After months of rumors, the Marlins finally met Edward Cabrera in the batting trade, as the right-hander is headed to the Cubs in an apparent three-prospect package titled Owen Caissie. With Caissie poised to perform in Miami earlier this season, the Marlins have bolstered their roster at the potential expense of their rotation, though the Fish are perhaps one of the few teams with enough rotation depth to withstand the loss of Cabrera.
Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Ryan Weathers, Max Meyeragain Braxton Garrett ranked as low as five starters, and swingman Janson Junk probably a higher depth option. Adam Mazur again Ryan Gusto and have major league experience, Dax Fulton looks ready for his MLB debut, with high hopes Thomas White again Robby Snelling and both could be seen for the first time on the show before 2026 comes out.
Given how long this team is on injury history and very short on proven track records, however, a case can be made that Miami can or should add to their starting mix. Kevin Barral of Fish On First hears from a source that the Marlins could pursue a veteran innings catcher to add stability to the rotation. On the other hand, Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic wrote that “the Marlins are open to continuing to deal with their rotation to get back to righty.”
The latest report doesn’t indicate whether such a trade would happen, and it would be another example of how baseball president Peter Bendix is open to discussing all offers due to due diligence. Rosenthal and Sammon also noted that it was “unlikely” that Alcantara would be traded, echoing numerous reports throughout the offseason about the Marlins’ lack of desire to move the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner.
Trading one young arm for another MLB-ready young hitter may be obvious if the right offer comes along, and Miami may need to create a rotation spot if the team brings in a veteran hurler. This supposed veteran arm wouldn’t come at a huge price, as Barral used the Marlins’ signature deal Cal Quantrill a one-year, $3.5MM deal last winter. Miami will naturally be looking for better results from its next investment, as Quantrill posted a 5.50 ERA over 109 2/3 innings before being fired in August and released by the Braves.
As one might expect, Bendix didn’t share much strategy about adding or removing any pitchers when he spoke to reporters (including MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and Jessica Camerato) earlier this week. While admitting “it will never be too loud” mantra, Bendix feels his team has plenty of internal options already for the rotation battle running into Spring Training, even White or Snelling who are candidates to break camp.
“I definitely have no idea who the five players to open the season will be,” Bendix said.I think there’s an opportunity, there’s competition there, there’s an open spot, there’s an opportunity for a bunch of guys to step up and get a spot, and we’re not writing anything yet..”
