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Troy Johnston is joining the Miami Marlins in St. Louis prior to Tuesday's game, Fish On First's Kevin Barral confirms. After grinding for more than 700 professional games (minor leagues and fall/winter ball combined), Johnston will get his first taste of the majors. This call-up is frankly two years overdue. A consistently great offensive performer in the minors, Johnston was the organization's 2023 Minor League Player of the Year. The Marlins snuck into the postseason that year in spite of several lineup holes. Johnston has a career MiLB slash line of .281/.367/.458 with a 123 wRC+, 81 home runs and 83 stolen bases, including a career-high 31 steals this season. Now 28 years old, he would have been eligible to elect minor league free agency this upcoming offseason if not selected to the 40-man roster beforehand. Johnston will presumably slide right into the roster spot that was vacated by the newly traded Nick Fortes. With Fortes gone, there are enough reps available for Liam Hicks to be used exclusively as a catcher. Johnston can split time with Eric Wagaman at first base. (I'd prefer to see Heriberto Hernandez over Wagaman, as discussed on Monday.) Congrats to Troy. We're hearing that the Johnston family has traveled to St. Louis to soak in this milestone with him. Down on the farm, DSL Miami defeated DSL Marlins, 5-2. José Paulino (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 10 K) set career-highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. José Castro won it in walk-off fashion with his 11th home run of the season, which leads the entire Dominican Summer League. High-A Beloit's Brandon White was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week. For on-site coverage of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp over the next two days, make sure you're following Kevin Barral. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Cam Cannarella received a $2,277,425 signing bonus from the Marlins in advance of Monday's signing deadline. The team spent exactly 100% of their bonus pool, though this is the fourth straight year that they've been unwilling to pay any overage taxes (there is wiggle room to spend up to 105% of the pool without losing any future picks). Expect to see several draftees make their professional debuts this week. 🔷 I explained why Joe Mack won't be considered for a call-up until August 15 at the earliest. 🔷 Following his latest quality start, Edward Cabrera expressed his love for Miami with rumors swirling about a potential trade. Cabrera lowered his season ERA to 3.35. 🔷 The San Diego Padres are among multiple clubs considering Anthony Bender, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. 🔷 The latest trade activity: the Detroit Tigers acquired Chris Paddack from the Minnesota Twins and the Milwaukee Brewers acquired Danny Jansen from the Tampa Bay Rays. Paddack bringing back a top-30 organizational prospect for the Twins bodes well for Cal Quantrill's value—both pending free agents, Quantrill and Paddack are having very comparable seasons. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase was placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave through August 31 as part of an MLB sports betting investigation. Clase's teammate, Luis Ortiz, was placed on leave earlier this month as part of the same investigation. Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg passed away at the age of 65. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins seek payback after getting soundly beaten by the Cardinals in their series opener (probable starters RHP Sandy Alcantara and RHP Sonny Gray). It could very well be Alcantara's final appearance with the Marlins. Sean McCormack, Isaac Azout and Kevin Barral collaborated on three mock trade proposals. Dating back to 2021, the Fish are 2-11 at Busch Stadium. They have a 40.2% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:45 p.m. ET. Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's road series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) SS Otto Lopez DH Liam Hicks (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Graham Pauley (L) CF Dane Myers P Edward Cabrera Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

You may have already seen the new reporting from Jeff Passan about Manfred and Bryce Harper getting into a shouting match, with Harper insisting that the players are ready for a lost season if necessary 😬

I have noticed those splits, too. Also it's hard to see Agustin catching regularly next season once Joe Mack arrives. He played even more first base in the minors than Heriberto. But as far as we know, the Marlins haven't been letting him practice at 1B during this season. Wouldn't be ready to play games there right away. Heriberto has at least been preparing for this situation.

What a haul this would be. The Chicago Cubs love Edward Cabrera, according to North Side Baseball managing editor Matthew Trueblood, and the Miami Marlins are trying to exploit that by demanding both outfielder Owen Caissie and right-hander Jaxon Wiggins in return to facilitate a deal. "The Cubs are unwilling to meet that asking price," Trueblood writes. "Giving up both would leave a huge hole in the team's farm system, and the two teams are in a staring contest, each hoping the other blinks first." Caissie's name came up in rumors when these teams previously discussed Jesús Luzardo last offseason. His performance since then has only raised his stock. Repeating the Triple-A level, he has a 137 wRC+ in 81 games with 20 home runs, already exceeding his 2024 season total. An elevated strikeout rate, which has hovered around 30% throughout his MiLB career, is the main cause for concern. Caissie ranks 58th on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list. He turned 23 earlier this month. Wiggins has dominated in 14 appearances between High-A and Double-A, posting a 2.02 ERA and 2.58 FIP. His .151 batting average against is sixth-lowest in Minor League Baseball among players with at least 50 innings pitched. Following the graduation of Cade Horton, he has emerged as the consensus top pitching prospect in the Cubs' system. He's also 23, but unlike Caissie, Wiggins doesn't occupy a 40-man roster spot yet (Rule 5 Draft-eligible in 2026). The Cubs enter Monday tied for the National League's best record, though the team they're tied with, the Milwaukee Brewers, is in the same division. Although extremely likely to reach October even without Cabrera, his consistency could be crucial to them winning the National League Central and potentially earning a bye to the NLDS. He's also controllable for three additional seasons via arbitration, hence the steep asking price. "Since there's no guarantee that Cabrera's price tag will come down, the Chicago front office has also remained engaged with several other teams about controllable pitchers who would deliver huge impact down the stretch but can also be retained for another two or more seasons," Trueblood adds. However, "the goal is to draw down the asking price on Cabrera." View full rumor

To the surprise of many—myself included—Heriberto Hernandez's first month in the major leagues was excellent. Since then, he has not slowed down whatsoever. The Miami Marlins were hoping Hernandez would match up well against left-handed pitching, but even his most ardent supporters could not have envisioned a near-1.000 OPS against righties, boosted by a home run off of Brandon Woodruff on Sunday. In 36 games since his call-up, the 25-year-old is slashing .323/.377/.531. You don't have to fully buy into the results to be impressed—his expected weighted on-base average (.375) is second-best on the club behind only Kyle Stowers. As Kevin Barral noted in his bold Yandy Díaz trade proposal, the Marlins are getting negative value from their first basemen this season. The majority of playing time at that position has gone to Eric Wagaman, who already entered July as a sub-replacement-level player and has followed that up with one of the worst months ever by a Marlins hitter. The team has been consistently winning series in spite of Wagaman and their patience with him is baffling considering his lack of MLB track record or prospect pedigree. So far, Hernandez has only been used as a corner outfielder and designated hitter. However, he's quietly been taking grounders at first base for a while now. The last time he received games reps there was at High-A in 2022. Assuming that the Marlins don't swing a deal for an accomplished veteran first baseman prior to the MLB trade deadline, try Hernandez there on a semi-regular basis. Use August and September to get a clearer picture of who he is from both an offensive and defensive perspective. This would be mainly to determine how to construct the 2026 roster, but maximizing Hernandez's plate appearances and subtracting Wagaman's should help keep the Fish afloat in the 2025 National League wild-card race, too. The deadline is three days away. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 12-6. Six different Jumbo Shrimp hit home runs, the longest of which was Jakob Marsee's 460-footer. Double-A Pensacola lost, 6-5. Jacob Miller continues to slump. He has surrendered 24 earned runs over his last 23 ⅓ innings pitched. Ryan Ignoffo landed on the injured list with hamstring tightness. Ignoffo leads all Blue Wahoos players this season with a .779 OPS (min. 100 PA). High-A Beloit won, 3-0. Only one baserunner reached against Brandon White (7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 81 pitches/56 strikes). Low-A Jupiter lost, 6-1. Dub Gleed had to step in as an emergency catcher for nearly half of the game after both Victor Ortega and Carlos Sánchez exited with injuries. Unsurprisingly, Gleed struggled defensively, allowing a passed ball and six stolen bases and committing a throwing error. Cam Clayton went 4-for-4. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 Competitive Balance Round A draft pick Cam Cannarella will sign his contract with the Marlins prior to today's 5:00 p.m. ET deadline, per Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline. That would make this the first time since the abbreviated 2020 draft that the Marlins have reached agreements with all of their draftees. 🔷 As corresponding moves to create room for the rest of the 2025 draft class, the Marlins have released Melvin Cuevas, José Fernández (no relation to the late JDF), Leandro Hernández, Cherif Neymour and Luifer Romero. Each of them were former international free agent signings who played in the Florida Complex League this season. 🔷 Lake Bachar missed the Brewers series because he was on the paternity list. Expect him to be reinstated today. Freddy Tarnok, who was called up in his place, should be going back to Jacksonville. 🔷 Ichiro Suzuki was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He delivered plenty of jokes, including one that came at the Marlins' expense. Watch the full speech here. UJ4NrWT8jrrh-wwf.mp4 🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 34 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long! 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Seth Lugo and the Kansas City Royals agreed to a two-year, $46 million contract extension. In trade news, the Royals added Randal Grichuk and the New York Yankees added Amed Rosario. Aaron Judge suffered a right flexor strain. That will sideline him this weekend when the Yankees come to Miami. The Texas Rangers have won nine of their last 10 games to move into a tie with the Seattle Mariners for the final American League wild-card spot. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins' road trip continues in St. Louis (probable starters RHP Edward Cabrera and RHP Andre Pallante). Dating back to 2021, the Fish are 2-10 at Busch Stadium. They have a 45.8% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 7:45 p.m. ET. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Cardinals series beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off). Marlins podcast episodes View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's road series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) C Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) SS Otto Lopez 1B Liam Hicks (L) DH Heriberto Hernandez 3B Graham Pauley (L) CF Dane Myers P Eury Pérez Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

Sandy Alcantara made a strong impression on trade deadline buyers while beating the San Diego Padres on Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. Trade interest in him has "soared since his last start with teams now convinced he will be moved by the July 31 deadline." Alcantara went a season-high seven innings in that outing, allowing one unearned run. It was only the second time in 2025 that he's held an opponent without any walks or hit-by-pitches. He also induced a pair of his signature ground ball double plays. Through 20 starts this year, Alcantara has a 6.66 ERA, 4.47 FIP and .270 BAA in 104 innings pitched. In seven major league seasons prior to undergoing Tommy John surgery, he posted a 3.32 ERA, 3.77 FIP and .231 BAA in 900 ⅔ frames, peaking as the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner. He turns 30 in September. Alcantara's spot in the Marlins rotation is due up next on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals. If suitors are as satisfied with his progress as Nightengale suggests and Miami is actually motivated to move him, taking the mound again before the deadline would be an unnecessary risk. The Marlins' deadline approach has become a bit muddled by a lengthy hot streak during which they have resembled a contender themselves. They enter Sunday as winners of four straight series. At 50-53, this is the closest they've been to the .500 mark since April. They are five games back of the final NL wild-card spot. View full rumor

The top two pitchers in the Marlins farm system were both on top of their game Saturday night. Thomas White and Robby Snelling set new career-highs by striking out 14 and 11 batters, respectively. Watch them all here! View full video

The Miami Marlins have a long history of trading away their most accomplished players. Some of those decisions were more logical than others, but the pattern is undeniable. It could soon be Sandy Alcantara's turn in advance of Thursday's 6:00 p.m. ET MLB trade deadline. The Marlins do not need to force a trade that they're uncomfortable with. Alcantara remains under contract for 2026 ($17.3M salary) and 2027 ($21M club option). There is a good chance that his performance and consistency will improve as he gets further removed from Tommy John surgery, though there's also some risk that injuries or natural decline could continue to erode his value. The following deadline deals involving starting pitchers may have influenced Alcantara's market: Shane Bieber to the Toronto Blue Jays JP Sears to the San Diego Padres Michael Soroka to the Chicago Cubs July 31, 11:40 a.m. ET July 31, 10:46 a.m. ET This would be a bizarre landing spot for Alcantara considering that the Astros have one of baseball's weakest farm systems. They don't have any Top 100 MLB prospects, according to Baseball America, and the guys who come closest to clearing that bar (INF Brice Matthews and OF Jacob Melton) are already on the Astros active roster. Thinking outside the box, what about Spencer Arrighetti as the centerpiece of a package? Sidelined for most of 2025 by a broken thumb, he held down a rotation spot in Houston for most of last season and had some electric outings (4.53 ERA and 4.18 FIP in 145.0 IP overall). Arrighetti is still pre-arbitration eligible and under club control through 2029. July 31, 8:10 a.m. ET The Cubs are "still in the market for another starter" despite acquiring Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals on Wednesday, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. July 30, 3:15 p.m. ET July 30, 1:31 p.m. ET Take Jim Bowden's word with a grain of salt. At least since Peter Bendix arrived, he has reported with a pro-Marlins slant, often inflating the value of Miami's players and characterizing trade negotiations in ways that our own sources and other MLB insiders have disputed. That being said, I want to be thorough with this rumor roundup. July 30, 12:12 p.m. ET This current version of Alcantara is more like a solid No. 4 than a "strong No. 2," as I wrote on Tuesday. If the Red Sox genuinely hold the latter opinion, perhaps they'll be the team to make an outlandish offer that's too good for the Fish to refuse. July 29, 7:00 p.m. ET July 29, 2:15 p.m. ET Chris Paddack is the only starting pitcher to be moved in a deadline deal so far, leaving plenty of potential landing spots for Alcantara. July 28, 10:30 a.m. ET Alcantara continues to be listed as the Marlins' probable starting pitcher for Tuesday's game against the St. Louis Cardinals. If Bob Nightengale's reporting below is to be believed, they would have very little to gain from letting him take the mound again before the deadline. The Marlins could simply scratch him at any point before first pitch and pivot to a bullpen game if trade negotiations intensify. July 27, 10:30 a.m. ET Trade interest in Alcantara has "soared since his last start with teams now convinced he will be moved by the July 31 deadline," according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Alcantara went a season-high seven innings in that July 23 outing against the San Diego Padres, allowing one unearned run. It was only the second time in 2025 that he's held an opponent without any walks or hit-by-pitches. He also induced a pair of his signature ground ball double plays. 6486d5c7-dd55b2b3-46966f3b-csvm-diamondgcp-asset_1280x720_59_4000K.mp4 View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the second game of Miami's road series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) DH Agustín Ramírez SS Otto Lopez RF Heriberto Hernandez 1B Eric Wagaman LF Kyle Stowers (L) CF Dane Myers C Nick Fortes 3B Javier Sanoja P Janson Junk Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

There won't be room for everybody, and that's the way Major League Baseball likes it. The purpose of the annual MLB Rule 5 Draft is to prevent organizations from hoarding talent in the minors. Players who are at least four seasons removed from being drafted out of college and five seasons removed from being drafted out of high school or signed internationally are eligible to be whisked away by other teams unless they are protected on the 40-man roster. At first glance, you may think that there are plenty of expendable pieces on the Miami Marlins' 40-man, removing the drama from this year's roster crunch. Keep in mind, however, that six injured players will have to be reinstated from the 60-day IL following the season. The "easy" decisions will get made then. The deadline to protect eligible prospects is in mid-November. Catcher Joe Mack (a 2021 amateur draft pick) is in a tier of his own—he is certain to receive a 40-man spot, with the only question being whether or not he'll make his Marlins debut before season's end. Let's update the progress of seven lesser-hyped prospects who could be considered for Rule 5 protection depending on how the rest of their 2025 campaign goes. Their current MiLB level is in parentheses. OF Andrew Pintar (AAA) Andrew Pintar slipped off of our Fish On First Top 30 list over the weekend. He's still an intriguing prospect who leads all Triple-A Jacksonville players this season in Sprint Speed and has been successful on 15 consecutive stolen base attempts. The former Arizona Diamondbacks farmhand—he was acquired in the 2024 A.J. Puk trade—plays a smooth center field. Since coming off the injured list at the start of August, Pintar has slashed .265/.375/.471. The main concern with Pintar is that he might not be able to hit right-handed pitching. He has posted a 32% strikeout rate against Triple-A righties this season. Significant improvement in that area moving forward may persuade the Marlins to select him. RHP Josh White (AAA) I could definitely see Josh White being a Marlins September call-up. All of the relievers covered below have practically the same earned run average, but White has been the most impressive of the bunch, with a 1.61 FIP that's even better than his ERA. In fact, it's the lowest FIP across all of Minor League Baseball among pitchers who have thrown at least 50 innings. It doesn't get much redder than this (courtesy of Prospect Savant): White's fastball velocity (93.6 mph) is actually a tick below the average for MLB righty relievers, but his over-the-top delivery is tough to adjust to and his slider dominates batters on either side of the plate. If White is somehow left unprotected by the Marlins, he is the likeliest player here to depart in the Rule 5. RHP William Kempner (AA) Oh look, another under-the-radar Peter Bendix transaction that's paying dividends. Earlier this year, the Marlins traded $250,000 in international bonus pool money to acquire William Kempner from the San Francisco Giants. He had been injured for practically the entire 2024 season with the exception of a couple weeks in the Arizona Fall League. Kempner has stayed healthy throughout his age-24 campaign, throwing the ball better than ever as we enter the home stretch. As of this writing, he's in the midst of 12 straight scoreless appearances with only three earned runs allowed over his last 35 ⅔ innings pitched. Nobody has homered off of him since joining the Marlins org. Unlike White, Kempner releases the ball from a very low arm slot, generating a ton of horizontal break on his sweeper running away from right-handers. He uses his mid-90s sinker to get ahead in counts against lefties by stealing inside strikes. There are some similarities to the Marlins' own Anthony Bender, though Kempner's control is well below average for the time being. LHP Dale Stanavich (AAA) After overpowering lefties a season ago, Dale Stanavich actually has reverse platoon splits in 2025. He's throwing only 52% of his pitches for strikes with Jacksonville, otherwise he might have reached the majors already given the Marlins' lack of reliable southpaws. Although a 15% walk rate is obviously a red flag, Stanavich mitigates the damage by controlling the running game. No base-stealers have been successful against him all year (and only two of them were last year). TzBaeTBfV0ZRVkV3dEdEUT09X0JnY0VBQUZYQUFZQUN3Y0VBd0FIQUFjSEFBQUNWbFVBQkZNSFVsWlFCQVZXVkFCVg==.mp4 RHP Jesse Bergin (AA) Jesse Bergin was Rule 5-eligible in 2024, but there were no takers. That was understandable for a relief-only prospect with a mere three innings of experience at the High-A level. Spending the vast majority of this season in Pensacola, Bergin is reliably inducing soft contact while striking out a quarter of opposing batters. Here's a good example of how his fastball/curveball/slider arsenal works: merge-alp3qr.mp4 1B Nathan Martorella (AAA) Nathan Martorella possesses a promising combination of pull-side power and contact. It just has not been translating to much overall production since he was acquired in early 2024. In the San Diego Padres system, he had a 129 wRC+; in a near-identical sample size with the Marlins, he's down to a 95 wRC+. Additionally, it's rare for any player who is limited to first base defensively to get plucked in the major league phase of the Rule 5. For what it's worth, Martorella caught fire around this time last year with 11 homers over his final 30 games. DH Jacob Berry (AAA) Former Marlins first-rounder Jacob Berry has never come close to justifying his 2022 draft position. To his credit, this is shaping up to be his best professional season yet. If you were to generously give Berry a mulligan for the months of April and May (he is a notoriously slow starter), his slash line would be .292/.395/.458 with a 135 wRC+ and nearly as many walks as strikeouts. If he keeps that up, maybe another team rolls the dice? Berry has a willingness to play various positions. However, his glove isn't major league-caliber at any of them. View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the first game of Miami's road series against the Milwaukee Brewers. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) DH Agustín Ramírez LF Kyle Stowers (L) SS Otto Lopez C Liam Hicks (L) 1B Eric Wagaman 3B Graham Pauley (L) CF Dane Myers P Cal Quantrill Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)

This reporter has a mixed track record of sometimes getting big scoops/sometimes making s*** up, so not reliable enough to feature in the article, but for what it's worth...

The Arizona Diamondbacks, who are a game ahead of the Miami Marlins, have officially declared themselves trade deadline sellers. On Thursday, they dealt first baseman Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners for prospects Tristin English and Brandyn García. The concern from Miami's perspective is that the D-backs will continue to shop their pending free agents, including starting pitchers Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly. That saturates the market. Needless to say, those right-handers will be more attractive to contenders than Marlins trade chip Cal Quantrill because of their superior MLB track records. Also, the asking prices for them should be significantly lower than what the Marlins have assigned to Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera, both of whom have multiple years of club control left beyond 2025. It will be harder to convince contenders to give up their elite young talent for Alcantara or Cabrera when there are solid rental alternatives. The deadline is six days away. Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville won, 4-2. Jacob Berry drilled the game-winning home run, which was also his longest one at the Triple-A level (estimated at 436 feet). Double-A Pensacola won, 10-7. They bailed out Dax Fulton, who retired only four of the 13 batters he faced (1.1 IP, 6 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 60 pitches/34 strikes). Eight different Blue Wahoos players drove in runs. High-A Beloit lost, 9-2. Garret Forrester sneakily has a .408 on-base percentage this season. Low-A Jupiter lost, 3-2. Andrew Salas hit his first career minor league homer. DSL Marlins won, 4-2. DSL Miami lost, 7-6. More Marlins news and content below: 🔷 I wrote about every angle that the Marlins need to consider before pulling the trigger on an Alcantara trade. 🔷 The FCL Marlins season ended with a rainout. The team lost 15 of their final 16 games. It was frankly an uninteresting summer for stateside rookie ball prospects. No hitter with significant playing time slugged above .382 (Breyias Dean). Rotation anchors and 2024 draft picks Nate Payne and Grant Shepardson were bright spots—they should get moved up to Jupiter soon. The career of Jun-Seok Shim (10.80 ERA and 29.5 BB% in 13.1 IP) has been fully derailed. 🔷 On this day in 1995, the Marlins set a franchise record by tripling over times in a win over the San Francisco Giants. 🔷 Griffin Conine and Just Baseball's Aram Leighton will be opening packs of 2025 Topps Chrome baseball cards at Lids in Boca Raton on Saturday. 🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, the Detroit Tigers have lost 10 of their last 11, though still enjoy the largest cushion of any MLB division leader (eight games). Nick Kurtz had two more extra-base hits on Thursday, upping his July slash line to .373/.455/.896. He has seized the lead in the American League Rookie of the Year race. 🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins begin a three-game series against the team with the best record in the majors, the Milwaukee Brewers (probable starters RHP Cal Quantrill and RHP Freddy Peralta). The Brewers are celebrating their 25th season at American Family Field by bringing in a bunch of alumni. The Marlins have a 34.9% chance to win, per FanGraphs. First pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET. 🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Brewers series beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off). Marlins podcast episodes View full article

The Miami Marlins need to get this right. They did on December 14, 2017, shipping Marcell Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals for a package headlined by Sandy Alcantara. Things have come full circle—leading up to next Thursday's MLB trade deadline, the Fish will be listening intently as suitors inquire about Alcantara. What should the Marlins do with the revered right-hander? It depends on the following factors. Who could you get in return? Alcantara is under club control through the 2027 season, content with living in South Florida and proud to serve as a veteran presence on a very young team. There is zero pressure on the Marlins to trade him now unless they deem it to be an efficient baseball move. There really isn't any precedent for a pitcher with such poor recent results getting traded for a rich prospect haul. On the other hand, front office thinking has rapidly evolved. Alcantara's appalling 6.66 ERA this year is not a deal-breaker. Opposing teams are unbothered by how much the Marlins have struggled to prevent runs with him on the mound—it's solely about what they forecast him to do moving forward with their own infrastructure. Therefore, his 4.48 FIP and 5.00 xERA are more relevant to his valuation, and the Marlins can point to how much his control has improved since the beginning of June, which has dropped his FIP to 3.60 over his last nine starts. The dream scenario would be emulating the 2017 José Quintana trade in which the Chicago White Sox acquired both Eloy Jiménez and Dylan Cease from the Cubs (along with two lesser prospects) despite the durable Quintana being in the midst of an uneven season. The Marlins simply wouldn't be able to refuse upside like that—Jiménez and Cease were considered 60-grade and 55-grade prospects, respectively. But what if Alcantara only entices offers akin to last winter's Jesús Luzardo deal? The Marlins made a bold bet on Starlyn Caba, a far-from-the-majors, defense-first, 55-grade talent. That should be the bare minimum they consider taking back for a former Cy Young Award winner who has established he's healthy again. The risk of standing pat There is more to Alcantara's ineffectiveness than bad luck and a small sample size. He has allowed more hard contact and induced fewer swinging strikes than ever before. Also, pitcher health is notoriously unpredictable. There are countless examples of guys who had "workhorse" reputations in their 20s, only to fade fast in their 30s (Sandy turns 30 in September). I laid out the "dream scenario" above. What about the worst-case scenario: Are the Marlins prepared to potentially get nothing in return for Alcantara? Externally, their farm system quality is regarded as above-average, but not elite. There is sufficient interest in Alcantara to make a deal prior to the deadline that significantly closes that gap. It would be irresponsible to assume that will still be the case next offseason. We simply don't know what the rest of the 2025 holds for him. What is the Marlins' window of contention? The Marlins have been a genuinely competitive team since Eury Pérez rejoined their starting rotation—they have the fourth-best record in MLB during that span (.632 winning percentage). But can they sustain that elite play for the remainder of the season? That's literally what it would take to maybe sneak into October with 87 wins. There is an important distinction between being competitive and being contenders. The Marlins would need to leapfrog five National League teams to qualify for October baseball, and most of those teams will be upgrading their personnel prior to the deadline. Aside from Alcantara, you can count on one hand the number of players on this roster who have even experienced a full-length season at the major league level. Accounting for their brief and spotty track records and the club's minus-54 run differential, both FanGraphs and PECOTA currently estimate Miami's playoff odds at less than 1%. A potential Detroit Tigers-esque run this year is so improbable, it isn't part of the Alcantara trade calculus. This is about how the organization views 2026. Integrating top prospects Joe Mack and Jakob Marsee should elevate their defense, and you could be looking at the deepest rotation in the league with the additions of Thomas White and Robby Snelling. With Alcantara still in the fold and the investment in a veteran corner infielder, maybe that would be enough to win consistently from the get-go. How would you reallocate Alcantara's money? It's fair to wonder if the Marlins would be fine relying on a combination of Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Ryan Weathers, Braxton Garrett, Janson Junk, Max Meyer, Adam Mazur, Robby Snelling, Thomas White and Valente Bellozo to start games for them next season. All of their 2026 salaries combined would be less than the $17.3 million that Alcantara is guaranteed. "A little spending could go a long way" to supplement those young arms, as Aram Leighton of Just Baseball wrote last week. An Alcantara trade is unacceptable unless every cent he was owed (and then some) goes toward reinforcing other areas of the Marlins roster. Given the franchise's low hit rate on free agents, perhaps that money facilitates contract extensions or veteran trade acquisitions instead. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix must have a plan for this and the cooperation of principal owner Bruce Sherman beforehand. How would you explain it to the fanbase? Bendix's biggest issue since taking over the Marlins front office has been public messaging. He has asked for fans to trust him without divulging the specifics of his long-term strategy. He has inflated expectations for newly acquired players while showing little affection toward those who have already produced at the highest level. Bendix has traded popular Marlins before, but this is different. Alcantara peaked as the best pitcher in the world and his name is near the top of numerous all-time franchise leaderboards. While it was clear in 2024 that a shake-up was needed, the Fish are firing on all cylinders as this year's deadline approaches. Trading Alcantara multiple years in advance of free agency to a team with championship ambitions and only getting back players with little-to-no MLB experience—that would be challenging to navigate. Sherman's cheapness is inexcusable, but the reality is that the Marlins are struggling to keep up with most other organizations in terms of local revenue. The baseball ops department is partially responsible—through their actions and explanations—for motivating people to spend on their fandom (season ticket plans, merchandise, etc.). If Bendix pulls the trigger on this, some uncharacteristic transparency could go a long way. View full article

Here are the latest Miami Marlins game notes, produced by the Marlins communications department and relayed to our loyal readers. These notes apply to the third and final game of Miami's home series against the San Diego Padres. Starting Lineup 2B Xavier Edwards (S) RF Jesús Sánchez (L) SS Otto Lopez LF Kyle Stowers (L) DH Agustín Ramírez 1B Liam Hicks (L) C Nick Fortes 3B Graham Pauley (L) CF Javier Sanoja P Sandy Alcantara Click HERE to download the full game notes (preview below)