The Miami Marlins and right-handed pitcher Tyler Zuber will give each other another chance in 2026.
Zuber agreed to a minor-league deal with the Marlins earlier this week, three weeks after he elected for free agency and tested the market. Given that Zuber has 66 MLB appearances, it likely comes with an invitation to Major League spring training.
This gives the 30-year-old Zuber a chance to try and land a job with the franchise that he only pitched nine games for due to an injury. It also gives the Marlins another candidate to give them innings out of the bullpen.
Zuber started the 2025 with the New York Mets, but only pitched in one MLB game as he spent most of his time with the franchise at Triple-A. The Mets waived him in July, and the Marlins picked him up. With Miami he didn’t factor into a decision but had an 11.70 ERA after he allowed 13 earned runs in 10 innings. He struck out 11 and walked six.
On Aug. 30, Miami placed Zuber on the 15-day injured list with a lat strain. A day later, the Marlins moved him to the 60-man IL to create a 40-man roster spot. He was reinstated from the 60-day IL on Nov. 5 and then elected free agency a day later.
About Tyler Zuber
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The White Hall, Ark., native played his college baseball at Arkansas State in Jonesboro, Ark., and spent time in the Cape Cod Baseball League before the Kansas City Royals selected him in the sixth round of the 2017 MLB Draft. At the time, he was Arkansas State’s highest draft pick in program history.
Zuber began a steady climb up the organizational ladder with the Royals, including a stint in his home state with the Northwest Arkansas Naturals in 2019, when he went 1-2 with a 2.42 ERA in 22 relief appearances. COVID-19 shut down minor league baseball in 2020, but the Royals promoted him to the Majors that season and he pitched in 23 games, with a 1-2 record and a 4.09 ERA. He struck out 30 and walked 20 in 22 innings.
He stuck with the Royals for part of the 2021 season, but saw his ERA go up to 6.26 in 31 games. He missed the 2022 season with a right shoulder impingement. The Royals waived him and he signed with Arizona in October of 2022 and pitched in the Diamondbacks organization in 2023.
He started 2024 with the Long Island Ducks in the Atlantic League before Tampa Bay scooped him up on a deal in May. He only pitched two games for the Rays without a decision. But, he did have a 2.70 ERA and only allowed one earned run in 3.1 innings. At the trade deadline, Tampa Bay shipped him in a trade to the New York Mets. He spent the rest of that season with Triple-A Syracuse.
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