Kevin Barral

On Thursday, Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix met with the media for about 15 minutes to discuss the moves his team has made up to this point in the offseason. Understandably, most of the questions concerned Wednesday's trade that sent Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs. "I think we're getting somebody who hits the ball very hard and hits for a lot of power—that's a hard thing to find," Bendix said via Zoom regarding the centerpiece of the trade return, Owen Caissie. "It's a hard thing to find in any area. It's usually very expensive to acquire and I think every good team needs power. With him, we're getting someone who has shown the ability to make adjustments as he's gotten older and as he's faced better pitching. He's still very young and has room for improvement offensively and defensively, but his performance to date in his career has been exceptional." Caissie slashed .286/.386/.551/.937 with 22 home runs, 55 RBI and a 139 wRC+ through 99 Triple-A games last season. As a left-handed-hitting corner outfielder, Caissie's similarities to 2025 Marlins All-Star are "pretty easy to see," Bendix admitted. "To have somebody who's on that career trajectory much earlier in their career, who crushed Triple-A pitching at a much younger age, that's really exciting," said Bendix. "It doesn't guarantee anything and doesn't mean that he's necessarily going to step in right away and hit 40 home runs or anything like that. There's certainly risk there, but it is unusual to have a player like Caissie, at his age, perform the way that he did at a high level, and that makes us really excited." Bendix also told the media that Caissie will still go to the World Baseball Classic, which takes place during spring training in March. He previously represented his native country at the 2023 WBC. "I think that's going to be a great experience for him," said Bendix. "I think the more high-level competition he and all of our young guys can get, the better it is for them and for us." Caissie will compete alongside one of his new Marlins teammates in shortstop Otto López. Canada is part of Pool A, which takes place in Puerto Rico. Along with Caissie, the Marlins acquired shortstop prospect Cristian Hernández and Edgardo De Leon, an 18-year-old infield prospect. Hernández, who spent last season in High-A, slashed .252/.329/.365/.694 with seven home runs, 53 RBI, 52 stolen bases and a 99 wRC+. He played 95 games at shortstop, where it seems like he has a chance to stick long term. In 2025, De Leon made the jump from the Dominican Summer League to the Arizona Complex League. In 43 games, he slashed .276/.353/.500/.853 with five home runs, 15 RBI and a 118 wRC+. "I think Cristian Hernández is tooled up, does a lot of things well. Certainly has a lot of things he needs to improve, but he's very young and has a lot of ingredients in place," Bendix said. "Edgardo De Leon, he's even younger and has further to go, but the power that he has shown, the exit velocities that he has shown, the aptitude that he has shown, is really exciting for an 18-year-old. When we were able to get a package of these three players that we think can help us this year and beyond, that ended up being what got us over the line." Cabrera had been the subject of trade rumors throughout the past couple of years. Last offseason, it seemed as if the Pittsburgh Pirates were a potential landing spot, then leading up to the 2025 MLB trade deadline, the Cubs and New York Yankees were among the clubs interested in the right-handed starter. During the Winter Meetings, it was reported that the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles were in discussions for Cabrera. Last Sunday, the Yankees reportedly re-emerged as a serious suitor. In 2025, Cabrera broke out, posting a 3.53 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 9.81 K/9 and 3.14 BB/9 in a career-high 137 ⅔ innings pitched. That marked the first time in his career surpassing the 100-inning threshold. Even then, the injury-prone 27-year-old landed on the IL twice, most notably towards the end of the season with a right elbow sprain, but still made two starts to finish the season. "There's risk with every player in baseball," Bendix said. "There's risk with Edward Cabrera. There's risk with just about anybody. There's no such thing as certainty. I think what we try to do is we try to get players who do things well and also have areas of improvement that we think we can help. That gets to the idea of developing players at all levels, including at the major league level." A source did tell Fish On First that although the Marlins feel comfortable with their current starting pitching options, they still may go out and sign an experienced pitcher who can eat innings, similar to the signing of Cal Quantrill last season. Bendix also did not rule out the possibility of a top prospect like Thomas White or Robby Snelling winning a rotation job out of camp. "I think there’s an opportunity there," said Bendix. "There’s competition there, there’s open space there, and there’s a chance for a lot of guys to step up and earn a spot. There’s nothing we’re writing off at this point." Prior to trading away Cabrera, the Marlins signed right-handed reliever Pete Fairbanks to a one-year deal worth $13M. Fairbanks, who Bendix knows well from this days with the Tampa Bay Rays, posted a 2.83 ERA, 3.63 ERA, 8.80 K/9, 2.69 BB/9 and a career best 27 saves in a career-high 60 ⅓ innings pitched. "I really like him, respect him as a person, and I think he's an excellent pitcher," said Bendix. "I think that there's more upside, even than what he's shown recently. He added a new cutter that has a chance to be really good. I think he's better understanding himself, his body, how to execute his pitches, and really to be a team leader. He's going to step into a situation where he's the veteran, he's the guy in the bullpen, and I trust in him to be able to execute that leadership as well as execute his pitches." The final acquisition which was touched on very quickly was the one of Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Esteury Ruiz, who the Marlins acquired in exchange for minor league pitcher Adriano Marrero. In 2025, Ruiz was primarily in AAA, where he slashed .304/.412/.511/.923 with 16 home runs, 61 RBI, 63 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. During his MLB career, however, Ruiz's career slash line is only .241/.296/.343/.639 with eight homers in 197 games. "We think (Ruiz) is a really helpful, complementary piece, who's got upside beyond that," said Bendix. "He's one of the fastest guys in baseball, an elite base-stealing threat and made some real adjustments to his offensive game that we think are going to pay off huge dividends. We think he needs an opportunity to play and we can help him get a little bit more out of his game. It's the type of skills that are truly elite at the top of the scale that are hard to find and it's somebody who is still young and still improving and really fits our roster really well, too." "I think we're executing on our plan of building a club that we think can be really exciting in 2026 and also continuing on this plan to make our franchise competitive every single year for the foreseeable future," Bendix said. "I think we added a lot of really interesting talent and it's going to be fun to see how some of these competitions play out in spring training." Thursday also marks the deadline to exchange salary figures with arbitration-eligible players. With Cabrera now gone, the Marlins have six players (all pitchers) who they are attempting to reach settlements with.

The Miami Marlins traded right-handed starting pitcher Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. Outfield prospect Owen Caissie is the centerpiece of the package coming to Miami, joined by shortstop prospect Cristian Hernández and infield prospect Edgardo De Leon. The clubs have yet to make the deal official. Cabrera, who the Marlins signed for $100,000 in 2015, finally broke out in 2025 after inconsistencies with his command and control. He posted a 3.53 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 9.81 K/9 and 3.14 BB/9 in a career-high 137 ⅔ innings pitched. It marked the first time in Cabrera's career that he surpassed the 100-inning threshold. His walk rate was also the lowest of his career. The main concern is his injury history. Cabrera was placed on the injured list twice last season alone, first in March with a right middle finger blister and late into the season, he suffered a right elbow sprain. Many assumed that would not only knock him out for the remainder of the 2025 season, but jeopardize all of 2026 due to possible surgery. Instead, Cabrera returned on September 22, making two more starts, going four innings against the Philadelphia Phillies and five innings against the New York Mets to close out the season. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix would be taking a gamble by moving Cabrera, who is capable of having an even better season in 2026, but the Marlins are also banking on their crop of talented, less experienced starters—including top prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling—to keep the team competitive. Cabrera is projected to make $3.7M in 2026 via arbitration and will be under club control through 2028. Northside Baseball ranked Caissie as the No. 1 overall prospect in the Cubs organization. At the Triple-A level last season, he slashed .286/.386/.551/.937 with 22 home runs, five stolen bases and a 139 wRC+ in 99 games. The 23-year-old left-handed hitter played 12 games at the major league level. He slashed .192/.222/.346/.568 in that limited opportunity. Hernández, a 22-year old shortstop prospect, is ranked 16th on Baseball America's recently released top 30 prospects list. MLB Pipeline has Hernández ranked 11th. He spent the entire 2025 season in High-A, slashing .252/.329/.365/.694 with seven home runs, 53 RBI, 54 stolen bases and a 99 wRC+. He was regarded as the fifth-best prospect in the 2021 international signing class, per Pipeline. As for De Leon, he slashed .276/.353/.500/.853 with five home runs, 15 RBI and a 118 wRC+ in the complex league. Standing at 6'0," 170 pounds, De Leon played first and third base, with some outfield sprinkled in as well. This is what you can call a throw in with some upside to see what you can get. In addition to the Cubs, Cabrera's other reported suitors this offseason included the New York Yankees, New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. With the trade, the Marlins Opening Day starting rotation now projects to be Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyer and Janson Junk. A source has told Fish On First that the Marlins could sign a veteran starting pitcher in free agency for additional depth, similar to what they did with bringing in Cal Quantrill last year.

It's been only a few weeks since Fish On First's previous 2026 roster projection, but the Miami Marlins have been very busy. Since then, they signed right-handed reliever Pete Fairbanks to a one-year deal worth $13 million, traded Dane Myers to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for outfield prospect Ethan O'Donnell, acquired Esteury Ruiz from the Los Angeles Dodgers for pitching prospect Adriano Marrero and dealt Eric Wagaman to the Minnesota Twins for pitching prospect Kade Bragg. The Marlins also lost right-handed reliever Ronny Henriquez to season-ending right elbow UCL reconstruction surgery. Accounting for those transactions, here is our Marlins Opening Day roster projection, version 3.0. Position Players Default Starting Lineup: C Agustín Ramírez, 1B Christopher Morel, 2B Xavier Edwards, 3B Graham Pauley, SS Otto Lopez, LF Kyle Stowers, CF Jakob Marsee, RF Griffin Conine, DH Heriberto Hernández Bench: INF/OF Connor Norby, UTIL Javier Sanoja, OF Esteury Ruiz, C/1B Liam Hicks Ruiz is the leading candidate to fill Myers' shoes. He isn't as good defensively, but can play all three outfield spots, and his speed makes him even more useful off the bench in late-game situations. Ruiz has hit much better versus left-handed pitchers during his MLB career (.720 OPS), so most of his plate appearances should come against them. The Marlins can use Ruiz's final minor league option at the end of spring training if another hitter in camp clearly outperforms him. Just Missed: OF Victor Mesa Jr., C Joe Mack, 1B Deyvison De Los Santos An injury to any of the left-handed-hitting outfielders listed above could open the door for Mesa to make his first career Opening Day roster. He appeared in 16 Marlins games in 2025 across two separate stints. Mack will likely finish the year as the club's most-used catcher. However, expect his debut to be delayed long enough for the Marlins to secure an extra year of club control over him. Once De Los Santos shows that his winter ball success can translate to affiliated ball, he'll get his opportunity to earn the full-time first base job. Pitchers Starting rotation: RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Edward Cabrera, RHP Eury Pérez, LHP Ryan Weathers, RHP Max Meyer Bullpen: RHP Pete Fairbanks, RHP Anthony Bender, RHP Tyler Phillips, RHP Calvin Faucher, LHP Cade Gibson, RHP Josh White, RHP Lake Bachar, RHP Janson Junk Edward Cabrera continues to draw widespread trade interest. Still, we can't assume his departure yet—the Marlins have made him available in the past without receiving what they consider to be a fair offer. Fairbanks essentially replaces the injured Henriquez. He will be the Marlins' highest-leverage reliever, pitching in most save situations. White is coming off one of the best seasons by a Marlins minor league reliever in recent memory, posting a 1.86 ERA and 1.65 FIP in 67 ⅔ innings pitched. He has zero left to prove in Triple-A. Relievers are so volatile that service time shouldn't influence the timing of his debut like it would for a starting pitcher or position player. His inclusion leaves the Marlins with only one left-hander in their bullpen, but keep in mind that White struck out more than 40% of the lefties he faced in 2025. Just missed: LHP Braxton Garrett, LHP Josh Simpson, LHP Andrew Nardi Garrett's overall career numbers are actually slightly better than Cabrera's. He would be the first starting pitcher called up in the event of a trade. Going down to AAA may help shake off the rust after spending last year rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. The Marlins have had opportunities this offseason to squeeze Simpson and Nardi off their 40-man roster, but other players were sacrificed instead. That suggests the club truly believes in the positive flashes Simpson showed at the end of a difficult season and the progress Nardi is making in his comeback from recurring back problems. They will both be monitored closely during spring training.

On Friday, the Miami Marlins announced that they have traded Eric Wagaman to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for left-handed minor league pitcher Kade Bragg. Wagaman, who signed a split deal as a free agent during the previous offseason, played 140 games in a Marlins uniform. He slashed .250/.296/.378/.674 with nine home runs, 53 RBI and an 85 wRC+. He finished second amongst National League rookies in hits, fourth in RBI and second in doubles. He received playing time at both corner infield and both corner outfield positions, but he mainly handled first base. The only bright spot in Wagaman's 2025 season was his production against left-handed pitching. He slashed .283/.321/.462/.783 with five home runs and 26 RBI with the platoon advantage. Expect him to continue in that role in Minnesota, filling in for former Marlin Josh Bell against lefties. Although Bell is a switch-hitter, he had significant platoon splits last year (.804 OPS vs. RHP, .552 OPS vs. LHP). Wagaman had been designated for assignment to make room for newest Marlins outfielder Esteury Ruiz. As for the return, left-handed pitcher Kade Bragg split the 2025 season across three levels (Low-A, High-A and Double-A). Overall, he had a 2.94 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 10.96 K/9 and 4.14 BB/9 in 67 ⅓ innings pitched (42 appearances). The year before, he was limited to only six appearances due to injury. Bragg, 24, could potentially find himself as a spring training non-roster invitee. He'll be Rule 5 draft-eligible following the 2026 season.

The final Miami Marlins trade of 2025 was a relatively small one on the surface. They acquired outfielder Esteury Ruiz—a classic "Quad-A player"—from the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for pitching prospect Adriano Marrero. The Marlins were very high on the 18-year old pitcher Marrero, who signed for $350,000 out of Cuba. But it should be noted that he failed physicals with two other MLB teams before turning pro with the Fish. Also, the organization has a handful of rookie-level pitchers who they value even more, so this was dealing from an area of strength. Looking at Ruiz, he has a long history of great minor league production. We've seen that his elite speed translates to the majors, but so far, the rest of his skill set hasn't. Ruiz was originally signed by the Kansas City Royals, then traded to the San Diego Padres with whom he made his major league debut in 2022. Flipped to the Milwaukee Brewers later that season in the Josh Hader trade, he joined the Athletics in the 2022-23 offseason as part of the three-team deal that sent Sean Murphy to the Atlanta Braves. Although his MLB experience is spread out across four different seasons, most of his playing time came with the A's in 2023. In 197 games at the highest level, Ruiz has slashed .241/.296/.343/.639 with eight home runs, 59 RBI, 79 stolen bases and a 81 wRC+. While the high number of steals jumps out, the rest of those stats are about the same as the man he's replacing, Dane Myers. The Dodgers barely used Ruiz on their way to another World Series title, but he did catch fire with their Triple-A affiliate, slashing .303/.411/.514/.925 with 16 home runs, 60 RBI, 62 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. These numbers should be taken with a grain of salt as he already dominated the upper minors back in 2022. It's exciting that Ruiz has been able to cut down on his chase rate. In the majors, his career rate is 33.6%; in AAA this past season, he was at 35.6%, putting him in the 67th percentile among AAA hitters, per Prospect Savant. The problem for Ruiz is he usually doesn't hit the ball hard enough. His MLB hard-hit rate since debuting in 2022 is 20.9%, barely half the league average. Only Tyler Wade, Tony Kemp, José Herrera and Steven Kwan rank lower than him during that span (min. 500 PA). This past season with Triple-A Oklahoma City, it was up to 27.6%. That still leaves him relying far too much on his speed to create production. That being said, it's surprising to see Ruiz's barrel rate in the 66th percentile. On the rare occasions when he crushed balls, he made them count by hitting them in the air and pulling them to left field. Being able to identify mistake pitches and swinging at max effort allows him to be more of a power threat than his small 5'10" frame would make you believe. z2pw0d.mp4 Marlins player development has a motto: "hit strikes hard." They seem to have targeted a guy in Ruiz who began doing that in 2025. Now, the important part is putting this adjustment to the test in the majors. The Marlins will use Ruiz primarily against left-handed pitching. Due to limitations with his throwing arm, he fits best as a platoon left fielder, seeing action on days that Kyle Stowers and/or Jakob Marsee are on the bench. Expectations should remain low for a player like Ruiz. After all, the Dodgers are in "win-now mode" and if they felt he was close to a breakout, they would've found a way to keep him. Worst-case scenario, the Marlins are deep with AAA outfield options who could take over for Ruiz by the middle of the season.

Pete Fairbanks went into his free agency with no expectations, just looking to talk to teams and see what was out there, until his former boss Peter Bendix came calling. After various conversations, he signed a one-year, $13M deal to become a member of the organization. On New Year’s Eve, Fairbanks met with the media to discuss the process that led him to Miami. "What Pete (Bendix) is doing here was definitely a pleasant surprise," said Fairbanks. "Definitely had some appeal there. My wife and I sat down and we really talked about it. I think that the people who we talked to throughout the process seemed great on the pitching side. Four hours from St. Pete and we're expecting our third kid basically on Opening Day, so that, the proximity, coupled with meeting everything else that we were looking for, is what made it a pretty good choice." A major factor in Fairbanks choosing Miami was having a conversation with Bendix, hearing how much has changed and the direction that the organization is going in under this new regime. He even noted that the Bendix-era teams were much better than those of the 2021 and 2022 Marlins. The Marlins and Rays split the 2025 Citrus Series, snapping a long streak of Rays victories. "To hear all the things that he's been doing over his tenure down in Miami, from what I've heard previously to what I have now, how much things are changing and how much he has been attempting to put his stamp on things. I felt like that made it a pretty easy choice, and I am excited to see the direction that he takes." Fairbanks is the first pitcher to sign a major league free agent deal with the Marlins since they began calling pitches from the dugout last September. The team explained that this process doesn't lead to extra pitch clock violations, which is important to Fairbanks who works very slowly on the mound, averaging approximately 13.1 seconds with the bases empty last season (third-longest time in MLB). "Whether it comes from the dugout or the catcher, I figure I'll be just fine," he said. After a season where he had a career-high in saves, Fairbanks was asked if there were any conversations regarding what his role would be with the team. The Marlins did not have a clear-cut closer in 2025, with nine different pitchers recording a save. "I'm quite familiar with how the leverage-based bullpen gets ran, as I did it for quite a while until, really, the past three years," Fairbanks said. "Whether it's improving the counting stats in the ninth, or facing the heart of the eighth, whatever is asked of me is going to be what I do." Fairbanks, 32, posted a 2.83 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 8.80 K/9, 2.69 BB/9 and 27 saves (career-high) in a career-high 60 1/3 innings pitched. One major decline for him has been the strikeout rate, which was roughly the same as his career-low of 8.74 from 2024. From 2019-2023, he averaged 12.9 K/9. “I think that there's plenty of ways to skin the cat," said Fairbanks. "If that comes via strikeout or via first pitch pop-up to first, I'm not going to complain about it either way." Towards the end of the season, Fairbanks began to experiment with a cutter, which he ended up throwing 42 times (4.3%). He will be using it a "decent bit" in 2026, he told Fish On First. "I'm good at getting on the outside of the ball," said Fairbanks. "Whenever I was messing around with (Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder) pregame, I was like, 'eventually I'm just gonna start throwing whiffle sliders for fun.' Turns out, it grades out well, and I'm able to throw it in the zone...It just seems like the it's an easy spot for my hand to get into throughout the delivery. As long as we're able to continue making the ball move how the intention behind it, and it's not blending with any of the other breaking balls, I think we should be pretty good." Fairbanks also has a changeup in his arsenal—he threw it 4.9% of the time last season and opponents posted a .353 batting average against it. He doesn’t expect to increase its usage, noting that "four (pitches) would be a lot for a one-inning guy."

On Saturday, the Miami Marlins traded Dane Myers to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for 23-year-old outfielder Ethan O'Donnell. The timing of the deal was not random—the Marlins had just reached an agreement with free agent Pete Fairbanks and needed to make a corresponding move to open up a 40-man roster spot for him. They got whatever they could for Myers, whose three-year tenure with the Fish had some great stretches, but ended with an ugly half-season slump and yet another injury. This was a sell-low situation. That being said, O'Donnell is capable of being much more than just organizational filler. Selected in the sixth round of the 2023 MLB Draft, O'Donnell destroyed Low-A pitching later that summer. In 23 games, he slashed .350/.447/.600/1.047 with a 180 wRC+, including a streak of homering in four consecutive games. That's a rare feat for anybody in the Florida State League. Moving up to High-A in 2024, O'Donnell slashed .269/.358/.416/.774 with 10 home runs, 40 RBI, 31 stolen bases and a 124 wRC+ in 104 games. He was among Minor League Baseball's hottest hitters in August (1.076 OPS). The Marlins are getting O'Donnell coming off his worst statistical year as a pro. It included a .236/.327/.325/.652 slash line with seven home runs, 56 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 90 wRC+ in 125 Double-A games. He struck out 25.6% of the time, but also walked 10.7% of the time. Just as it was looking like the Reds would be limiting O'Donnell to the outfield corners moving forward, he gave them reason to believe that center field is still a possibility. He played 64 games there, followed by 50 in left field, where he has more than enough arm strength to be successful. On the surface, O'Donnell's .314 batting average on balls in play may look normal. However, he has a long history of being more productive thanks to his combination of above-average speed, hard contact and skilled bunting. His overall BABIP topped .400 in 2023 when combining college and the minors and he was at .357 in 2024. Perhaps there is some bounce-back potential for him in that category. It also needs to be noted that the Southern League is an extremely pitcher-friendly league where the average slash line is .230/.321/.340/.660. Since becoming affiliated with Double-A Pensacola, the Marlins have seen a bunch of their prospects take huge steps forward offensively upon being moved up to Triple-A Jacksonville, with Jakob Marsee and Kemp Alderman as recent examples. We'll see if O'Donnell can benefit from the change of scenery like they did. One area of focus for O'Donnell should be refining his approach against left-handed pitching. In 2025, he struck out 37.8% of the time vs. lefties with zero homers in 98 plate appearances. Even if O'Donnell winds up as a platoon player at the major league level, that's an outcome the Marlins would be happy with given the tools he has to impact winning in other aspects of the game.

On Monday, the Miami Marlins agreed to acquire Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Esteury Ruiz in exchange for pitching prospect Adriano Marrero, sources confirm to Fish On First. Neither club has announced the trade yet. To add Ruiz to the Marlins 40-man roster, Eric Wagaman is being designated for assignment. Ruiz, 26, is being traded for the fifth time in his professional career. He began the 2025 season with the Athletics, but was quickly picked up by the Dodgers. With their Triple-A affiliate, he slashed .303/.411/.514/.925 with 16 home runs, 60 RBI, 62 stolen bases and a 137 wRC+. He was called up late in the season and in 19 games, slashed .190/.261/.333/.594 with one home run, two RBI, four stolen bases and a a 67 wRC+. Once regarded as a top prospect, Ruiz led the American League with 67 stolen bases in 2023. However, his aggressiveness at the plate has been an issue, going from a 19.9% strikeout rate against MLB pitching in 2023 to a 31.8% in limited opportunities since then. This acquisition essentially replaces the recently traded Dane Myers. The organization is looking to take advantage of Ruiz's elite speed and hoping to fix his hit tool. He has one more minor league option remaining and is still pre-arbitration eligible. Marrero, who signed with the Marlins for $350,000 in the most recent international signing class, pitched in 33 innings (10 starts) in the Dominican Summer League, posting a 3.82 ERA, 4.22 FIP, 9.55 K/9 and 3.27 BB/9. The organization was high on Marrero, who showed a promising ability to spin the ball. Wagaman, who was designated for assignment, signed a split deal with the Marlins last offseason. He made the team's roster out of spring training and stuck throughout the entire 2025 season. In 140 games, he slashed .250/.296/.378/.674 with nine home runs, 53 RBI and an 85 wRC+. Despite playing various positions around the diamond, it was all below average and he provided -0.4 fWAR overall.

Last week, the Miami Marlins made their signing of Christopher Morel official. Sources tell our own Isaac Azout that Morel will not be the last bat added this offseason. Whether it's via free agency or trade, the Marlins will continue shopping for efficient ways to upgrade an offense that ranked tied for 19th in MLB in wRC+ and 27th in home runs. Below are four names (two trade targets and two free agents) that should be considered by the Marlins front office. 1B Triston Casas (Boston Red Sox) With the Boston Red Sox acquiring Willson Contreras from the St. Louis Cardinals, former top prospect Triston Casas does not have a clear spot in the club's future plans. The American Heritage product is only entering his age-26 season, but he has been hampered by injuries—he was limited to playing 63 games in 2024 and 29 games this past season. Even before suffering a left patellar tendon rupture, Casas was on pace for the worst year of his career. However, Casas had an impressive .250/.357/.473 slash line prior to 2025. Under previous front office leadership, the Marlins were reportedly very interested in his combination of power and plate discipline. Maybe Casas' value is too low for Boston to move him right now. He could still be helpful as depth behind Contreras. Any potential trade sending him to the Marlins would likely involve the Sox getting starting pitching in return. OF Jo Adell (Los Angeles Angels) On the other hand, another former first-round pick, Jo Adell, is coming off a career year. Splitting his time between center field and right field, Adell slashed .236/.293/.485/.778 with 37 home runs, 98 RBI and a 112 wRC+. Adell has always struggled to get on base (career .277 OBP) and he shouldn't see much action in center field moving forward, but his power stands out. He has two more years of club control remaining. The Angels pitching depth is still shaky and their lineup is too right-handed-heavy. The Marlins are a natural trade partner, though there hasn't been any indication yet that Adell is on the market. OF Starling Marte (free agent) Marte was a very popular Marlins player in 2020 and 2021. Back then, he was their everyday center fielder and No. 2 hitter. A lot has changed. This past season at age 36, the New York Met slashed .270/.335/.410/.745 with nine home runs, 34 RBI and a 112 wRC+. He averaged only 99 games per year in Queens and he's mainly a designated hitter at this stage of his career. His speed has also been in a steady decline. Playing in Miami where Marte already resides might bring out the best in him. The Marlins would platoon him so that he faces left-handed pitching as much as possible. UTIL Luis Rengifo (free agent) Given the Marlins' desire for defensive versatility, Rengifo seems like a logical fit. Typically a second baseman/third baseman, he can handle shortstop or any of the outfield spots if needed. Last season, Rengifo slashed .238/.287/.335/.622 with nine home runs, 43 RBI and a 73 wRC+ through 147 games played. Even in a disappointing season, he struck out under 20% of the time. Prior to that, Rengifo was coming off three straight seasons where he posted a wRC+ over 100, including career-highs of a 118 wRC+ and 24 stolen bases in 2024. It's rare for 29-year-olds with solid MLB track records to settle for one-year deals. Rengifo's uncharacteristically bad 2025 has created a nice opportunity for the Marlins if they believe he'll bounce back.

The Miami Marlins made it clear early on that they'd be pursuing some of the top relievers available in free agency. Instead, they have been overshadowed by teams in their own division. The Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies have each signed multiple relievers to major league deals. The Marlins have only added pitchers on minor league deals. The unwillingness to commit to any free agent for multiple years has prevented the Marlins from landing big names. To make matters worse, the biggest name in their current bullpen, Ronny Henriquez, has undergone right UCL reconstruction surgery. He will not be available to pitch next season. Fortunately, several effective relievers are still out there who wouldn't require commitments beyond 2026, most notably Pete Fairbanks. Despite a career 3.19 ERA and 90 saves, Fairbanks' injury history seems to be hurting his market. Sources told our own Isaac Azout that the Marlins remain "very interested" in Fairbanks and have made a strong one-year offer worth more than the $11M he was due to make with the Tampa Bay Rays before his club option was declined. Here are five more veteran relievers to monitor. LHP Taylor Rogers Rogers spent the 2025 season with the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs, posting a 3.38 ERA, 4.38 FIP, 9.41 K/9 and 4.09 BB/9 through 50 ⅔ innings pitched. Once he was traded to the Cubs, Rogers did begin to struggle, posting an ERA of 5.09. You can make the case that pitching at Wrigley was the issue, as his HR/FB ratio went from 8.8% to 21.7%. He was walking fewer players, but just giving up a lot more contact. dnZicWpfZFhBc1VBPT1fQXdaVVVRWlNVd29BWEFjQ1ZnQUhBQVlBQUFNR1VsZ0FVd2NEVWdJTkNRb0hWQXBV.mp4 Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported that the Marlins had shown interest in both of the Rogers brothers. While Tyler signed a three-year deal, $37M with the Toronto Blue Jays, Taylor should be significantly cheaper. LHP Andrew Chafin Chafin continues to bounce around the league, giving teams great results more often than not. In 2025, he started the season with the Washington Nationals before being dealt to the Los Angeles Angels. He posted a 2.41 ERA, 3.46 FIP, 9.62 K/9 and 5.08 BB/9 through 33 ⅔ innings pitched. Despite being 35 years old, Chafin's slider is still a solid swing-and-miss pitch with a 41.0% whiff rate. His sinker generates plenty of ground balls. He's also very comfortable inheriting baserunners in the middle of an inning. N3lSYmpfZFhBc1VBPT1fRHdCWUFGUU5VMVlBQ0ZaUlhnQUhVZ0ZXQUZoUlVWZ0FDbEVHVlFaV1VGWURWbFlB.mp4 Teams always have a need for relievers at the trade deadline, and Chafin has been moved during the last three of them. If the Marlins are out of contention, history says they should be able to get something in return for him. RHP Hunter Harvey Marlins fans should be familiar with Hunter Harvey, the son of Bryan Harvey who pitched with the Washington Nationals from 2022 up until the 2024 trade deadline, when he was moved to the Kansas City Royals. The 31-year-old pitched in only 12 games this past season due to a right teres major strain and a right adductor strain. In limited appearances, he posted a 0.00 ERA, 1.35 FIP, 9.28 K/9 and 0.84 BB/9. Looking at a larger sample size going back to 2024, in 50 ⅔ innings, he posted a 4.44 ERA, 3.52 FIP, 9.77 K/9 and 2.84 BB/9. Wng0amdfZFhBc1VBPT1fRGdOV1V3Y0dBMU1BV2dBSEFBQUhVZ0ZRQUFBSEFRQUFBMUJSQmdNTUJRdFJDUU5T.mp4 Harvey's combination of high velocity and control is hard to find. RHP Seranthony Domínguez Domínguez was with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2018 through the 2024 trade deadline. He's been dominant over 11 scoreless innings in his career pitching at loanDepot park. This past season, Domínguez posted a 3.16 ERA, 3.47 FIP, 11.35 K/9 and 5.17 BB/9 through 62 ⅔ innings pitched. He was also used in 12 of Toronto's 18 postseason games, including Game 7 of the World Series. If not for his strike-throwing issues (including 12 wild pitches last season), Domínguez would probably get a multi-year deal. It would make sense for him to show improvement in that area in 2026, then test the market again. RHP Kirby Yates After an awesome 2024 season where Yates posted a career-best 1.17 ERA through 61 ⅔ innings pitched, he landed on the injured list three times last season. Limited to 50 games, he struggled with a 5.23 ERA, 4.76 FIP, 11.32 K/9 and 3.70 BB/9. Yates' four-seam fastball (plus-15 run value to plus-1 run value) and splitter (plus-8 to minus-7) both regressed. There was a huge increase in the amount of hard contact he allowed on both pitches. Yates will turn 39 right before Opening Day.

Miami Marlins right-handed reliever Ronny Henriquez will miss the entire 2026 season after undergoing right elbow UCL reconstruction surgery with an internal brace. MLB.com's Christina De Nicola was the first to report the news Monday night and the club later followed with official confirmation. Dr. Keith Meister performed the procedure—that's the same surgeon who worked with fellow Marlins Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez when they required UCL reconstruction. Henriquez, 25, was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Twins on February 11 and made the Opening Day roster out of spring training. In 69 appearances (73.0 IP), he posted a 2.22 ERA, 3.15 FIP, 12.08 K/9, 3.33 BB/9 and notched seven saves. His 98 strikeouts tied Edwin Díaz for second-most among National League relievers last year. He didn't spend any time on the injured list. In 2025, the Marlins ranked 26th amongst MLB bullpens in fWAR and 22nd in bullpen ERA. Before the loss of Henriquez, the Marlins had been in pursuit of veteran relievers this offseason. They are now even more desperate for outside help. Original top targets such as Devin Williams, Ryan Helsley and Kyle Finnegan are now off the market after receiving multi-year deals. Miami remains very interested in Pete Fairbanks, who may be the best option in free agency willing to take a one-year deal. Current in-house candidates to enter games in high-leverage situations include Calvin Faucher, who led the team last year with 15 saves, Anthony Bender and Tyler Phillips. Also, Lake Bachar and left-hander Cade Gibson were on the active roster for most of the year.

On Thursday, the Miami Marlins made the free agent signing of Christopher Morel official, inking him to a one-year deal worth $2M. In his previous two offseasons as Marlins president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix gave similar deals to shortstop Tim Anderson ($5M) and starting pitcher Cal Quantrill ($3.5M). Neither of them finished the season with the team. After getting burned by Anderson and Quantrill, why should Marlins fans be hopeful about Morel turning his career around? The 26-year-old isn't likely to emerge as a consistent everyday player, but Miami may be the right landing spot to help him improve upon what he did last season. In 2025 with the Tampa Bay Rays, Morel slashed .219/.289/.396/.684 with a 90 wRC+ through 105 games played. He struck out 35.7% of the time and walked at a 8.2% rate while hitting only 11 home runs, which were all career-worsts for him. Morel's raw power remains impressive. His average exit velocity of 91.8 mph would have ranked in the 87th percentile among MLB hitters if he had enough playing time to qualify, tied with Julio Rodríguez and Jarren Duran. He also made an interesting adjustment to his swing decisions in 2025. Morel offered at 77.1% of pitches inside the strike zone after never previously reaching 70%. The main issue with Morel is connecting with the ball. He just set a career-low with his 72.6% contact rate and he was among MLB's worst when chasing outside of the zone (36.5% O-Contact). In some ways, Morel has a similar profile to Kyle Stowers and Griffin Conine. Working with the Marlins hitting development staff, both outfielders improved their plate approach and mechanics. They enter 2026 as key pieces of the club's lineup. Stowers went from a 34.5% O-Swing in 2024 between his stints with the Orioles and Marlins to 29.0% in 2025. On top of that, he made much more contact inside the zone, allowing him to break out into an All-Star. Prior to Bendix joining the organization, Conine struck out 34.9% of the time in 2023. The following year in Triple-A, he lowered his strikeout rate to 29.5%. This past season—albeit in only 24 games due to a dislocated shoulder—he struck out 29.1% of the time at the major league level. Steamer projects Morel to slash .227/.307/.419 with 11 home runs and a 100 wRC+, which would get him to 0.6 fWAR. Even that ordinary production would make the Marlins consider retaining him for 2027 via arbitration. Morel can make the decision easier if he learns to play decent defense at first base. Morel is just now entering what should be the physical prime of his career. To make the most of it, he'll have to trust his new organization and be open-minded to some major changes.