Giants.

A Marlins 40-man spot is now open. The club could potentially go in many different directions with it, the most likely of them being promoting a non-40-man pitcher from Triple-A in the near future. Robby Snelling, who is Fish On First's No. 3 prospect, is off to a dominant start, posting a 1.89 ERA, 2.21 FIP, 14.68 K/9 and 4.26 BB/9 in 19 innings pitched. On the reliever side, Josh Ekness entered the day with a 1.00 ERA, 1.37 FIP, 15.00 K/9 and 4.00 BB/9 in five appearances before allowing three runs this afternoon. Other notable bullpen options include Jack Ralston, Zach Brzykcy and Zach McCambley.