Marlins Rumors

The Marlins and right-handerEury Pérez discussed an extension earlier this year, according to reporting fromWill Sammon, Ken Rosenthal and Katie Woo of The Athletic. However, they didn’t come close to getting something done. These talks occurred when the team approached the righty’s representatives in the spring and the two sides were about $15MM apart, according toIsaac Azout of Fish on First. BothAzout andChristina De Nicola of MLB.com say that the talks are expected to continue this offseason.

It’s the second time this week that reports have emerged of the Marlins trying to extend one of their young players. Earlier this week, it wasreported that they recently had some talks with outfielderKyle Stowers. The Fish were even farther from a deal with Stowers, with a reported $50MM gap in those talks.

The situations have a few things in common but are also wildly different. Both players have between two and three years of service time, meaning each is a year from qualifying for arbitration and four years from free agency. However, they are far apart in age. Stowers is going into his age-28 season and therefore won’t be a free agent until he’s going into his age-32 campaign. Pérez is only 22 years old right now, turning 23 in April. He is therefore slated for the open market after his age-26 campaign.

That’s a reflection of his quick rise to the majors. Pérez shot through the minors and was in the big leagues by his age-20 season. Despite his youth, he was immediately successful. He tossed 91 1/3 innings that year with a 3.15 earned run average. His 8.3% walk rate was around average while he punched out a strong 28.9% of batters faced.

He missed the 2024 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Since the Marlins approached him about an extension in the spring, he was still recovering at that time and had fewer than 100 innings under his belt. He was able to get back on the mound in June and finished the year with 95 1/3 innings, a 4.25 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate.

Pérez is still fairly inexperienced, with under 200 big league innings to his name so far. However, he was confident enough to turn down extension overtures a year ago while still on the mend. Now he’s a year closer to free agency and has returned to health.

It’s quite rare for a player to be on track to hit free agency so young. When it does happen, teams have shown a strong willingness to pay for that youth. Back in the 2018-19 offseason, bothBryce Harper andManny Machado reached free agency ahead of their age-26 seasons, with each hitting the $300MM plateau on their free agent deals. More recently,Juan Soto hit free agency at the same age and blew those two out of the water. His $765MM deal was more than Harper and Machado combined.Yoshinobu Yamamoto was also able to get a $325MM guarantee ahead of his age-25 season, despite having no MLB experience.Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed a $500MM extension with the Blue Jays just a few months before he was about to become a free ahead ahead of his age-27 campaign.Rafael Devers got to $313.5MM under similar circumstances to Guerrero, two years earlier.

For players in their early 20s, teams have made massive commitments to position players. Players likeFernando Tatis Jr.,Julio Rodríguez andBobby Witt Jr. all got at least $210MM guarantees in their pre-arbitration years. The same can’t be said for pitchers.Spencer Strider currently holds the record for a pre-arb pitcher with his six-year, $75MM deal. Like all players, getting closer to free agency will increase his earning power. Arms such asClayton Kershaw,Stephen Strasburg,Garrett Crochet,José Berríos,Jacob deGrom,Luis Castillo andHomer Bailey have signed nine-figure deals in their arb years. Dozens of guys have been able to crack nine figures after reaching the open market.

If Pérez bets on himself, he could keep increasing his earning power, but that would also run the risk of him getting hurt or simply struggling to put up good numbers. Since he’s so young, perhaps there’s a nice middle ground where he can bank some early earnings while still having a good path to free agency. For example, he could sign away two years of club control and still become a free agent ahead of his age-29 season.

For the Marlins, they had an encouraging finish in 2025. They were 23-33 at the end of May but went 56-50 the rest of the way and narrowly missed the playoffs. They have almost no money on the books.Sandy Alcantara is signed through 2026 with a club option for 2027. That’s literally it for now, though they have tendered contracts to seven arb-eligible players. Even though the Marlins don’t have huge payrolls, they have lots of room for long-term deals if they want to lock up a few core players.

That will also help them with theirreported desire to increase their competitive balance tax number in 2026. The idea would be to pre-emptively stave off drama when the collective bargaining agreement expires next offseason. If the Marlins spend a bit more next year, it could reduce the chances that the MLB Players Association or other owners take umbrage with how the Fish are using their revenue sharing money.

The Athletics were in a similar position last winter and ended up getting more aggressive than in previous years. They gave notable free agent deals toLuis Severino andJosé Leclerc and signed extensions withBrent Rooker andLawrence Butler. Extensions are quite good for bumping up the CBT since that number calculates contracts based on the average annual value of the whole deal. For instance, Alcantara’s $56MM extension over five years gave him an $11.2MM CBT hit for every season of that deal, even though he was paid far less than that in the first three years. He made $3.5MM in 2022, followed by $6MM and $9MM in the two subsequent seasons.

Photo courtesy of Benny Sieu, Imagn Images

The Marlins and outfielderKyle Stowers held some extension talks earlier this offseason, reportsBrittany Ghiroli of The Athletic, but weren’t close and the talks fell apart. She characterizes the sides as roughly $50MM apart, with Stowers and his camp targeting about $100MM while the Fish were more in the $50MM range.

Stowers, 28 in January, had a breakout season in 2025. A notable prospect with the Orioles, he hadn’t yet established himself as a big leaguer when he was flipped to Miami inthe 2024 deadline deal sendingTrevor Rogers to Baltimore.

Going into 2025, Stowers had 340 plate appearances spread over three seasons with a 6.2% walk rate, 33.8% strikeout rate, .208/.268/.332 line and 69 wRC+. This past season, he took a big step forward. His 27.4% strikeout rate was still high but a massive improvement over his previous work. He also pushed his walk rate to 10.5% and hit 25 home runs, leading to a .288/.368/.544 line and 149 wRC+.

He won’t be able to sustain a .356 batting average on balls in play but he’d be a strong offensive player even with a bit of regression in the luck department. He didn’t get strong defensive grades but he was around average. He missed the final six weeks of the season due to an oblique strain but FanGraphs still credited him with four wins above replacement.

Locking up that kind of player while he’s still relatively young and affordable is a sensible desire for the Marlins. Stowers has just over two years of big league service time, meaning he can still be retained for four seasons and hasn’t qualified for arbitration yet.

There has also been somerecent reporting suggesting that the Marlins may be looking to increase their competitive balance tax number in 2026. Per that reporting, it’s possible that both the MLB Players Association and fellow owners take umbrage with how the Marlins have been using their revenue sharing money. With the collective bargaining agreement a year away from expiring, the club might want to put forth a better face now.

This was the situation the A’s were in last winter. They ramped up spending in an effort to avoid an MLBPA grievance. That included signing free agents likeLuis Severino andJosé Leclerc as well as signing extensions withBrent Rooker andLawrence Butler.

The Marlins have been connected to various free agents, includingMichael King andDevin Williams, but extensions are particularly good if bumping up the CBT number is the goal since a player’s CBT hit comes from the average annual value of his deal. For instance, Butler only had a $2.25MM salary in 2025 but his CBT hit was about $9.36MM since he was guaranteed $65.5MM over seven years.

From the perspective of Stowers, an extension would limit his overall earning power but he’s not on an amazing track for a huge payday. Due to his somewhat late breakout, he’s not slated to hit the open market until the winter before the 2030 season, which would be his age-32 campaign. Teams put a high value on youth these days, which won’t help Stowers. In the past decade,Freddie Freeman is the only position player free agent to get a nine-figure deal beginning at age 32 or older, as shown inMLBTR’s Contract Tracker.

Though an extension might make sense for both sides, they still have to agree on the number, which is where things have apparently broken down. Per Ghiroli, Stowers’s camp was looking to get a deal somewhat like theBryan Reynoldsextension with the Pirates, which gave him $100MM in new money over seven years. The Marlins were apparently hoping for something more like the Red Sox’extension withCeddanne Rafaela, which paid him $50MM over an eight-year span. Since that deal came shortly after the 2024 season began, MLBTR characterizes it as $49.3MM in new money over seven years.

Reynolds and Rafaela are both outfielders but neither is a great comp for Stowers in terms of earning power. Rafaela had barely played in the majors and only had a handful of service days at the time of his deal. Reynolds, meanwhile, had already racked up over four years of service time. As mentioned, Stowers is just a bit over two years of service, putting him in between the two. Players generally get more earning power as they rack up service time and get closer to free agency.

For players under three years of service, there have been some massive nine-figure deals for guys likeFernando Tatis Jr. andBobby Witt Jr., though those guys were already superstars in their early 20s.Yordan Alvarez andAlex Bregman got $115MM and $100MM from the Astros, respectively, each beginning with his age-26 season. However, both of those guys had more major league success than Stowers does now and were a bit younger.

Kevin Kiermaier and the Rays agreed to an extension in March of 2017, when Kiermaier was still four years away from free agency. He had qualified for arbitration as a Super Two player and had already agreed to a $2.975MM salary for 2017. The deal was for six years and $53.5MM, which meant it added about $50.5MM in new money over five years, beginning with his age-28 campaign. Kiermaier had a decent floor thanks to his speed and defense but limited upside due to his tepid offense and injury-prone reputation. That deal is almost a decade old and a similar player should get more nowadays just based on inflation.

Put it all together and meeting somewhere in between $50MM and $100MM could make some sense for both parties. For now, it seems like that’s not on the table, but the two sides could resume talks later. The most common time for extensions to come together is in the spring, as teams generally focus on external additions throughout the earlier parts of the offseason.

Photo courtesy of Mady Mertens, Imagn Images

The Marlins are among the teams that have shown interest in free-agent rightyMichael King,per Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic. Miami has frequently been linked to prominent bullpen arms in the offseason’s early stages as well, and the Fish areapparently planning to spend more heavily in free agency than in recent years (although that’s a pretty low bar to clear).

Skeptics will presume that the Marlins, like the A’s last offseason, are wary of running into a grievance pertaining to their allocation of revenue-sharing funds. Optimists will look at Miami’s hot finish to the 2025 season and the steps forward from young core pieces likeKyle Stowers,Jakob Marsee andEdward Cabrera as the driving factor behind the ostensible spending push. In reality, some of both are likely to be true.

Rosenthal and Drellich write that the Marlins are believed to be pulling in around $70MM annually in revenue-sharing. Teams that allocate under 150% of the revenue-sharing funds they receive to the roster (in terms of CBT obligations) can draw the union’s ire and fall subject to a grievance. That’s not true in every instance. Miami’s CBT ledger in 2025 came in around $85MM,per RosterResource. The Fish are projected for about $70MM of CBT considerations right now, however.

It seems that falling shy of that 150% threshold in consecutive seasons is what truly triggers the risk of a grievance. The A’s were the only perennial payroll cellar-dweller who seemed to be subject to a potential grievance last offseason. (They responded by signingLuis Severino andJose Leclerc and extendingBrent Rooker andLawrence Butler.) None of the Pirates, Marlins or Rays seemed to face the same pressure.

However, each of Pittsburgh, Miami and Tampa Bay had been well over $100MM in CBT considerations in each of the preceding seasons. The A’s trotted out CBT numbers between $68MM and $84MM from 2022-24 before finally opening the wallet a bit to avoid that potential grievance. Rosenthal and Drellich also suggest that the Marlins may want to avoid any in-fighting with other clubs during the upcoming CBA talks, where luxury tax payors could argue that the Marlins aren’t using their funds properly. Readers are encouraged to check out the piece for full, more granular details on the matter and thoughts from other club officials and agents who weight in when chatting with The Athletic duo.

Regardless of the motivation, the fact that King is on Miami’s radar is notable. He’s a former Marlins draft pick, though that came under prior ownership and a different front office regime, so those ties are minimal at this point. King would step into a rotation that also includes the previously mentioned Cabrera,Sandy Alcantara,Eury Perez,Braxton Garrett andRyan Weathers — with prospectsThomas White,Robby Snelling,Dax Fulton andMax Meyer (on the mend from surgery) all factoring in as possible options as well.

King, 30, has been excellent since moving from a swingman role with the Yankees — who acquired him in 2017’sGarrett Cooper swap — into the rotation late in the 2023 season. His 2025 campaign was shortened by a nerve injury in his shoulder and a knee injury late in the season, but King boasts a terrific 2.93 ERA (3.50 FIP, 3.66 SIERA) with a 27.4% strikeout rate and 8.3% walk rate in 53 starts since moving to a rotation role full-time.

Adding King would give Miami a playoff-caliber starter to pair with arms like Alcantara, Cabrera and Perez. He’d also make it easier for the Fish to entertain offers on young pitching, whether that be Cabrera, Weathers or some of those vaunted prospects (headlined by White). The Marlins could also give stronger consideration to dealing Alcantara if they add a veteran starter, but they’d still be selling somewhat low on him (and trading Alcantara would offset much of the payroll gains they’d obtain by signing King).

The Marlins are on the lookout for meaningful offensive upgrades, but the free agent market is generally thin on impact hitters this offseason. If the Fish instead choose to further deepen an organizational strength, they could use their stock of quality young arms to explore the trade market in search of more meaningful upgrades at the infield corners, designated hitter and/or in right field.

King rejected a $22.025MM qualifying offer from the Padres. The Marlins would pay the lightest of three penalty tiers for signing him, due to their status as a revenue-sharing recipient. Signing King would require Miami to its third-highest pick in the 2026 draft.

Every National League team has officially announced their non-tender decisions. It was a quiet evening in terms of subtractions, with only the Rangers parting with any marquee players. All players who were non-tendered are free agents without going on waivers. A few teams dropped pre-arbitration players from the back of the 40-man roster. It’s possible they preferred not to expose them to waivers and are hopeful of re-signing them to non-roster deals.

Here’s a full list of today’s activity in the NL, while the American League movesare available here. All projected salaries are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.

• The Braves announced that right-handersAlek Manoah andCarson Ragsdale were not tendered contracts. Both had been acquired earlier in the offseason via waivers, and both are now free agents. Manoah was projected to earn $2.2MM. Ragsdale was not arb-eligible.
• The Brewers tendered contracts to their entire arbitration class,per Adam McCalvy of MLB.com.
• The Cardinals chose not to tender contracts to leftyJohn King, catcherYohel Pozo and rightySem Robberse, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatchreports.Jorge Alcala, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, was also non-tendered, John Denton of MLB.comadds. King and Alcala were both projected for a $2.1MM salary. The others were not arb-eligible.
• The Cubs non-tendered catcherReese McGuire,per ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. He hit .226/.245/.444 through 140 plate appearances in a backup catcher role and was arb-eligible for the final time. He’d been projected to earn $1.9MM. Right-handerEli Morgan, who was projected to earn $1.1MM, was also non-tendered,according to MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.
• The D-backs non-tendered left-handerTommy Henry, who’d already been designated for assignment, and right-handerTaylor Rashi. Neither was eligible for arbitration. They tendered contracts to their entire arb class.
• The Dodgers did not tender a contract to closerEvan Phillips,reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. He was only under club control for one more season and projected for a $6.1MM salary but underwentTommy John surgery in June. Dodgers rightyNick Frasso, who was not arb-eligible and finished the season on the 60-day IL, was also non-tendered,per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic.
• The Giants non-tendered left-handerJoey Lucchesi,reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Lucchesi pitched to a solid 3.76 ERA with a below-average 18.8% strikeout rate and strong 7.3% walk rate in 38 1/3 innings and had been projected for a $2MM salary. San Francisco also non-tendered catcher Andrew Knizner, who was designated for assignment this afternoon when the Giants acquired Joey Wiemer from Miami.
• The Marlins tendered contracts to all of their eligible players,per Isaac Azout of Fish On First.
• TheMets are non-tendering right-handerMax Kranick, according toWill Sammon of The Athletic. Kranick, 28, posted a 3.65 ERA in 37 innings with the Mets this year. It was his first big league opportunity since a five-inning cameo with the Pirates back in 2022. Kranick’s season came to an abrupt end back in July due to flexor tendon repair surgery. SouthpawsJose Castillo andDanny Young were also non-tendered,Sammon adds. Young had Tommy John surgery back in May. Castillo was a waiver claim who pitched for four different teams in 2025.
• The Nationals tendered contracts to their entire roster, per a team announcement.
• ThePadresannounced that leftyOmar Cruz and rightySean Reynolds were non-tendered. Neither was arbitration-eligible. They tendered contracts to every member of their arbitration class.
• The Phillies non-tendered rightiesMichael Mercado andDaniel Robert, neither of whom was arbitration-eligible. They’re both free agents. The Phils tendered contracts to all of their arb-eligible players otherwise.
• The Pirates non-tendered outfieldersAlexander Canario andRonny Simon, as well as rightiesColin Holderman andDauri Moreta. All four were designated for assignment earlier in the week. Holderman was projected for a $1.7MM salary and Moreta for $800K. The others weren’t arb-eligible.
• The Reds announced that catcherWill Banfield and right-handersCarson Spiers andRoddery Munoz were not tendered contracts. They’re all free agents. None of the three were arbitration-eligible, but by non-tendering them rather than designating them for assignment, Cincinnati bypasses the need to place them on waivers and can try to quickly re-sign any of the bunch to minor league deals, if the Reds are so inclined.
• The Rockies non-tendered first basemanMichael Toglia, the team announced. He’d been designated for assignment earlier in the week, making today’s non-tender all but a formality.

The Giants acquired outfielderJoey Wiemer from the Marlins in exchange for cash, per the team. Miami designated the former top prospect for assignment earlier in the week when setting its roster ahead of the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft. San Francisco designated catcherAndrew Knizner for assignment in a corresponding roster move.

Now 26 years old, Wiemer was the Brewers’ fourth-round pick in 2020. He appeared on the back end of MLB.com’s top-100 prospect list in both 2022 and 2023 but has seen his stock dwindle since that time. Milwaukee flipped him to the Reds alongsideJakob Junis in the 2024Frankie Montas trade, and Cincinnati subsequently dealt him to Kansas City withJonathan India in exchange for right-handerBrady Singer. The Marlins scooped him up off waivers in early August, shortly following this year’s trade deadline.

Wiemer has appeared in parts of three major league seasons between the Brewers, Reds and Marlins. He popped 13 homers and swiped 11 bags as a rookie in ’23 but did so with poor rate stats. He’s a career .205/.279/.359 hitter through 499 trips to the batter’s box in the majors. That said, he’s shown plenty of pop against lefties, albeit with still-shaky OBP skills; in 173 plate appearances versus southpaws, the righty-swinging Wiemer is a .255/.298/.484 hitter (106 wRC+).

Beyond his above-average power versus lefties, Wiemer is capable of playing all three outfield spots and doing so at a fairly high level. Even bearish scouting reports on him over the years have labeled him as a potential plus defender. Defensive metrics bear that out. Wiemer has positive marks in all three spots individually and a collective 11 Defensive Runs Saved and 7 Outs Above Average in 1249 innings of outfield work at the big league level.

Wiemer is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stay on San Francisco’s 40-man roster all offseason and break camp with the team or else be designated for assignment once again. He can’t be sent to the minors without first passing through waivers. For now, he projects as a possible bench option who could platoon with lefty-swingingDrew Gilbert in right field — if the Giants don’t make a larger-scale addition at the position. Former top prospectsLuis Matos andMarco Luciano could compete for a similar role, but both hit poorly in 2025 and have seen their once lofty prospect stock crater in recent years. Like Wiemer, both Matos and Luciano are out of minor league options, so at least two of the three figure to be roster casualties between now and Opening Day.

Knizner, 31 in February, was eligible for arbitration andprojected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $1.3MM next year. The journeyman backstop hit .221/.299/.299 in 88 trips to the plate with the Giants this season. He’s improved upon formerly poor framing grades in recent seasons but struggles to block pitches in the dirt and control the run game. Knizner is a career .211/.281/.316 hitter in 975 plate appearances during his big league career.

The Giants can spend the next couple hours looking for a trade partner, though they’ve presumably already been doing so without success. If there’s no trade opportunity, he’ll be non-tendered prior to tonight’s 5pm ET deadline.

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle firstreported that the Giants were acquiring Wiemer. Jon Heyman of the New York Postfirst reported Knizner’s DFA.

The Marlins are hiring Dodgers catching coordinator Craig Driver away as their new first base coach,reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid. He’ll replace Tyler Smarslok, who held that role in 2025 but is leaving the organization to become the new field coordinator for the division-rival Nationals,per a report from Andrew Golden and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.

Driver is plenty familiar with Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough, with whom he worked during on the Dodgers’ 2024 coaching staff. Driver spent the 2024-25 seasons as L.A.’s catching coordinator. McCullough was the Dodgers’ first base coach from 2021-24. Prior to his time with the Dodgers, Driver spent several seasons as the Cubs’ first base coach and catching coach. He was a bullpen catcher and “receiving coach” with the Phillies for a couple years before heading to Chicago.

A catcher during his NCAA days, Driver went undrafted and jumped into the college coaching ranks upon graduation. His final stint in college ball was in 2016-17, when he was the catching coach at Yale. He’s been working in pro ball since 2018.

Miami’s coaching staff isn’t turning over all that much in 2026. Driver is one of three known newcomers at present, joiningnewly hired assistant hitting coaches Chris Hess and Corbin Day, who came over from the Red Sox and Twins organizations, respectively, where they’d been minor league coaches/instructors. Last year’s assistant hitting coach, Derek Shomon, left the Fishto take the lead hitting coach job with the White Sox.

The Marlins selected catcherJoe Mackand right-handers Will Kempner and Josh White onto the 40-man roster to keep them out of the Rule 5 draft. Miami designated outfielder Joey Wiemer for assignment in a corresponding move, as they’d previously had two vacancies.

Mack is one of the more obvious names to keep away from the Rule 5 draft. A supplemental first-round pick out of high school in 2021, he has developed into one of the better all-around catching prospects in the majors. The left-handed hitter connected on 21 homers with a .257/.338/.475 slash line in 468 plate appearances between the top two minor league levels.

Most of that production came in Triple-A. Mack is on the doorstep of the majors and he’s a better defensive catcher than eitherLiam Hicks or Agustin Ramirez. Mack has the best chance of the group to be Miami’s long-term answer behind the plate. It’s not out of the question he breaks camp, and he’ll almost certainly debut at some point next season.

Kempner, 24, was acquired from the Giants for international bonus pool room last offseason. A third-round pick out of Gonzaga in 2022, he’s a pure reliever who turned in a 2.26 ERA across 67 2/3 innings between a trio of levels in his first season in the Miami system. Kempner fanned more than a third of opponents but walked upwards of 14% of batters faced. He sits around 95 MPH and could be an up-and-down reliever next season. The 24-year-old White should also be in that mix after running a monster 40.8% strikeout rate across 67 2/3 frames between the top two levels. The former fifth-round draftee sits in the 93-94 MPH range and leans heavily on a plus mid-80s slider.

Miami claimed Wiemer, a one-time top prospect, off waivers from Kansas City in August. He played in 27 games down the stretch, hitting .236 with a trio of home runs but striking out 23 times in 61 trips to the plate. Wiemer has big physical tools but has been too strikeout prone throughout his career. He’s a .205/.279/.359 hitter in a little under 500 plate appearances. Miami can non-tender him on Friday and try to bring him back on a minor league contract.

A couple of lower-payroll clubs could spend a bit more than usual, asKen Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that agents are saying the Pirates and Marlins are showing a greater willingness to spend. MLBTR covered the Pirates inthis post.

“We have put ourselves in a position based on the improvement we made in 2025,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said, per The Athletic. “We think we can put together a really exciting team for 2026 and also continue our quest to build a foundation of talent at all levels that will allow us to stay good for a long period of time.”

For Bendix, spending more is a low bar to clear. This is his third offseason since being hired to run the club’s front office. In his first, they only signed one free agent to a big league deal, giving shortstopTim Anderson $5MM. Last winter, they signed infielderEric Wagaman to a split deal and then gave $3.5MM to right-handerCal Quantrill. It would be hard to spend less.

There are reasons to be more aggressive now. As Bendix alluded to in his quote, the Marlins flashed some encouraging signs in 2025. They went from 62 wins in 2024 to 79 this year. They were 35-32 after the All-Star break.

That perhaps gives the club a bit of momentum heading into 2026. They also have almost nothing on the books, thanks to the aforementioned lack of spending over the past few years. As of right now, they have literally one player signed to a guaranteed contract for 2026.Sandy Alcantara is owed $17MM next year, followed by a $21MM club option for 2027 with a $2MM buyout. Other than that, the future payroll is completely clean.

No one will expect them to jump to the top of the market but they could make a few targeted strikes. It has already been suggested that they could target theinfield corners and/or the bullpen, including aconnection toDevin Williams.

The Athletic downplays the corner infield pursuit a bit, suggesting the Marlins may not want to block internal options. That could include guys likeGraham Pauley,Connor Norby orDeyvison De Los Santos. It’s also possibleAgustín Ramírez ends up moving from catcher to first, especially onceJoe Mack reaches the majors.

Instead, it’s suggested by The Athletic that the Fish could add to the rotation, even though it’s already a strength. They currently project to have a starting group including Alcantara,Eury Pérez,Edward Cabrera,Ryan Weathers,Braxton Garrett,Max Meyer,Ryan Gusto,Dax Fulton,Adam Mazur,Thomas White,Robby Snelling and others.

There are some question marks in there but the group is strong enough that rumors have swirled around Alcantara and Cabrera. Perhaps a trade could be combined with a free agent signing. Last offseason, the Marlins tradedJesús Luzardo to the Phillies for prospects and then signed Quantrill.

Presumably, they would be aiming higher this time around. It would be quite shocking for them to target the top free agent starters likeDylan Cease orFramber Valdez but perhaps signing someone likeMichael King,Zac Gallen,Brandon Woodruff,Shota Imanaga,Chris Bassitt orMerrill Kelly would be feasible, depending on how those markets play out. Time will tell how it all goes for the Marlins but they are going into the winter with a bit of optimism and could be more interesting than they have been in a few years.

Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images

Right-handerChristian Roa has elected free agency, according to thetransaction log at MLB.com. The Marlins recently outrighted Roa to Triple-A Jacksonville. As a player who has been outrighted before, he had the right to elect free agency rather than accept the assignment.

Roa, 26, was a second-round draft pick by the Reds in 2020 and remained in their system through the 2024 season. The Marlins claimed him off waivers in November of that year, though he spent most of 2025 in the minors before eventually having his contract selected in September. He made his big-league debut on September 6 and made two appearances for the Marlins, logging three innings and three strikeouts without allowing an earned run, although he did issue three walks. Roa was optioned back to Triple-A on September 15 and eventually outrighted on November 6 before electing free agency.

During his time at Triple-A, Roa relied on a sinker-slider combination, with the former accounting for 39.7% of his pitches and averaging 95.6 mph. He used the slider 31.2% of the time, while his 96.0 mph four-seamer was his third-most used pitch at 21.1%. Across 60 1/3 innings over 50 appearances, Roa posted a 2.83 ERA with a solid 26.1% strikeout rate. However, that output came in the International League, which is considered the more pitcher-friendly of the two Triple-A leagues. He also walked 11.4% of hitters, and his .225 BABIP allowed suggests that Roa benefitted from good luck.

Still, the solid ERA and high-velocity pitch mix might be intriguing for teams in need of bullpen depth. Roa has less than a year of big-league service time, so he would come with several years of team control. He also still has two minor-league options remaining and could be shuffled between the majors and Triple-A if needed.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

TODAY: Tinoco, Zuber, Bellozo, Tarnok, and Navarreto each elected free agency, according to Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiplelinks).

NOV. 5: The Marlins announced that five players have been outrighted off the 40-man roster. They are right-handersJesús Tinoco,Tyler Zuber,Valente Bellozo andFreddy Tarnok, as well as catcherBrian Navarreto.

There had been no previous indication that the Marlins had designated these players for assignment or put them on waivers. However, roster cleanouts like this are expected at this time of year. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series, meaning several players need to retake 40-man roster spots. The Marlins opened space with these five moves. They also lostTroy Johnstonto the Rockies andGeorge Sorianoto the Orioles via waiver claims today.

Tinoco, 31 in April, seemed to have a breakout with the Marlins last year. He gave them 40 2/3 innings with a 3.32 earned run average, 25.9% strikeout rate, 7.4% walk rate and 46.7% ground ball rate.

He couldn’t keep it going in 2025, however. He made 20 appearances with diminished velocity, a diminished strikeout rate and a 5.12 ERA before landing on the injured list in June due to a forearm strain. He underwent flexor surgery in August and is slated to miss most of the 2026 season. The Fish could have held him through the winter and put him on the 60-day injured list in spring training but he’s been squeezed off the roster now.

He has previously been outrighted in his career and therefore has the right to elect free agency. Presumably, he will do so. Given his injury timeline, he may not find interest until he makes more progress in his recovery.

Zuber, 31 in June, was claimed off waivers the Mets in July. Not long after, he landed on the IL due to a lat strain and finished the season there. He has 64 2/3 big league innings with a 6.26 ERA, 24.7% strikeout rate and 15.2% walk rate. His current health status is unclear but he’s out of options and would have had a hard time holding a roster spot even if he were healthy. He has a previous career outright and therefore has the right to elect free agency.

Bellozo, 26 in January, has been a swingman for the Marlins in recent years. He has made 45 appearances since the start of 2024, 19 of those being starts, logging 150 innings. His 15.2% strikeout rate is fairly low but his 4.20 ERA isn’t bad. That seems to be thanks to a fortunate .267 batting average on balls in play and 79.6% strand rate. His 5.44 FIP and 5.08 SIERA suggest he would have a hard time maintaining that ERA going forward. He doesn’t have a previous career outright or three years of service time but should qualify for seven-year minor league free agency.

Tarnok, 27 this month, signed a minor league deal with the Fish last offseason. He was added to the roster in June but was mostly kept in the minors, only appearing in five big league games. He pitched 68 2/3 Triple-A innings this year with a 3.28 ERA. His 26.3% strikeout rate was good but he also walked 11.2% of batters faced. He has a previous career outright and will have the right to elect free agency.

Navarreto, 31 in December, signed a minor league deal with the Fish coming into the year. He was added to the roster in September to give them a third catcher, alongsideAgustín Ramírez andLiam Hicks. He put up a strong .286/.267/.643 line in a small sample of 15 plate appearances down the stretch. His Triple-A games resulted in a more tepid .229/.301/.392 line. He has a previous career outright and therefore has the right to elect free agency.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images