Nate Karzmer

Outside of the teams that won World Series championships in 1997 and 2003, the 2023 edition of the Miami Marlins was perhaps the most adored in franchise history. Following consecutive seasons of 90-plus losses in 2021 and 2022, '23 was a breath of fresh air. Those fiery, resilient Fish blended both veterans and young stars with formidable pitching and hitting to clinch just Miami's third-ever playoff berth in a full season. You cannot tell the story of that team without a certain 5-foot-10 second baseman with fewer than forty career homers. Luis Arraez was the 2023 Marlins. Acquired from the Minnesota Twins a little less than a month away from spring training, "La Regadera" etched himself in team lore while simultaneously becoming a fan favorite. He achieved the first cycle in franchise history...in just his twelfth game. He proceeded to flirt with a .400 average deep into the season and set a franchise single-season record with his final .354 mark. Arraez was an All-Star, Silver Slugger and top-10 finisher in National League MVP balloting, the leader and face of a scrappy lineup that had Miami in the spotlight like they haven't been in years, with what seemed to be a promising future. On the heels of that prosperous season, Marlins ownership opted for a bold shake-up. General manager Kim Ng was out, replaced by new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix. There were wholesale changes to front office personnel, but Bendix largely kept the club's major league roster intact—the most notable departures were letting Jorge Soler and his 36 homers walk in free agency and flipping super utility man Jon Berti on the eve of Opening Day. Given the dire state of Miami's farm system, a rebuild seemingly loomed, but not imminently. To reference Murphy's Law, everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. On May 3, just 33 games into their 2024 campaign, the Marlins entered their cross-country trip to Oakland sitting at 9-24, set up by a brutal season-opening 0-9 skid. But hey, maybe this core could do the impossible again. Jesús Sánchez said it himself not even 24 hours ago following his walk-off that "Miami was back" and there were signs of stabilization with a 6-4 record in their last ten. Then, just like that, it was all over. Minutes before first pitch from the Coliseum, news broke that Arraez was headed to San Diego in exchange for a quartet of minor league talent. The reported blockbuster was met with shock and outrage, not just from Marlins faithful, but from all corners of the baseball world. Bendix had gutted the soul from his organization barely one month into his first regular season in Miami. He confirmed in the subsequent media session that this was waving the white flag on 2024, saying "we are unlikely to make the playoffs this year." Many more moves followed and the Marlins endured 100 losses that year. At the time of this article, two players that Bendix inherited from the 26-man postseason roster remain on the major league squad. Although the Marlins are not yet perennial contenders like Bendix aspires to be, their outlook is considerably brighter than it was two years ago. We now have the necessary context to evaluate the Arraez deal more fairly. It's fair to start with the man himself, whom after collecting another batting title in 2024 with San Diego, saw his name and what he brings to the table get more criticized amongst the general baseball population. The "one-tool player" label gained serious wheels following Arraez's first season as a Padre and a 2025 campaign that featured a league-lead in hits with 181, but an OPS of .719. Despite hitting free agency in the theoretical prime of his career (entering his age-29 season), Arraez lingered on the market until February. He ultimately moved north in to the division rival San Francisco Giants on a modest one-year, $12 million deal that literally any MLB team could've afforded (yes, even the frugal Fish). His first quarter of a season in the Bay has been mostly a continuation of his Padres tenure offensively—tons of singles and fewer strikeouts than any other qualified hitter. Interestingly, his defense has graded out brilliantly. Arraez still plays his role and does it better than anybody...except for one guy. We'll get to him later. The package sent to Miami included OF Jakob Marsee, RHP Woo-Suk Go, 1B Nathan Martorella and OF Dillon Head, with the final being considered the headliner. Thus far, Miami gets a 1.5/4. Go was the least desirable at the time of the swap and his stock only lowered since joining the Marlins organization. The Korean right-hander struggled as a low-leverage reliever in the minors and was cut 13 months after being acquired without ever tasting the majors. Martorella's hit tool had been a question mark when he came over and it's looking as questionable as ever now. He is OPS'ing .520 with a .135 average in Triple-A Jacksonville, a step down from an already discouraging .630 OPS a year ago. I'm giving Miami a generous half point for Dillon Head, the 70-grade speedster who was just 19 at the time of the deal. Head has been absolutely hampered by injuries ever since, including a season-ending hip injury a little over a month after joining the organization and has appeared in a limited nine games in 2026 after nursing a hand injury. It is entirely too early to write Head off, but this season in High-A will play a huge role when evaluating his future with the club. Finally-and most notably-Jakob Marsee, who was the first of the four to receive a call-up and did not miss his opportunity. The Dearborn, MI native went scorched earth in his debut month in the bigs, being honored with NL Rookie of the Month for August after posting a sensational .352/.430/.629 with eighteen extra-base hits and above-average defense. It's been a mixed bag since, most notably the start to Marsee's sophomore season—he currently holds a 67 wRC+ (league average is 100). What we do understand is that Bendix and the Marlins front office has supreme confidence in their potential franchise center fielder to figure things out, and there's reason to believe. Marsee boasts incredible plate discipline, still possessing an OBP over .307 with an average of .182. If you choose to view the trade simply based off the four players Miami received in return, it appears Bendix still won his first blockbuster, but not by a landslide. However, the true value of the deal can be seen when analyzing the other guy I was referring to earlier. Xavier Edwards, who had no way of finding consistent playing time with Arraez and Tim Anderson up the middle in 2024, was called up shortly after the departure of his predecessor. Instantly, the former first-round pick proved Bendix was right to deal Arraez in favor of his former Rays farmhand. While Edwards and Arraez both have elite hit tools, the former's value extends far beyond. An elite runner despite not swiping as many bags as one would expect, Edwards can take extra bases and keep balls in the infield at second base. In addition, since transitioning to the position full-time just halfway into 2025, Edwards proved to be elite, even being named a Gold Glove finalist. Perhaps most important to Bendix and Co., the switch-hitting Edwards is three years younger than Arraez and doesn't hit free agency until 2030. Edwards' production and future value chalks this trade up as a win for Miami already. Couple that with a potential franchise center fielder and an uber-athletic 21-year-old that simply needs to stay healthy? While Bendix took plenty of heat for getting rid of the fan favorite, he was just setting the tone for what was to come. View full article

Fish Unfiltered discusses the development of Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards, catcher Liam Hicks and shortstop Otto Lopez, who are all on pace for career years. View full video

JUPITER—Flight, workout, game, game, flight, start. The week in the life of Sandy Alcantara has been a doozy. "I got here last night at midnight, so my daughter was kicking me out of my bed," Alcantara joked to the media on Thursday afternoon. "A little rest and just get here, go out there and do my best." Lack of sleep or not, Miami's rotation mainstay was certainly at his best in Miami's 2-0 win over Houston. Alcantara retired all nine Astros he faced in order, recording four strikeouts and four groundouts. Outside of a 14-pitch at-bat to Isaac Paredes in the first, Alcantara only threw 29 pitches. The 30-year-old diversified his pitch mix, throwing each of his six offerings at least four times, with the sinker and slider taking center stage with a combined four whiffs. Not to be lost in the fray was Alcantara's new toy, the sweeper, registering a single whiff on five pitches. "The movement—that's what (we've) been looking for since we started throwing it," said Alcantara of the sweeper. "The movement had to be first. Then you got to combine your location. So, I think today, the movement was the first important thing, and the command was good today. So I feel great about it, and just get on, keep getting better." Next for Alcantara—and the reason why his past five days had been so hectic—is the World Baseball Classic. It's his second opportunity to represent the Dominican Republic on such a stage after previously competing in 2023. "Very excited, just to be out there wearing my country's jersey, represent my country. It's (an) amazing opportunity for me. I can't wait to be out there." Alcantara left Marlins camp on Sunday to join Team DR at loanDepot park for workouts, and flew to his home country for two exhibition games against the Tigers. After bearing witness to possibly the most electric baseball one could see, a flight back late Wednesday night set up Alcantara to go on Thursday. "We had an amazing game over in the DR against Detroit," said Alcantara. "Incredible fans, a lot of kids enjoying those moments. Now it's time to work. I think the chemistry, the relationships that we've been creating the first day that we get together is amazing. Everybody seemed happy, happy to win. Tomorrow is the first game, so we're gonna be ready." Notes and Quotes - Robby Snelling did indeed "flush" his previous outing in Clearwater. The southpaw sat down six of his own after Alcantara's departure, including striking out the side of Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Paredes in his first inning of work. "Felt really good," said a visibly happy Snelling. "When you go out and you feel like all your stuff's working for you, you're gonna feel really good. I know that that is what I'm capable of doing every time that I go out, and even though that's not necessarily what's going to happen every time you go out, it's always nice when everything kind of meshes together. Huge bounce bounce back from last week." - Karson Milbrandt tossed another scoreless inning in the ninth, striking out Tommy Sacco Jr. to end the contest. - Xavier Edwards exited Thursday's game with left calf tightness. "I don't think it's anything major," said McCullough of his leadoff man's status. "But, I just felt like that was enough to get him out. Still thinking that he'll plan for him to come back and play tomorrow as part of the back-to-back. We'll just see how he feels after the day and how he comes in tomorrow." - Before his departure, Edwards recorded half of Miami's RBI with an excuse-me single down to the opposite field. The Fish added their second courtesy of an Esteury Ruiz single off of old friend Steven Okert. - Continuing a refreshing trend, Marlins baserunners swiped five bags on the day. "Craig Driver (Miami's new first base coach) has been working since we started spring training," said McCullough. "In the morning with guys and working on their technique and something that we feel like we have an athletic team, and the ability to run and to be aggressive is something that we feel is going to pay dividends for us offensively. No better time than now for players to put some work in on it in the morning, and then when you get chances in the game to go, try to figure out the timing and let your technique play out in a game setting." Up Next The first night game of Miami's spring circuit is on the horizon, as the Fish welcome the Mets to Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium on Friday at 7:10. Max Meyer, with plenty hanging in the balance in 2026, takes the ball for his second appearance of the spring. View full article

CLEARWATER—Robby Snelling is running the gauntlet. On Friday, the 22-year-old left-hander made his second spring training start. He has faced just eleven different batters in that microscopic sample, but those eleven have combined for twenty MLB All-Star appearances. In last Saturday's inaugural game of the Grapefruit League season, Fish On First's #3 prospect went one-two-three against New York's Marcus Semien, Juan Soto, and Bo Bichette. Snelling's encore wasn't as easy. Visiting yet another division rival—this go-around, it was the Philadelphia Phillies in a drizzly Clearwater—Snelling surrendered five hits, two walks and four earned runs in 1 ⅓ innings pitched (he was pulled after recording one out in the first, but re-entered for the second). Philadelphia rode the early momentum into a blowout 10-2 victory. Snelling categorized his performance as "not good by (his) standards, or by anybody else's standards." At the same time, he acknowledged that "you've got to kind of take away the good things as much as you can. Realize that it's spring, and there's going to be some growing pains." The southpaw began his outing issuing back-to-back walks before falling into unfavorable counts where the damage was done. Three consecutive RBI knocks from the middle of the Phillies order were enough to send Miami Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough out to get his young arm for a break before re-entering an inning later. "Walking two guys, not excusable at all. It kind of puts you in a hole, blood's in the water, and those types of hitters are gonna sense that and put balls in play, and that's what happened. That's the negative takeaway." Snelling's return in the second was greatly more efficient and clean, racking up two strikeouts of J.T. Realmuto and Kyle Schwarber while forfeiting just one unearned run. d2UwckFfWGw0TUFRPT1fVkFOVUJWUU5VZ3NBV2dOWEF3QUhBQTRFQUFBRFdsUUFWbEFDQVFVTVZRRlVWZ0Jm.mp4 "Going back out, getting my feet under me the next inning I went out was good," added Snelling. "Go out and get a couple of punchouts and locate stuff a little bit better, and have a little more conviction and confidence behind everything. Body felt good. Super thankful for that. Time to kind of flush it and move on." McCullough concurred with Snelling's judgment of his second inning, adding he "loved how he finished the outing. The first one, which you see a lot, sometimes as a starter, you come out of there, and it takes a little while to get into a rhythm. He just fell behind too many hitters there early on, and got himself in some tough spots, and they put some good swings on it. But I love how he came out for the second inning." The benefit of getting reps against stout competition outweighs the disappointment of poor results. "It's a good test," McCullough said. "Philly's had a good lineup for several years; there's a lot of really, really good hitters spread throughout, and Toronto yesterday for Thomas (White). But that's what you get in the major leagues. They're good players. And it just continues to emphasize the value of the ability to get ahead, and maintain count leverage." Notes and Quotes - Miami's two runs came off the bats of Heriberto Hernández and Griffin Conine. Additionally, for whatever reason, the latter continues to get challenged by runners rounding third, Trea Turner or not. - Xavier Edwards enjoyed an ideal Xavier Edwards day, recording a hit, walk and two stolen bases. "X, that's what he does" said McCullough. "It's still very early in camp and looks like he's seeing the ball very well; even the first at-bat, he hit the ball hard... It's good to see him on the bases being aggressive this early in camp. It's certainly a major part of his game, and something that we're going to continue to push with him to be aggressive and try to create some some havoc on the basepaths and get himself in scoring position. So, really good day for him." - Sandy Alcantara pitched in a simulated game Friday morning at the Marlins complex in Jupiter. Alcantara faced ten batters, striking out six, and threw 27 of his 36 pitches for strikes. "He was great," noted McCullough, relaying feedback from Marlins personnel who were in attendance. "The sweeper, which is something that he's been working on, sounded like it was great today. Sandy was excited." On Sunday, Alcantara will report to Team Dominican Republic for the World Baseball Classic. - One month from today, Alcantara and the Marlins will be under the lights of loanDepot park for Opening Day 2026. Up Next Returning home after two days in the Tampa suburbs, the Fish square off Saturday against a much more familiar spring opponent in their complex-mate St. Louis Cardinals at 1:10. Filling in for the aforementioned Alcantara on the mound is none other than his protégé, Eury Perez. View full article

DUNEDIN—Back in November, the Miami Marlins began the annual revamp of their social media and marketing approach. While it might have been easy to miss the new fonts, designs, etc., to those who don't pay attention to those sorts of things—unlike some nerds out there— they have fully leaned into one particular phrase for the 2026 season: "Fightin' Fish." The term was popularized decades ago shortly after the team's inception, but it got real legs again a season ago when Kyle Stowers said it to a stadium full of Marlins faithful following his Opening Day walk-off. "Fightin' Fish" picked up more steam as the season rolled on. MLB's youngest roster was projected to finish near the 100-loss mark scratched, only to claw to a 79-83 record on the backs of absurd comeback wins and all-around team performances to take down giants across the league. As observed during Thursday afternoon's 8-7 win in Dunedin against the reigning AL champion Toronto Blue Jays, the mantra indeed carried over from 2025, and it doesn't stop at the big league level. Miami's starting nine combined for only six hits and two runs. The improbable, late-inning rally was fueled by spring training non-roster invitees and even minor league camp players. "The group that came in for the back half of that game for them to come out and play the way, it just shows a lot about not just what we saw a lot at the major league level last year, but also how guys go about it, I think just organizationally," said Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough postgame. "We have a lot of players that just love to compete and play the game the right way." In the top of the eighth inning, a couple of walks, a hit by pitch and a single set the table for Jesús Sánchez trade acquisition Chase Jaworsky, and the 21-year-old delivered with a bases-clearing triple. An inning later, a Bennett Hostetler single and Chris Arroyo RBI groundout put the Marlins on top, and for good, to clinch their third win of the spring. "Fightin' Fish," added McCullough with a smile. "Our guys are proud of the fact that what we get known for is that you just hang in there and you play, you play every game out all the way 'til the end, no matter what. That's your job. But, also it becomes you find yourself in some situations like today, where you do enough to find a way win games that didn't look so so great there towards the end." Brax is Back It would be common practice to assume that once you've done anything 65 times, you would be quite comfortable doing said action. Alas, when said task is stepping on a major league mound and going opposite the best players in the world for the first time in nearly two years, it's not that easy. "I was definitely a little nervous," said southpaw Braxton Garrett minutes after his first big league outing since June of 2024 and spring training appearance since 2023. "Adrenaline was going. I say nervous, but I'm really excited. It's been a long time pitching on the big league mounds, where I've dreamed of my whole life. It's been a long time, so I definitely felt some nerves getting back out there for the first time." The first-round pick from a decade ago enjoyed a sound 2023 campaign, making 31 starts while boasting a 3.66 ERA. Then the injury bug bit him repeatedly, just as he began to find his footing. Garrett didn't make a start in the spring of 2024 due to a shoulder impingement before being sidelined a few months later with what ended up turning into his second Tommy John surgery in December 2024. Although Garrett allowed two runs to pass due to shaky defense and back-to-back walks to kick off his start, there was much more gratitude than frustration once removed. The southpaw ended up going just one inning, allowing two hits and notching one strikeout looking. "It felt awesome. It was really cool," Garrett added. "Getting in front of the fans again, facing big league hitters. It's a lot of fun, a lot of adrenaline—stuff I haven't been used to in the last year. I was trying to get aggressive in the zone. I wasn't very successful with that early. I'm not happy about that, but trying to keep good perspective. It's been a long time since I've been out there. We got some stuff to work on, but we have a lot of time to do it." Notes and Quotes - Fish On First's #1 and #13 prospects in Thomas White and Karson Milbrandt, respectively, made their spring debuts following Garrett's departure. Like Garrett, White allowed two runs to score in contrast to Milbrandt's two-strikeout, one-hit frame. A visibly frustrated White told the media his "mechanics felt off" with his four-seam, but something that will be focused on and corrected. - Continuing a trend from a year ago, Liam Hicks produced with two outs and runners in scoring position in the third, plating Miami's first run of the afternoon. "He had a great offseason," said McCullough. "Right now, Liam just looks physically different, and we're seeing the great early signs with he is getting some balls, and the authority which he's hitting them to the pull side is a great sign that's going to give us a chance to see Liam tap into some more power and some more slug to go along with already what is a really good ability to discern the strike zone and put the ball in play. And I think now he's just gaining more confidence." - Stowers recorded his first Grapefruit League hit of 2026, a single up the middle against two-time All-Star Kevin Gausman in the first. - Joe Mack picked up his third hit of the spring with a knock to right. The backstop is up to .429 with a grand slam in three games. - Thursday's matchup between Miami and Toronto was the first time the two have met in spring since 2009, and the first since at least 2003 that the Fish have traveled to TD Ballpark. Up Next The Fish wrap up their once-a-year west coast trip down the road in Clearwater on Friday afternoon against the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Robby Snelling is lined up to make his second start of the spring, coming off a 1-2-3 inning in game one against the New York Mets. First pitch from BayCare Ballpark is slated for 1:05. View full article

An important step in his comeback from Tommy John surgery, Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett speaks with the media after starting Thursday's spring training game against the Toronto Blue Jays. View full video

The Miami Marlins swung a trade with the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday for right-handed starting pitcher Bradley Blalock, as first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. The Rockies received minor league arm Jake Brooks in exchange, according to Francys Romero. In a corresponding roster move, the Marlins designated Osvaldo Bido for assignment. Blalock, 25, posted a 9.36 ERA in Denver a season ago throughout 14 appearances, 12 of which were starts. In a similar workload with Triple-A Albuquerque, his strikeout rate was nearly doubled, but his results were also dreadful (8.60 ERA). The 32nd-round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft made his debut in Milwaukee in 2024 before being shipped to the Mile High City in late July of that year. In terms of a reclamation project, the Loganville, GA, native has appeal. Blalock boasts a five-pitch arsenal—four-seam, slider, splitter, curveball, cutter—and one of the highest arm angles in all of MLB at 62 degrees. With Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers off to the North Side of Chicago and the Bronx, respectively, Blalock will be an interesting follow in spring training. Daniel Moskos and Co. are tasked with tapping into what they did a year ago with low-profile pitching acquisitions like Tyler Phillips, Janson Junk, etc. Blalock has one minor league option remaining. Departing the organization is Brooks, who despite being around six months younger than Blalock, just arrived at the Double-A level in 2025. Selected in the 11th round of the 2023 draft, the former UCLA Bruin was stellar to begin his pro career in Low-A Jupiter, assuming the role as the team's ace while boasting for a 2.28 ERA on the season. A bump in competition to High-A Beloit and AA Pensacola was unfriendly to Brooks, as evidenced by a ERA spike and opponents batting .274 between both levels, though he continues to show great command of his sinker/slider/changeup mix. Bido had just been claimed by Miami on Friday. View full article