Sean Millerick

When healthy and on his game, Jesús Luzardo is an awesome pitcher. He already showed that during his Miami Marlins tenure. Since Luzardo was traded to Philadelphia, he has fully realized his potential. He has been injury-free during those two seasons while continuing to fine-tune his arsenal. Luzardo put an exclamation point on all that brilliance in his most recent start with a twelve-strikeout, complete game shutout—the first time in his MLB career going the distance. No pitcher in the National League has more strikeouts than Luzardo since 2025. The only one with more wins is his Phillies teammate, Cristopher Sánchez. Entering Friday, their club is a virtual lock to compete in the postseason yet again. Meanwhile, the prospects obtained in that trade are yet to do a single thing to help the Marlins win a baseball game. There is also plenty of time for Miami to see a return here, as headliner Starlyn Caba is already an elite defender and still only 20 years old. However, it does seem to safe to say that Miami should have held on to Luzardo longer rather than selling low coming off a back issue. Unfortunately for the Marlins front office, their franchise's spending constraints repeatedly pressure them to rush into decisions like this. Luzardo was two years away from free agency at the time of the deal. Despite his shaky track record of durability and effectiveness, he received a five-year, $135 million extension from the Phillies last March. Bruce Sherman would have never given the green light for such an investment...at least not under MLB's current financial system. So Peter Bendix made the trade to ensure he got something in return before Luzardo inevitably tested the open market. There could be a light at the end of the tunnel for Marlins fans as the league's collective bargaining agreement nears its expiration and owners are reportedly united around the framework of operating with a salary cap and corresponding salary floor. Raising the minimum on what teams must commit to their payroll could be enough to save Miami from the next Luzardo deal. If you're not trying to contend and have to pay someone anyway, players like him with extremely high ceilings would be the obvious ones to gamble on. It would provide more margin for error. Right now, Bendix has none of that, hence why the 2026 Marlins rotation was Sandy Alcantara surrounded by pre-arbitration-eligible arms under less than a million dollars apiece. This would not entirely level the playing field considering the massive gap in local revenues between large and small markets, but definitely a step in a more equitable direction. For the Marlins' sake, it's time for some reform to this broken system. View full article

Most of us would be happy with a lottery ticket that netted roughly $2.5 million. The Miami Marlins recently had to decide whether or not to spend roughly $2.5 million on said ticket when the Cincinnati Reds placed Eugenio Suarez on waivers this week. The veteran slugger who ranked fifth in Major League Baseball with 49 home runs last season was being salary-dumped. He has been a massive disappointment overall in 2026, but has come on strong in August, clubbing 5 HR to go along with a .237/.362/.500 slash line. For context, Marlins third basemen have combined for only 6 HR all year. With Suarez once again looking a lot like the kind of right-handed power threat that the Marlins infield has sorely missed, should they have brought him aboard? Even in a down year, Suarez's 19 homers would have trailed only Heriberto Hernandez on the Marlins roster. If he's able to be as good as he's been so far this month the rest of the way, that could be a massive power boost. Think Leo Jimenez's offensive profile, except the complete opposite. For what it's worth, August and September have historically been the best months of Suarez's career. Very convenient. On the other hand, besides Jimenez, Javier Sanoja is another Marlins player whose playing time would have potentially gone down as a result. He's had a better 2026 season than Suarez by far, and has also been better in August in every way besides homers and RBIs. That .892 OPS in August won't last forever, but it could certainly last another month, and won't cost much more than a league-minimum salary, either. That's not even counting the defensive drop off, which is considerable. If Sanoja moved around the diamond to continue starting regularly with Suarez, than Agustin Ramirez would be sacrificing at-bats. That would have hindered the development of a long-term asset for an unlikely short-term reward. Over half the league is technically "contending" right now, yet Suarez went unclaimed and remained in Cincy. If that many teams decided Suarez wasn't helpful, including many teams with money to burn, then perhaps passing was the right call. Ultimately, this would have been a lottery ticket move for the Marlins, pure and simple. Suarez has produced -0.4 fWAR this season. That baseline suggests he was more likely than not to provide negative value down the stretch. However, lottery tickets can be fun now and then, and the Marlins might just have missed a trick here. The thing about lottery tickets, after all, is that they sometimes pay off, plus this one could have paid off for the Marlins in more ways than just the box score. Adding somebody with Suarez's résumé would have sent a strong message to Marlins fans that the team is making one last push to make this season matter. It could have sold tickets just as attention is starting to wander. Maybe Suarez would have been a fit, maybe he wouldn't have. He was far and away the most interesting name known to be put on waivers so far, and the Marlins passed. The window to make outside acquisitions who will have postseason eligibility closes on Monday. Will another enticing name shake loose before then, and is there any lottery ticket the Marlins would consider buying? View full article

There is no shortage of reasons why the Miami Marlins lost to the Philadelphia Phillies Monday night. Poor hitting with runners in scoring position. An umpiring decision so inexplicable that it still boggles the mind. The enduring presence of Leo Jimenez. The excellence of Cristopher Sanchez, a continuation of Miami's years-long inability to handle lefty starting pitchers. However, I wanted to focus on something that might have flown under the radar. John King pitched horribly. Cade Gibson was better, but not by much. The ineffectiveness of Miami's lefty relievers since essentially the start of July is highly concerning. For much of the year, King looked unequivocally like the best of the Marlins' offseason acquisitions. Overall, he remains a positive WAR player with a 3.88 ERA and still-sterling 0.98 WHIP. Yet his season splits are eye-opening. First half? A 2.48 ERA and 0.75 WHIP. Second half? Those numbers have ballooned to a 10.48 ERA and 2.07 WHIP. To be fair, King's first-half stats come from 40 games' worth of appearances, compared to only nine games in the second half. He has also maintained a pretty clean sheet when it comes to high leverage. There hasn't been a meaningful velocity dip. A slight decrease in sweeper spin was evident on Monday, but there just isn't a lot to point to other than the poor results and an MLB track record that always indicated he was unlikely to maintain his elite pace. At least Gibson has been consistent in 2026. Unfortunately, that just means he's been equally unhelpful all season long. Going into Wednesday, that came out to a 5.25 ERA in the first half and a 6.55 ERA in the second. He has struggled all season long to recapture his 2025 form. He's been a -0.6 bWAR pitcher. Only two Marlins pitchers have been worse this season from that standpoint. One of those is Chris Paddack. The other is Pete Fairbanks, but he's showing every sign of having resurrected his season these past couple weeks. The clock might be ticking on this bullpen composition...except for the fact that the Marlins essentially have no impactful lefty reinforcements to call upon. Scheduled to undergo elbow surgery, Andrew Nardi, who thrived as the club's high-leverage lefty during their last NL Wild Card campaign in 2023, has been fully ruled out. Two of baseball's best southpaw prospects, Robby Snelling and Thomas White, are also hurt. The only 40-man roster alternative is rookie Dax Fulton. Dipping deeper into the organization, there's not much help. Other than Fulton, Patrick Monteverde and Justin King represent the lone lefty offerings at AAA. Monteverde, who's mostly been used as a starter in the minors, has just a 5.79 ERA and 1.49 WHIP. Justin King doesn't even meet that modest standard with a 6.84 ERA and 2.00 WHIP. Bottom line? No help is coming from within if the Marlins either continue to not get much help from their lefty relievers, or if it turns out the reason they have struggled is a yet to be revealed injury. Which makes it all the more essential that King (John) and Gibson turn it around ASAP. Well that, or some team decides to shed some salary and dumps a lefty on waivers over the next two weeks. View full article

Suffice it to say, this isn't the way anyone associated with the Miami Marlins drew it up a week ago. When the Marlins made the choice to move the seemingly expendable Liam Hicks off the roster at the trade deadline...he really wasn't supposed to be missed. Although in the midst of a strong season overall, he had only homered twice since June 1. Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernández, and Kyle Stowers had all been more productive hitters lately. Joe Mack had firmly established that the Marlins were looking far backup catchers only. Miami was covered on lefty bats, covered on catchers, and covered on thump. The move wasn't popular, but of all the rumored moves that smacked of selling, it was seen as the most forgivable amongst the fanbase. Yet in the blink of an eye—or if you prefer, the spasm of a fast-twitch muscle—Kyle Stowers is back on the IL. That throws the entire Hicks decision tree back under the microscope. The first base position was comically overlooked by the Marlins. Perhaps that was more confidence than we realize in the ability of Hicks and Stowers to handle the position, but there is no denying the fact that Miami is now very thin on players with MLB experience at first base. Starting Conine there was the first move on Tuesday following Stowers' IL placement, despite having only ever played six innings there this season. Beyond Conine, light-hitting Leo Jiménez and Graham Pauley are in Miami's plans there for the moment, according to manager Clayton McCullough. Both of those "solutions" are sporting a negative WAR on the year. The club is essentially right back to where they were at the beginning of the year, with far more questions than answers at first base. Only now, there is a lot less calendar left to figure those answers out. Revisiting the Hicks decision has more to do with the structure of the trade than the fact he was traded to begin with. If Miami had moved Hicks in a deal that brought back either a starting pitcher or a right-handed bat to help this year's MLB roster make a run at the playoffs? Just the cost of doing business to maximize the roster in the here and now? Fan angst would be limited to handwringing over the Marlins being cursed and little more. However, when you sell off a very popular player for yet another prospect package...that's going to leave any organization open to criticism. By the way, Hicks owns a .238/.407/.476 slash line through seven games with Tampa Bay. His club is a perfect 7-0 in those contests. View full article

From July 10-26, the Miami Marlins lost every ballgame they played. The last of those dirty dozen contests set a franchise record for consecutive losses, but it took an additional week to fully understand the streak's ramifications. The 2011 team suffered almost as many losses in a row during their season. However, expectations were never super high, even if they did get off to a hot start. That team was always more about getting to the new ballpark than making any noise during their last season in the old one. The other 11-gamers came courtesy of the worst Marlins roster in franchise history, back in 1998. They did it twice, along with a nine-gamer for good measure. But again, not like there were any real expectations to dash on the rocks there. Although so closely removed from winning a World Series title, the team had already been largely gutted. Prior to this season, I would have told you that the "worst" Marlins losing streak wasn't even double digits in length. For me, it was a six-game losing streak in late 2004 that knocked the defending champions pretty firmly out of playoff contention. It was fueled as much by the toll of too many hurricanes as too difficult opponents. With the 2026 MLB trade deadline now in the rear view, for the first time in franchise history, the math mirrors the damage. Why? Because as anyone reading this well knows, this time, the slump actually cost the Marlins. Yes, they did largely stand pat at the trade deadline, and they kept the core intact. However, they were rumored to be definite buyers going into the All-Star break. The turnaround was dizzying. The change in expectations was gutting. What should have been a deadline filled with hope was instead one that most Marlins fans spent it hoping the rumors wouldn't be true. Can the 2026 Marlins still contend? Absolutely. But it is far more likely that they are going to coming up short, lacking in areas like third base and starting rotation depth. A true buyer would have done something to patch those leaks. That 12-game losing streak changed everything, making it the worst losing streak in Marlins history. View full article

Throughout Miami Marlins history, there has been one constant measuring stick. While the Marlins have never won a National League East title themselves, it's rare for the Atlanta Braves to finish anywhere but atop the division. Every Marlins manager has uttered some version of, "The Braves will tell us where we are" in advance of their head-to-head meetings. The Marlins will be tested once again this week in Atlanta, trailing the Braves by 9.5 games entering Tuesday's series opener. Another chance to upset a team viewed as clearly better than them coming into the season and fire up fans to come out and support them during the next homestand. Thus far in 2026, the Marlins are 2-5 against the Braves. Those previous matchups like an eternity ago, in ways both good and bad. Kyle Stowers was only available for one of those series. Griffin Conine missed both. Eury Pérez was not pitching at this level. Joe Mack hadn't fully established himself yet. Then again, Max Meyer is out hurt. Liam Hicks is gone. This club has gone through the highs of June and the lows of July. The distraction of the trade deadline has passed. It's just not the same squad. So what will this series against the Braves tell us about the Marlins? Two things jump out. First off, the obvious: Is this team good enough to contend? If you can beat the division leaders on the road, that obviously speaks volumes, especially if you can do so without ace Sandy Alcantara pitching in the series. Given how crowded the NL Wild Card race is, every game counts right now. Maybe the Braves look past Miami and coast on their big division lead, having less at stake in the series. That's fine. Miami will take those wins given how hard the schedule is the rest of the way. Of course, even good teams lose series. This isn't must-win for the Fish, but the manner in which they compete over these three games? That matters, and will speak volumes about the Marlins chances. Secondly, how will the Marlins react to the end results of the trade deadline? On the plus side, this group was mostly kept together and is being given the chance to compete for a playoff spot together as they have done all season. But on the down side, the front office did deal away a very useful player in Hicks. With Agustín Ramírez, they are replacing him with a player who has performed worse than Hicks in every respect. No splashy additions were made on the trade front. Will the clubhouse feel that the front office did enough to help them? If so, great. If not, how do they handle that? In both cases, there's only one way to find out. Bring on the Braves. View full article

Another MLB trade deadline, another round of waiting for the other shoe to drop for Miami Marlins fans. Despite a terrific week of play that propelled Miami to three games over .500 and within 1.5 games of a playoff spot as Monday's deadline approached, all that had been reported was how Miami was listening to offers on players who had been vital to getting them to this point. The odds seemed high that deadline day transactions would leave them with a substantially weaker 2026 roster. It would have been deflating to essentially bow out of the race in early August with a winning team, especially being as starved for success starved as this franchise is. The front office did the bare minimum early on by shutting down any speculation about Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez being available. Two out of every five games, the Marlins will continue deploying starting pitchers with the upside to thoroughly dominate. Griffin Conine is famously in Marlin circles "not a Bendix guy", and therefore has often been viewed as more expendable than other outfielders in the organization. Even so, you can't trade the son of Mr. Marlin. Not this early in his career, anyway, especially not when the underlying numbers suggest he might also just be really good at the whole playing baseball thing. The Marlins instead parted with Liam Hicks to address their glut of left-handed hitters. That has understandably upset a portion of the fanbase, but Hicks may well have been superfluous between Joe Mack's emergence and the fact Agustin Ramirez is technically a catcher. Crucially, the team's greatest strength remains intact. Middle infielders Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards are both above-average defenders capable of stretches of outstanding offense. Dealing Edwards would have been a major blow, as would dealing Lopez, which would've also come with the baggage of dealing a reigning All-Star. "Selling high" is not a satisfactory justification for trading either when there aren't obvious replacements waiting in the wings. It was by no means an aggressive deadline for the Marlins, but they proceeded appropriately given the circumstances. There is a sense right now that every game counts. Nothing is more important to growing their brand. Seasons like this one have just been too few and far between for Marlins fans. The 2026 team has a chance. It might not be a big one, but again, this kind of thing is all relative. Compared to Marlins' seasons past, this club is a borderline juggernaut. Consider this writer thrilled about the deadline day decisions. Now the Wild Card chase can continue, with the future of the Marlins looking bright as well. View full article

If the 2026 Miami Marlins are going to keep the band together, they simply can't lose this weekend's series. There's just no way around that fact. Miami has to leave New York the same way they came in: over the .500 mark. Sweeping the Phillies set up the possibility of a stay of execution for their postseason prospects, but no more than that. Actually buying outside help is no longer on the table. Doing the 'ol standing pat, running it back, dancing with the one that brought you thing? That's much more likely to be on the table if Miami merely wins the series. It could even be in play with a split. Some of that will come down to how the team plays this weekend, and if they can keep the offensive resurgence fans saw against Philadelphia going. Staying healthy will be key as well. However, what will be just as important as what the Marlins do on the field this weekend in Queens is what the other NL Wild Card contenders do in their weekend series. Honestly, for the first time this season, it might even be more important. That's right, sports fans, it's scoreboard watching time. Selling off key pieces of an over. 500 team would be hard enough to portray as a move fans should be excited about. Selling off key pieces of a team that is actually a game back or less of a playoff spot, though? Possibly even in possession of one? Way harder to, for lack of a better word, "sell" that decision to paying customers the rest of way, especially heading into a tumultuous MLB offseason. Of particular interest for Marlins fans will be a series featuring the team that got the ball rolling on Miami's heartbreaking twelve-game skid. The Cleveland Guardians will be playing host to the Arizona Diamondbacks this weekend. Currently, Arizona enjoys a two-game lead over Miami along with Philadelphia (playing Baltimore) for one of the last two Wild Card spots. The Guardians are more than good enough to help narrow that gap. Speaking of being more than good enough to beat someone, the division-leading Braves are hosting the Nationals for four games. Washington has been excellent on the road this season, but the Braves are the Braves. If that series goes the way it should on paper, that could easily push the Nats back behind the Marlins in the Wild Card race. Elsewhere in the packed playoff race, the free-falling Cardinals are on the road versus the Blue Jays. The Pirates are much better than the Reds this year, but Great American Ball Park remains a house of horrors for any pitcher. And if you are feeling extremely optimistic about Miami's playoff chances, it might interest you to know the Cubs are playing the Yankees. Not likely to matter, but I point it out as they "only" have a five-game lead in the standings over the Marlins with six left to play against them. The only real cakewalk on the schedule for an NL playoff hopeful this weekend? That would be the Padres' opponent: the lowly Rockies. Beyond that, the Marlins are in excellent shape to gain some ground in the playoff race if their fellow contenders do their part and stumble into August. If you combine some standings luck and a strong showing versus the Mets? It all adds up to the Marlins playing for something this season after all...and perhaps even taking steps to make that goal more likely. View full article

In the blink of an eye, the Miami Marlins have seemingly gone from buyer to seller. Such is the life of a Marlins fan. Most of you reading this probably just need one hand to count the number of times you can recall this team doing any kind of buying at the deadline. The perception of this team as a perennial farm system for MLB's postseason bound clubs has been well-earned. This time around, though? Things have to be different for the Marlins and their beleaguered fans. Fortunately, in at least one key way, that is already virtually certain to be the case. In a refreshing departure for Marlins fans, barring an eleventh hour trade of franchise face Sandy Alcantara that no outlets are reporting as likely, the money is not going to be a factor. No big salaries are being unloaded...because there aren't really any to unload. If Alcantara is staying, that leaves only Pete Fairbanks making the big bucks, and many Marlins fans would probably still be willing to drive him to the airport to get a trade done even after two big saves versus Philadelphia. However, not being able to be tagged with penny-pinching is only part of the equation here. Because what is of even greater importance for Marlins fans is knowing that the future is now, not later. That this team really is committed to being consistently good, and isn't just kicking the can down the road a few years. Not after this past June. Not after feeling that close to a postseason race. Not after seeing so many players level up into dependable players, even if there was some regression from others. And especially not while hope exists that the team's financial situation could look very different come next Opening Day. No, whoever the "big piece" is that Peter Bendix acquires in selling off any key pieces of this season's Miami Marlins roster pretty much needs to be viewed as having a shot to be a key piece of next season's Miami Marlins roster. Yes, I have pessimistically held off on typing the phrase "2027 Miami Marlins" to this point, as the odds are just a touch to high for my liking that "next season" could mean 2028, not 2027. What keeps coming to my mind is trade that didn't involve the Marlins at all, when the 2014 Chicago Cubs packed off two-fifths of their starting rotation for prized shortstop prospect Addison Russell. Russell made the team next season, immediately becoming a locked in starter for a team that made four consecutive playoff runs, including that long-awaited championship in 2016. The players sent away, Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel, were popular players—Hammel so much so that the Cubs just brought him back next season. But the front office saw a chance to cash in and add that missing piece. That kind of move? Totally acceptable. A decision that would be easy sell, pun intended, particularly if the team loses this final series before the deadline against the Mets. But selling off multiple key pieces, all for players years away from making an impact? Especially if the team holds their ground or gains in the playoff race this weekend? That would be an extremely tough pill for fans to swallow, even if the league announced Monday that 2027 salary cap and floor was a done deal. Hopefully, the Marlins front office surprises and still decides to modestly buy. If not though, fingers crossed that the team makes the right kind of deal. Selling can be the right call, just so long as the Marlins are selling for right now. Not the distant future. View full article

How aggressive the Miami Marlins choose to be at this year's MLB trade deadline remains anyone's guess. Of course, given the team's change of fortunes since the All-Star break, it remains a bit of an open question as to whether Miami will act as buyer or seller come deadline time. While it would have been unthinkable for the club to do something as wishy-washy as "standing pat" as recently as last week, that could well be where the smart money should be placed right about now. For the sake of argument, let's assume that Miami does still plan to buy. There are two factors working in their favor. For one, they are flush with financial flexibility. There is precisely zero concern about needing to negotiate staying below Major League Baseball's CBT threshold. Currently spending the least in the league on payroll entering a round of CBA negotiations where it would behoove them to be in the good graces of MLB and the MLBPA, the simple fact of the matter is that any money Miami spends could be viewed as an investment in their future. Look at it as their money being greener. Look at it as a case of spending money to make money. Look at it as one of those cases where every dollar spent yields far more in future returns. Pick a cliche. Miami buying buys them twice as much in credibility as however much WAR return any moves generate. For another, though—and this is where Miami Marlins fans should really take heart—there's a case to be made for them actually having the easiest path to improving of any contender. Does this team need plenty of help? Absolutely. Would this article have been far more convincing if I had written it three sweeps ago during the Cleveland series? You betcha—blame the vacation I'm really starting to wish I was still on. However, it remains kinda true. The Marlins continue to boast some of the worst production at third base in the majors. Closer Pete Fairbanks sports a -1.4 WAR and a ghastly 7.42 ERA, yet most fans would still rather see him take the ball late than -0.6 WAR Calvin Faucher. They're pretty much back to only having two starting pitchers again. In other words, despite having multiple needs, it wouldn't take a lot to significantly move the needle for the Marlins in multiple areas. Of course it would be nice to land Matt Chapman, Mason Miller, and/or Tarik Skubal. Granted, that would require the complete decimation of the farm system and inches of snow falling in Miami tomorrow, but there's no denying that it would be nice. Yet there's also no denying that switching from the roughly 30th-ranked to even the 25th-ranked third baseman, a late-inning reliever with a positive WAR, and a starting pitcher who could consistently last five innings would mean more to the Marlins than any other team shopping for postseason help. More importantly, those kind of upgrades are well within the budget of a team looking to reasonably and smartly enhance the roster. Even more within their budget would be taking steps to simply improve their platoon options, perhaps pushing Leo Jiménez and/or Brian Navarreto off the roster for more reliable bats. I mentioned as much in last week's Fish On First round able, but it feels worth repeating now that trade deadline expectations might need to be tempered. It would be the least they could do, but it's hard to imagine even that minor of a move not being worth a couple wins. Bottom line? The Marlins have it in their power to massively upgrade their team over the next couple weeks, without breaking the prospect bank. All they need to do is get out of their own way...and maybe start winning a game or two again. View full article

To say the Miami Marlins have extracted the most from their pitching to this point would be an understatement. Somehow, someway, despite all the injuries, Miami has made it work to this point. Having two pitchers like Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez certainly helps. Max Meyer's All-Star breakout has been essential, as has Joe Mack emerging as the caliber of catcher that the entire pitching staff can implicitly trust to perform his job. However, it wouldn't be too hard to argue that the most indispensable part of this has been Tyler Phillips. At one point, Miami was down to two healthy starting pitchers. All season long, Phillips has been an absolute weapon, following up on his strong 2025 campaign as well as any Marlins fan could have dared hope for. His ability to actually make the transformation from bulk reliever to starter, after moonlighting as a high-leverage guy, has been a godsend for Miami. As long as his arm remains attached, it would appear that he can do whatever the front office asks him to, and do it well to boot. Yet the time has come for the Marlins front office to replace him. As soon as possible. No, this isn't about the fact that Phillips had the temerity to not be awesome last Sunday afternoon on short rest. Plenty of blame to go around in that loss. You'd be reading this same article whether he had thrown nine perfect innings or given up nine earned runs. Well, alright, maybe the tone would be a little different if he'd thrown a perfecto. Still, you'd be reading something like this. Part of the problem is that, just like Meyer and Perez, Phillips is looking at a massive innings increase from the prior season. If he makes it into the third inning of his next start, he'll have topped his total IP for the entire 2025 campaign. That's a huge workload jump, and for a team looking to compete that is already stretched very thin on pitching, load management is going to be a major issue. Fans have already seen that with Perez being pulled early from an actual bid for perfection and Meyer being both pushed back from his regular start and opting not to participate in the All-Star Game. Most of the issue here is about that thin pitching depth though. The Marlins can't afford to lose Phillips. Really, they can't afford to lose anyone, but Phillips is on the short list of real tragedies. They simply can't lose Phillips. More to the point, they can't afford to lose him again. For if you think about it, the team already did lose him once, removing one of their most effective weapons from the bullpen to press into service as a starting pitcher. Other names in the 'pen have stepped up, sure, but with Anthony Bender out and Peter Fairbanks continuing to be as consistent as the South Florida weather, help is needed. Frankly, as a contender, it would have been needed anyway. Same goes for that starting rotation. If Miami does make the playoffs, they may well only need Alcantara, Perez, and Meyer starting games. But to get there? It's going to take a full staff. Which is why, for me, Phillips is the swing piece in the middle of all this. He can do either job, and do it well. If he keeps starting though? He could be clearing his career high before September. Putting him back in a relief role, or even limiting him to a more traditional opener workload, feels more likely to result in his arm being available all year. However, that absolutely would have Miami shopping for a starting pitcher, and probably two. Either way, it boils down to the Marlins needing a Phillips replacement. That, and the team recognizing that some preventative maintenance is needed in this particular case. All season long they have found a way to plug holes as they come up. That's to their credit, but a healthy Phillips has been key to that. Miami would be wise to take some steps to help ensure their most versatile pitcher stays that way. The only question is which Phillips they are able to replace—the starter or the reliever. View full article

Has the future arrived for the Miami Marlins at shortstop? Or is the best yet to come? For my money, that's the biggest decision facing Miami's front office over the next five weeks, far more than any decision regarding staff ace Sandy Alcantara. Granted, that's because the Alcantara decision has never been a question for me— he should be viewed as untouchable, at least until clarity arrives on the league's salary situation next season. Shortstop, though? There's a ton for Peter Bendix to chew on between now and the trade deadline. At the center of the puzzle is Otto Lopez , the obvious choice to start at shortstop for the National League for anyone with eyes that isn't a fan of the Dodgers, Nationals, Phillies, or Reds. The MLB hits leader is having a career year. Lopez has either suddenly become one of the best shortstops in all of baseball or is simply having one heck of a flash in the pan effort as this season's Geraldo Perdomo. He doesn't even hit arbitration until next season. He's not a free agent until 2030. He was basically free for the Marlins to obtain in the first place, plucked from obscurity in what is becoming the best transaction of the Bendix era. Most importantly though, Lopez is working on his third straight season of being an above average MLB regular. Even if he ends up "only" being his 3.3 WAR 2025 self, he's worth keeping around for a team trying to win. Two problems on that score. The first problem is that two of Miami's Top 6 prospects, and two of their Top 3 healthy ones, are shortstops. Aiva Arquette and Starlyn Caba are both having strong seasons. Obviously, that's one of those problems that isn't really a problem at all for the Marlins front office. Yet it does mean that sooner than later, barring major injury, someone is either getting moved off their position or moved off the roster entirely. And then there's the second problem- are the Miami Marlins ultimately going to try to win right now? Even if if the answer there is "not until 2027", there's a strong case to be made for keeping Lopez given his contract situation. He is exactly the kind of player low payroll clubs like the Marlins need- cheap and controllable. Then again, just as strong of a case can be made that he will never be worth more than is right now. If Miami remains in the Wild Card race, all of this is moot. He won't be going anywhere. If they fall out of it though, it's really going to be fascinating to see how Bendix views Lopez. Is Lopez proof of concept that he can routinely go bargain-bin shopping for players? Or does he think he found a keeper here? Of course, if Lopez is a keeper and Miami is competing, that puts the team in the likely position of needing to add talent at the deadline. It's hard to see any truly impact upgrade not costing the Marlins one of Arquette or Caba. They can't trade a pitcher. They probably need Kemp Alderman this year. That really narrows the field of choices for Bendix to dangle to rival GMs. Outfield is deep, sure, but no one at the MLB level is doing the kind of position blocking Lopez is doing right now. Especially not if the team keeps transforming Kyle Stowers into a first baseman. Plus, none of those names carry the kind of cache a well-regarded shortstop prospect would. If Miami does actually buy, they may well buy big. That means a top prospect, and again, only the shortstops are healthy. As to which of those young talents the team should trade? I'll leave that call to far brighter prospect minds than my own. Fortunately for your reading interest, many of them work for this very website. All I know is there is virtually no world in which two of them are moved this summer, buying or selling. However, I do think it's safe to say that the time is fast approaching that the Marlins will have to decide who their shortstop of the future isn't going to be. When the team decides who the odd man out at shortstop is, Marlins fans shouldn't be surprised if they are moved in the team's biggest deadline deal. View full article

Maybe the Miami Marlins make a run for an NL Wild Card spot. Maybe they don't. One thing is for certain though. The Marlins need to find the Pete Fairbanks they paid for this winter. Obviously, the Marlins made this particular $13 million investment with an eye towards building upon last year's success and making a much more realistic playoff push this season. With plenty of June remaining, that remains the club's goal, even with the decimation of Miami's starting pitcher ranks over the past few weeks. Given that starting pitching depletion though, it's easy to see how an All-Star caliber closer would come in handy right about now for the Marlins. Unfortunately, Fairbanks has been anything but his All-Star self so far in 2026. The chief culprit? Way too many walks. Fairbanks is being dragged down by a ghastly 1.529 WHIP that would be his worst showing since his 2019 rookie campaign if the season ended today. Paired with what would be career worsts in ground ball rate (22%) and exit velocity (91.8), the story basically writes itself. More balls are getting hit in the air, balls are getting hit harder, more balls are leaving the yard, and the result is a 7.41 ERA that is inspiring very little confidence at the moment. So little, in fact, that two different Marlins pitchers have secured their last two saves, including Tyler Zuber 's career first when he had to bail Fairbanks out of another near disaster this past Saturday. And yet...his xERA is a respectable 3.60 number that is just a tick higher than his 3.44 career norm. Balls are getting hit harder, but his hard-hit percentage is at its lowest rate since 2023. K/9? Still pretty good. K minus walk? Strikeout rate? Swinging strike rate? All in line with previous, successful seasons. Then throw in the fact that three of his four worst outings can be hand-waved away as a result of weird usage, a very long layoff, childbirth, and/or injury. If even one of those had gone differently, Marlins fans are probably singing a very different tune right now. It really doesn't seem far fetched to think that things could turn around. Which is something the Marlins desperately need to happen. Again, that's a pretty self-explanatory take for those of you that still believe the 2026 Miami Marlins can make a run at the postseason. Having an elite closer was supposed to be the difference between the 2025 club and this year's model—the lack of one being a major factor in last year's push coming up short. Fairbanks righting the ship at a time the bullpen is being pushed harder than ever would go a long way in keeping those original 2026 dreams alive. However, Fairbanks getting right goes much deeper than just helping the wins outnumber the losses the rest of the way. For one, at some point, you have to think Bruce Sherman might start to notice the lack of return on investment Peter Bendix has been getting from his free-agent signings. Bendix has done an excellent job in many respects, but the free-agent track record has been shockingly bad. Now, you could fairly object that good players tend to cost real money. But then again, you (probably) aren't Bruce Sherman. Christopher Morel, Austin Slater...these are minor misses even for the Miami. Chris Paddack? Nobody's perfect. Fairbanks and his $13 million, though? That was a massive swing for this franchise, and thus far, Sherman would have been better off either setting that money on fire or trying to move from second to first in the race for MLB's biggest weight room. If Fairbanks is a bust as well, then it's not hard to imagine Sherman losing confidence in his general manager. No matter how that would play out, it's likely bad for Miami. Be it retightening the purse strings, considering another front office change, or both, it would be a big step back for the organization. Frankly, it's hard to see how this wouldn't negatively impact future Marlins payrolls unless either a salary floor does come to MLB or Sherman really only cared about spending enough this winter to keep MLB revenue sharing investigators happy. All of that though is pretty hard to quantify, speculative stuff. What is not hard to quantify is what a blow it would be to the Marlins organization if Fairbanks isn't at least good enough to flip for a more controllable asset this summer. Making the playoffs was certainly the hope for the 2026 Marlins, but it can't ever have been the expectation for the front office. Signing a top closer made all the sense in the world this winter in anticipation of eventually flipping him for a shiny new prospect if things didn't work out come trade deadline time. Because you know Bendix is going to be moving someone. There are too many holes on this roster, and that's just not how he operates. If it can't be Fairbanks...then it's going to be someone Marlins fans care a lot more about. Which won't be good for anyone. Bottom line? No matter how these next couple months go, the Marlins need to see some vintage Fairbanks between now and August. View full article