Kevin Barral

On Wednesday, the Miami Marlins announced their first flurry of roster moves since the end of the 2025 season: George Soriano was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles and Troy Johnston was claimed by the Colorado Rockies; Jesús Tinoco and Tyler Zuber were both activated from the 60-day injured list and outrighted to Triple-A Jacksonville; and Valente Bellozo, Freddy Tarnok and Brian Navarreto were outrighted to Jacksonville as well. Miami's 40-man roster is now at 39.

Soriano was one of the longest-tenured players in the organization, having signed with them as an international free agent in 2015. But it was time to move on. After a strong 2023 campaign, the right-handed reliever was never able to recapture that success, posting a 6.75 ERA in 2024 and 8.35 ERA in 2025. Soriano was out of minor league options entering 2026.

Johnston's departure was the biggest surprise amongst the roster moves made. Drafted in the 17th round of the 2019 MLB Draft, Johnston was consistently productive at the plate during his MiLB career. He was named Marlins Minor League Player of the Year in 2023 after a 20/20 season. As a rookie this season, he slashed .277/.331/.420/.750 with four home runs, 13 RBI and a 109 wRC+ through 44 games played.

After finishing with MLB's worst record, the Rockies were first in the waiver order and they jumped at the opportunity to claim Johnston. With the ability to play both the outfield and first base, the 28-year-old should have a strong chance of cracking Colorado's Opening Day roster.

First base was already an area of weakness for the Marlins and this doesn't help. They still have Eric Wagaman and prospect Deyvison De Los Santos as well as Liam Hicks, though he is undersized for the position and primarily a catcher.

In 2024, Bellozo started 13 games, posting a 3.67 ERA, 5.73 FIP, 5.77 K/9 and 2.75 BB/9. His luck began to even out toward the end of this season, finishing 2025 with a 4.65 ERA and 5.20 FIP in 32 appearances (six starts). Turning 26 in January, he was the youngest player to lose his roster spot on Wednesday. Although the Marlins didn't trust in Bellozo's ability moving forward, his production to this point was useful. Acquiring him from the Houston Astros in a one-for-one swap with infield prospect Jacob Amaya was a good under-the-radar deal.

Tarnok had a nice season in Jacksonville, posting a 3.28 ERA through 68 ⅔ innings pitched. He only made five appearances at the major league level.

If Tinoco wasn't outrighted, he was going to be non-tendered later this month. After undergoing underwent UCL hybrid reconstruction surgery, he will miss the entire 2026 season. Zuber's season-ending injury was a right lat strain. Claimed off waivers from the Mets, he only pitched in nine games, posting a 11.70 ERA.

Navarreto could be someone that the Marlins aim to bring back on a minor league deal to provide some catching depth.

All of the outrighted players can now elect minor league agency.

By November 18, the Marlins have to decide which Rule 5 draft-eligible prospects to protect with 40-man selections. Assuming that catcher Joe Mack isn't the only protected prospect, there will need to be additional roster moves between now and the deadline to create room.

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While we still await the first player transactions of this Miami Marlins offseason, changes are already being made to the coaching staff. The Chicago White Sox have hired Marlins assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon to be their lead hitting coach. In Shomon's place, Miami will have two assistant hitting coaches in 2026: Chris Hess and Corbin Day.

Hess, 30, is a former infielder who was drafted in the 17th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees. He made it to High-A, and after a short stint in independent ball, Hess retired and went back to his alma mater, the University of Rhode Island, to become the team's assistant coach. Hess began his professional coaching career in 2021 with the Boston Red Sox organization.

Hess was the Double-A Portland hitting coach for the past two seasons. In 2024, his Sea Dogs led the Eastern League in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. That team featured top prospects Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel, all of whom are now in the big leagues.

Portland's roster wasn't as talented in 2025 and the results reflected that, with a 106-point drop-off in OPS (from .753 to .647).

As for Day, 28, he played two years of college ball at Mount Mercy before going into coaching. He spent three years as an assistant coach at Kirkwood Community College and notched his first pro ball job as the hitting coach for High-A Cedar Rapids (Minnesota Twins affiliate). In 2024, he was moved up to become the hitting coach at AA-Wichita. His most recent role before joining the Marlins was in advance scouting for the Twins at the big league level.

Shomon's departure comes after only one season in Miami. It's unsurprising that he is getting a promotion from the White Sox considering how he helped an inexperienced Marlins roster exceed expectations in 2025. He'll turn 36 in February.

It does seem as if Pedro Guerrero will return as Marlins hitting coach, but nothing has been formerly announced by the club.

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On Sunday night, Javier Sanoja became the ninth different player in Miami Marlins history to be named a National League Gold Glove winner. What made it unique was he did so as a utility player, becoming the franchise's first Gold Glover with that designation. Miguel Rojas (Los Angeles Dodgers) and Jared Triolo (Pittsburgh Pirates) were the two other finalists for the award.

"Chiquito," as the team calls him, posted zero outs above average (OAA) in 2025, but plus-seven defensive runs saved (DRS). His glovework rated best at second base (5 DRS/1 OAA) and third base (4 DRS/1 OAA). He committed only three errors in 118 games.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sanoja was one of 10 major leaguers to appear at seven positions during the 2025 season. He also became the fifth Marlin to play seven or more positions in a season, with right field and catcher being the only spots he didn’t man (yes, he pitched as well, and a lot). The utility Gold Glove was created in 2022 so that players exactly like him don't fall through the cracks.

Prior to Sanoja, catcher Charles Johnson (1995-97), first baseman Derrek Lee (2003), second baseman Luis Castillo (2003-05), third baseman Mike Lowell (2005), pitcher Mark Buehrle (2012), left fielder Christian Yelich (2014), second baseman Dee Strange-Gordon (2015) and left fielder Marcell Ozuna (2017) won Gold Gloves for the Fish. Outfielder Adam Duvall was honored in 2021, but he finished that season with the Atlanta Braves. Sanoja and Johnson are the only Marlins to win their awards as rookies, and Yelich is the only one who was younger than Sanoja at the time of receiving his award.

Xavier Edwards (second base) and Kyle Stowers (left field) were also finalists at their respective positions. Those awards went to Chicago Cubs teammates Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ instead.

Gold Glove Award winners were also announced on the minor league side, with left-hander Robby Snelling winning the award for best defensive pitcher. Snelling converted all 17 of his defensive chances for a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. With a quick delivery from the stretch and deceptive pickoff move, 15 of 22 runners were caught attempting to steal against him this season (68.2 CS%).

This marks back-to-back seasons that a Marlins prospect has won a Gold Glove—Joe Mack was the MiLB award winner at catcher in 2024.

“I am very honored to be presented with this award,” said Snelling via a Pensacola Blue Wahoos press release. "The focus on filling up the zone throughout the entire season, coupled with the trust of my defense behind me, gave me the utmost confidence walking out onto the mound every week. I’m looking forward to competing in 2026 with my teammates again!”

Expected to make his MLB debut at some point next season, Snelling will be a welcome addition to a Marlins pitching that allowed 191 steals last season, by far the highest total in the league.

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With three weeks to go until the annual MLB tender deadline, the Miami Marlins have some difficult decisions to make on arbitration-eligible pitchers who suffered season-ending injuries. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com reports in her most recent newsletter that left-handed reliever Andrew Nardi and right-handed reliever Jesús Tinoco will likely be non-tendered before the deadline, which would make them both free agents.

Nardi, 27, was drafted by the Marlins in 2019 and made his major league debut during the 2022 season. Despite very poor performance as a rookie, Nardi made the 2023 Opening Day roster and he completely flipped the switch. He was one of the league's best high-leverage lefties, posting a 2.67 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 11.46 K/9 and 3.30 BB/9 through 57 ⅓ innings pitched.

Nardi was particularly effective with runners on base. He posted a 2.81 FIP in those situations and stranded 35 of 40 (87.5%) of his inherited runners.

His breakout season ended on a sour note. Nardi allowed a grand slam to Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series, which essentially eliminated the Marlins from the playoffs.

In 2024, Nardi regressed, with a 5.07 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 12.7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 through 49 ⅔ innings pitched. The magic touch he had with runners on didn't carry over from the previous season (4.48 FIP) and he allowed 20 inherited runners to score. He made his last appearance on August 21 before suffering a left elbow muscle injury.

Nardi was "a bit behind" the other Marlins pitchers when ramping up for 2025 spring training due to lower back inflammation, according to manager Clayton McCullough. Several times throughout the year, he began a throwing progression, but always experienced setbacks. He was placed on the 60-day injured list on March 15 and remains there as of this writing.

Although the Marlins do not feel that Nardi belongs on their 40-man roster at the moment, maybe there is a world where they can bring him back on a minor league deal with an invite to spring training.

As for Tinoco, the Marlins claimed him off waivers from the Chicago Cubs in July 2024. He posted a 2.03 ERA and 2.08 FIP through 26 ⅔ innings pitched with them that season. In 2025, Tinoco only made 20 appearances, posting a 5.12 ERA and 4.01 FIP. He also missed time with a lower back injury, but the more serious issue was his right forearm. On September 3, he underwent UCL hybrid reconstruction surgery with an estimated recovery time of 13-14 months.

With Tinoco doubtful to pitch at all in 2026, he could be a candidate for a two-year minor league deal, similar to what the Texas Rangers did with former Marlin Declan Cronin earlier this month.

De Nicola also reports that starting rotation candidates Braxton Garrett (Tommy John surgery) and Max Meyer (hip labral repair surgery) will be tendered contracts.

Garrett only made seven starts in 2024, posting a 5.35 ERA, 3.81 FIP, 8.3 K/9 and 1.0 BB/9 through 37 innings pitched. He underwent elbow surgery in December, ending his 2025 campaign before it even began. The left-hander received a $1.53 million salary while rehabbing this year and should be renewed at the same price for 2026.

Meyer is an interesting case approaching his first year of arbitration eligibility. He got off to a hot start in 2025 before a hip injury contributed to his struggles. Overall, he posted a 4.73 ERA, 4.47 FIP, 9.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 through 64 ⅔ innings pitched. The former top draft pick still hasn't proven that he can physically handle a full-season starter's workload. With so many other internal rotation options moving forward, the Marlins may finally experiment with using Meyer out of the bullpen in order to protect his health and get more consistent results from him.

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It's a thought that has crossed my mind and the minds of many Miami Marlins fans, it seems: What if the Marlins tried bringing back Luis Arraez this offseason?

Arraez's 2023 season will go down as one of the best offensive seasons in franchise history. As Miami's starting second baseman, he set the franchise single-season record for batting average (.354) and cruised to the National League batting title. He was the biggest contributor to their postseason berth that year.

During the following spring training, Arraez expressed a desire to remain with the Marlins long term, but his wish was not granted. Just over a month into the 2024 season, new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix shipped off the fan favorite to the San Diego Padres in exchange for prospects Dillon Head, Jakob Marsee, Nathan Martorella and Woo-Suk Go. It was one of the toughest days in what turned out to be an 100-loss season.

In hindsight, Bendix made a smart decision. In 55 major league games, Marsee has produced just as much fWAR (2.2) as Arraez did during his 271 games with the Padres (2.0). Marsee is expected to be the Marlins' everyday center fielder in 2026. Head, a former first-round draft pick, is still one of the organization's top outfield prospects. Indirectly, Arraez's departure opened up more playing time for Otto Lopez, who has since established himself as the club's starting shortstop.

Meanwhile, Arraez will enter free agency next week and he's projected to cost far less now than if the Marlins had extended him coming off his career year.

Although Arraez won the 2024 NL batting title, there was a 40-point dip from the previous season and even bigger differences in his on-base percentage and slugging percentage. He provided even less offensive value in 2025, slashing .292/.327/.392/.719 with eight home runs, 61 RBI and a 104 wRC+.

Defensively, Arraez has made the move over to first base, playing 117 games there this season compared to only 14 at second base. He had three defensive runs saved at his new position with a career-high .999 fielding percentage, but also minus-seven outs above average.

With that being said, this version of Arraez still likely makes the Marlins better in the short term. Eric Wagaman, who was the team's primary first baseman this season, slashed .250/.297/.378/.674 with nine home runs, 53 RBI and an 85 wRC+. Troy Johnston emerged late in the season, slashing .277/.331/.420/.750 with four home runs, 13 RBI and a 109 wRC+, but he only played against right-handed pitching. Prospect Deyvison De Los Santos struggled in his first full season with the organization, posting an 85 wRC+ at the Triple-A level and only hitting 12 home runs after a 40-homer year in 2024.

It's a question of how Arraez compares to some of the other veteran first basemen available in free agency or potentially via trade.

The 28-year-old continues to be the very best in MLB at putting balls in play, only striking out 3.1% of the time in 2025. He finished second to Bobby Witt Jr. with 181 total hits. Part of that is durability—Arraez has averaged 149 games played over the last four seasons and just set a new career-high with 154.

Something else to consider: In 2025, the Marlins ranked 27th in home runs, obviously showing the need for a power bat. Signing a spray hitter like Arraez to play first base would put the pressure on young players at other positions to step up in that area. Someone like Griffin Conine could help if he’s able to stay healthy through the course of a full season. Coming up through the minor leagues, the organization also has Kemp Alderman and Joe Mack, who were the top two home run hitters amongst Marlins prospects in 2025 and are likely to debut next season.

Defensively, Arraez's flaws could be partially covered up by having good infielders around him. Xavier Edwards is a Gold Glove finalist at second base, while Otto Lopez and Graham Pauley graded out positively at shortstop and third base, respectively.

The ability to make contact with everything made Arraez a fan favorite. His antics at the plate and pure love for the game would help the Marlins on the marketing side of things. The Arraez family resides in Florida during the offseason, so geographically, it's a comfortable fit—maybe it is more than a coincidence that he had his greatest success in a Marlins uniform.

When it comes to Arraez's price range, would he be willing to take a one-year deal with a salary similar to the $14 million that he earned in 2025? From the Marlins' perspective, they will want the option of flipping him for more prospects at the trade deadline if they are in a position to sell and Arraez is having a strong season.

Being younger than most players in the 2025-26 free agent class but having a limited skill set, Arraez is a complicated free agent case.

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The 2025 Miami Marlins had one of MLB's least-experienced bullpens. That might not be the case next season as the Marlins "plan to add a high-leverage reliever," per a recent report from Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. 

Ideally, the Marlins could use more left-handed options and relievers who reliably get strikeouts—those were weaknesses for the team this year. However, expect president of baseball operations Peter Bendix to explore all possibilities if the value is fair.

As usual, there will be many relievers to choose from when free agency begins next month. You can compare their 2025 stats here. At the very top end of the market, it's fair to assume that the Marlins won't spend enough to acquire All-Star closers like Edwin Díaz and Robert Suárez, but they can still make significant upgrades on more efficient contracts.

RHP Devin Williams

2025 team: New York Yankees

A source tells Fish On First that Williams is a name the team will target. He is coming off a season where he posted a career-worst 4.79 ERA, but he also had a 2.68 FIP—almost identical to his previous full-length season in 2023. Williams set career-highs in innings pitched and appearances while having a 13.1 K/9 and 3.6 BB/9. In four appearances in the playoffs, Williams tossed four innings of shutout baseball.

Williams had a rocky month of March/April for the Yankees, where he posted a 9.00 ERA and lost his closer's job. After that stretch, he went on to post a 3.98 ERA and 2.46 FIP. By the end of the season, his whiff% ranked in the 99th percentile among MLB pitchers, which is what we are accustomed to seeing from him.

Per multiple reports, the opportunity to return to a closer's role will play a factor in which team Williams decides to go to. The Marlins went with a closer by committee in 2025. Even if Williams does not pitch the ninth inning every time, we can assume he would be deployed in the highest leverage situations possible.

RHP Raisel Iglesias

2025 team: Atlanta Braves

Iglesias had a "down year" in 2025, posting a 3.21 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 9.76 K/9, 2.14 BB/9 and 29 saves through 67 ⅓ innings pitched. The year before, the Braves reliever posted a 1.95 ERA and notched 34 saves, which was sixth in all of baseball.

A lot of the damage against Iglesias (six of his eight home runs allowed) came off of his slider, despite him only throwing it 9.9% of the time. His changeup also didn't perform up to expectations, with a run value that plummeted from plus-nine in 2024 to minus-three this past season. Opposing hitters posted a .277 batting average and .410 slugging percentage off the changeup, but on the bright side, it generated a 41.0% whiff rate.

Iglesias used his fastball more than ever, even with a small decrease in velocity (averaged 94.8 mph). It led to a .129 batting average against.

Before the All-Star break, Iglesias had a 4.42 ERA and 1.20 WHIP, allowing seven home runs and blowing four saves. Following the break, Iglesias looked like his 2024 self, posting a 1.76 ERA, 0.75 WHIP and allowed just one home run (six earned runs overall). Iglesias relied even more on the fastball during that period.

Turning 36 in January, Iglesias would likely be open to signing a one-year deal. From the Marlins' perspective, this would be an opportunity to energize the local Cuban baseball community like they did when signing Jorge Soler in 2022 and Yuli Gurriel in 2023.

RHP Kyle Finnegan

2025 teams: Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers

The longtime Nationals closer was not particularly impressive during the first half of the season. He flipped the script after arriving in Detroit, posting a 1.50 ERA, 1.97 FIP, 11.50 K/9 and 2.00 BB/9 in 16 appearances. He also made six appearances during the postseason.

Thanks to his nasty splitter, Finnegan has had reverse splits for much of his career, performing better against lefties than righties. That was the case again in 2025—his 37.3 whiff% with the splitter was his best since the shortened 2020 season.

Finnegan's history in the National League East means he is familiar with loanDepot park. In 12 career games in Miami, he has never allowed a run.

RHP Kenley Jansen

2025 team: Los Angeles Angels

The active MLB saves leader, Kenley Jansen has won a World Series, been named an All-Star four times and won the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award twice.

After spending his prime years with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jansen has bounced around the league on short-term deals recently. With the Angels in 2025, Jansen posted a 2.59 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 8.69 K/9, 2.90 BB/9 and 29 saves through 59 innings pitched (62 appearances).

Jansen's cutter makes him predictable because he throws it 82% of the time, yet it continues to be an elite pitch, generating a plus-13 run value. Hitters posted a .163 batting average against it. 

The huge difference between his ERA and FIP suggests that Jansen was somewhat lucky in 2025. His strikeout rate was barely above the MLB average and he stranded 85.2% of runners on base, which would be difficult to repeat. That being said, Jansen was at his best over the final three months of the season (1.19 ERA) and didn't allow a single hit over his last 10 outings.

For what it's worth, there is a familiarity between Jansen and current manager Clayton McCullough, who was previously with the Dodgers. The veteran presence of somebody who has pitched in the postseason in 10 separate years and performed well on the biggest stage could be especially valuable in Miami.

LHP Danny Coulombe

2025 teams: Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers

Coulombe had a dominant start of the season with the Minnesota Twins, posting a 1.16 ERA. After being traded to the Rangers, he blew up, posting a 5.25 ERA in 15 appearances. Combining his numbers with both teams, the lefty finished the season with a 2.30 ERA, 3.30 FIP, 9.00 K/9 and 3.77 BB/9 through 43 innings pitched. He missed some time with forearm and shoulder injuries.

Coulombe's velo is much lower than the other pitchers in this article as his four-seamer averaged 90.3 mph. His best pitch in 2025 was the cutter, with a plus-six run value. It had a whiff rate of 36.2% and generated soft contact for him (84.8 mph average exit velo). He threw that pitch 40.3% of the time.

It's as clear as day that the Marlins are in major need of a left-handed reliever. Andrew Nardi is coming off of a serious back injury, and although Cade Gibson was a nice surprise in 2025, he has less than a full year of MLB experience.

Signing Coulombe in addition to one of the right-handers covered above could dramatically improve the Marlins bullpen.

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MIAMI, FL—If I told you that Heriberto Hernández would end up being the best right-handed hitter on the 2025 Miami Marlins, you would've assumed that the team suffered through another 100-loss season. Instead, the minor league free agent signing emerged as a key piece of the Marlins outfield throughout the last four months, helping them to a 79-83 record.

Originally signed by the Texas Rangers a few days before his 18th birthday, Hernández put up great numbers in Minor League Baseball. He finally ran into issues at the Triple-A level in 2024 as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Even with a strong finish to the season—.264/.369/.583/.952 slash line over his final 20 games—the Rays let him leave as a free agent.

Hernández had a positive outlook when he reached a deal with the rebuilding Marlins in November. "When I signed here, I knew there was a big opportunity here for me to make my dreams come true and potentially become an everyday big leaguer," the Dominican outfielder said in Spanish. 

"The biggest thing for me was the hard work that I put in during the offseason," Hernández added. "I didn't play winter ball to focus and make sure that my body was 100% to make sure that I could play an entire season wherever I was."

A non-roster invitee at Marlins spring training, Hernández was sent down to AAA at the end of camp where he split time between left field and designated hitter for Jacksonville. He had mixed results with the Jumbo Shrimp, slashing .220/.319/.454/.773 with nine home runs, 21 RBI and a 107 wRC+, while striking out in 35.0% of his plate appearances. With several hitters on their active roster underperforming, the Marlins called up Hernández on May 30.

"I'm just so grateful for the opportunity that the Marlins gave me," Hernández said. "I think this was an amazing season, because when I got here, I found really good chemistry and everyone received me well." He stayed in the majors from the point forward.

For the first week, Hernández was only in the starting lineup against left-handed pitchers. As he continued to produce, his role expanded.

Overall, Hernández slashed .266/.347/.438/.784 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI and a 118 wRC+. He played in 87 of the final 108 Marlins games. Amongst National League rookies, Hernández finished 10th in batting average, fifth in home runs, sixth in RBI, sixth in on-base percentage, eighth in slugging percentage and ninth in OPS. 

Hernández cut down his strikeout rate from 35.0% in Jacksonville to 26.2% with the major league team. He still whiffs at a high rate, but only chased 21.5% of pitches outside the zone, per Baseball Savant. That chase rate ranked in the 90th percentile of MLB hitters this season. Also, Hernández was equally successful when facing pitchers of either handedness.

As the Marlins offseason gets underway, Hernández is set up well to make the 2026 Opening Day roster. Something to keep in mind—although he never saw any game reps at first base, the 25-year-old did some pregame work at the position this season. If the Marlins don't sign any veteran first basemen in free agency, they could give Hernández a shot to prove his defensive versatility.

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MIAMI, FL—On Wednesday, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix met with the local media to discuss the end of the 2025 season. After finishing with a 79-83 record—a 17-win improvement from the previous year—Bendix said that he expects to have a "really competitive team" in 2026.

"The goal remains to be as good as we possibly can be for as long as we possibly can, to build a team that's competing for the National League East division and competing for the playoffs every single year,” he added.

Fans already buying into the vision

The Marlins opened the press conference by noting that they ranked among the top five MLB teams in percentage attendance growth from 2024 to 2025. There were five sellouts at loanDepot park—the highest single-season total in the stadium’s history. Fish On First has been told that any game with at least 34,500 paid tickets qualifies as a sellout.

Also, television viewership on FanDuel Sports Network Florida increased by 92% compared to the previous season.

Possible coaching staff changes

Clayton McCullough's first season as Marlins manager was a mixed bag, with some instances where his in-game decisions led to tough losses. However, Bendix left no doubt that McCullough will continue in that role for a second season.

"Really happy with with our entire coaching staff, starting with Clayton," Bendix said. "I think Clayton came in here, established a positive winning culture from day one. He is a phenomenal leader and support person to help players get better. He grew a lot throughout the season. Being a manager is an incredibly difficult job. Being a first-year manager is beyond difficult. I think he handled himself exceptionally well. Worked together with myself, with the front office, with players, with all different departments, really, really well. I think that the growth he showed was really impressive. I'm excited for year two with him."

When asked about the status of the other coaches on McCullough's staff, Bendix said "we're still gonna have some conversations about that, and we'll have more information." In recent days, the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers have announced managerial changes, creating new opportunities around the majors for current Marlins coaches to potentially consider.

Agustín Ramírez catching experiment not over yet

As the primary catcher for the Marlins this season, Ramírez had a league-leading 19 passed balls, 10 errors and 83 stolen bases allowed (compared to only eight caught stealings). Despite that, Bendix said the 24-year-old still has "the ability to be a major league catcher and also needs to improve a lot to be able to consistently achieve that level."

Through 136 games played, Ramírez slashed .231/.287/.413/.701 with 21 home runs, 67 RBI and a 91 wRC+. As a designated hitter, he posted a .780 OPS, and as a catcher, it was a .627 OPS. This wouldn't be the first example of a player's defensive position affecting their offensive performance—Xavier Edwards turned around his season after making the switch from shortstop to second base.

On the new Fish Unfiltered episode, FOF founder Ely Sussman speculated that Ramírez would continue to catch early in the 2026 season until the Marlins secure an additional year of club control over top catching prospect Joe Mack. Once Mack is called up, Ramírez may get moved off the position assuming that he's still struggling at that point.

Another winter of Sandy Alcantara trade speculation

Although the Marlins starter finished with a career-worst 5.36 ERA through 174 ⅔ innings pitched, he trended in a positive direction after the All-Star break. Alcantara posted a 3.33 ERA over his last 13 starts, completing seven innings in seven of those outings. He reportedly drew interest from several teams leading up to the trade deadline, but none of them were willing to offer what the Marlins considered to be a fair deal. It's fair to assume that the 30-year-old former Cy Young Award winner increased his market value during the second half of the season.

Bendix was non-committal about the future of the longest-tenured Marlin.

"I'm not going to speculate on any individual player or go player by player," Bendix said. "It's important to to always be looking for ways to improve our club, and that's really what I've done since I've gotten here. I'm going to try to stay as disciplined as possible to doing that—making our 2026 really competitive and to building for a sustainably successful future."

Alcantara is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, but there is also a $21 million club option for 2027.

Alignment with ownership

Bendix explained that he and principal owner Bruce Sherman are "trying to build something that I don't think the Marlins organization has ever had, which is being competitive every single year for a long period of time." He declined to get into the specific kind of transactions that would allow the franchise to make the leap from a sub-.500 record to a postseason berth. "That's what we're going to talk about this offseason, but it's still about improving this club for the short term and the long term."

In FanDuel Sports Network's Craig Mish final pregame segment of the season, he said that "it's fair to say that the Marlins will be active in free agency—probably in a way that we haven't seen over the last couple of years." Mish highlighted relievers Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams, Kyle Finnegan and Raisel Iglesias as potential targets because of their ninth-inning experience. Bendix's biggest free agent investment since being hired by Sherman two years ago was a $5 million deal to get shortstop Tim Anderson. The Marlins released Anderson midway through the 2024 season.

Regarding the possibility of contract extensions, Bendix reused one of his favorite lines: "we're always going to have those conversations." He acknowledged that the Marlins "have a bunch of really good young players" who could be extension candidates.

Bendix's next media availability is expected to be during the annual Winter Meetings in December. For a third straight year, Fish On First will have boots on the ground for that.

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The Miami Marlins enter the 2025-26 offseason feeling confident about their depth at most positions and the impactful prospects who are close to arriving at the major league level. However, there is one obvious roster hole that cannot be ignored. Assuming the Marlins have more financial flexibility and motivation to spend on upgrades than they did in years past, the biggest item on Peter Bendix's shopping list should be first base.

In 2025, Marlins first basemen ranked 24th in Major League Baseball in fWAR (-0.5) and 28th in wRC+ (83). The majority of that production came from rookie Eric Wagaman. To his credit, Wagaman had a strong finish to the season when he began platooning with fellow rookie Troy Johnston. When he wasn't catching, Liam Hicks also got occasional reps there. Each of those players could contribute in the future, but they lack the power that is normally expected to come from that position.

In the minor leagues, Deyvison De Los Santos and Nathan Martorella have not developed as hoped since being acquired in trades during the 2024 season. De Los Santos in particular is likely to make his MLB debut in 2026, but the Marlins cannot rely on the 22-year-old to be successful right away considering the disappointing season he just had at the Triple-A level. It makes a lot of sense for the Marlins to pursue short-term help in free agency.

1. Pete Alonso

2025 team: New York Mets

The cream of the crop within the first base market is Pete Alonso, who announced about ten minutes after Sunday's game that he would be opting out of his contract and entering free agency for a second straight offseason. The all-time Mets home run leader is coming off a season where he slashed .272/.347/.524/.871 with 38 homers, 126 RBI and a 141 wRC+. He was especially awesome when facing the Marlins (.389/.441/.815/1.255, 5 HR and 19 RBI in 13 G).

Alonso was born in Tampa and played college ball at the University of Florida. He seems to love loanDepot park—since becoming a big leaguer, he has hit more home runs at the venue (15) than any other visiting player.

Alonso would easily be the best power hitter that the Marlins have had since Giancarlo Stanton. He would also be easily the team's most expensive player ever in terms of annual salary considering that he is declining a $24 million player option to test the market.

2. Josh Naylor

2025 teams: Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners

Reuniting with their former first-round draft pick would be another dream scenario for the Marlins. Josh Naylor is coming off a career year, slashing .295/.353/.462/.816 with 20 home runs, 92 RBI and a 128 wRC+. He has been a consistently good contact hitter and 2025 was no exception as he cut down his strikeout rate to 13.7%.

On a more surprising front, Naylor stole more bases (30) than anybody on the Marlins did. The majority of those steals came after he moved to Seattle in a deadline deal.

With Naylor only being 28 years old, he will be aiming for a long-term deal that almost certainly is out of the Marlins' price range.

3. Ryan O'Hearn

2025 teams: Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres

Outside of Alonso and Naylor, the next-best options at first base profile as platoon players rather than true everyday solutions. A first-time All-Star in 2025, Ryan O'Hearn slashed .281/.366/.437/.803 with 17 home runs, 63 RBI and a 127 wRC+. He got 80% of his plate appearances against right-handed pitching, though he performed just as well in his limited opportunities against lefties.

O'Hearn was valuable on the defensive side, posting six outs above average and four defensive runs saved. Although he has plenty of experience in right field, the Marlins have a lot of depth there and would be viewing the 32-year-old only as a first baseman moving forward.

This is O'Hearn's third straight year of playoff experience, which never hurts.

4. Paul Goldschmidt

2025 team: New York Yankees

Paul Goldschmidt would be the epitome of a veteran presence in the clubhouse. A borderline Hall of Fame candidate once he retires, the 2026 season would be his 16th in the league.

Goldschmidt was the NL MVP in 2022, but he has clearly declined since then. He finished the 2025 regular season slashing .274/.328/.403/.731 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI and a 103 wRC+, with almost all of his production coming off of lefties (169 wRC+). After signing for $12.5 million as a free agent last offseason, it's safe to assume his price would dip even more this time around.

5. Josh Bell

2025 team: Washington Nationals

Josh Bell was well respected by those who were around him when he spent a year with the Marlins organization. In Washington, the journeyman switch-hitter quietly hit at a very high level from the middle of June through season's end to recover from a slow start to 2025. Overall, he slashed .239/.326/.421/.747 with 22 home runs, 63 RBI and a 109 wRC+.

Bell has an impressive history of durability, reaching 140 games played in every full-length season he's been a part of. His salary was only $6 million with the Nats, so affording him won't be an issue.

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MIAMI, FL—Infielder Graham Pauley was amongst the many bright spots for the Miami Marlins this season. Multiple injuries to Connor Norby forced the Marlins to rely on Pauley more than they expected, but he took advantage of the playing time and will be fighting for the starting third base job in 2026.

"I feel like it's been a long season, but at the same time it's been quick," Pauley told Fish On First prior to Sunday's game. "I've had ups and downs. Early in the year, I struggled. Went back to Jacksonville, started to find my stride, came back and felt like I was playing well, and then got hurt, was out and then just now coming back to finish the season. I think it's just been ups and downs. Overall, I'm happy with how I overcame things and continue to progress throughout the year. I think I've made big strides this year, both like physically and mentally."

Pauley looked like a longshot to make the Marlins Opening Day roster until the second-to-last spring training game when Norby suffered a left oblique strain, requiring a stint on the injured list. Instead of going down to Triple-A Jacksonville, Pauley began 2025 as the big league team's third baseman, starting 14 of Miami's first 17 games. When Norby returned in mid-April, Pauley switched to a bench role.

In his first 28 games, Pauley slashed .210/.261/.284/.545 with five RBI. The Marlins demoted him to Jacksonville on May 29. He turned things around almost immediately—his slash line in 34 games with the Jumbo Shrimp was .260/.340/.496/.836 with seven home runs and 18 RBI. The Marlins called him back up on July 13 when Norby hurt his left wrist.

"A lot of it was mental," said Pauley. "I think getting that confidence back, understanding that it's the same game when I come back up here and that I can perform at this level. Made some swing changes, continued to work on defense and going into next year, I just want to continue to progress and get better."

Pauley's problem at the plate early on was that he was "getting too long and trying to do too much. Was trying to generate power when I don't really need to try. I'm powerful enough when I just keep my swing simple and short."

He boosted his slugging percentage to .450 over his final 34 games despite slowing down his bat speed. His hard-hit rate dropped, but the quality of his at-bats improved overall.

In that second Marlins stint, Pauley's defensive impact was more noticeable as well. He demonstrated the ability to get rid of the ball quickly and make accurate, off-balance throws. In his 52 games played at third base, he posted six outs above average—best by a Marlins third baseman over the last 10 seasons—and three defensive runs saved.

"Going into this year, if you had told me that, I wouldn't have believed it," said Pauley. "I really didn't ever see myself as an elite defender. The work that I put in dating back to last year, towards the end of the year coming over here, and then spring training going into the season, I put in a lot of work to try to get better over there. I think it showed throughout the year. Excited to keep working on that and continue to get better."

Pauley plans to go back to go back home, take some time off and begin hitting again towards the end of October.

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MIAMI, FL—In a game that the New York Mets needed to win, their franchise's all-time home run leader stepped up. Pete Alonso took care of business early, immediately giving the Mets the lead and later adding to his homer total. Alonso out-hit the Miami Marlins all by himself in a 5-0 Mets victory.

Eury Pérez, who was making his final start of the season, gave the Marlins 5 ⅓ innings, allowing three runs on three hits, three walks and struck out a career-high 11 batters. Pérez also set a career-high with 100 pitches thrown. Through 20 starts in 2025, the right-hander posted a 4.25 ERA, 3.68 FIP, 9.91 K/9 and 3.02 BB/9 in 95 ⅓ innings pitched.

"It was great to see him come out of the gates after a slow first inning," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Especially with the strike-throwing, behind a lot and was able to get through the first inning with just the one run. Other than the Alonso home run, 3-2 pitch, his level of conviction and aggressiveness picked up from the second inning on. He saw a lot of fastballs at 100 (mph) or higher and certainly the stuff speaks for itself. We all know what Eury is capable of doing and really happy that he was able to get through a shaky first and to pitch as well as he did the rest of the game."

During that "slow" first inning, Alonso hit his National League-leading 41st double of the season, driving in Francisco Lindor and giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Alonso hit his 38th home run in the top of the third, extending New York's lead to 2-0. Pérez left the game with a runner on second, who scored off of Lake Bachar.

"There's a ton of power that this guy puts up year after year," McCullough said regarding Alonso. "He's been a prolific power hitter in this league since he debuted. The thing I appreciate about watching Pete play is that he's a real winner. He loves to play and he loves to compete. He's always a threat when he's in the box and he got some mistake pitches and that's what he's very capable of doing."

The Mets put the nail in the coffin on the game in the top of the ninth inning when Lindor drove in Francisco Alvarez on an RBI single, making it a 4-0 game. A wild pitch from George Soriano plated the fifth run.

The lone Marlins hit was an Xavier Edwards single off of Clay Holmes in the third inning. Connor Norby and Eric Wagaman each hit deep fly balls against Mets relievers that died on the left field warning track.

With the loss, the Marlins fall to 78-83 on the season and the 83-78 Mets remain alive in the National League Wild Card race. However, they'll likely need some help from the Cincinnati Reds, who as of this writing are up big against the Milwaukee Brewers and closing in on their 83rd win as well. The Reds own the tiebreaker over the Mets if they wind up with the same record.

First pitch of the regular season finale will be at 3:10 p.m. ET.

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MIAMI, FL—For as much as the Miami Marlins overachieved at the major league level in 2025, the main story for the organization this year was their great results in the minors. Some of their top-ranked prospects moved closer to reaching their full potential and under-the-radar players took leaps forward, too. It led to a lot of winning in MiLB competition, and that should trickle up to the majors in the coming years if the Marlins continue to be on the cutting edge of player development innovation.

"Incredible year," said director of minor league operations Hector Crespo. "Testament to our entire player development staff and our players as well...I think if you look at it from a whole, four of our seven affiliates made the playoffs, we had our best winning percentage as an organization since 2015. Pitching-wise, top five in strikeout percentage, walk percentage, strikeout-to-walk percentage, miss percentage and chase percentage. Offensively, our best season in walk rate and chase rate. Defensively, led all of baseball in metrics that we value as far as movement, range, burst and reaction. So many good things that happened."

The Marlins recognized the winners of their 2025 Organizational Minor League Awards on the field prior to Saturday's game against the New York Mets. Several of the winners could not attend because the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp were on the other side of the country preparing to play in the Triple-A National Championship Game. The Shrimp won in walk-off fashion.

The Marlins selected catcher Jeremy Almonte as their Student of the Year and High-A Beloit manager Angel Espada as their Staff Member of the Year. The following nine players earned awards for their on-field performance.

Hitter of the Year: Kemp Alderman

During Pensacola Blue Wahoos media day, Alderman told a small group of reporters that he wanted to have a 20/20 season. He followed through on that with 22 home runs and 22 stolen bases between Double-A and Triple-A while slashing .285/.338/.482/.819 with a 135 wRC+.

"Tough season last year just from an injury perspective," Crespo said. "Played half of the year in the Arizona Fall League. So happy with him really taking his training into games and his deficiency—which was fastball velocity in the zone—and seeing him continuously train that, be bullish about it, be willing to fail so that he could set himself up for a really good year."

After being promoted, the 23-year-old outfielder posted an average exit velocity of 95.0 mph, which was a top-10 mark among all AAA players this season, per Prospect Savant.

Expect Alderman to receive an invite to big league spring training camp and debut with the Marlins during the first half of 2026.

Pitcher of the Year: Robby Snelling

Acquired from the San Diego Padres last year as the main piece in the Tanner Scott/Bryan Hoeing trade, Snelling has turned his career around with the Marlins organization. After starting the season in AA, Snelling was promoted to AAA where in 63 ⅔ innings pitched, he was even more dominant with a 1.27 ERA, 2.62 FIP, 11.45 K/9 and 2.40 BB/9 in 11 starts. Between both levels, he finished his year with a 2.51 ERA, 2.77 FIP, 10.99 K/9 and 2.58 BB/9 through 136 innings pitched (25 starts).

Snelling's fastball improved in terms of both velocity and command, leading to more swing-and-miss. He was also able to manage the quality of contact against him, going from a 43.8% ground ball rate in 2024 up to a 50.8% this season.

Snelling is ready to contend for a spot in the Marlins starting rotation.

Triple-A MVP: Jakob Marsee

Marsee was looking like the obvious choice for Player of the Year, but he played so well that the Marlins called him up two months ago. Underlying numbers indicated that he was running into bad luck in 2024. That luck evened out in 98 games with Jacksonville, where he slashed .246/.379/.438/.817 with 14 home runs, 37 RBI, 47 stolen bases and a 126 wRC+. His production has actually been better than that in the majors—he's been the most valuable player on the Marlins since the start of August.

Marsee works long at-bats and makes a big impact on the bases while showing the ability to play all three outfield spots. The Marlins may have developed a true long-term everyday player.

Double-A MVP: Thomas White

Fish On First's number one prospect put himself in the conversation for MiLB's best left-handed pitching prospect. White pitched to a 2.83 ERA with the High-A Beloit Sky Carp before earning the promotion to Pensacola. This was by far his best stretch of baseball, posting a 1.59 ERA, 2.24 FIP, 14.89 K/9 and 4.76 BB/9 through 45 ⅓ innings pitched. White was promoted to Triple-A Jacksonville and in two starts, he posted a 3.86 ERA.

Crespo described the duo of Snelling and White as "the cream of the crop from a left-handed pitcher perspective as far as the entire organization and system and really league-wide."

Turning 21 years old on Monday, White has already filled out his 6'5" frame and touched 100 mph several times in game action. 

White will likely begin the 2026 season back in Jacksonville.

High-A MVP: Karson Milbrandt

While with Beloit, Milbrandt posted a 3.26 ERA, 3.20 FIP, 11.75 K/9 and 5.00 BB/9 through 77 ⅓ innings pitched. He looked sharp in his two starts versus AA competition as well.

"He probably had his best offseason from a physicality standpoint," said Crespo about the 2022 draft pick. "You guys have heard us talk about strength and conditioning be our foundation and I think the way he prepared his body coming into the spring this year was really the separating dynamic for him to be able to pitch over the course of the year as well. I think we always knew he had the stuff—it was just more so the consistency of it."

Milbrandt made a big jump in the strikeout department from a 8.39 K/9 to a career-high 11.75 K/9. The right-hander noted that adding a cutter was "probably the big thing this year—just having a bridge pitch off the fastball and all the other sweeper, curveball and changeup."

The Marlins are sending Milbrandt to the Arizona Fall League after a minor injury limited his workload early in the season.

Low-A MVP: Eliazar Dishmey

It was a rocky end for Eliazar Dishmey in 2024, forcing him to repeat the level this season. He made the necessary adjustments and finished the 2025 season with a 2.90 ERA, 3.60 FIP, 9.79 K/9 and 4.35 BB/9 through 99 ⅓ innings pitched (which includes his five High-A starts). He allowed only three home runs.

Dishmey will begin the 2026 season in High-A and continue to try establishing himself as a long-term starter.

FCL MVP: Nate Payne

Selected in the 18th round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Payne made 17 total starts between the complex league and Low-A. He finished the season with a 3.20 ERA, 3.72 FIP, 11.66 K/9 and 5.91 BB/9 through 56 ⅓ innings pitched. Opponents only hit .176 against him, but consistently throwing strikes was an issue.

Payne will begin next season in Low-A and get an opportunity to work deeper into his starts

DSL Miami and DSL Marlins MVPs: José Castro and Luis Cova

Castro had the biggest jump in production from 2024 to 2025, going from a 70 wRC+ to a 136 wRC+. In 52 games, he slashed .264/.399/.585/.985 with 16 home runs—that's a new single-season Dominican Summer League record. Another major improvement for the 18-year-old outfielder was cutting his strikeout rate from 33.3% to 26.1%.

It came as a surprise that Cova, who signed for $1.4 million in 2024, spent a second full season in the DSL. He showed there's nothing left to prove after stealing 35 bases and slashing .299/.422/.537/.959 with nine home runs, 35 RBI and a 154 wRC+. He was DSL Miami's regular center fielder.

Expect both players to come stateside in 2026 and begin the season in the FCL.

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The Miami Marlins were eliminated from 2025 postseason contention following their 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. The fact that the previous sentence was written on September 25 is a credit to manager Clayton McCullough, the coaching staff and all the players who contributed this season. A team that was almost universally projected to finish with 70 wins or fewer currently stands at 77-82 with three games remaining to spoil the New York Mets' Wild Card chances.

"We set out from spring training that our number one focus was going to be to just try to get better every day and try to raise the floor—not only of the players that we were gonna have on the roster at a given time and try to get everybody a little bit better as we went along, but also our staff and players creating a culture and put something in a place that we believe is gonna lead to sustainability. " McCullough said postgame. "While disappointing to get here and know that our season is going to end on Sunday, doesn't take away from taking a step back and a 30,000-foot view on so many what we feel like were real steps that we took throughout this season and the strides that a lot of our players have made."

After being limited to one total (unearned) run by the previous two Phillies starting pitchers, the Marlins offense didn't fare any better against Walker Buehler. Signed by the Phillies to a minor league deal less than a month ago, Buehler went five innings, allowing three hits, three walks and struck out two on 74 pitches.

Taijuan Walker followed him by throwing two innings, allowing only one hit and struck out three. Matt Strahm and David Robertson handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively.

It was the 10th time this season that the Marlins have been shut out. They did a good job making contact, but only collected eight hard-hit balls. They had no extra-base hits, though Agustín Ramírez came close with a 114 mph line drive off the left field wall.

It was a short leash for Marlins starting pitcher Janson Junk, going 4 ⅔ innings. He only surrendered one run on five hits, no walks and struck out four.

In the bottom of the first inning, Junk allowed a leadoff single to outfielder Harrison Bader, then struck out Kyle Schwarber and allowed a second base hit, this time to Bryce Harper, who was making his first appearance this series. Alec Bohm grounded out, but Bader was able to score. Junk went on to retire eight straight before Harper had his second hit of the night.

Junk was signed to a minor league deal and initially sent down to Triple-A Jacksonville. The Marlins selected his contract on May 24. Early on, he was used in long relief, not making his first start with the team until June 20 against the Atlanta Braves. He will finish the season posting a 4.17 ERA and a 3.15 FIP through 110 innings pitched as a big leaguer. Per the team, Junk walked just 13 of the 447 batters, posting a 2.9 BB%, the lowest mark in MLB this season and the best single-season mark in club history (min. 100 IP).

"He goes out there and fills it up," said McCullough. "He did exactly what we needed tonight...Great season for Janson and another start where we got what we needed."

It's rare to get that kind of production from somebody acquired on a non-guaranteed contract. The only other minor league free agent signing from last offseason to pitch over 100 innings in 2025 was Toronto Blue Jays starter Eric Lauer, who finished the regular season with 103 ⅔ innings pitched, posting a 3.21 ERA and 3.88 FIP.

It's unclear what role Junk will have with the Marlins in 2026. He is out of minor league options, so that positions him well to make the active roster even with talented arms coming back from injuries and making the case to be promoted from Triple-A.

"We know Janson can (start or pitch out of the bullpen)," said McCullough pregame. "We'll come into spring training not knowing what the landscape is going to look like next year, but we will get Janson prepared to be a starter for us going into spring training, someone who's going to be on our team next year in some capacity. Those are just questions that we will answer down the road."

In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Marlins deployed Ronny Henriquez, who struck out both Max Kepler and Harrison Bader swinging. Per the Marlins, it marked his 59th appearance with at least one strikeout, tying the club record shared by Kyle Barraclough (2016) and Tanner Scott (2023).

The Marlins finish their season against the New York Mets with Sandy Alcantara taking the mound on Friday opposing rookie Brandon Sproat. First pitch is at 7:10 pm.

"We're going to go home, have our last three, go out and try to win each one of those games and go about it in a very similar manner," said McCullough.

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The Miami Marlins pulled off an improbable comeback late Tuesday night. Held scoreless until the eighth inning, they took down the Philadelphia Phillies in 11 innings by a final score of 6-5. Heroics by Heriberto Hernández forced the game into extras, Xavier Edwards drove in the eventual winning run, and Josh Simpson turned out to be the winning pitcher.

The Marlins are still four games back of the third and final NL Wild Card spot.

"I love the sense of urgency that the guys are coming here and playing with," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough following the game. "They're just playing pitch to pitch and trying to play this thing out, every out of the games. I think that's something that we've seen in this group all season long. I think now knowing that we don't have much of a leash, it's every day do-or-die—and that might not be enough, but we're going to keep giving it a shot as long as we have one."

Edward Cabrera (right elbow sprain) made his first start off the injured list. He looked uncomfortable from the beginning, though his fastball velocity was impressive as usual—he averaged 97.8 mph and topped out at 99.4 mph. Kyle Schwarber gave the Phillies a first-inning lead by smacking a sinker for his 54th home run of the year. Cabrera went four innings, allowing three runs off of five hits (two homers), walked one and struck out three. He went changeup-heavy, using that pitch 39% of the time.

"I thought his stuff was was exceptional," McCullough said. "He came out of it feeling great. The first couple innings, he didn't really have the same kind of feel for his breaking stuff like he's had and stressful first couple of innings. Then I thought the last couple of innings he looked good."

Trailing 3-0 in the top of the eighth inning, Griffin Conine hit his second home run of the season off former Marlins reliever David Robertson. It was a full-circle moment for Conine, who hadn't played in the majors since April 19 due to suffering a dislocated shoulder against this same Phillies team at Citizens Bank Park. The solo homer left the bat at 106.7 mph and went 381 feet to right field.

Also against Robertson, Otto Lopez kept the inning alive with a two-out single, which was followed by a single from Liam Hicks, who was pinch-hitting for Brian Navarreto. Lopez was able to go from first to third, and then a throwing error from Harrison Bader allowed Lopez to score and make it a one-run game.

Going into Tuesday's game, Phillies reliever Jhoan Duran had a 1.99 ERA during a season that has solidifies him as an elite closer. After striking out Connor Norby to begin the inning, designated hitter Heriberto Hernández took Duran deep to left field, hitting the most important home run of the his career to tie the game. It was only the third home run Duran had surrendered this season.

"He's throwing 102-103 sometimes, so I am just looking for the fastball. Doesn't matter the count—I was ready for that fastball," said Hernández following the game.

The Marlins turned to Calvin Faucher in the bottom of the ninth inning, but after a leadoff base hit and four total pitches, the game went into a rain delay. Play resumed one hour and nine minutes later, but the Marlins had to turn to Michael Petersen, who struck out Max Kepler, induced a fly out from Weston Wilson and line out from Bryson Stott to hold the score at 3-3.

In the top of the 10th, the Marlins knocked in two runs. Liam Hicks' RBI single drove in Griffin Conine and moved Troy Johnston to third. Jakob Marsee drove Johnston in on a sac fly, making it a 5-3 lead.

The most puzzling sequence of the game came in the bottom of the 10th. After Otto Kemp and Harrison Bader both lined out against Petersen, McCullough opted to intentionally walk Schwarber, bringing the winning run up to the plate in Alec Bohm. Bohm's RBI single made it a one-run game. Josh Simpson entered the game to match up with lefty Brandon Marsh, but the Phillies brought in Nick Castellanos to pinch-hit. Simpson allowed a game-tying RBI single to Castellanos before ending the inning with a strikeout.

"The decision to walk Schwarber, I didn't really think that much about it," said McCullough. "He's just not going to be the one that I was going to lose it with."

All it took in the top of the 11th was an Xavier Edwards sac fly to drive in Norby to retake the lead, 6-5.

Simpson would go back out for the bottom of the inning and induced three straight ground balls to end the game. His ERA dropped to 7.85.

Dane banged up

In the bottom of the second inning, Kepler hit a double off the right field wall. Dane Myers made a leaping attempt to catch it, but missed and suffered a painful knee injury in the process. Myers was lifted onto a cart without putting any pressure on it.

Myers' 2025 season is over as a right knee laceration will send him to the injured list, McCullough confirmed.

Expect Joey Wiemer, who was removed from Jacksonville's playoff game moments after Myers' injury, to join the team in Philadelphia. Wiemer had just been optioned on Monday in a corresponding roster move to make room for Conine.

NL Wild Card update

Realistically, the Marlins need to continue to be perfect over their final five games to potentially get the third Wild Card spot, and even that may not be enough. The New York Mets and Arizona Diamondbacks won their matchups on Tuesday, while the Cincinnati Reds lost theirs and the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants.

The Marlins' tragic number is down to two—that is the combination of Marlins losses and Mets wins required to officially eliminate Miami from reaching the postseason.

Former rotation mates Ryan Weathers and Jesús Luzardo will face off on Wednesday. First pitch is at 6:45 pm.

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The Miami Marlins are in agreement with two highly rated players in advance of the 2026 international signing period, sources tell Fish On First. Venezuelan shortstop Santiago Solarte and Dominican shortstop Ronny Muñoz will join the club when the signing period officially opens on January 15, with both of them due to receive bonuses of at least $1 million. The Marlins have a total bonus pool of $7,357,100.

The Marlins have deals in place with 19 total players so far for the 2026 signing period, per source. The class is heavy on position player talent, in contrast to the pitcher-focused 2025 class.

Solarte is ranked 16th on MLB Pipeline's Top 50 international prospects lists. He's a 50-grade prospect overall with 45-hit, 65-power, 55-run, 50-arm and 55-field tools.

"Physical specimen type of build at 6’5” with raw explosiveness and top-of-scale strength," said one scout. "Advanced body control and athletic actions for someone that size and age."

Solarte briefly participated in Venezuela's professional summer league (LMBP), where the average player was more than a decade older than him. In nine games with Samanes de Aragua (mostly off the bench), he slashed .143/.250/.143 with one hit, one walk, two strikeouts and one stolen base.

Solarte has been trained at Academia Carlos Guillén. The Marlins will also be signing outfielder Raunny Figueredo (unranked by Pipeline), who trained at that academy as well.

Ronny Muñoz (#27 on Pipeline) is another 50-grade prospect (55 hit, 55 power, 60 run, 60 arm and 45 field).

"Traits-based prospect with explosive raw tools that has some of the most electric hand speed I’ve ever scouted," one scout said about the 5'11" right-handed hitter. "Even though he’s on the smaller side, he really packs a punch displaying plus bat speed, raw power, plus speed and plus arm strength."

Muñoz has already seen action in what are called "committed games," hitting a home run to straightaway center field.

The 2025 international period remains open through December 15. Fish On First has been tracking the Marlins' signings here.

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The last time Miami Marlins outfielder Griffin Conine played in a major league game was on April 19 against the Philadelphia Phillies. More than five months later, he will be making his return to the Marlins lineup at Citizens Bank Park, the same place where he suffered the shoulder injury that cost him most of the 2025 season. Conine was reinstated from the 60-day injured list on Monday, heading into a three-game series against the Phillies. In his absence, Miami has shockingly played well enough to stay mathematically alive in the race for the third NL Wild Card spot.

Conine, who has been in the Marlins organization since 2020, made a slow climb up the minor league ladder. Being the son of a franchise legend did him no favors as the left-handed power hitter didn't make his MLB debut until August of 2024 when he was already 27 years old.

His offensive production since then has come as a pleasant surprise. In 50 total games, Mr. Marlin Jr. has slashed .274/.338/.445/.783 with four home runs and 19 RBI. His 117 wRC+ over the last two seasons combined ranks third among all Marlins players with at least 100 plate appearances, trailing only Jakob Marsee and Kyle Stowers.

For what it's worth, Conine crushed the ball during his just-completed rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville. In nine games, he slashed .292/.514/.583/1.098 with two home runs and nine RBI, walking more times (11) than he struck out (9).

Along with strong offensive contributions, Conine provides good defense in the corner outfield spots. He ranked in the 96th percentile in arm strength among MLB outfielders last season, per Baseball Savant. His home run robbery during the opening series of the season still stands out as arguably the catch of the year for the Marlins.

In a small sample of 327 innings, Conine's defense has been valued at four defensive runs saved and minus-one outs above average.

Trailing both the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets by four games with only six games left to play, there is a 99.9% chance that the Marlins' season ends this week without a Wild Card berth. Regardless, Conine is in agreement with Tigres del Licey of the Dominican Winter League to get more game reps during the offseason, making up for the time that his shoulder injury took away from him in preparation for 2026.

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MIAMI, FL—It was a tough start to September for the Miami Marlins, mainly because they couldn't figure out how to beat the last-place Washington Nationals. In five head-to-head meetings so far this month, the Nats had won all five, and it looked as if that trend would continue on Wednesday after the Fish fell behind 3-0. This time, however, the offense came to life and the bullpen did its job perfectly to flip the game around for an 8-3 victory. It's the first time since August 1 against the New York Yankees that the Marlins have come back from a deficit of three runs or more to win.

The Marlins were being shut out by Jake Irvin until a four-run bottom of the sixth inning. With both Maximo Acosta and Xavier Edwards on, Jakob Marsee drove Acosta in on an RBI single, making it a 3-1 game. Otto Lopez reached first on an RBI fielder's choice and Marsee avoided the tag at second base to produce another run. Agustín Ramírez, whose birthday was on Wednesday, tied the game with an RBI single. Eric Wagaman followed with a go-ahead RBI single himself.

"Sometimes it's just more exit placement than exit velocity," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough about the sixth-inning rally. "It was nice to see us pass the baton and just keep moving along like we did and then to go to tack on as well late once we had the lead."

Marsee finished with a four-hit game, his second of the season. Through 39 career games, he's now slashing .336/.404/.573/.977 with five home runs, 27 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He ranks top 10 among all qualified MLB hitters in batting average since being called up at the beginning of August.

"I think it's a lot of just what we've seen since he's debuted," said McCullough. "He's hitting the ball to all fields and putting himself in good counts, swinging at the right pitches and always ready to hit. I think we continue to learn about Marsee in a short time up here (that) this guy really wants to win, and you see how he attacks every facet on the bases, defensively and in the batter's box. He's a really terrific competitor and we've just seen him from the offensive side continue to roll out one good at-bat after another."

Otto Lopez gave the Marlins a two-run cushion in the bottom of the seventh inning with an RBI single, driving in Xavier Edwards. Lopez's 72 RBI put him just behind Kyle Stowers (73) for the team lead. Lopez is almost certain to finish first in that category with Stowers unlikely to return this season.

In the bottom of the eighth, Edwards hit his third home run of the season. It was his first career home run at loanDepot park. Earlier on this homestand, the Marlins gave their leadoff hitter back-to-back days off hoping that the mental reset would help snap him out of an extended slump.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Edwards about Wednesday's performance. "Just to show that some of the work I've been putting in hopefully is paying off."

Between his previous two starts, Eury Pérez allowed a combined 12 earned runs in 4 ⅔ innings pitched. He bounced back by going 5 ⅔ innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, no walks and struck out seven. He generated 15 total whiffs, most notably seven with his four-seam fastball, which was averaging 98.0 mph and topped out at 99.8 mph.

With the win, the Marlins move to 67-78 and aim for a series split on Thursday. Fully recovered from a left lat strain, Ryan Weathers will be activated off the 60-day IL and make his first start since 6/7. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.

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MIAMI, FL—One of the flashiest shortstops in Miami Marlins history put on a Marlins jersey one final time on Wednesday night. Adeiny Hechavarría, who was the team's starting shortstop from 2013 through early 2017, officially announced his retirement. Hechavarría spent parts of nine seasons in MLB (2012-2020) and stayed active for several years after that in international and independent leagues. The 36-year-old last played in Puerto Rico during the 2024-25 winter ball season.

"This is something that is very important to me," Hechavarría said in Spanish prior to the game. "I live in Miami, but it's been a long time since I have entered the stadium—the last time I was here was in 2020 with the Atlanta Braves. Honestly, coming back here is something that is very important to me. I feel proud because of what the Marlins are doing and I am really grateful to the team and I'm ready to have a good time."

He threw out the ceremonial first pitch wearing a No. 3 Marlins Retrowave City Connect jersey (the same uniform number he had as a player).

Hechavarría, a native of Santiago de Cuba, signed in 2010 with the Toronto Blue Jays. During the first half of that season, he overlapped with current Marlins manager Clayton McCullough, who was managing Toronto's High-A Dunedin affiliate at the time.

"Right away, this guy could really catch the ball," recalled McCullough. "It was a very smooth, almost like a spider. I can remember how wide he could get his legs and sink down to the ground and the ball disappeared in his glove with arm strength, and a real twitchy athlete that I felt had some potential with the bat. Great kid."

After the 2012 season, Hechavarría was part of the biggest trade in Marlins history in terms of total players involved—he went to Miami along with Henderson Alvarez, Yunel Escobar, Jeff Mathis, Anthony DeSclafani, Jake Marisnick and Justin Nicolino in exchange for Emilio Bonifácio, John Buck, Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson and José Reyes.

"It was a marvelous time," said Hechavarría regarding his stint with the Marlins. "The person I remember the most is Dee Gordon. In reality, he was one of my best friends on the field because he was next to my locker. When I look back and begin to remember all the great moments establishing myself, it's emotional. All that time with José Fernández, Dee Gordon, (Marcell) Ozuna and (Christian) Yelich, all those people all joined the team almost at the same time that I did. We had some great times. The memories that I have here are very impactful for me."

Hechavarría recalled being in the running for the 2014 Gold Glove. He believes he would've won it in 2015 had he not gotten hurt during the final month of that season. Overall as a Marlin, he slashed .255/.292/.336/.628 with 13 home runs, 168 RBI and a 74 OPS+. His best season was 2015, slashing .281/.315/.374/.689 with five home runs, 48 RBI and 2.6 fWAR.

In 2017, the Marlins traded Hechavarría to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Braxton Lee and Ethan Clark. That created room for prospect JT Riddle to get an opportunity as the club's starting shortstop.

Hechavarría was constantly on the move from that point forward, a journey that included two seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball.

"They were great experiences," Hechavarría said. "I never thought that I would play there one day in Japan. I always knew from Cuba that Japanese baseball players were great and still are great, as they have won two World Baseball Classics. Baseball over there is the same game, but the culture is different. Once you are there, you adapt."

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Hechavarría told Fish On First that he still remains in contact with Strange-Gordon, Ozuna and Stanton, specifically.

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MIAMI, FL—Just as Miami Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers seemed to be on the verge of completing his rehab from a left oblique strain, he's been diagnosed with a right oblique strain, Marlins manager Clayton McCullough announced on Tuesday. McCullough acknowledged the possibility that Stowers' 2025 season could be coming to a close due to this setback.

"Not sure exactly how long that's going to be," said McCullough pregame. "We know where we're at in the calendar. So halting the rehab right now and I think it'll take a couple of days to see what that downtime potentially looks like moving forward."

Following Tuesday's loss to the Washington Nationals, the Marlins have only 17 regular season games remaining.

Stowers told the media following the game that he hurt himself in his first at-bat of Friday's rehab game with Triple-A Jacksonville when fouling off a changeup low and away. He felt "pretty sore all over" on Saturday, which is why he was scratched from that day's game.

"As the rest of my body began to calm down, I just noticed some tightness in my rib area and was a little bit in disbelief, to be honest with you," said Stowers. "That was when we ultimately decided to get things looked at little more." He rejoined the Marlins in Miami on Sunday.

Going into the season, Stowers' lone goal was to be on the Marlins major league roster throughout the entirety of the season. He easily surpassed expectations by becoming the team's All-Star representative and emerging as the biggest offensive threat in their lineup. In 117 games, he has slashed .288/.368/.544/.912 with 25 home runs and 73 RBI. Prior to the oblique strain, he was on pace for one of the best individual seasons by a left-handed hitter in franchise history.

"I don't really want to quite put a full recap on the year yet because I don't know what the next few weeks look like, but I'm very grateful for what's happened thus far," Stowers said.

Rookie right-hander Adam Mazur once again struggled on Tuesday, allowing six runs (four earned) to Washington. In what was his second straight against the Nationals, he went 4 ⅓ innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on eight hits, three walks and struck out one.

Hitters were smashing Mazur's breaking balls especially hard. The biggest mistake was a slider to Josh Bell that spun over the middle of the plate, resulting in a three-run home run, which was Bell's 20th homer of the year. The Nats held the lead for the rest of the night.

Mazur has a 6.30 ERA through four MLB starts this season. He could potentially make three more starts if the Marlins keep him in their rotation down the stretch.

Joey Wiemer, who the Marlins claimed off waivers from the Kansas City Royals, got called up last month when Stowers went down with his initial oblique injury. Wiemer's playing time has been limited, but through 12 games, he's slashed .278/.289/.500/.789 with two home runs and seven RBI. On Tuesday, he homered in the bottom of the second inning off Nationals starter Mitchell Parker and later recorded his first walk.

"The one thing that really stands out with Joey is how well he's played defensively—he's made some really terrific plays," said McCullough. "He brings some edge and some energy to to our club, and offensively, he's gotten some regular playing time. We've seen him put together really good at-bats and has put a charge in a few balls. Joey is always ready and nice to see that he's got into a little bit of rhythm here now as he's gotten some more regular opportunity."

In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Marlins made it interesting, tagging the Nationals bullpen for three runs. Representing the winning run, Agustín Ramírez grounded out to end the game.

Eury Pérez will look to bounce back on Wednesday after a rough start against this same Nationals team. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.

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MIAMI, FL—On the day Victor Mesa Jr. turned 24 years old, he gave himself a pretty great birthday present by hitting his first career home run. In the eighth inning on Monday night, with runners on first and second, Mesa took Washington Nationals lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara deep. The ball left the bat at 102.1 mph and went 394 feet into the second deck in right field. The game was already out of hand, however, in what was ultimately a 15-7 Marlins loss.

Mesa became the first Marlins player and the seventh MLB player in the Wild Card Era (since 1995) to hit their first career home run on their birthday. Throughout franchise history, 15 Marlins have homered on their birthday.

"It's a lot of feelings right now, to be honest," said Mesa after the game. "I was a little bit disappointed because I felt like I could've been better on the first days out here, but obviously, here right now, taking it day by day, trying to support the team as much as I can. Thank God I got a great day on my birthday. It's better than what I could've dreamed of. This is a dream come true, to be honest, and a day I'll never forget."

Mesa Jr., who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville on August 31, also recorded multiple hits in a game for the first time as a Marlin. In the bottom of the fifth inning, he smacked a 104.8 mph double off of Nationals starter Cade Cavalli. That was tied for the hardest-hit ball of his young career.

Mesa previously spent five days at the major league level in late May, but when it was clear that consistent playing time wouldn't be available, the Marlins sent him back down to Jacksonville. He only recorded one hit during that brief stint.

"The initial first few games, someone comes up, there's so much emotion," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough. "Your feet are off the ground for most of it."

"At least you already have the first experience," said Mesa pregame in an exclusive interview with Fish On First. "At the end of the day, this is the big leagues, so every day you see something new that you need to adapt to. I've felt a lot better, a lot more relaxed. This time, I know what to do...I feel like I've adapted a lot more and I give a lot of credit to my teammates who have helped me."

Through 11 MLB games, Mesa is now slashing .238/.360/.429/.789 with one home run and four RBI.

Mesa has been limited to 57 total games this season across all levels due to a series of minor injuries. The "bad luck" has frustrated him at times.

"Last year, it was a stress fracture, which could happen, but then this year it was even more weird—it was a wart in the foot and it's something I can't even control. But what I can control is what I've been doing every day because I know the hard work that I'm putting in and the talent that I have...I just turned 24. I feel that I can do a long career here, or at least that's my goal. I'm focused right now and control what I can control."

Janson Junk, who was just activated off the injured list after missing a couple starts with right ulnar nerve irritation, surrendered six earned runs (tying a season-high), walking two and striking out three. His fastball averaged 93.1 mph and topped out at 94.7 mph.

"It just wasn't as crisp as we've seen him, especially in that fifth inning," McCullough said. "Just seemed like he started to lack some finish to some of his pitches. Balls got elevated, they were able to put some good swings on. Not as efficient as we've accustomed to seeing him. They did a good job swinging the bats and I think there was just some mislocated pitches and maybe just not the life on the stuff there, especially towards the back half of the outing."

Former Marlin Josh Bell had himself quite the game, going 4-for-6 with two home runs and six RBI.

With the loss, the Marlins are now 66-78 on the season. Adam Mazur takes the ball for them on Tuesday. Mitchell Parker, whose 5.87 ERA is the highest among all qualified MLB starters this season, will toe the rubber for Washington. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.

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MIAMI, FL—The Miami Marlins snapped their five-game losing streak on Sunday afternoon as they defeated the Philadelphia Phillies by a final score of 5-4. Otto Lopez's first career multi-homer game accounted for most of the offensive production and six Miami pitchers combined for a solid bullpen game.

Lopez was coming off a rough month of August, slashing .219/.278/.286/.564. Going back even further, he had hit only one home run in his previous 44 games. He is already off to a nice start to the final month of the season.

In the bottom of the first inning, Jakob Marsee and Agustín Ramírez both knocked in base hits, setting up Lopez to hit his 13th home run of the season, giving the Marlins an early 3-0 lead. This was tied for Lopez's second-longest homer of 2025, trailing only his 429-footer against the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 27.

Taijuan Walker settled in after those early struggles, so the Marlins would need some insurance to fend off a Phillies comeback.

In the bottom of the seventh, Lopez took reliever José Alvarado deep. That extended the lead to 5-3.

"One of those days when you do a bullpen game, it's gonna take a lot of contributions," said Marlins manager Clayton McCullough following the game. "I think getting some runs early offensively, then Otto's second home run—that was a really big run there late in the game."

The Marlins have had 12 total multi-homer games by individual players this season. Per the Marlins, the only years in club history with more were 2008 and 2017.

Maximo Acosta, who was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville prior to the beginning of the series, recorded the other RBI for the Marlins on Sunday when he drove in Heriberto Hernández with a first-inning single. Acosta had a hit in all three games this series. The rookie is now slashing .206/.270/.500/.770 with three home runs and four RBI through 12 career games.

"It was what we saw towards the tail end before he was sent down for a little while," said McCullough. "As he got some at-bats under his belt, he was able to get in and have really good at-bats, lay off some pitches and he's shown surprising power. He has shown the ability to impact the ball for extra-base hits, so good-looking young player."

Tyler Phillips, a former Phillies pitcher, made his first start of the season for the Marlins, giving them 2 ⅔ innings pitched, allowing one run on one hit, one walk and striking out three. In the top of the second inning, South Florida native Nick Castellanos hit an RBI triple against him that was out of the reach of a diving Jakob Marsee.

Following Phillips, the Marlins deployed lefty Cade Gibson, who went 2 ⅓ shutout innings, allowing only two hits and striking out one.

In the top of the sixth, Calvin Faucher surrendered a home run to loanDepot killer Trea Turner, his 15th of the season. Brandon Marsh then drove in Kyle Schwarber on an RBI single, making it a 4-3 Marlins lead.

Working on seven days' rest, Ronny Henriquez contributed 1 ⅓ scoreless frames. He has not given up an earned run since July 27. Lake Bachar picked up his third save.

With the win, the Marlins are 66-77 on the season and will begin a four-game set against the Washington Nationals on Monday. Janson Junk will be activated off the IL and make his first start since August 23. First pitch is at 6:40 pm.

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For the most part, September stats should be taken with a grain of salt. Miami Marlins fans will remember Peter O'Brien in 2018 and Jonah Bride in 2024 as cautionary tales—players who enjoyed surprising success at the end of non-competitive seasons, but quickly regressed the following year. With that being said, any additional information the Marlins front office can gather is valuable as they consider offseason moves and how current big leaguers compare to top prospects who are almost ready to be promoted.

The following players in particular have something to fight for over the final 22 regular season games.

Agustín Ramírez

Ramírez has slumped as an all-around player to fall out of NL Rookie of the Year contention. Since last month's memorable sweep of the New York Yankees, he is slashing .191/.289/.282/.571 with only two home runs.

However, there is still a lot of optimism about his bat moving forward. The "Gus Bus" leads off this article mainly because of his defensive struggles.

Ramírez, who hasn't even spent the full season in MLB, leads all catchers with 15 passed balls. He has 76 stolen bases allowed with only six runners caught attempting to steal. He is also the worst-ranked backstop in terms of blocking, according to Baseball Savant.

For Ramírez to catch in a part-time role in future seasons, he must show signs of progress this month. Otherwise, the Marlins will be planning for a future where he learns a new position or focuses fully on being a designated hitter.

Connor Norby

Expectations were high for Connor Norby entering this season, who was looking to prove himself as an everyday player. Injuries have limited Norby to 77 games and his results have been frustrating. He's slashing .247/.298/.373/.671 with six home runs, 31 RBI and an 85 wRC+.

Norby has been extremely aggressive at the plate, swinging at 54.3% of pitches (MLB average is 47.3%). It just isn't working for him. His numbers have been especially bad against left-handers (.151/.279/.219/.498), so even if the Marlins used him in a platoon long term, it's hard to feel confident in how he'd do.

Defensively, it isn't going any better. More than a full year since converting to third base, Norby still rates poorly (-6 OAA and -9 DRS this season).

When Norby missed time this summer, Graham Pauley stepped up as a nice alternative for the Marlins at third, especially on defense. Now's the opportunity for Norby to re-establish himself as the team's best option. Since coming off the IL, Norby is slashing .333/.409/.500/.909 with five RBI.

Victor Mesa Jr.

Being under pressure is a blessing for Mesa, because at other points this season, it seemed as though he was not in the Marlins' plans at all. The rookie has been limited to eight MLB games, slashing .182/.357/.182/.539 with one RBI.

Outfield injuries have piled up to open the door for him. Kyle Stowers is scheduled to return within the next week, but the timeline isn't as clear for Griffin Conine, Dane Myers and Derek Hill, who are also on the IL.

In a tiny sample, the Marlins have already used Mesa at all three outfield spots. His speed and power don't blow you away, so the team might not be as patient with him as they would with players who have louder tools. This is an important stretch for Mesa to show he's more than a depth piece.

Troy Johnston/Eric Wagaman

First base has been arguably the biggest weakness for the 2025 Marlins, so expect that to be addressed this offseason. Johnston and Wagaman seem to be battling for a single spot on the 40-man roster moving forward.

Johnston got off to a slow start when called up in late July, but his numbers now look more respectable. He's slashing .273/.314/.379/.693 with one home run, six RBI and a 92 wRC+ while splitting time between the outfield and first base.

Wagaman is slashing .237/.288/.370/.658 with nine home runs, 45 RBI and an 80 wRC+. He ranks last among active Marlins players with -0.5 fWAR this year. But he is attempting to finish on a high note. Since the beginning of August, Wagaman has an .822 OPS. He also has the ability to fill in as a corner outfielder and third baseman in emergencies.

Adam Mazur

We are expecting Mazur to finish up 2025 in the Marlins rotation. Through three starts, he has posted a 5.74 ERA, 4.42 FIP, 6.89 K/9 and 2.87 BB/9. He is limiting hard contact, though that hasn't translated to overall success yet.

The pressure is lower on Mazur than the other players above because he is a pitcher—the injury rate is higher, so more opportunities will present themselves in the future regardless. That being said, a great September could put him in the mix for a 2026 Opening Day rotation spot.

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