Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one before: the Marlins dipped a toe into free agency but didn\u2019t commit to anything substantial. Their larger moves were trades of established pitchers for controllable young talent, as the team continues to chase the ever-elusive idea of a \u201csustainable,\u201d cost-controlled core.<\/p>\n
Major League Free Agent Signings<\/p>\n
Trades and Waiver Claims<\/p>\n
Minor League Signings<\/p>\n
Extensions<\/p>\n
Notable Losses<\/p>\n
The Marlins closed out the 2025 season with a 56-50 record over the final four months of the year. That wasn\u2019t enough to erase a poor start to the season, but Miami\u2019s 79-83 record overall was good for a third-place finish in the National League East \u2014 a surprisingly strong result for a club whose biggest moves of the preceding offseason were trading away Jesus Luzardo<\/a> and Jake Burger<\/a>. Right-hander Cal Quantrill<\/a>, who didn\u2019t even finish the season on the roster due to his significant struggles, was the only veteran free agent addition for Miami last winter.<\/p>\n That strong four-month stretch ensured at least something of a different tone this winter, though the Marlins didn\u2019t fully commit to pushing into a win-now mentality. The third offseason for president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and second for manager Clayton McCullough was punctuated by a handful of free agent pickups but also saw the Fish continue trading from their perennially strong collection of starting pitching depth.<\/p>\n Miami entered the offseason with needs at first base, in the bullpen and in the outfield. They were each addressed to varying extents, but in typical Marlins fashion, those solutions generally came in the form of low-budget transactions. Miami jumped early to bring slugger Christopher Morel<\/a> into the fold after he was non-tendered by Bendix\u2019s former Rays club. Bendix was the general manager in Tampa Bay, but he was out the door by the time the Cubs traded Morel to the Rays as part of the Isaac Paredes<\/a> return in 2024. It stands to reason that the Rays\u2019 interest in Morel dated back several years to when Bendix was their GM, and he\u2019ll now get his hands on a player with big power but also alarming strikeout concerns and no true defensive home.<\/p>\n The Marlins are rolling the dice on Morel as their primary first baseman \u2014 a position he\u2019s never played before. (Insert your \u201cTell \u2019em, Wash\u201d jokes here.) Morel has huge pull-side power and comes to Miami on just a $2MM salary with three seasons of club control remaining. If they can coax a breakout, he\u2019ll be a bargain for them, though it\u2019s also fair to wonder whether he\u2019d play out all three seasons with the perennially frugal Fish in that scenario. Tapping into that raw power and unlocking a full-fledged breakout would likely lead to substantial arbitration raises, so even if Morel can finally put it all together, his price tag down the road in 2028 might prove steep enough that Miami deals him before his final arbitration season.<\/p>\n While Morel was the first to sign, the Bendix-led Marlins made it clear early on that former Rays closer Pete Fairbanks<\/a>\u00a0was a target. Fairbanks\u2019 $11MM club option being declined by Tampa Bay rated as at least a mild surprise, and he was met with robust interest early on. In the end, it was the Marlins who bid $13MM to install Fairbanks at the back of their \u2018pen, giving McCullough the sort of established closer he lacked in 2025, when six Marlins players logged between three and 15 saves. It\u2019s the largest one-year salary the Marlins have ever given to a reliever. Fairbanks will be able to remain in Florida and continue piling up saves in a pitcher-friendly setting, making it a sensible move for all parties.<\/p>\n Also joining the Miami pitching staff are right-hander Chris Paddack<\/a> \u2014 a former Marlins prospect \u2014 and lefty John King<\/a>. Paddack will step into the rotation on the heels of a career-high 158 innings pitched but also the second-worst ERA (5.35) of his seven-year run in the big leagues. The former top prospect\u2019s brilliant 2019 debut with the Padres is a distant memory, but he\u2019ll pitch all of 2026 at 30 years old and brings some of the best command in baseball (career 5.2% walk rate) to South Florida.<\/p>\n The 31-year-old King was a quality middle reliever for the Rangers and Cardinals from 2021-24 before a tough season in 2025. He has one of the game\u2019s lowest strikeout rates among relievers but also boasts plus command and one of the top ground-ball rates in the sport: 61.8% over the past half decade. Southpaw Cade Gibson<\/a> gave Miami a strong rookie showing out of the bullpen in 2025, but the only other left-handed relievers to make an appearance were Josh Simpson<\/a> (7.34 ERA, 30 2\/3 innings), Anthony Veneziano<\/a> (4.71 ERA, 21 innings) and Patrick Monteverde<\/a> (four runs in 3 2\/3 innings). Veneziano is no longer with the organization. Simpson was designated for assignment and traded to the Mariners (for cash) after Miami signed King.<\/p>\n All of Miami\u2019s free-agent additions were, in some way or another, buy-low acquisitions. Morel and King were non-tendered despite affordable arbitration projections. Fairbanks\u2019 club option, which looked fairly reasonable, was declined (partly due to budget constraints for the Rays). Paddack was traded from Minnesota to Detroit at the deadline and quickly lost his rotation spot. He has a 5.23 ERA over the past three seasons. All four have traits on which Miami can dream \u2014 Morel\u2019s power, Fairbanks\u2019 velocity\/strikeouts, King\u2019s grounders, Paddack\u2019s plus command\/formerly plus changeup \u2014 but they\u2019re all projects.<\/p>\n Beyond the level of aggression the Marlins would or wouldn\u2019t show with respect to their veteran additions, the biggest question surrounding the club was whether they\u2019d once again deal from their stock of talented young starters. As we\u2019ve seen so often in the past, even under prior front office regimes, Miami isn\u2019t afraid to deal away young arms, trusting in the development staff\u2019s ability to continue to turn more out.<\/p>\n If you\u2019d told most fans, pundits and even other teams at the end of the 2025 season that Miami would trade two starters, most would have assumed longtime ace Sandy Alcantara<\/a> would be one of them. He had a rough year overall in his return from Tommy John surgery, but the former NL Cy Young winner finished strong and is heading into the final guaranteed season of a contract that guarantees him at least $19MM more ($17MM salary, $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027). That\u2019s a reasonable price for most clubs but a steep one for the ever-cost-conscious Marlins.<\/p>\n Instead, it was 27-year-old righty Edward Cabrera<\/a> \u2014 long rumored as a trade candidate in his own right \u2014 and 26-year-old southpaw Ryan Weathers<\/a>. While many expected Cabrera to be a popular trade target this winter, the Weathers trade came somewhat out of the blue, given that he only made eight starts last year due to injury and had three years of club control remaining.<\/p>\n Weathers\u2019 trade to the Yankees netted the Marlins a quartet of prospects, none of whom are expected to be immediate contributors. Outfielder Dillon Lewis<\/a> was the most highly touted prospect in the swap but hasn\u2019t even played in Double-A yet \u2014 nor has young infielder Juan Matheus<\/a>. Outfielder Brendan Jones<\/a> and infielder Dylan Jasso<\/a> reached Double-A in 2025, but both will presumably require further development time in Triple-A.<\/p>\n Weathers originally came to the Fish in what\u2019s now a clearly lopsided trade sending Garrett Cooper<\/a> to the Padres \u2014 a swap put together by former general manager Kim Ng. That acquisition gave way to a 2024 breakout and enough promise in 2025\u2019s limited sample for Bendix to cash in on a four-prospect package that deepens the Marlins\u2019 position player pool.<\/p>\n The trade of Cabrera was both more expected and more consequential in terms of 2026 impact. While he was far from a lock to change hands, Cabrera has been discussed frequently in recent years. Interest in the former top prospect\u2019s electric arsenal has been widespread, and his 2025 breakout was enough to push it over the top. There are big durability concerns with the 6\u20195\u2033 flamethrower, but Cabrera\u2019s 3.53 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate, career-best 8.3% walk rate, 97 mph average heater, 12.6% swinging-strike rate and three remaining years of club control pushed the Cubs to part with a three-prospect package headlined by Owen Caissie<\/a>, who\u2019s now the favorite to break camp as Miami\u2019s right fielder.<\/p>\n Caissie, 23, is a 2020 second-rounder who has spent several seasons ranked among baseball\u2019s top-100 prospects but had no clear path to regular at-bats at Wrigley Field (at least not this year). He\u2019s a three-true-outcomes lefty slugger with a big arm \u2014 a prototypical right field mold whom the Marlins hope can pair with 2025 breakout bopper Kyle Stowers<\/a> to give the Fish some genuine middle-of-the-order thunder for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Caissie mashed at a .286\/.386\/.551 rate and popped 22 homers in only 99 Triple-A games, but he also fanned in 28% of his Triple-A plate appearances (against a 13.2% walk rate). The Marlins also added minor league infielders\u00a0Cristian Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Edgardo De Leon<\/a>\u00a0in that swap, but they\u2019re both down-the-road considerations; Hern\u00e1ndez hasn\u2019t played above A-ball, and De Leon is only 19. Caissie is the headliner, and he gives the Fish a potential lineup cornerstone with six full seasons of club control and two minor league option years remaining. In Caissie, Stowers and center fielder Jakob Marsee<\/a> (.292\/.363\/.478 in 55 games as a rookie), Miami has the makings of an excellent young outfield \u2014 no small feat considering the years of turnover they underwent on the grass prior to the arrival of this trio.<\/p>\n Most of Miami\u2019s other dealings centered around role players. Dane Myers<\/a> is a solid fourth outfielder who runs well, but he\u2019s entering his final minor league option year and was shipped to the Reds for minor league outfielder Ethan O\u2019Donnell<\/a>, who\u2019s not yet on the 40-man roster. Another fourth outfield option, Victor Mesa Jr.<\/a>, went to the Rays for lottery ticket teenage infielder Angel Brachi<\/a>. Utilityman Eric Wagaman<\/a> was traded to the Twins for minor league reliever Kade Bragg<\/a>, who could make his debut at some point in 2026 \u2014 a nice bit of business considering Wagaman was a minor league free agent who signed a big league deal with Miami last winter.<\/p>\n In addition to selling off that trio of role players, the Marlins brought in some depth pieces by acquiring righty Bradley Blalock<\/a> from the Rockies and speedster Esteury Ruiz<\/a> from the Dodgers. Blalock replenishes a bit of rotation depth. He\u2019s coming off a brutal year in the Rockies organization but had some decent results in the minors with the Brewers before that. Ruiz is in his final minor league option year and offers more speed than Myers. He could fill a similar fourth outfield role.<\/p>\n Setting aside the trades of Cabrera and Weathers as well as the signing of Fairbanks, most of Miami\u2019s moves amount to tinkering around the margins. The 2026 season will be pivotal to determining their identity. They\u2019ll see if a combination of Morel, Graham Pauley<\/a> and Connor Norby<\/a> can handle the infield corners. The middle infield is set for now with defensive standout Otto Lopez<\/a> at shortstop and exciting leadoff man Xavier Edwards<\/a> at second base. Stowers, Marsee and Caissie are the outfield hopefuls. Former top prospect Agustin Ramirez<\/a> will try to improve behind the plate, but top-100 prospect Joe Mack<\/a> is nipping at his heels in Triple-A, so Ramirez could eventually move to more of a first base\/designated hitter\/third catcher role.<\/p>\n On the pitching side, it\u2019ll be Alcantara, Eury P\u00e9rez<\/a> and the veteran Paddack, with former top prospects Max Meyer<\/a> and Braxton Garrett<\/a> returning from injury-lost seasons. Miami has two of the game\u2019s top-ranked pitching prospects in Thomas White<\/a> and Robby Snelling<\/a>. Both could debut in 2026. Former prospects Dax Fulton<\/a> and Adam Mazur<\/a> are both still on the 40-man roster and have minor league options remaining, which gives the Fish some more depth. The bullpen already lost Ronny Henriquez<\/a> to Tommy John surgery in December, but Fairbanks and King join holdovers like Gibson, Calvin Faucher<\/a> and Anthony Bender<\/a> to form a decent nucleus. If any of Meyer, Garrett, Fulton or Mazur don\u2019t pan out as starters, they could shift there.<\/p>\n The Marlins thinned out their rotation but did so by shipping out a pair of starters who had durability issues \u2014 an all-too-common problem that seems to regularly plague their always impressive groups of young arms. Alcantara\u2019s name could come up as a summer trade candidate, but if Miami is contending he\u2019s not likely to go anywhere. The thought of a rotation including Alcantara, P\u00e9rez, White and Snelling is tantalizing regardless of who the fifth option would be.<\/p>\n Miami has the feel of an up-and-coming team, but it\u2019s hard not to wonder what they\u2019d look like with even a shred of payroll support from ownership. They\u2019re currently projected to spend about $73MM on the 2026 payroll \u2014 a basement-level mark even by their standards and one of the lowest figures in the league. A bit more money on the bullpen or the infield could\u2019ve made this club all the more compelling, and with only $83MM of luxury-tax obligations on the books, they\u2019re running the risk of a grievance regarding the allocation of the reported $70MM or so of revenue-sharing funds they receive. Extensions for Marsee and\/or Stowers \u2014 they\u2019ve broached the subject with both young outfielders \u2014 could mitigate some of those concerns, but as MLBTR\u2019s Contract Tracker shows<\/a>, Alcantara\u2019s five-year, $56MM deal is the only extension of five or more years the Fish have given out in the past decade. It\u2019s hard to imagine them going to the lengths necessary to sign one of their young outfielders for the long haul.<\/p>\n How would MLBTR readers grade the Marlins\u2019 offseason? Have your say in the poll below:<\/p>\n \t\t\tHow would you grade the Marlins’ offseason?<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tTotal votes: 720\n\t\t<\/p>\n Thank you for voting!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stop me if you\u2019ve heard this one before: the Marlins dipped a toe into free agency but didn\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-497975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}