Ely Sussman

MIAMI—As has seemed to happen time and time again here in 2025, just when you thought Edward Cabrera couldn't get any better than he's already been, he delivers an outing that continues to distinguish himself from the maddening and inconsistent pitcher he used to be. Cabrera did just that on Sunday, authoring seven innings of two-run ball in the Marlins' 3-1 loss to the Brewers.
Behind Cabrera, the Miami offense ran into Brandon Woodruff, who allowed one run over six innings of work in his first major league start since 2023. The Marlins fell to 40-48 with the loss and snapped their streak of four consecutive winning series. 
Cabrera completed seven innings for the fifth time in his career (and second time in as many starts). It was his first-ever seven-inning outing with no walks surrendered, though he did hit a pair of batters. The right-hander lowered his season ERA to 3.33. Among pitchers to throw at least 50 innings since the start of May, Cabrera's 2.11 ERA ranks ninth. 
"We just continue to see a more refined version of him as a pitcher," noted manager Clayton McCullough.
That refinement McCullough referred to has manifested in what appears to be more trust in Cabrera across the entire coaching staff. Entering Sunday's contest, Cabrera's .981 OPS when facing hitters a third time in a contest ranked 105th among 117 pitchers with at least 50 such plate appearances this season. He bucked that trend in this instance as the Brew Crew went a combined 1-for-9 the third time through, including a stretch of eight straight batters retired.
The only real damage done against Cabrera came in the top of the third. A Christian Yelich ground ball fielded by third baseman Connor Norby was initially called the third out of the inning, but the play was subsequently overturned upon review. Jackson Chourio capitalized by lasering an inside slider over the left field wall for his fifteenth home run of the season.
"That's part of the game," said Cabrera through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. "If I throw 90 pitches and make one bad pitch, what can you do about it?"
Heriberto Hernandez delivered Miami's lone salvo in the loss, hitting a solo home run in the sixth and accounting for the lone pair of hits surrendered by Woodruff on the day.
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Looking Ahead
Miami will continue their trek through the NL Central on Monday when they open up a four-game set against the Cincinnati Reds. Janson Junk (2-1, 3.62 ERA) will square off against former first-round pick Brady Singer (7-6, 4.36 ERA) in the series opener. 
First pitch from Great American Ball Park is slated for 7:10 EST.
 

MIAMI, FL—"At the end of spring training, I was playing pretty poorly, and I was actually nervous about making the team."
This was Kyle Stowers' mindset amid a spring training that saw him hit .175 with a .540 OPS following an introduction to Miami in 2024 that saw him hit .186 with a 35% strikeout rate. "I'm panicking because I'm doing so much good in the cage and it hasn't shown any on the field yet," he recalls telling Marlins assistant coach Derek Shomon.
Stowers, Shomon and hitting coach Pedro Guerrero had a 30-minute conversation that reassured the 27-year-old outfielder he was on the right track.
"To be able to communicate, to be vulnerable to those guys, and to then know they still believed in and had high hopes for me, I genuinely think that's something worth noting as a key point for me."
On Sunday, less than four months after that skin-shedding conversation, Major League Baseball announced that Stowers had been named to the 2025 National League All-Star roster as the Marlins' lone representative. In 84 games this season, he has hit .280/.352/.514/.866 with a team leading 16 home runs and 46 RBI.
"It''s pretty surreal to be honest," said a choked-up Stowers. "I'll be honest, there's always been a part of me that's believed I had this capability. I know there's been a group in my community that has believed the same thing. My appreciation goes out to those people who who always believed in me, and then first and foremost, God. I honestly feel like I've been leaning on him a lot this year and the doors that he's opened up I didn't expect to be in this position in spring training, so this is very special to me."

 
Stowers was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in Competitive Balance Round B of the 2019 MLB Draft. The Stanford alum was ranked as high as eighth on MLB Pipeline's Orioles top 30 prospects list.
In 2022, the Orioles gave Stowers his initial call-up to the majors. He played in 34 games and posted a 107 wRC+ (100 represents league average). In 2023, Stowers would be sent up and down from Triple-A, only playing 14 games in Baltimore, posting a -37 wRC+. He played in 19 more games with the 2024 O's, but he still wasn't a mainstay on the big league roster and was trending toward being labeled a "Quad-A player."
Stowers was acquired by the Fish last July along with Connor Norby in exchange for lefty Trevor Rogers. Following the trade, he was playing almost every day in MLB, but struggled.
"With how things kind of unfolded right when I got here, I obviously didn't play the baseball that I would have liked to last year, but with that being said, within the struggles, there's just so many learning opportunities. Playing so poorly for a stretch of time forced me to kind of lower my expectations, do less, lower the bar and take one step at a time."
It was a shock to many that Stowers made the Opening Day roster, but he immediately justified the decision by hitting a walk-off RBI single. He continued to produce throughout the months of March and April, slashing .323/.396/.510/.907 with four home runs and 19 RBI.
For his performance from April 28-May 4, Stowers was named National League Player of the Week, slashing .421/.421/1.105/1.526 (8-for-19) with four home runs and 10 RBI. He had a four-hit game and two multi-homer games. His 0.91 win probability added led the NL, per FanGraphs. By this point, it felt like a lock—barring injury—that he would be the Marlins All-Star representative.
Stowers' rough stretch of the season came in the middle of May, bleeding into early June. He went From May 16 through June 21 without hitting a home run. During that period, he slashed .228/.291/.297/.588 with 30 strikeouts against only seven walks. His playing time was also limited a bit by hand soreness, though he did not go on the injured list at any point.
Stowers snapped out of his homerless drought on April 22 against the Atlanta Braves. His power has fully returned since then and the Marlins have caught fire with a 10-3 record.
Stowers has significantly improved upon his strikeout rate, which is now down to a career-low 28.9%. He isn't pounding the ball into the ground as much as in years past, lowering his ground ball rate from 49.6% in 2024 to 40.6% this season. He's also shown an ability to hit left-handed pitching. In 72 plate appearances, he is slashing .313/.375/.406/.781 with 10 RBI.
The Marlins will head to Cincinnati to take on the Reds in a four-game set and then finish the first half of the season at Camden Yards, taking on Stowers' former club, the Orioles. Stowers and Marlins manager Clayton McCullough will take a private jet to Atlanta from there. The Midsummer Classic will take place on Tuesday, July 15 at 8:00 pm.

That's why they play the games, right?
Going all the way back to the 2024 MLB trade deadline, it seemed so simple to forecast that the Miami Marlins would be out of the postseason race in 2025 as well. They still are, as of this writing, but sustaining their recent excellence for a few more weeks would change the calculus.
The Marlins can wait until much closer to the July 31 deadline before officially picking a lane. However, this will very likely culminate in making short-term sacrifices to optimize their chances of winning in 2026 and beyond. While unusual, it's possible to go that route and stay in contention anyway.
President of baseball operations Peter Bendix—cut from the same cloth as other former Tampa Bay Rays executives—is an unemotional decision-maker. There are few, if any, untouchable players on the current Marlins roster. "We're always having conversations," as Bendix loves to say. On the other hand, a lot of Miami's top talent is pre-arbitration eligible, so inexpensive and far away from free agency that it would be illogical to shop them at this juncture.
The following 10 Marlins players ought to be available for the right price. I have ordered them based on the likelihood of getting moved prior to the deadline. All historical comps were also midseason trades.
 
RP Anthony Bender
2025 stats: 2.21 ERA, 4.07 FIP, .169 BAA and 0.0 fWAR in 36.2 IP (36 G/0 GS)
Contract: $1.42 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-27; free agent in 2028
Anthony Bender has never fully recaptured the magic from the first half of his rookie campaign, but he's an effective high-leverage option against right-handed batters.
Bender has the longest major league track record among Marlins relievers and he is the only one who has already entered his arbitration years. The Fish can potentially get comparable production from internal options. Yielding the highest hard-hit rate of his career and compiling fewer strikeouts than ever, he'd be best suited for a team with strong infield defense.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Sam Moll with international bonus pool money to Cincinnati Reds for Joe Boyle (2023)
 
OF Jesús Sánchez
2025 stats: .248/.317/.407, 7 HR, 8 SB, 100 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 63 G
Contract: $4.5 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-27; free agent in 2028
Jesús Sánchez's slash line this season is almost identical to last season and his overall career average, though the underlying details are more exciting. He has trimmed his strikeout rate to 22.2% and his expected weighted on-base average is a personal best. He smokes the ball...when he has the platoon advantage. The 27-year-old continues to be unplayable against left-handed pitchers.
The Marlins have several promising outfielders with their Triple-A affiliate in Jakob Marsee, Victor Mesa Jr. and Andrew Pintar who could use second-half reps in the majors. There is also Double-A Pensacola's Kemp Alderman, who has plus-plus raw power comparable to Sánchez. Between them and Griffin Conine returning from a shoulder injury in 2026, they're in a position to use outfield depth to address other areas.
Historical comp: Pittsburgh Pirates trade Daniel Vogelbach to New York Mets for Colin Holderman (2022)
 
SP Cal Quantrill
2025 stats: 5.42 ERA, 4.58 FIP, .283 BAA and 0.5 fWAR in 73.0 IP (16 G/16 GS)
Contract: $3.5 million in 2025; free agent in 2026
The Cal Quantrill experience has been odd. He signed a one-year deal with the Fish presumably under the impression that he would get the chance to re-establish himself as a solid starting pitcher. Although his rotation spot has been secure, there's been zero faith in him once opposing lineups turn over for a third time. At least he's demonstrating that his 2024 walk issues were an anomaly.
Given his pending free agent status, there is a greater urgency for the Marlins to trade Quantrill than any of their other players. But I do not have him atop this list because I'm unsure if any contender actually wants him. He could be an August waiver wire guy, unloaded for simple salary relief, which wouldn't count as a deadline deal, in my opinion.
Historical comp: Texas Rangers trade Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City Royals for Walter Pennington (2024)
 
SP Edward Cabrera
2025 stats: 3.41 ERA, 3.83 FIP, .228 BAA and 1.0 fWAR in 71.1 IP (14 G/14 GS)
Contract: $1.95 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
This season began inauspiciously for Edward Cabrera with yet another injured list stint and a 7.23 ERA through the end of April. He has been fantastic ever since. The right-hander's control is suddenly very reliable and his curveball has emerged as an elite offering. Any doubts about him being a viable starter have been squashed—the question moving forward is how close he can come to reaching his top-of-the-rotation ceiling.
The Marlins have entertained trade offers for Cabrera in the past. Aided by his ongoing stretch of consistency and the dearth of impact arms on the market this summer, his value has spiked. Whereas Bender, Sánchez and Quantrill are likely to be goners by month's end, Cabrera is closer to a toss-up.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Sonny Gray with international bonus pool money to New York Yankees for Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian and Jorge Mateo (2017)
 
RP Calvin Faucher
2025 stats: 4.31 ERA, 3.79 FIP, .235 BAA and 0.2 fWAR in 31.1 IP (35 G/0 GS)
Contract: $776k in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-29; free agent in 2030
One of Bendix's first acts as Marlins POBO was acquiring Calvin Faucher from his former employer. Faucher's best attribute has been long ball prevention, allowing only two home runs in his last 85 innings pitched. In the midst of his first full season at the major league level, the 29-year-old has endured a few ugly blow-ups, but he'd have a role in any team's bullpen down the stretch. He leads Miami with eight saves in 2025.
With so much club control still ahead of him, Faucher's fate largely depends on how he performs in July. The better he does, the more likely the Marlins get what they deem to be satisfactory compensation.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Lucas Erceg to Kansas City Royals for Mason Barnett, Jared Dickey and Will Klein (2024)
 
SP Sandy Alcantara
2025 stats: 6.98 ERA, 4.69 FIP, .260 BAA and 0.3 fWAR in 80.0 IP (16 G/16 GS)
Contract: $17.3 million in 2025, $17.3 million in 2026 and $21 million club option in 2027 ($2 million buyout)
On the heels of great spring training, Sandy Alcantara had us all overly confident in what his first post-Tommy John season would look like. There have been few bright spots for the former NL Cy Young award winner thus far. Crucially, though, he's been injury-free and attacking the strike zone with increasing regularity. Even on his best days, Alcantara has maxed out at six innings in his starts.
There are certain to be suitors attempting to buy low on Alcantara, banking on him improving as he gets farther away from surgery. With the Marlins having MLB's lowest payroll this season and hardly any future commitments, they should be willing to eat as much of his contract as possible to sweeten the return. Ultimately, it will be tricky to reach a consensus on what Alcantara is worth at this complicated stage of his career.
Historical comp: Nothing comes particularly close, but...Colorado Rockies trade Ubaldo Jiménez to Cleveland Guardians for Drew Pomeranz, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride and Alex White (2011)
 
C Nick Fortes
2025 stats: .243/.288/.359, 2 HR, 0 SB, 78 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 45 G
Contract: $1.86 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
Nick Fortes remains an above-average defender behind the plate and his bat has perked up a bit this season. Even during rough patches, you can count on him to put balls in play (career 16.3 K%). You're right, Kevin: he has value!
This homegrown Marlin is expendable because of encouraging strides that the club's young catchers have made. A player like Fortes at another position would appear earlier in this article, but it is uncommon for contenders to make midseason catching changes.
Historical comp: Chicago White Sox trade Matt Thaiss to Tampa Bay Rays for Dru Baker (2025)
 
OF Derek Hill
2025 stats: .233/.300/.370, 2 HR, 6 SB, 86 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR in 24 G
Contract: approx. $780k in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
After crushing left-handed pitching last season (.994 OPS), Derek Hill has flopped with the platoon advantage in limited action this season (.494 OPS). At least you know what you're getting with him as a baserunner (97th percentile in MLB) and rock-solid center fielder.
As mentioned in the Jesús Sánchez blurb, the Marlins have plenty of outfield reinforcements on the cusp. Hill seems to be standing in the way. His appropriate place on this list is muddled by the possibility of him exiting as a waiver claim rather than a real trade.
Historical comp: Detroit Tigers trade Jonathan Davis to Marlins for Brady Allen (2023)
 
RP Ronny Henriquez
2025 stats: 2.85 ERA, 3.92 FIP, .218 BAA and 0.3 fWAR in 41.0 IP (38 G/0 GS)
Contract: $778k in 2025; pre-arb in 2026-27; arb-eligible in 2028-30; free agent in 2031
Another player originally obtained by the Marlins via waivers, Ronny Henriquez leads their pitching staff in relief appearances. His whiff rate is in the 96th percentile among all qualified big leaguers.
Henriquez just turned 25 last month and has another half-decade of club control left. Those factors would preclude most players from being on the trade market, but the rules are different for relievers. Despite his inexperience, the Dominican right-hander would probably fetch a better package than any other Marlins RP.
Historical comp: Chicago Cubs trade Scott Effross to New York Yankees for Hayden Wesneski (2022)
 
OF Dane Myers
2025 stats: .298/.355/.415, 4 HR, 13 SB, 116 wRC+ and 1.2 fWAR in 57 G
Contract: $769k in 2025; pre-arb in 2026; arb-eligible in 2027-29; free agent in 2030
Dane Myers has asserted himself as the Marlins' primary center fielder. He has standout athleticism, including a plus-plus arm. With that being said, Myers has been the beneficiary of a sky-high .371 batting average on balls in play during parts of three MLB seasons—that will come down eventually. Marlins fans have grumbled about how he's frequently placed at the bottom of the lineup, but that's where he profiles best once the BABIP normalizes.
To be clear, Myers is the least likely trade candidate covered in this piece. However, in addition to the organization's aforementioned outfield depth, he's worth including because of his age (29). If the Marlins believe that his career is peaking right now slightly ahead of the rest of their core, they'll be open-minded.
Historical comp: Washington Nationals trade Lane Thomas to Cleveland Guardians for for Alex Clemmey, Rafael Ramirez Jr. and José Tena (2024)

It is a down year for National League rookies. There just have not been many rookie-eligible players getting regular playing time and doing well with it. Two of the exceptions? Miami Marlins catcher/designated hitter Agustín Ramírez and Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Chad Patrick.
If you're reading this, you know all about Ramírez. He leads all rookies—AL and NL combined—with 13 home runs this season. He has posted a 110 wRC+ so far with underlying batted ball data suggesting his production will be even better than that moving forward. However, because of the "DH penalty" and poor defensive performance in the games he catches, Ramírez is on pace for only 0.6 fWAR. Even if we assume his batted ball luck eventually improves and he continues to avoid injuries, BBWAA voters will ding him for that lack of all-around value.
The door is very much open for Patrick, a member of the Brewers rotation since Opening Day who's quietly up to 2.0 fWAR already. He is 24 ⅔ innings clear of any other NL rookie while maintaining a 3.51 ERA. His strikeouts have perked up recently. On the other hand, the Brew Crew has lost five straight games with him on the mound. The 26-year-old is Milwaukee's probable starter for Saturday's contest at loanDepot park.
Patrick's rotation mate, Jacob Misiorowski, could have a "quality over quantity" argument for the award when it's all said and done. The Marlins unfortunately won't get to face him in this series. It'd still be helpful to Ramírez's candidacy if they roughed up Patrick, especially if Gus produces a few runs himself.
Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 10-5. Graham Pauley is on a heater. He homered twice, both times off one of baseball's best left-handed pitching prospects, Noah Schultz. The Jumbo Shrimp went with yet another bullpen game. Matt Pushard and Anderson Pilar combined to allow eight runs despite neither of them being able to complete a full inning. Double-A Pensacola won, 2-1. Splendid pitching from Robby Snelling (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 87 pitches/55 strikes) and two scoreless frames apiece from Nigel Belgrave and Josh Ekness. High-A Beloit won, 12-5. The Sky Carp drew 13 walks. Jacob Jenkins-Cowart hit his first High-A homer. Low-A Jupiter won, 7-4. PJ Morlando went 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen bases. DSL Marlins lost, 6-5. Diwarys Encarnacion has driven in 26 runs in 23 games. DSL Miami won, 17-1. Three scoreless innings from Kevin Defrank. Every Miami position player had at least one RBI.
More Marlins news and content below:
🔷 Eury Pérez (6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K, 80 pitches/51 strikes) dominated the Minnesota Twins for his first major league win in more than two years.
🔷 The Marlins signed right-handers Richard Jiménez and Ramon Sánchez, who had been released while pitching in rookie ball for the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, respectively. Because of their previous MiLB experience, these are not considered international amateur signings.
🔷 Sean McCormack explained the various ways that Edward Cabrera has improved this season.
🔷 Ethan Hyatt of Just Baseball proposed a trade sending Cabrera and Jesús Sánchez to the Toronto Blue Jays for Joey Loperfido, Jake Bloss and Alan Roden. I don't think that'd be enough value nor enough youth to satisfy the Fish.
🔷 Kevin Barral reported on where Otto Lopez (Canada), Agustín Ramírez (Dominican Republic) and Valente Bellozo (Mexico) stand regarding 2026 World Baseball Classic participation.
🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 28 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long!

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, Cleveland Guardians right-hander Luis Ortiz is being investigated by Major League Baseball because of two pitches he threw earlier this season that received unusual gambling activity. The Blue Jays completed a four-game sweep of the New York Yankees to take over first place in the American League East standings. Following another Atlanta Braves loss, the Marlins retook third place in the NL East.
🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Sandy Alcantara) host their series opener against the Brewers (RHP Quinn Priester). Alcantara has terrific career numbers against Milwaukee in six previous appearances (2.25 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 26 K in 32.0 IP). The Marlins have a 48.5% chance to win, per FanGraphs. Full organizational schedule below.
🔷 Instead of broadcasting on this Fourth of July holiday, Fish On First LIVE already aired on Thursday night. Enjoy the replay if you couldn't make it in real time. FOF LIVE is presented by About The Fans. Check out our new merchandise collection (coupon code fof10 for 10% off).
 
Marlins podcast episodes
 

MIAMI—The strut to the visitors' clubhouse at loanDepot park feels “totally normal” for Christian Yelich. After all, he has now been a Milwaukee Brewer for seven and a half years, matching the length of his tenure in the Miami Marlins organization.
Returning to his old stomping grounds for the only time in 2025, the former National League MVP and three-time All-Star had an opportunity to reflect on the memories he made with his original team.
“I had a good time,” said Yelich on Saturday afternoon in an exclusive interview with Fish On First .”They gave me my first opportunity to play in the big leagues, drafted me and all that cool stuff. So, it's a part of my journey…a lot of your career-firsts—debuts, first hit, first homer, all that. Feels like a really long time ago, but some pretty cool memories.”
Miami selected the sweet-swinging lefty with the 23rd overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft. Yelich quickly justified that decision by putting up elite offensive numbers in the minor leagues despite consistently facing older competition.
“You make a lot of good friends,” Yelich replied when asked what particular moments as a Marlin he holds dear. “You're chasing—everybody's chasing—the same goal of trying to make it to the big leagues. I met some really good friends here, myself and (J.T.) Realmuto are pretty good buddies—we met in the Gulf Coast League our first couple of days in pro ball.”

In addition to Miami’s ex-backstop, Yelich mentioned a handful of other notable faces from the "what could’ve been" mid-2010s Marlins that he still keeps in contact with to this day.
“Still talk to (Marcell) Ozuna, Justin Bour and Giancarlo (Stanton). Just all really good dudes.”
Despite never winning more than 79 games in a season between 2014 and 2017, the uber-talented core that made up those squads is something that still impresses Yelich to this day.
"It was great. A lot of those guys are still playing, which is pretty rare. All guys who have had pretty long careers and all kind of come up together at the same time. Still really good friends with them."
Soon after the '17 campaign, new ownership made the controversial decision to throw in the towel on the core they had just inherited, adding to the lengthy track record of fire sales in South Florida. Stanton and Ozuna were dealt to the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively. Another domino fell on January 25, 2018 when a disgruntled Yelich was traded to the Brewers in exchange for a bundle of top prospects. He concluded his Marlins career with 17.6 WAR and a slash line of .290/.369/.432, excellent cumulative production for a 26-year-old.

Miami took a risk by trading such a well-rounded player who was in the midst of a cost-efficient, long-term contract. Their worst nightmare came to life almost instantaneously. With an uptick in over-the-fence power, Yelich exploded onto the scene, collecting his aforementioned MVP in the blue and gold not even a full calendar year after being dealt. A legitimate five-tool outfielder was destined to lead Milwaukee to perennial postseason contention, while his former team was burdened with four farmhands—Lewis Brinson, Isan Díaz, Monte Harrison and Jordan Yamamoto—who never flourished. Only Díaz is still playing professional baseball, having signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals earlier this week.
The Brewers have reached October six times in seven years during the Yelich era, including four NL Central titles. He's done well against the Fish in head-to-head matchups, posting a .925 OPS in 27 games. He remains a key piece of Milwaukee's roster at age 33 as their everyday designated hitter and team RBI leader. Yelich is in the midst of the largest contract in franchise history which runs through the 2028 season with a mutual option for 2029.
Despite a pair of miraculous playoff runs in 2020 and 2023, that Marlins rebuild did not come close to yielding sustained success. Rather, the front office was overhauled after the '23 NL Wild Card berth and another rebuild ensued. However, there finally appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. Entering Sunday's series finale, a Miami roster filled with young, controllable talent has won 10 of their last 12 games and surged into third place in the NL East standings.
There are some parallels to what the Marlins had cooking a decade ago. The emergences of Kyle Stowers and Agustín Ramírez have solidified the middle of the lineup. The upside that Eury Pérez has shown in his early 20s is reminiscent of José Fernández.
"To be honest, I'm just trying to get to know some of those guys. A lot of them are new to the league," said Yelich. "Just from last night and just watching, they play the game hard, play the game right. That's a good foundation to have to start building that good team."
The Marlins have interesting decisions to make as the trade deadline approaches at the end of the month. They must recognize that there is still a gap between themselves and MLB's top-tier teams. However, in focusing on 2026 and beyond, they cannot forfeit another Yelich-like impact player who'd be so difficult to replace.

MIAMI—From Opening Day, the Marlins knew their identity. Moments after capping off a late push against the Pirates with a walk-off double, Kyle Stowers and Dane Myers made sure the baseball world knew the "Fightin’ Fish" were never out of a game.
Fast-forward almost ninety games into their 2025 campaign, the youngest team in baseball has been arguably the best team in baseball in the past two weeks, with a major courtesy going to their ability to band together and come back late.
Miami has scored in the seventh inning or later in eight of their past twelve games—ten of which they came out victorious. A two-run eighth capped off by Lake Bachar’s first save as a big leaguer pushed the Fish to another win in Saturday’s middle game against the Brewers, 4-2.
Early signs indicated a potential late fireworks show on the offensive side—both teams combined for four runs in as many innings, leading to Cal Quantrill being pulled before retiring twelve batters—but three and a half scoreless frames later, the Marlins were in a position to strike.
Back-to-back hits from the bottom of the order passed the baton to Xavier Edwards, who followed with a downright magnificent bunt to load the bases. “That was a sweet bunt,” raved his manager, Clayton McCullough. “Great touch, placement."
 
w4cxqc_1.mp4
 
With ducks on the pond, pinch-hitting Connor Norby and Otto Lopez faltered with their chances to break the tie. That left rookie Agustín Ramírez in as intense of a situation as one could draw up.
Down in the count and the heart rates of all 11,378 in the crowd up, Ramírez delivered.
 
“We've seen maturity with Gus throughout this season,” said McCullough. “And yes, while he's a rookie, he's been in a lot of big spots and chased the first pitch. But to be able to collect yourself, and especially with how the previous couple of at-bats go...Real credit to Gus and his ability just to stay in the moment and control his heartbeat and put together a great at-bat.”
“I've been through a lot of those emotions through the minor league level,” said Ramírez through translator Luis Dorante Jr. “I think those are things that really prepare you for this moment, and at a point like that, you have to calm down and just put the pressure on the pitcher instead of you.”
Adding yet another huge swing to his résumé, Ramírez's RBI total sits at 37, good enough for third among MLB rookies. His OPS of .749 ranks ninth among all qualified first-year players.
As soon as he was called up in late April, Ramírez emerged as an impact bat for his team and must-watch player for any fan in attendance, roles that he embraces.
“It's amazing,” Ramírez replied when asked what it meant to keep his team's run intact. “Everybody working hard. It's amazing and I’m happy for everybody. This is what I want, and everybody wants.”
For the first time since 2017, the Marlins have the opportunity to win five consecutive series. On Sunday at 1:40, the chances look to be in their favor. Coming off possibly the best start of his MLB career, Edward Cabrera takes the mound. While Cabrera’s resurgence has been nothing short of incredible, he may be overshadowed by the Brewers' projected starter, Brandon Woodruff. The two-time All-Star will be making his return to the majors after nearly two full years of injury trouble. He posted a 2.79 ERA across 10 MiLB rehab starts.

The last trade between the Marlins and Phillies is trending toward being a win for Dave Dombrowski. In December, the Phillies acquired Jesús Luzardo for prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd. Although Luzardo has been hit hard on a few occasions to inflate his ERA to 4.48, he's been able to make every scheduled start so far in 2025 and record four double-digit strikeout games. Meanwhile, there is very little evidence that Caba or Boyd will be able to hit enough to develop into everyday big leaguers. Through 73 combined games this season, they have a .211 batting average and only two home runs despite repeating levels they already played at in 2024.
The Marlins are open to doing business with their National League East counterparts. Could we see another trade between them this month? The Phils have a clear need for bullpen upgrades as they cling to first place, and they have a young starter to offer in exchange who may have a better chance of reaching his potential with the Fish.
Right-hander Mick Abel is in an interesting situation. Taken with the 15th pick of the 2020 draft by the Phillies, Abel made his MLB debut back in May. He had mixed results in six starts, posting a 5.04 ERA, 6.25 FIP, 7.6 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 25 innings pitched. After his worst outing this past Wednesday, Abel was demoted back to Triple-A.
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Abel has a five-pitch mix: fastball, curveball, slider, sinker, and changeup. The fastball velocity is upper-echelon for a starter sitting 96.2 mph and it has very strong shape, though it has not performed well (.729 xSLG, and 51.7 HH%). Abel works in the top part of the strike zone with the pitch, which has led to a high whiff rate, but it gets hit hard when contact is made. He is able to get down the mound with above-average extension, combining this with a solid 16 inches of induced vertical break and a low vertical approach angle.

Abel is in the 92nd percentile of high strike zone location for his four-seam. Becoming less reliant on the fastball will help him bring down the damage and reduce the fly ball rate against it. 
Abel’s breaking balls, the curveball and slider, have performed the best in the majors. The curveball gets great depth and is thrown in the zone at a high rate. This pitch has also been hit hard, however, it's getting a great 38.6% whiff rate (79th percentile among all curveballs). The slider has held opponents to only a .176 BA, and .187 wOBA. It has sharp break, less sweep and depth compared to the curveball, and also lives in the zone (95th percentile zone location among all sliders).
RDFBZ3ZfWGw0TUFRPT1fRHdoWEIxMVJYbFFBRGdNRFV3QUhBbFJlQUFBQlVGUUFBMVFIVkFkVUNGRldCd0pm.mp4 Lastly, Abel's sinker and changeup are platoon pitches. He uses the sinker strictly to righties and he's able to get much-needed ground balls with it. The pitch generates good armside movement and spin. Utilized only 4% of the time, the changeup is thrown to lefties and he currently lacks command of it.
Overall, the 23-year-old former top prospect has great stuff. The FanGraphs Stuff+ model has him at 109, with 100 representing the MLB average.

Mick Abel would undergo massive changes if he were to be hypothetically traded to the Marlins. He would benefit from utilizing more of his arsenal. That would include simply throwing his best pitches (slider and curveball) more often, and likely increasing his sinker usage at the expense of his four-seam fastball to generate more grounders.
Becoming less four-seam centric has been a pillar of the Marlins's new pitching philosophy and Abel could benefit greatly from the approach. He has the stuff and specifically the secondary pitches to fit in perfectly with Miami.
There are some similarities between Abel and Milwaukee Brewers starting pitcher Quinn Priester. Once regarded as a top prospect in the Pirates organization, Priester was traded to the Boston Red Sox, then moved again to the Brewers earlier this season, where his performance has significantly improved. In 2025, he's posting a 3.59 ERA, 4.21 FIP, 7.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 through 16 games (12 starts). He took the mound for Milwaukee on Friday night against the Marlins and took a no-decision.
Another interesting comp: Ryan Weathers. His former team, the San Diego Padres, was also in a position to win immediately and Weathers struggled in that environment. The Marlins were more patient with him after acquiring the left-hander at the 2023 trade deadline. The following season, his career took off. In 16 starts in 2024, Weathers posted a 3.63 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 8.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9. If not for injuries, he was poised for a true breakout this season. Still only 25 years old, he's considered a key piece of Miami's long-term rotation plans.
 
Trade proposal: Marlins acquire Mick Abel in exchange for Anthony Bender and Calvin Faucher 
The Phillies currently rank 24th in bullpen ERA and they already know veteran lefty José Alvarado will be ineligible for the postseason due to a PED suspension. They could use the services of multiple high-leverage arms. Through 38 appearances, Anthony Bender has posted a 2.13 ERA, 4.06 FIP, 6.6 K/9 and 3.8 BB/9. As for Calvin Faucher, he's posted a 4.18 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 8.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 through 36 appearances.
Bender, who is under club control through 2027, has a dominant sweeper. That pitch has a plus-eight run value this season and hitters have a .079 batting average against it. Bender is allowing more contact than usual, but he has a 51.9% ground ball rate, which is right in line with his career average of 51.4%.
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It has been an inconsistent season for Faucher—4.32 ERA in April and 6.52 ERA in May, then a 3.18 ERA in June. His cutter and curveball have been his above-average pitches this season. He's given up only two home runs over the last two years combined. The right-hander comes with even more control than Bender as he isn't even arbitration-eligible for the first time until 2026.
Abel would likely report to Triple-A Jacksonville initially with the hopes of returning to the majors as a September call-up, or at the very least, contending for a permanent rotation spot next spring.

MIAMI—Succeeding weeks of digging and assiduous effort, Eury Pérez finally uncovered his sought-after gem.
Six innings of one-hit, seven-strikeout ball from the 6'8" right-hander in front of his family along with a towering 425 foot two-run long ball from fellow youngster Agustín Ramírez propelled the club to their fourth consecutive series victory with a 4-1 win in Thursday’s rubber match against the visiting Twins.
“That's what we've been working for, and I can see the results,” Pérez told reporters through interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “I feel very happy, I feel healthy, and we will continue to keep working for more outings like that.”
Pérez’s success could be found in swing-and-miss and inducing weak contact, as the 22-year-old prodigy recorded an absurd twenty whiffs on eighty pitches (25%). Minnesota bats produced a measly four hard-hit balls in 21 plate appearances, three of which were flyouts. When Pérez is at his best—as seen in 2023—these two statistics tend to be mightily impressive.
Unusual, though, was the unorthodox usage of Pérez’s arsenal.
89% of the pitches thrown from the future ace of Miami’s rotation were either fastballs or sliders, leaving the curveball and changeup to be thrown a combined six times. The approach derives from Pérez’s supreme confidence in his two premier offerings.
"I think that's my number one pitch of my arsenal,” said Pérez regarding his four-seamer. “I trust this pitch a lot, and I think it is one of the best in the league because it has a really high spin rate. I like being able to throw it in different locations of the plate and also get some strikeouts.” He entered Thursday with an average four-seamer spin rate of 2,655 rpm, which ranks fourth in MLB—the only pitchers ahead of him are relievers.
Speaking of the slider, Pérez receives positive reinforcement from pitching coach Daniel Moskos.
“That boost of confidence is something that we've been working with in the bullpens and throwing programs,” Pérez said. “Between innings, (Moskos) kept telling me to keep trusting the slider. This slider is something a pitch is going to help me, and it's going to help me to finish those batters.”
The Marlins pitching staff compiled quality starts in each game of a series for the first time since August 18-19, 2023 (Pérez was involved in that series as well). Between Pérez, Edward Cabrera and Janson Junk, Miami starters were outstanding against a Twins offense with plenty of well-regarded bats, pitching a total of nineteen innings, allowing nine hits and two earned runs. A three-game run with such dominance earned heavy praise from skipper Clayton McCullough.
“Daniel (Moskos) and Brandon (Mann) deserve a lot of credit. The players go out there and do it, and they have continued to take strides and get better,” said McCullough. "As the season has gone on, our pitching staff has stayed committed to hammering and doubling down on the importance of throwing strikes—the importance of getting ahead. We know how talented our group is and the type of stuff that they bring to the table, and when we're in the strike zone with the type of frequency that we have been recently, the type of outings and performances we've seen, we believe become regular.”
Possessing an ERA now comfortably in the fours, Pérez believes this is just the tip of the iceberg for not just himself, but his club as well.
“I think the results have been good,” Pérez said in response to how he evaluates his return thus far. “The confidence is coming back. I think what we want is actually to win as many games as we can and get this team to the playoffs.”
While the end of Pérez's remark might have come across as asinine just two weeks ago, the Fish sit just 6.5 games back of a wild-card spot with their ninth victory in ten games, courtesy of an full-team effort and mechanically sound play.
"Where we are right now, record-wise, who's in front, behind, less concerned with that, and just very pleased and proud of how we've played baseball," said McCullough. "If we continue to play baseball, and contemplate this brand, this style, clean baseball, then we're going to continue to win games.
Miami returns to action on Friday night, kicking off a three-game set against the 48-38 Brewers on the Fourth of July. It's the third consecutive season loanDepot park has played site to patriotic baseball. Looking to extend their run of quality starts, Sandy Alcantara takes the ball for McCullough, coming off a rocky start in the desert. Hoping to contain the Fish is ex-top prospect Quinn Priester, sporting a 3.35 ERA in fifteen total games.
First pitch from what should be a sea of red, white and blue in South Florida is slated for 7:10, with a postgame fireworks show in the wings.

During his six seasons with the Florida Marlins, Derrek Lee had a flare for the dramatic hit and the dramatic home run.
One of those came 25 years ago when the Marlins and New York Mets opened a three-game series at Pro Player Stadium on July 3, 2000. Lee’s two-run walk-off shot broke a scoreless tie and lifted the Marlins to a 2-0 victory.
Starting pitchers Jesús Sánchez and Bobby J. Jones were each outstanding for their respective teams. Sánchez worked eight shutout innings, allowing just four hits and four walks while striking out four. Jones allowed four hits while striking out five in six shutout innings for the Mets.
In the bottom of the ninth, Florida was able to get to the Mets bullpen. With the contest scoreless, Turk Wendell was called upon to try to get the game to extra innings. Things started smoothly for Wendell, who got Preston Wilson swinging to begin the inning. With one out, Mike Lowell’s sharp single to left put the winning run on base.
That brought Lee to the plate.
On the third pitch from Wendell, Lee took a slider to the deepest part of the ballpark and over the center field wall for a two-run shot. It was the Marlins’ third walk-off home run of the season and the first hit by someone other than Cliff Floyd.

Lee had two of the six hits for the Marlins. Lefty Armando Almanza retired both batters he faced to earn the win for Florida. The Mets finished with just four hits, but left 10 men on base.
In a contest that saw 17 runs the next day, the Marlins clinched the series with a 9-8 victory. The Mets won the finale to avoid the sweep.
Over six seasons with the Marlins, Lee had a number of big hits, but only one walk-off home run. Lee finished with three walk-off homers for his career. The first of those happened on this day a quarter-century ago.

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MIAMI—Unable to capitalize on multiple opportunities, the Miami Marlins had their eight-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday night. The Twins squeaked past them, 2-1, to force a rubber match.
More than any other key moment, an unusual play in the bottom of the sixth inning stood out. Miami had Jesús Sánchez on second with two outs and their best run producer, Kyle Stowers, coming to the plate. 
The left-handed hitting outfielder ripped a liner up the middle that would have easily scored Sánchez and evened the game at two. However, the ball hit the foot of second base umpire Emil Jimenez. Because the ball was interfered with before passing any of the infielders, in accordance with MLB Rule 5.06(c)(6), Jimenez was forced to call the play dead. Stowers was awarded the single, but Sánchez was sent back to second base, taking away the tying run. 
Eric Wagaman would later strike out, ending the inning and keeping the score 2-1 in favor of the Twins.
“It’s kind of a crappy play,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said after the game. “Stowers put a great swing on it, the ball made contact with the umpire. It’s unfortunate the way things turned out, but that’s how things go.”
By the letter of the rulebook, Jimenez made the right call, and there’s nothing to argue for the Fish.
Home plate umpire and crew chief James Hoye commented about the incident after the game to pool reporter Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase. “I haven’t seen that kind of play in a long time—probably 15 years. The ball went right at his [Jimenez's] feet. It was one of those 'Which way do you go?' moments. He tried to get out of the way, but it hit him on the side of the foot.”
Hoye was asked about McCullough’s comments after the game. “I agree,” Hoye stated. “But that’s the rule, and we have to enforce it. Big situation, for sure. But the last thing the umpire wants is to get hit by a ball coming off the bat at over 100 miles per hour. That’s the absolute last thing he wants.”
It’s horrible luck for the Marlins that was likely the deciding factor in Wednesday's outcome. The Marlins still had chances to even the score later in the game, but couldn’t due to a great throw by Minnesota’s left fielder, Harrison Bader, who gunned down Connor Norby at the plate in the bottom of the seventh.
Right-handed pitcher Janson Junk got the start and had one of his best outings this season. He pitched a career-high six innings. Junk allowed six hits, two runs, no walks, and a season-best seven strikeouts. It was also the first quality start of his MLB career.
“The thing that has made Junk so good throughout this year is his ability to pound the strike zone and get early outs,” McCullough said about Junk’s outing. “He showed it again tonight with six strong innings of pounding the strike zone with multiple weapons.”
The 29-year-old right-hander had a 78.3% first-pitch strike rate in the ballgame. Dating back to May 9, he has faced 86 consecutive batters without allowing a walk.
Left-handed relief pitcher Josh Simpson replaced Junk in the top of the seventh. After walking the leadoff batter, Simpson rebounded by striking out Ryan Jeffers and getting Ty France to ground into a 5-4-3 double play.
Right-hander Valente Bellozo pitched the final two innings and kept the Marlins in the ballgame. Bellozo allowed two hits, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout on 21 pitches.
 
What’s next?
The series winner will be decided on Thursday. The Marlins will hand the ball to right-handed pitcher Eury Pérez. The 22-year-old has had his ups and downs in his first few starts back from Tommy John surgery. Pérez has posted a 0-2 record with a 6.19 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, and 4.02 FIP in four starts.
Right-handed pitcher David Festa will get the start for the Minnesota Twins in the series finale. The Seton Hall product has made eight appearances and seven starts for the Twins this season. He has posted a 2-2 record with a 5.40 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4.69 FIP, and 9.3 K/9 in 36 ⅔ innings pitched.
The first pitch for the rubber match is at 12:10 pm EST, with national television coverage courtesy of MLB Network.

MIAMI, FL—Right-hander Valente Bellozo is hoping to join Otto Lopez and some of his other Marlins teammates at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Prior to Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, Bellozo informed the media that he is on Mexico's preliminary roster for the tournament.
"I want to be there. I want to represent my country," said Bellozo in Spanish. "That will be another goal for me and it would be an honor to represent my country, which always holds a special place in my heart every time I take the mound."
The decision regarding whether or not he made the team will be made closer to the start of the tournament, he added.
Mexico made it to the semifinals of the 2023 WBC, losing by one run to the eventual champion, Japan.
Their pitching staff could use reinforcements. Former ace Julio Urías has had his baseball career interrupted by a domestic violence incident, while fellow starters Patrick Sandoval and José Urquidy have missed extended time with elbow injuries.
Bellozo made his first career Opening Day roster with the Marlins this season. Originally a member of their starting rotation, he was moved to the bullpen in the middle of May. Overall, he has posted a 3.71 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 6.80 K/9 and 2.89 BB/9 in 14 appearances (five starts).
The Marlins are currently riding an eight-game win streak. Bellozo spoke to how this team has rallied after spending much of the first half in last place in the NL East.
"The team is very united throughout this time," Bellozo said. "Obviously we are winning a lot right now and we are on a great streak. I think we have prepared very well for this moment, but it continues to be baseball. There will be highs and lows and right now we find ourselves in a very great situation that we need to take advantage of as much as we can and win as many games as we can, if it is keeping up this streak or just playing this same type of baseball. I think if we continue this, we are going to be in a very good position before the All-Star break."
Mexico has been placed in Pool B, located in Arizona. They will face the United States, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil. Pool play will take place from March 6-11.

MIAMI, FL—Prior to Wednesday's game against the Minnesota Twins, Marlins rookie catcher Agustín Ramírez told Fish On First that he has been contacted by the Dominican Republic's baseball federation (FEDOM) to potentially participate in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
"Yes, I would be interested," Ramírez said in Spanish. "There have already been a couple calls had with them. We are aware and we are in a positive spot right now with them."
Ramírez added that "they are going to the dugout," essentially saying that he will be a lock for the DR roster if everything works out.
The Marlins acquired Ramírez from the New York Yankees a couple days prior to the 2024 trade deadline in a deal that sent Jazz Chisholm Jr. the other way. Ramírez was called up to the major leagues on April 21. Since then, he's slashing .252/.302/.479/.780 with 12 home runs, 33 RBI and a 111 wRC+, ranking among the top NL rookies in those categories despite spending the first few weeks of the season in the minors. He's been splitting time between catcher and designated hitter.
"I'm really happy. This is a dream I've had since I was a kid," said Ramírez regarding his time at the major league level thus far. "To have my name as a possibility for all these awards is extremely important to me, but as I've said, I want to stay up here for a very long time and have a very long career, learn something new every day and give everything I've got for the team and do everything that needs to be done."

Highly regarded entering the 2023 WBC, the Dominican Republic was knocked out early. Their catching tandem in that tournament was Francisco Mejía and Gary Sánchez.
Looking ahead to next year, the likely DR catchers are Yainer Díaz of the Houston Astros and Ramírez as long as the federation is willing to sacrifice some defense for great offense.
The DR team has been placed in Pool D along with Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel and Nicaragua. Those games are taking place at loanDepot park, so if selected, Ramírez would be playing in front of his home crowd throughout the tournament.

MIAMI, FL—Many Marlins players are expected to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. On Tuesday, Otto Lopez became the first to confirm his participation. It will be Lopez's second time playing for Canada, having previously done so in 2023.
"It means a lot," Lopez said in Spanish, expressed his gratitude to both the Canadian baseball team and the Miami Marlins. "This is a team that since the beginning have treated me extremely well and have given me an opportunity to play in Major League Baseball, and that means a lot to me. I feel super honored to represent the Marlins, but Canada as well."
Lopez, 26, was born in the Dominican Republic, but moved to Montreal at age 12 when his father relocated there for work. He spent four years of his childhood north of the border, then returned to the DR to pursue a professional baseball career.
In the last WBC, Canada was eliminated during pool play. USA and Mexico advanced from Pool C instead. In four games, Lopez slashed .294/.333/.588/.921 with one home run and six RBI.
"I felt great, the vibes were great and I am extremely excited to return once again," said Lopez. "This is a team that has given me an opportunity and I feel very proud to be representing them."
Back in 2023, Lopez had only nine games of major league experience as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays. The Blue Jays traded him to the San Francisco Giants in February 2024, then the Marlins claimed him off waivers in April of that year.
This season with Miami, Lopez is slashing .260/.331/.392/.723 with eight home runs, 40 RBI and a 99 OPS+. He is currently riding a ten-game hit streak and has driven a run in seven straight games. In addition to enjoying a career year offensively, he has taken over as the club's starting shortstop, where he has provided above-average defense at a premium position (2 OAA and 2 DRS in 36 games).
Canada is part of Pool A, which will be hosted in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The other countries in their pool are Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama and Colombia. The games will take place from March 6-11.
"These are other teams that really like to compete," said Lopez. "That is going to motivate us a lot. We are going to go in there and give it our all and I am sure the other teams will have the same mentality. Especially playing in a different country, it'll be something new for me as well."
There are two other Canadian players on the Marlins roster: catcher Liam Hicks and starting pitcher Cal Quantrill. Quantrill was teammates with Lopez during the 2023 tournament.

That's why they play the games, right?
Going all the way back to the 2024 MLB trade deadline, it seemed so simple to forecast that the Miami Marlins would be out of the postseason race in 2025 as well. They still are, as of this writing, but sustaining their recent excellence for a few more weeks would change the calculus.
The Marlins can wait until much closer to the July 31 deadline before officially picking a lane. However, this will very likely culminate in making short-term sacrifices to optimize their chances of winning in 2026 and beyond. While unusual, it's possible to go that route and stay in contention anyway.
President of baseball operations Peter Bendix—cut from the same cloth as other former Tampa Bay Rays executives—is an unemotional decision-maker. There are few, if any, untouchable players on the current Marlins roster. "We're always having conversations," as Bendix loves to say. On the other hand, a lot of Miami's top talent is pre-arbitration eligible, so inexpensive and far away from free agency that it would be illogical to shop them at this juncture.
The following 10 Marlins players ought to be available for the right price. I have ordered them based on the likelihood of getting moved prior to the deadline. All historical comps were also midseason trades.
 
RP Anthony Bender
2025 stats: 2.21 ERA, 4.07 FIP, .169 BAA and 0.0 fWAR in 36.2 IP (36 G/0 GS)
Contract: $1.42 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-27; free agent in 2028
Anthony Bender has never fully recaptured the magic from the first half of his rookie campaign, but he's an effective high-leverage option against right-handed batters.
Bender has the longest major league track record among Marlins relievers and he is the only one who has already entered his arbitration years. The Fish can potentially get comparable production from internal options. Yielding the highest hard-hit rate of his career and compiling fewer strikeouts than ever, he'd be best suited for a team with strong infield defense.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Sam Moll with international bonus pool money to Cincinnati Reds for Joe Boyle (2023)
 
OF Jesús Sánchez
2025 stats: .248/.317/.407, 7 HR, 8 SB, 100 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 63 G
Contract: $4.5 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-27; free agent in 2028
Jesús Sánchez's slash line this season is almost identical to last season and his overall career average, though the underlying details are more exciting. He has trimmed his strikeout rate to 22.2% and his expected weighted on-base average is a personal best. He smokes the ball...when he has the platoon advantage. The 27-year-old continues to be unplayable against left-handed pitchers.
The Marlins have several promising outfielders with their Triple-A affiliate in Jakob Marsee, Victor Mesa Jr. and Andrew Pintar who could use second-half reps in the majors. There is also Double-A Pensacola's Kemp Alderman, who has plus-plus raw power comparable to Sánchez. Between them and Griffin Conine returning from a shoulder injury in 2026, they're in a position to use outfield depth to address other areas.
Historical comp: Pittsburgh Pirates trade Daniel Vogelbach to New York Mets for Colin Holderman (2022)
 
SP Cal Quantrill
2025 stats: 5.42 ERA, 4.58 FIP, .283 BAA and 0.5 fWAR in 73.0 IP (16 G/16 GS)
Contract: $3.5 million in 2025; free agent in 2026
The Cal Quantrill experience has been odd. He signed a one-year deal with the Fish presumably under the impression that he would get the chance to re-establish himself as a solid starting pitcher. Although his rotation spot has been secure, there's been zero faith in him once opposing lineups turn over for a third time. At least he's demonstrating that his 2024 walk issues were an anomaly.
Given his pending free agent status, there is a greater urgency for the Marlins to trade Quantrill than any of their other players. But I do not have him atop this list because I'm unsure if any contender actually wants him. He could be an August waiver wire guy, unloaded for simple salary relief, which wouldn't count as a deadline deal, in my opinion.
Historical comp: Texas Rangers trade Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City Royals for Walter Pennington (2024)
 
SP Edward Cabrera
2025 stats: 3.41 ERA, 3.83 FIP, .228 BAA and 1.0 fWAR in 71.1 IP (14 G/14 GS)
Contract: $1.95 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
This season began inauspiciously for Edward Cabrera with yet another injured list stint and a 7.23 ERA through the end of April. He has been fantastic ever since. The right-hander's control is suddenly very reliable and his curveball has emerged as an elite offering. Any doubts about him being a viable starter have been squashed—the question moving forward is how close he can come to reaching his top-of-the-rotation ceiling.
The Marlins have entertained trade offers for Cabrera in the past. Aided by his ongoing stretch of consistency and the dearth of impact arms on the market this summer, his value has spiked. Whereas Bender, Sánchez and Quantrill are likely to be goners by month's end, Cabrera is closer to a toss-up.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Sonny Gray with international bonus pool money to New York Yankees for Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian and Jorge Mateo (2017)
 
RP Calvin Faucher
2025 stats: 4.31 ERA, 3.79 FIP, .235 BAA and 0.2 fWAR in 31.1 IP (35 G/0 GS)
Contract: $776k in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-29; free agent in 2030
One of Bendix's first acts as Marlins POBO was acquiring Calvin Faucher from his former employer. Faucher's best attribute has been long ball prevention, allowing only two home runs in his last 85 innings pitched. In the midst of his first full season at the major league level, the 29-year-old has endured a few ugly blow-ups, but he'd have a role in any team's bullpen down the stretch. He leads Miami with eight saves in 2025.
With so much club control still ahead of him, Faucher's fate largely depends on how he performs in July. The better he does, the more likely the Marlins get what they deem to be satisfactory compensation.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Lucas Erceg to Kansas City Royals for Mason Barnett, Jared Dickey and Will Klein (2024)
 
SP Sandy Alcantara
2025 stats: 6.98 ERA, 4.69 FIP, .260 BAA and 0.3 fWAR in 80.0 IP (16 G/16 GS)
Contract: $17.3 million in 2025, $17.3 million in 2026 and $21 million club option in 2027 ($2 million buyout)
On the heels of great spring training, Sandy Alcantara had us all overly confident in what his first post-Tommy John season would look like. There have been few bright spots for the former NL Cy Young award winner thus far. Crucially, though, he's been injury-free and attacking the strike zone with increasing regularity. Even on his best days, Alcantara has maxed out at six innings in his starts.
There are certain to be suitors attempting to buy low on Alcantara, banking on him improving as he gets farther away from surgery. With the Marlins having MLB's lowest payroll this season and hardly any future commitments, they should be willing to eat as much of his contract as possible to sweeten the return. Ultimately, it will be tricky to reach a consensus on what Alcantara is worth at this complicated stage of his career.
Historical comp: Nothing comes particularly close, but...Colorado Rockies trade Ubaldo Jiménez to Cleveland Guardians for Drew Pomeranz, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride and Alex White (2011)
 
C Nick Fortes
2025 stats: .243/.288/.359, 2 HR, 0 SB, 78 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 45 G
Contract: $1.86 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
Nick Fortes remains an above-average defender behind the plate and his bat has perked up a bit this season. Even during rough patches, you can count on him to put balls in play (career 16.3 K%). You're right, Kevin: he has value!
This homegrown Marlin is expendable because of encouraging strides that the club's young catchers have made. A player like Fortes at another position would appear earlier in this article, but it is uncommon for contenders to make midseason catching changes.
Historical comp: Chicago White Sox trade Matt Thaiss to Tampa Bay Rays for Dru Baker (2025)
 
OF Derek Hill
2025 stats: .233/.300/.370, 2 HR, 6 SB, 86 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR in 24 G
Contract: approx. $780k in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
After crushing left-handed pitching last season (.994 OPS), Derek Hill has flopped with the platoon advantage in limited action this season (.494 OPS). At least you know what you're getting with him as a baserunner (97th percentile in MLB) and rock-solid center fielder.
As mentioned in the Jesús Sánchez blurb, the Marlins have plenty of outfield reinforcements on the cusp. Hill seems to be standing in the way. His appropriate place on this list is muddled by the possibility of him exiting as a waiver claim rather than a real trade.
Historical comp: Detroit Tigers trade Jonathan Davis to Marlins for Brady Allen (2023)
 
RP Ronny Henriquez
2025 stats: 2.85 ERA, 3.92 FIP, .218 BAA and 0.3 fWAR in 41.0 IP (38 G/0 GS)
Contract: $778k in 2025; pre-arb in 2026-27; arb-eligible in 2028-30; free agent in 2031
Another player originally obtained by the Marlins via waivers, Ronny Henriquez leads their pitching staff in relief appearances. His whiff rate is in the 96th percentile among all qualified big leaguers.
Henriquez just turned 25 last month and has another half-decade of club control left. Those factors would preclude most players from being on the trade market, but the rules are different for relievers. Despite his inexperience, the Dominican right-hander would probably fetch a better package than any other Marlins RP.
Historical comp: Chicago Cubs trade Scott Effross to New York Yankees for Hayden Wesneski (2022)
 
OF Dane Myers
2025 stats: .298/.355/.415, 4 HR, 13 SB, 116 wRC+ and 1.2 fWAR in 57 G
Contract: $769k in 2025; pre-arb in 2026; arb-eligible in 2027-29; free agent in 2030
Dane Myers has asserted himself as the Marlins' primary center fielder. He has standout athleticism, including a plus-plus arm. With that being said, Myers has been the beneficiary of a sky-high .371 batting average on balls in play during parts of three MLB seasons—that will come down eventually. Marlins fans have grumbled about how he's frequently placed at the bottom of the lineup, but that's where he profiles best once the BABIP normalizes.
To be clear, Myers is the least likely trade candidate covered in this piece. However, in addition to the organization's aforementioned outfield depth, he's worth including because of his age (29). If the Marlins believe that his career is peaking right now slightly ahead of the rest of their core, they'll be open-minded.
Historical comp: Washington Nationals trade Lane Thomas to Cleveland Guardians for for Alex Clemmey, Rafael Ramirez Jr. and José Tena (2024)

Edward Cabrera entered this season with a lot to prove. From 2021-24, the talented flame-thrower had not been nearly as effective or available as the Marlins hoped he would be. Even 2025 started off on the wrong foot with an awful spring training and time missed due to a middle finger blister. About halfway through the season, however, it's safe to say that Cabrera is on track for a career year. Through 71 ⅓ innings, he has posted a 3.41 ERA and a career-low walk rate of 10.5%. 
There have been tangible changes to Cabrera's pitch usage, command, arm slot and extension, and pitch movement. The combination of these factors has helped him go on this run of unprecedented consistency. 
In 2025, Cabrera has evened out his arsenal compared to prior years, throwing his changeup, sinker, curveball, slider, and four-seam fastball each over 14% of the time. Compared to last season, he has cut his four-seam usage in half at the expense of more sinkers. Cabrera has also thrown the changeup less while upping his slider usage from 8% to 16%.

I believe due to being a natural supinator, Cabrera has always had better feel for his sinker compared to the four-seam fastball. His in-zone rate with the sinker has increased to 60.6%, up 30% from last season. He now has a weapon for getting in front of counts, allowing his offspeed to put away hitters with two strikes.


 
 
I believe the improved command for Cabrera stems from his new arm slot. His average arm angle from 2021-24 was 43 degrees, but that has dropped to 36 degrees this season. A higher slot generally pairs best with a pitcher who has a north-south approach and four-seam-heavy diet. He's now working more east-west. 
There's been a slight drop in Cabrera's extension, from 6.7 feet down the mound in 2024 to 6.5 feet in 2025. Although getting closer to the plate is generally a positive, releasing the ball earlier may be what he needed to do to throw more strikes than ever before.
The quality of Edward Cabrera's stuff has never been better. There's been an increase in spin rate on all of his pitches. Overall, his Stuff+ this season is 106, per FanGraphs (100 represents league average). Both his curveball and changeup grade out significantly better than they did in any previous season.

We are observing a career-high 50 inches of vertical drop on Cabrera's curveball. This has led to a crazy 42.2 CSW% on the pitch, putting it in the 95% percentile. The curve has a 40% whiff rate and it's responsible for finishing off more strikeouts than any of his other pitches. 
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The whiff rate is even higher on Cabrera's slider (44.8%). He has yet to give up a barrel on the pitch and it has a impressive xwOBACON of .276, preventing damage even when opponents make contact.
Cabrera's signature changeup has not performed as well as prior seasons, but the emergence of his slider and curveball has helped compensate for that. 
The major weakness for Cabrera is still his four-seam fastball—xSLG of .696, .444 wOBA, and 68.0% Hard-Hit%.
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Cabrera has tried leaning more on his sinker to change eye levels, but that pitch is far less optimal when thrown higher in the zone. The lack of velocity separation between his changeup and sinker also limits the upside those pitches have when paired with each other. Cabrera throws the hardest changeup on average in the big leagues at 93.8 mph, only a 2.8 mph dip from his average sinker. During certain sequences, there's no difference in velo whatsoever. Even though the pitches are thrown to different areas, the similarities in speed may be helping batters with their timing.
While there are still limitations to Cabrera's game, including the ability to control baserunners, he has emerged as a more complete pitcher at age 27. He is equally productive against left-handed and right-handed batters and putting himself in position to navigate his starts with better efficiency. He has solidified his spot in the Marlins rotation and made himself one of the most desirable starters on the trade market this month.

The Miami Marlins just wrapped up their best month of the past two seasons and they did it while essentially playing a man down. Throughout June, their active roster consisted of 12 position players with meaningful roles and also Jack Winkler. The right-handed-hitting infielder only stepped to the plate 11 total times, reaching base safely once. His lone complete game was a loss on June 18. Winkler was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday.
Fully recovered from a left wrist sprain, Derek Hill will be replacing Winkler, Fish On First's Kevin Barral reports. I won't be exaggerating the impact of somebody with a career 75 wRC+ who was striking out more often than ever prior to his injury, but Hill will help in certain situations. Miscast as Miami's primary center fielder earlier in the season, he fits much better as Dane Myers' backup at the position. Hill is the fastest player on the Marlins and capable of making loud contact against left-handers. This is in addition to being a plus defender.
Fans are always eager to complain about injuries depleting their team's roster, but rarely savor when that luck turns around. With the exception of Griffin Conine, every major league-caliber Marlins position player is now healthy at the same time. That gives them a meaningful advantage over most opponents. Don't take it for granted.
Down on the farm, the Marlins will be represented in the upcoming Futures Game by their top two prospects, Thomas White and Joe Mack. White was also one of the organization's Futures Game reps last year. The prospect showcase takes place at Truist Field on July 12. Robby Snelling (Pensacola), Jake Brooks (Beloit) and Dameivi Tineo (Jupiter) received Pitcher of the Week honors in the Southern League, Midwest League and Florida State League, respectively. FCL Marlins won, 7-5. DSL Marlins won, 7-3. DSL Miami won, 8-5. Luis Arana (2-4, 2B, 3B, 2 SB) continues to be a bat-to-ball sensation. He has struck out only once in 82 plate appearances this season.
More Marlins news and content below:
🔷 Record-wise, the Marlins are exactly where the 2024 Detroit Tigers were through 82 games played. Those Tigers, famously, sold off several accomplished veterans at the trade deadline and still earned a postseason berth. I wrote about why that will be tough to duplicate.
🔷 Ten different FOF staffers gave their perspectives on the first half of the season in our latest roundtable.
🔷 On this day in 2015, Justin Bour crushed a three-run walk-off home run. That came in the midst of a stretch where Bour went yard in four consecutive games.
🔷 True to his nature, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix mostly stuck to platitudes in a one-on-one conversation with Christina De Nicola of MLB.com about the 2025 Marlins. He did, however, single out Rule 5 Draft pick Liam Hicks as the "most pleasant surprise" of the season. Hicks is legitimately on pace for the best rookie campaign in recent memory from a Rule 5 catcher.
🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 27 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long!

🔷 Wilyer Abreu hit a grand slam and an inside-the-park homer in the same game. With another scoreless start on Monday, Zack Wheeler took over the National League lead in strikeouts and the MLB lead in pitching bWAR. Losers of 13 of their last 16 games, the New York Mets have been plummeting in the standings. Surging in the other direction, the Houston Astros have won 14 out of 18, but star shortstop Jeremy Peña has landed on the IL with a rib fracture.
🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Edward Cabrera) are back home to begin a new series against the Minnesota Twins (RHP Joe Ryan). Old friend Jonah Bride was just designated for assignment on Sunday, so he will not be involved. The Marlins have a 43.7% chance to win, per FanGraphs. If they prevail, it would give them the franchise's longest win streak since 2008! Full organizational schedule below.
🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Twins series beginning at 5:30 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
 

That's why they play the games, right?
Going all the way back to the 2024 MLB trade deadline, it seemed so simple to forecast that the Miami Marlins would be out of the postseason race in 2025 as well. They still are, as of this writing, but sustaining their recent excellence for a few more weeks would change the calculus.
The Marlins can wait until much closer to the July 31 deadline before officially picking a lane. However, this will very likely culminate in making short-term sacrifices to optimize their chances of winning in 2026 and beyond. While unusual, it's possible to go that route and stay in contention anyway.
President of baseball operations Peter Bendix—cut from the same cloth as other former Tampa Bay Rays executives—is an unemotional decision-maker. There are few, if any, untouchable players on the current Marlins roster. "We're always having conversations," as Bendix loves to say. On the other hand, a lot of Miami's top talent is pre-arbitration eligible, so inexpensive and far away from free agency that it would be illogical to shop them at this juncture.
The following 10 Marlins players ought to be available for the right price. I have ordered them based on the likelihood of getting moved prior to the deadline. All historical comps were also midseason trades.
 
RP Anthony Bender
2025 stats: 2.21 ERA, 4.07 FIP, .169 BAA and 0.0 fWAR in 36.2 IP (36 G/0 GS)
Contract: $1.42 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-27; free agent in 2028
Anthony Bender has never fully recaptured the magic from the first half of his rookie campaign, but he's an effective high-leverage option against right-handed batters.
Bender has the longest major league track record among Marlins relievers and he is the only one who has already entered his arbitration years. The Fish can potentially get comparable production from internal options. Yielding the highest hard-hit rate of his career and compiling fewer strikeouts than ever, he'd be best suited for a team with strong infield defense.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Sam Moll with international bonus pool money to Cincinnati Reds for Joe Boyle (2023)
 
OF Jesús Sánchez
2025 stats: .248/.317/.407, 7 HR, 8 SB, 100 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 63 G
Contract: $4.5 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-27; free agent in 2028
Jesús Sánchez's slash line this season is almost identical to last season and his overall career average, though the underlying details are more exciting. He has trimmed his strikeout rate to 22.2% and his expected weighted on-base average is a personal best. He smokes the ball...when he has the platoon advantage. The 27-year-old continues to be unplayable against left-handed pitchers.
The Marlins have several promising outfielders with their Triple-A affiliate in Jakob Marsee, Victor Mesa Jr. and Andrew Pintar who could use second-half reps in the majors. There is also Double-A Pensacola's Kemp Alderman, who has plus-plus raw power comparable to Sánchez. Between them and Griffin Conine returning from a shoulder injury in 2026, they're in a position to use outfield depth to address other areas.
Historical comp: Pittsburgh Pirates trade Daniel Vogelbach to New York Mets for Colin Holderman (2022)
 
SP Cal Quantrill
2025 stats: 5.42 ERA, 4.58 FIP, .283 BAA and 0.5 fWAR in 73.0 IP (16 G/16 GS)
Contract: $3.5 million in 2025; free agent in 2026
The Cal Quantrill experience has been odd. He signed a one-year deal with the Fish presumably under the impression that he would get the chance to re-establish himself as a solid starting pitcher. Although his rotation spot has been secure, there's been zero faith in him once opposing lineups turn over for a third time. At least he's demonstrating that his 2024 walk issues were an anomaly.
Given his pending free agent status, there is a greater urgency for the Marlins to trade Quantrill than any of their other players. But I do not have him atop this list because I'm unsure if any contender actually wants him. He could be an August waiver wire guy, unloaded for simple salary relief, which wouldn't count as a deadline deal, in my opinion.
Historical comp: Texas Rangers trade Michael Lorenzen to Kansas City Royals for Walter Pennington (2024)
 
SP Edward Cabrera
2025 stats: 3.41 ERA, 3.83 FIP, .228 BAA and 1.0 fWAR in 71.1 IP (14 G/14 GS)
Contract: $1.95 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
This season began inauspiciously for Edward Cabrera with yet another injured list stint and a 7.23 ERA through the end of April. He has been fantastic ever since. The right-hander's control is suddenly very reliable and his curveball has emerged as an elite offering. Any doubts about him being a viable starter have been squashed—the question moving forward is how close he can come to reaching his top-of-the-rotation ceiling.
The Marlins have entertained trade offers for Cabrera in the past. Aided by his ongoing stretch of consistency and the dearth of impact arms on the market this summer, his value has spiked. Whereas Bender, Sánchez and Quantrill are likely to be goners by month's end, Cabrera is closer to a toss-up.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Sonny Gray with international bonus pool money to New York Yankees for Dustin Fowler, James Kaprielian and Jorge Mateo (2017)
 
RP Calvin Faucher
2025 stats: 4.31 ERA, 3.79 FIP, .235 BAA and 0.2 fWAR in 31.1 IP (35 G/0 GS)
Contract: $776k in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-29; free agent in 2030
One of Bendix's first acts as Marlins POBO was acquiring Calvin Faucher from his former employer. Faucher's best attribute has been long ball prevention, allowing only two home runs in his last 85 innings pitched. In the midst of his first full season at the major league level, the 29-year-old has endured a few ugly blow-ups, but he'd have a role in any team's bullpen down the stretch. He leads Miami with eight saves in 2025.
With so much club control still ahead of him, Faucher's fate largely depends on how he performs in July. The better he does, the more likely the Marlins get what they deem to be satisfactory compensation.
Historical comp: Oakland Athletics trade Lucas Erceg to Kansas City Royals for Mason Barnett, Jared Dickey and Will Klein (2024)
 
SP Sandy Alcantara
2025 stats: 6.98 ERA, 4.69 FIP, .260 BAA and 0.3 fWAR in 80.0 IP (16 G/16 GS)
Contract: $17.3 million in 2025, $17.3 million in 2026 and $21 million club option in 2027 ($2 million buyout)
On the heels of great spring training, Sandy Alcantara had us all overly confident in what his first post-Tommy John season would look like. There have been few bright spots for the former NL Cy Young award winner thus far. Crucially, though, he's been injury-free and attacking the strike zone with increasing regularity. Even on his best days, Alcantara has maxed out at six innings in his starts.
There are certain to be suitors attempting to buy low on Alcantara, banking on him improving as he gets farther away from surgery. With the Marlins having MLB's lowest payroll this season and hardly any future commitments, they should be willing to eat as much of his contract as possible to sweeten the return. Ultimately, it will be tricky to reach a consensus on what Alcantara is worth at this complicated stage of his career.
Historical comp: Nothing comes particularly close, but...Colorado Rockies trade Ubaldo Jiménez to Cleveland Guardians for Drew Pomeranz, Joe Gardner, Matt McBride and Alex White (2011)
 
C Nick Fortes
2025 stats: .243/.288/.359, 2 HR, 0 SB, 78 wRC+ and 0.5 fWAR in 45 G
Contract: $1.86 million in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
Nick Fortes remains an above-average defender behind the plate and his bat has perked up a bit this season. Even during rough patches, you can count on him to put balls in play (career 16.3 K%). You're right, Kevin: he has value!
This homegrown Marlin is expendable because of encouraging strides that the club's young catchers have made. A player like Fortes at another position would appear earlier in this article, but it is uncommon for contenders to make midseason catching changes.
Historical comp: Chicago White Sox trade Matt Thaiss to Tampa Bay Rays for Dru Baker (2025)
 
OF Derek Hill
2025 stats: .233/.300/.370, 2 HR, 6 SB, 86 wRC+ and 0.6 fWAR in 24 G
Contract: approx. $780k in 2025; arb-eligible in 2026-28; free agent in 2029
After crushing left-handed pitching last season (.994 OPS), Derek Hill has flopped with the platoon advantage in limited action this season (.494 OPS). At least you know what you're getting with him as a baserunner (97th percentile in MLB) and rock-solid center fielder.
As mentioned in the Jesús Sánchez blurb, the Marlins have plenty of outfield reinforcements on the cusp. Hill seems to be standing in the way. His appropriate place on this list is muddled by the possibility of him exiting as a waiver claim rather than a real trade.
Historical comp: Detroit Tigers trade Jonathan Davis to Marlins for Brady Allen (2023)
 
RP Ronny Henriquez
2025 stats: 2.85 ERA, 3.92 FIP, .218 BAA and 0.3 fWAR in 41.0 IP (38 G/0 GS)
Contract: $778k in 2025; pre-arb in 2026-27; arb-eligible in 2028-30; free agent in 2031
Another player originally obtained by the Marlins via waivers, Ronny Henriquez leads their pitching staff in relief appearances. His whiff rate is in the 96th percentile among all qualified big leaguers.
Henriquez just turned 25 last month and has another half-decade of club control left. Those factors would preclude most players from being on the trade market, but the rules are different for relievers. Despite his inexperience, the Dominican right-hander would probably fetch a better package than any other Marlins RP.
Historical comp: Chicago Cubs trade Scott Effross to New York Yankees for Hayden Wesneski (2022)
 
OF Dane Myers
2025 stats: .298/.355/.415, 4 HR, 13 SB, 116 wRC+ and 1.2 fWAR in 57 G
Contract: $769k in 2025; pre-arb in 2026; arb-eligible in 2027-29; free agent in 2030
Dane Myers has asserted himself as the Marlins' primary center fielder. He has standout athleticism, including a plus-plus arm. With that being said, Myers has been the beneficiary of a sky-high .371 batting average on balls in play during parts of three MLB seasons—that will come down eventually. Marlins fans have grumbled about how he's frequently placed at the bottom of the lineup, but that's where he profiles best once the BABIP normalizes.
To be clear, Myers is the least likely trade candidate covered in this piece. However, in addition to the organization's aforementioned outfield depth, he's worth including because of his age (29). If the Marlins believe that his career is peaking right now slightly ahead of the rest of their core, they'll be open-minded.
Historical comp: Washington Nationals trade Lane Thomas to Cleveland Guardians for for Alex Clemmey, Rafael Ramirez Jr. and José Tena (2024)

MIAMI, FL—For the first time since 2008, the Miami Marlins have won eight straight games. A big reason for the series-opening win against the Minnesota Twins was Edward Cabrera. The Marlins defeated the Twins by a final score of 2-0, shutting out an opponent for the fifth time in 2025, with Cabrera working seven of those innings himself.
"We've said it many times, Cabrera has premium stuff," said manager Clayton McCullough. "He's got a lot of weapons. The first couple innings was probably behind counts a little bit more than he wanted to, but made some pitches when he needed to and his stuff allowed him there to get behind and get outs and then once he got into the third inning on, I felt like he really locked in and was ahead of every hitter. Lot of first-pitch strikes, had the count in his favor. The changeup was terrific and his use of the breaking balls. This was a really frontline, outstanding effort by Cabby today."
Cabrera recently found himself in a similar situation back in his start against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 19. He entered the seventh inning with a 1-0 lead, but was taken out after recording one out. The Marlins went on to lose that game.
On Tuesday night, he got his opportunity to battle through the seventh and made the most of it. The Twins threatened with runners on first and second, but the 27-year-old right-hander struck out Brooks Lee swinging to escape the jam.
"It means a lot," said Cabrera following the game. "Those emotions actually come out naturally mostly when you have big moments like that one, and that was very exciting."

Cabrera went seven innings of shutout ball, allowing only two hits and one walk. He also struck out six. Cabrera generated 14 total whiffs, six each with his changeup and slider. His curveball was used to finish off half of his strikeouts. His fastball averaged 96.8 mph and topped out at 98.3 mph.
For the seventh straight outing, Cabrera held his opponent to two earned runs or fewer. His ERA over that span is 1.46.
Although Cabrera has made an impressive case to be a first-time All-Star, Kyle Stowers may as well begin to book his ticket to Atlanta. In the bottom of the second inning, Stowers took Twins starter Joe Ryan deep for his team-leading 14th home run of the season. Stowers extended his hit streak to eight games. He is now slashing .283/.359/.509/.868 with 14 home runs and 44 RBI.
"The belief in himself and also understanding that over the course of a long season, you're going to go through spells where you're just missing pitches or your timing is a little off, your swing might not be in the best place," said McCullough. "Just stick with it and I think we started to see Kyle get back to really driving some balls to the middle of the field and the other way like he was doing early in the year. He's able to stay through a splitter that he was able to catch out in front and pull for a home run."
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As good as Cabrera was, Ryan was just as dominant, going seven innings, allowing one run on five hits, no walks and four strikeouts. He generated ten total whiffs, with six of them coming on his fastball.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Twins intentionally walked Otto Lopez to have reliever Louis Varland face Nick Fortes, who by the numbers was the better matchup. On the second pitch of the at-bat, Fortes laced an opposite-field base hit to right field, driving in Jesús Sánchez, who hit his third triple of the season in his at-bat. That gave the Marlins a 2-0 lead.
The Marlins are now one win away from tying a franchise record for consecutive victories. They stand at 38-45 and just moved into third place in the National League East standings.
The Marlins will aim to take their fourth consecutive series on Wednesday night. Janson Junk takes the mound at 6:40 pm.

Before trades, injuries and regression to the mean intervene, savor it: this has been the best two-week stretch of Miami Marlins baseball that we've seen since 2023. The Marlins just swept another road series, this time against a postseason-caliber opponent. They scored 24 runs, establishing a new season-high for any series in 2025. Poor starts like the one Janson Junk had on Thursday have become increasingly rare, and Miami's offense and bullpen were able to pick him up, anyway. Even the fielding has improved as the season's midpoint approaches.
The Marlins' playoff odds flatlined at 0.0% last month. Their recent 9-4 record will do nothing to preclude the front office from flipping veteran players to other teams if the prospect packages being offered are reasonable. On a macro level, though, this season is trending toward being a legitimate stepping stone to contention rather than a dreary repeat of 2024.
Down on the farm, Triple-A Jacksonville lost, 6-2. Joe Mack snapped out of his 40-game homerless streak. Rehabbing from a left wrist sprain, Derek Hill started at designated hitter and went 1-for-4. Expect Hill back with the big league team next week. Double-A Pensacola won, 10-6. Nathan Martorella and Grant Richardson drove in three runs apiece. High-A Beloit lost, 14-5. Low-A Jupiter won, 6-0. Dameivi Tineo was dominant (5.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 9 K, 79 pitches/47 strikes). DSL Marlins lost, 19-3. Anthony Abreu is raking (.260/.439/.600 slash line with 4 HR), but he has already committed seven errors in his first 12 career games at shortstop. DSL Miami won, 7-3. Kevin Defrank (2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) had his shortest outing as a pro. Juan Alva (0-2, 2 BB, SB) extended his on-base streak to 15 games.
More Marlins news and content below:
🔷 The Marlins signed 20-year-old right-hander Luis Gómez as an international free agent. He'll begin his minor league career in the Dominican Summer League.
🔷 Marlins director of amateur scouting Frankie Piliere joined the Fish Unfiltered podcast to discuss all things MLB Draft-related (subscribe to Fish On First wherever you get your pods). Additionally, Kevin Barral has updates on every member of the 2024 draft class.
🔷 The Marlins announced a multi-year partnership with Sahlen's to become their official hot dog provider. For one game only on July 18 against the Kansas City Royals, loanDepot park hot dogs will be priced at $1 (they are normally $3 each at 3o5 Menu locations and $6 each at The Press Box).
🔷 Cristian Crespo of Just Baseball believes Dane Myers is the Marlin who's most deserving of being selected to the National League All-Star team. I was briefly on the Dane Train as well, but think Kyle Stowers has done enough lately to steady himself and retake the "lead" in that department. In either case, the challenge is finding room on the roster when the NL is so loaded with productive outfielders.
🔷 The Prediction Time leaderboard has been updated through the first 26 series. Become a SuperSub and we'll keep track of your predictions all season long!

🔷 Elsewhere around baseball, former Tampa Bay Rays star Wander Franco was found guilty of sexual abuse of a minor in the Dominican Republic. Franco was given a suspended two-year prison sentence and remains on MLB's restricted list. Current Rays star Junior Caminero became the youngest MLB player to reach 20 homers since Ronald Acuña Jr. (2019) to reach 20 homers before the All-Star break. Bobby Witt Jr. announced that he will once again play for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic next year. Witt was a lightly used reserve during the 2023 WBC, but figures to be USA's primary shortstop this time around. Clayton Kershaw is now just three strikeouts away from 3,000 in his career. Colorado Rockies president and COO Greg Feasel is stepping down after 30 years in their front office. The team's press release cites the desire for a "fresh, forward-looking perspective"—that is amusing because Feasel is being replaced by the owner's son, Walker Monfort, who has spent his entire adult life in the Rockies organization. The second phase of MLB All-Star voting begins on Monday. Here are the finalists at each position.
🔷 Today's MLB game: the Marlins (probable starter RHP Eury Pérez) begin a new series against the injury-riddled Arizona Diamondbacks (RHP Merrill Kelly). It will be Pérez's first time ever facing the D-backs, who sit fourth in the NL West standings despite entering 2025 with championship aspirations. The Marlins have a 40.0% chance to win, per FanGraphs.
🔷 Prior to the game, Fish On First LIVE will preview the Diamondbacks series beginning at 8:30 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
 
 

Two full weeks before the MLB All-Star break, the Miami Marlins have already reached the halfway mark of their regular season schedule—81 games down, 81 games to go. The bottomline results so far are similar to what most folks anticipated on Opening Day, but as is always the case, there have been individual performances and other subplots that make this season notable.
The following stats from the first half of 2025 caught my attention. Will they be duplicated during the second half?
 
Stolen bases allowed 
The Marlins have made steady progress in this department, but were so vulnerable early in the season that they are still lapping the field. Steals have been prevalent regardless of who is behind the plate. The majority of the blame must be placed on Miami's pitchers for being slow with their deliveries and yielding so many walks and singles.
The Marlins are on pace to allow 210 stolen bases, so it'd take a miraculous second-half turnaround to stay under the franchise record of 139 set in 2024. It has been a quarter-century since any MLB team allowed at least 210—that was the 2001 Boston Red Sox (223 SB).
 
Unique batting orders used
All things considered, the Marlins have had decent injury luck in 2025. It's just been frustrating how often one of their players suffer a new setback just as somebody else has completed their own rehab. Partly as a consequence of that pattern, the batting order constantly changed throughout the first half of the season. They are on pace to use 156 different lineups. The franchise record for the universal designated hitter era is 154 from the 2022 season.
The Marlins active roster consisted of the same 13 position players throughout the month of June. That ain't happening in July with Derek Hill wrapping up a rehab assignment and the trade deadline looming, and it's safe to assume some standout hitters from the upper minors will earn the opportunity to debut in August/September.
I expect this pace to slow down, but only slightly. 
 
Xavier Edwards: homerless qualifier?
Edwards' first full-length season in the majors is going solidly, particularly since he made the switch from shortstop to second base. However, there is still a glaring deficiency in his skill set: the switch-hitting leadoff man has 20-grade power from both sides of the plate.
As researched by Davy Andrews of FanGraphs, no MLB player has had a qualified season (min. 502 PA) while hitting zero home runs since Myles Straw in 2022. All of the players currently on pace to qualify in 2025 have gone deep at least once with the exception of Edwards, and he frankly hasn't even come close yet.
The only player in Marlins history who has posted a homerless qualified season is somebody to whom X is frequently compared, Luis Castillo. He did so in 1999, which was coincidentally his first full-length MLB campaign as well. Castillo would go on to play six more seasons with the Fish after that, earning three All-Star selections and contributing to the 2003 World Series title.
Edwards could also become the league's first "barrel-less" qualifier since David Fletcher in 2021. That is less flattering company—during the ensuing years, Fletcher hasn't come close to re-establishing himself as an everyday big leaguer.
 
Closer carousel
Marlins pitchers have fared okay in the ninth inning this season, even though the man on the mound in those situations constantly changes. Batter handedness and earlier events often dictate who Clayton McCullough calls upon to protect a lead at the end of the game.
Calvin Faucher is Miami's saves leader with eight, and there was a stretch from late May through mid-June when he converted all of the team's saves. However, Faucher blew his latest opportunity in San Francisco, then entered a game in the seventh in Arizona, so it is back to being a guessing game. Anthony Bender, Ronny Henriquez, Janson Junk, Freddy Tarnok and Jesús Tinoco each have recorded saves at various points. The current pace of 12 different pitchers with saves would break the franchise record of eight (2019 and 2024).
I like the odds of the Marlins maintaining that pace. At least one of those aforementioned names should get dealt to a contending team during trade season and there are various arms doing well in the upper minors ready to fill their shoes. Maybe Andrew Nardi completes his comeback from a season-long injured list stint to handle high-leverage work at some point as well.
 
Let the kids hit

Signed by the Marlins to be more of a coach than a player, Rob Brantly was forced into action for a week early in the season when the club was thin on catching depth. It took only three games for his 35-year-old body to betray him—Brantly has been on the IL since April 21, initially because of a lat strain and now knee inflammation.
Aside from Brantly, every hitter used by the 2025 Marlins has been under the age of 30. They have accounted for 99.8% of all plate appearances. To the Marlins' credit, the youth movement is going well. Their offense has significantly exceeded preseason expectations, ranking 18th among MLB teams in runs scored per game.
The only 29-year-old position players with the organization, Dane Myers and Derek Hill, won't celebrate their next birthdays until after the season ends. Led by a pair of rookies, the catcher position has been a strength, so health permitting, there shouldn't be much need for Brantly or 30-year-old Brian Navarreto (assigned to Triple-A Jacksonville).
Most importantly from a team-building perspective, all of the Marlins' hitters are multiple years away from free agent eligibility. This is a core that can continue to develop together. There is zero pressure on the front office to shake things up unless they're blown away by overly generous trade offers or confident in internal alternatives at certain positions.

The 2015 season isn’t one that South Florida baseball fans will remember fondly, but it did have its moments.
The Miami Marlins had nine walk-off wins that season and two by way of home run. The first of those came on this day 10 years ago.
Miami hosted the San Francisco Giants at Marlins Park on July 1, 2015. When the night was over, the series was clinched with a 6-5 win, courtesy of a three-run walk-off home run by Justin Bour.
The Marlins had just five hits total entering the final inning. Their three runs had all come in the third inning.
Miami led 3-2 after five, but San Francisco went ahead with two runs in the sixth. After Brandon Belt tied the game with a sacrifice fly, Brandon Crawford’s solo homer gave the Giants a 4-3 lead. San Francisco added an insurance run on Matt Duffy’s RBI infield single in the seventh.
The Marlins were unable to get a hit against the San Francisco bullpen. It didn’t take long, however, to figure out Giants closer Santiago Casilla. Both hitless to that point, Christian Yelich and Adeiny Hechavarría got the inning started for the Marlins with back-to-back singles. That set the stage for Bour.
After getting ahead in the count 1-0, Bour got a fastball from Casilla and hammered a line-drive home run over the right-field wall. Casilla had blown the save and the Marlins had won the game in dramatic fashion.

The Giants finished with 14 hits to just eight for Miami. Gregor Blanco was 3-for-4 with an RBI in the loss. Angel Pagan, Joe Panik and Duffy collected two hits apiece for San Francisco. But it was all for naught.
Bour had two of the eight Miami hits. Dee Strange-Gordon had an RBI triple and a run scored. Starting pitcher Dan Haren also had an RBI hit and a run scored for Miami. On the mound, Steve Cishek worked a scoreless ninth to earn the win for the Marlins.
Miami won 5-4 the next day to complete the series sweep. It marked just the third three-game sweep of the season for the Marlins. The most dramatic of those three wins came on this day a decade ago.

Enjoy new episodes of our Miami Marlins streams leading up to the first pitch of every 2025 series opener. Special guests join Fish On First staffers to provide analysis of the Marlins and their upcoming opponent.
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For the first time since Opening Day, the Fish On First roundtable is back. Approximately halfway through the 2025 regular season, our staff has collaborated in article form to digest the performance of the Miami Marlins and how it may impact their long-term decisions.
Entering Monday, the Marlins own a 37-45 record. They are riding an MLB-best seven-game win streak and trail the Atlanta Braves by only half a game for third place in the National League East standings. However, they are 8.5 games back of a postseason spot and missing several key players for the rest of the year due to injury.
Thanks to Ely Sussman, Louis Addeo-Weiss, Isaac Azout, Kevin Barral, Alex Carver, Nate Karzmer, Alex Krutchik, Sean McCormack, Daniel Rodriguez and Hector Rodriguez for participating.
 
1. How does this Marlins team compare to what you expected entering the 2025 season? Better, worse or about the same?
Ely Sussman: They are very likely to beat my 66-96 preseason record prediction and it's mostly on the strength of solid swing decisions and situational hitting. The Marlins are on pace to draw more than 500 walks after barely reaching 400 last season. Their ground ball rate has taken a major dip, which is a good thing. The starting rotation has actually disappointed, yet overall, I'd have to consider it a successful half-season thanks to the position players who have made legitimate strides in their development.
Isaac Azout: Definitely better. Heading into the season, I had major concerns about nearly every facet of the Major League team, including the coaching staff. At this point in the year, I would have expected the Marlins’ record to resemble that of the Rockies. Instead, the offense is the best it’s been in the Bruce Sherman era, and Peter Bendix continues to uncover diamonds in the rough. You can also see the growth of first-year manager Clayton McCullough and his staff.
Kevin Barral: Much better, I would say. On paper, you could've made the case that this team was going to be worse than 2024, but the way they started the season and somehow managed to stay competitive in every game has allowed them to early on surpass expectations.
Hector Rodriguez: My expectations have been about the same, but to see some players take the next step or make an impact after getting called up is encouraging to see.
Daniel Rodriguez: This season to me feels a bit better than what I expected the team to be. I believed this would be the worst team in baseball based on offensive numbers and injuries to the pitching staff coming in. They have proven me wrong in some cases as they do compete, but they are still towards the bottom of the league.
Alex Krutchik: The same, but better in certain aspects. I thought this would be one of the worst offenses we’ve seen in the 21st century. Instead, they’re merely not very good. As of June 30, they’re at 4.30 runs per game.
Louis Addeo-Weiss: Better. If you would’ve told me the team would “only” be eight games under .500 at the end of June while flirting with a league average wRC+, I’d have posited you were crazy. That said, the front office and Clayton McCullough are redefining what it means to handle pitchers with kid gloves.
Sean McCormack: So far I have been decently pleased with the hitting performance of the Marlins. Players such as Kyle Stowers, Agustín Ramírez, Dane Myers, Liam Hicks, and Jesús Sánchez have been very impressive. I credit that to the new approach and data-centric methodology of Pedro Guerrero. Although on the pitching side I have been disappointed—not only have the starters not been allowed to go deep into games, players like Ryan Weathers and Max Meyer will be missing significant time, and Sandy Alcantara has been a disappointment. The bullpen as a whole hasn’t lived up to expectations, and Clayton McCullough has not impressed me. But overall, just based on the hitting and the overall grit of the team, they have performed better than I expected.
Alex Carver: About the same record-wise, but for different reasons. Coming in, with Sandy returning, with Meyer having made improvements in spring training, and with Weathers looking to build off of 2024 along with the eventual return of Eury Pérez and the pure stuff of Edward Cabrera, I thought pitching would carry the Marlins’ offense. So far, nearly the exact opposite has occurred. While no Marlins starter has gone more than six innings the entire season—an accomplishment in itself—Agustín Ramírez, Kyle Stowers, Dane Myers, and Otto Lopez have paced the Marlins to some big wins with timely hitting.
Nate Karzmer: Prior to the seven-game tear they're currently riding, I was leaning towards a C+ first-half grade relative to my extremely low expectations. Now, though, I've seen enough to warrant a B-. The amount of positive developments from a handful of bats and arms—both in the rotation and bullpen—is extremely encouraging. For a team that was twenty-four games under .500 on June 30 a season ago with the group of veterans that were eventually dealt, a 37-45 record with the youngest roster in the sport is a breath of fresh air and reason to be optimistic about the future.
 
2. What's been the most memorable game or moment of the season so far?
Ely: Opening Day still ranks way up there given the anticipation surrounding Sandy Alcantara's return from Tommy John surgery and the way it ended. I will give the top spot to June 7 against the Tampa Bay Rays—Nick Fortes accidentally pegging Ryan Weathers in the head, explosive offenses on both sides, and Xavier Edwards sealing the victory in extras with brilliant defense. As far as individual moments, it's gotta be the Kyle Stowers walk-off grand slam off of Mason Miller. Perhaps some recency bias here, but the Dane Myers steal of third base to set up the game-tying run on June 28 gets an honorable mention from me.
Isaac: Their walk-off win against the Cubs on May 19. The offense was able to overcome a bad Edward Cabrera start and an awful appearance by Jesús Tinoco to win the game in the ninth inning down by a run.
Kevin: Opening Day has to easily be the most memorable. Kyle Stowers, who many doubted going into the season, walked it off and that began what has been a great season for him thus far.
Hector: Jesús Sánchez walk-off hit versus the Dodgers. A close second is Kyle Stowers’ walk-off grand slam off of Mason Miller versus the Athletics.
Daniel: The Kyle Stowers walk-off grand slam against the Athletics was the most memorable moment for me. I was covering that game and can remember being ready to send a tweet about how the Marlins fell that game before Stowers ultimately won it.
Alex K: Kyle Stowers’ walk-off grand slam.
Louis: Max Meyer’s 14-strikeout game, in large part because it felt like a culmination of what many felt Meyer could be at his best, but also because it was where his season peaked before gradually falling apart.
Sean: The walk-off on Opening Day by Kyle Stowers.
Alex C: May 3 against the A’s. With the new Retrowave jerseys making their debut, Kyle Stowers hit two home runs including a walk-off grand slam, the sixth in Marlins’ history, to snap a six-game losing streak. Electric.
Nate: Just besting Opening Day and Saturday's improbable four-run comeback to push their win streak to six is Kyle Stowers' walk-off grand slam on a 102 mph fastball from Mason Miller on May 3. On the day the Marlins debuted their brand new "Retrowave" City Connect threads, Stowers' heroics sent loanDepot park into a frenzy, doing something not previously seen since Giancarlo Stanton's blast in April of 2014.
 
3. Who should be the 2025 Marlins All-Star representative?
Ely: Kyle Stowers. Perhaps he doesn't deserve to crack the National League roster in this particular year because of how many excellent NL outfield performances there have been, but his 2025 season has been closer to All-Star-caliber than any other Marlin. Leading the club in extra-base hits and ranked second in walks as of this writing, he has emerged as a great offensive player.
Isaac: Tough call, but the answer has always been Kyle Stowers. Despite some streakiness in his offensive game, he clearly has the best overall numbers on the team and should represent the Marlins in Atlanta at this year's Midsummer Classic.
Kevin: Edward Cabrera. Not only is it easier to get a pitcher into the All-Star team, but his recent success—posting a 3.28 ERA in his last ten starts and 1.46 ERA in his last five starts—make him the easiest option to be named an All-Star. Dane Myers continues to play very well as well, making him the second-best option.
Hector: There’s no clear-cut representative, so I’ll go with the most deserving player which I believe is Dane Myers.
Daniel: This is a tough question as the Marlins have a few guys who could make a case for the Midsummer Classic. Despite a late surge by Edward Cabrera to make his case for Atlanta, his first few starts would hold him back for me. My pick would be Kyle Stowers.
Alex K: I did not think Edward Cabrera would maintain his fantastic start to the season, but so far he has. If he continues, I’d say he earned his shot. On the position player side, Dane Myers has been consistently good all year despite struggling to get on the lineup card, especially early in the year.
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Louis: Edward Cabrera or Kyle Stowers.
Sean: Kyle Stowers.
Alex C: Kyle Stowers. Not only does his 135 wRC+ pace the Marlins, it ranks fifth amongst all qualified NL outfielders. By staying consistent, he’s legitimized his pronounced improvement at the plate, particularly with exit velos and game power as well as great patience. He’s also played respectful defensive ball. A 1.8 fWAR player, this should be a pretty easy decision.
Nate: Stowers. Dane Myers, Edward Cabrera and Anthony Bender hold a torch, but the full body of work earns the 28-year-old a ticket to Atlanta. What a story.
 
4. The Marlins are going to be sellers again at the trade deadline. Is there anybody on their major league roster who you think should be "untouchable" in trade talks?
peter bendix "good question".mp4
 
Ely: Only Eury Pérez is off limits. Agustín Ramírez has awesome potential, but no front office should be completely close-minded about parting with a long-term designated hitter. Beyond them, there are some cheap, controllable, high-upside guys who it wouldn't make sense to move right now—Stowers, Ryan Weathers, Otto Lopez and Dane Myers. Barring a reckless overpay by another club, re-evaluate how they fit with the organization at a later date.
Isaac: Agustín Ramírez, Eury Pérez and Otto Lopez. The first two speak for themselves, but Miami has no imminent answer at shortstop aside from Lopez. Miami would be lost without him. He should be untouchable.
Kevin: Agustín Ramírez and Eury Pérez should be untouchable and considered building blocks.
Hector: Eury Pérez and Agustín Ramírez should be part of the Marlins core for the present and future.
Daniel: For me the two players who should be untouchable for the Marlins are Eury and Agustín. Both young pieces who would be the building blocks for the organization. I would also say Kyle Stowers, but if a desperate team offers a haul for him, I can see the Marlins taking it.
Alex K: Agustín Ramírez, Connor Norby, and Eury Pérez.
Louis: Agustín Ramírez. He’s a legit middle-of-the-order bat that can headline a future playoff lineup.
Sean: Eury Pérez, Kyle Stowers, and Agustín Ramírez. Everyone else I believe is expendable at this moment.
Alex C: Untouchable? No. But should it take a severe overpay for the Marlins to move a couple of pieces? Yes. Stowers is on a team-friendly deal, not arbitration-eligible until 2027 and he’s been the team’s best player. Eury Pérez is coming back from Tommy John. The Marlins should field all phone calls, but that pair likely won’t be moved.
Nate: Similar to Bendix's notorious philosophy, I'm a firm believer in the "nobody is untouchable at the right price" mindset. With that being said, Eury Pérez and Agustín Ramírez are the only two players I can say with supreme confidence are not going anywhere.
 
5. Predict which team Sandy Alcantara will finish the season with.
Ely: The Miami Marlins. All year, I have been more skeptical than most about a Sandy deadline deal coming together. The Marlins are clearly willing to move him, but they need to get a huge return to justify it. A generous interpretation of Alcantara's 2025 season is, he has been fully healthy and has begun resembling a nice No. 3 starter in recent weeks. Even a contender taking that stance can tell he's relying heavily on the defense behind him and must be wondering about his availability throughout October in his first season back from surgery. I see a path to Alcantara's value being higher and easier for teams to agree upon in the offseason if he has a few vintage "taking this game over all by myself" performances down the stretch.

Isaac: The Los Angeles Dodgers.
Kevin: Chicago Cubs.
Hector: Boston Red Sox. I know they just traded (Rafael) Devers, but they are still competitive in a wide-open American League. They need pitching help and Sandy could make an immediate impact for the Sox.
Daniel: Sandy will be pitching his home games at Wrigley Field for the Cubs.
Alex K: The Miami Marlins.
Louis: Detroit Tigers.
Sean: Dodgers.
Alex C: The Dodgers continue to show interest and be a frontrunner, per early deadline reports. They have intriguing prospects to pick from, headlined by tooled-up outfielders Josue De Paula and Zyhir Hope, both of whom are ahead of schedule in development and could make an impact as early as next season. Partnering with a team that has never shied away from dealing prospects for proven talent makes too much sense for the Marlins to ignore. Sandy will be in Dodger blue this July and pitching in the playoffs for the current World Series champions in October.
Nate: The Marlins. If you told me in spring training that Edward Cabrera would be more enticing at the trade deadline than Sandy, I would have laughed in your face, but that is exactly what's unfolded. I don't believe the proposed packages heading to Miami in exchange for their ace will be enough for Peter Bendix to pull the trigger after what we've seen thus far. Bendix should hold off, hope there's a turnaround in the second half and set the stage for a potential offseason blockbuster.

Beginning in 1999, MLB has conducted its annual Futures Game the weekend leading up to All-Star festivities, serving as a fantastic opportunity for fans and teams alike to witness the best young talent the sport has to offer go toe-to-toe before they become big leaguers themselves.
Monday morning, the rosters for the 2025 edition of the game were announced to the public. Catcher Joe Mack (FOF #2) and LHP Thomas White (FOF #1) will be representing the Marlins at Truist Park in Atlanta, marking the third consecutive year the Fish have had multiple delegates.
The latter enters rare air with his second nod, joining Miguel Cabrera (2001-02) and Christian Yelich (2012-13) as the only two-time selections in Marlins history. White pitched two-thirds of an inning a year ago in Arlington, forfeiting a hit, three walks and an earned run.
Selected with the 35th pick in the 2023 draft out of Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, White has enjoyed success at every minor league level he's pitched. After nine starts in High-A Beloit to begin his age-20 season, the southpaw was most recently promoted to Double-A Pensacola. In his first 7 ⅔ innings as a Blue Wahoo, White has allowed five hits and an earned run, coupled with a 5/9 BB/K ratio. He is a top 50 MLB prospect, according to all major outlets.
No Marlin has ever made three Futures Game appearances. White is unlikely to buck that trend, because health permitting, he should already be in the big leagues by July 2026. 
Mack had similar hype as an amateur, selected by the Marlins with the 31st pick in the 2021 draft. He has always been as solid as they come behind the plate, but the Williamsville, New York native floundered with the bat for the better part of his first three MiLB seasons.
Since the beginning of 2024, though, Mack has made a complete 180. His .582 OPS in 2023 skyrocketed to .806 across two levels in 2024, courtesy of an adjustment in Mack's mechanics. In 2025, the 22-year-old earned a promotion to Triple-A Jacksonville following 12 games in Pensacola where Mack torched seven extra-base hits in 44 at-bats. The transition to AAA was tough initially, but the backstop has settled in as of late with twelve hits in the last week of June, including three long balls.
Mack is now ranked on many MLB top prospect lists, including 44th overall by Baseball America.
The 2025 Futures Game is set take place on Saturday, July 12 at 4:10. MLB Network will have the live broadcast, with a simulcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com and the MLB app.