Breaking Down the Marlins’ Meaningful Camp Battles to Watch

That came on the heals of the trade that sent Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs for Just Baseballs No. 41 prospect, Owen Caissie, INF Cristian Hernandez, and INF Edgardo De Leon.

While the names traded were not a surprise seeing that they have been rumored to be on the trade block dating back to the 2025 trade deadline, but trading both of them could have been a little head-scratching and now opens up a true competition for those who will look to fill out the backend of the rotation.

Speaking of Caissie, that move also opened up the discussion as to how the Marlins will have their outfield primarily set up between he, Kyle Stowers, Jakob Marsee, Griffin Conine, and Heriberto Hernandez.

Aside from those two, there are the conversations surrounding the catcher rotation and how the Marlins are going to figure out the playing time at the corner infield spots.

Starting Rotation

Year after year, no matter the names involved, the Marlins are consistently producing a starting rotation that, on paper, looks to rank in the top half of the league.

2025 brought Marlins fans the return of former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara and the young phenom, Eury Perez, from their own respective elbow surgeries. While it was full of ups and downs, each of them continued to prove to be staples of this rotation going forward.

Cabrera was a staple for the team coming off a career year. Weathers, although hurt, came back from injury continuing to showcase the improvements he made during spring training. Now, with both of them gone, former prospect Max Meyer looks to man the third spot in the rotation come the start of the season. The Marlins are also hoping to get Braxton Garrett back, who will be returning from Tommy John surgery.

The fifth spot of the rotation is completely up for grabs.

Janson Junk was a gem for this team last year after being signed to a minor league deal right before the start of spring training. After Junk, Robby Snelling, Just Baseball’s No. 30 prospect, looks as if he is going to get every opportunity to make the Opening Day roster after a dominant 2025 season that ended in him being named the Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

While those two look to be the frontrunners in the competition, Ryan Gusto, Adam Mazur, and recent waiver claim, Osvaldo Bido, will likely all get a chance to prove themselves this spring.

Also, we cannot dismiss the chance that they bring in a veteran free agent pitcher to start the year for them in the rotation while Snelling continues to develop in the minors for a couple of more weeks, or they feel as if Junk’s role is better served for this team as a swingman.

Outfield

The Marlins were a well-rounded ball club last season, but we cannot deny that most of their success came from the play of their outfield.

Stowers, Marsee, and Caissie look as if they are going to be the starters come day one of the MLB season.

Conine is also going to be returning from injury and, if the reports of him working at first base this spring do not show the front office the results they’re looking for, he is also going to be in play for a starting spot. Whether that comes in the outfield or as the designated hitter will be the question.

Then, we have another player who Peter Bendix identified early as a Minor League free agent in Hernandez who will be back and fighting for at-bats in this outfield.

There are also a few other players projected to be on this roster who have experience working in the outfield in Connor Norby, Christoper Morel, and Javier Sanoja.

Catcher

This is the position that may bring the most question marks due to their primary catcher still developing at the position, and a budding Gold Glove-caliber prospect who looks to be on the precipice of making his Major League debut soon enough.

Agustin Ramirez is likely going to enter the season as the primary catcher even if he has not improved much defensively behind the plate. The rookie’s MLB career started off incredibly hot and it was quite the sight for the sore eyes of Marlins fans who have been looking for a true, franchise-caliber, catcher since J.T. Realmuto was traded.

Rule 5 pick Liam Hicks also really showed out for this lineup when he was in it. He was a full 1.0 fWAR player in the limited opportunities he had in the 119 games played. He won’t be the starter, but the way the coaching staff lauds his work ethic and plate discipline is going to get him at-bats, even if some of them come at first base.

Then we have Just Baseball’s No. 26 prospect, Joe Mack, who is just about ready to be an impact MLB player sooner rather than later. Arguably the best defensive catcher in all of the minor leagues, Mack also provides some thump at the plate with the 21 home runs and 120 wRC+ he put up last season. It is because of this that the conversation surrounding where Ramirez is going to primarily play in 2026 has been so loud.

For a team who had been struggling to find a catcher for some time, like the starting rotation, this has to be one of the better backstop groupings in baseball.

Corner Infield

Here is another spicy situation the Marlins have for the upcoming season. This is the one competition that does not, truly, have a leader in the clubhouse as to who is going to play first and third base.

The names involved in the competition are Graham Pauley, Norby, Conine, and Morel.

Pauley is coming off a 2025 season where he only appeared in 62 games and produced 1.0 fWAR, which stands out considering the limited opportunities. While the 90 wRC+ does not stand out, it is what he provides the Marlins on defense, at either corner spot, that is likely going to give him the opportunity to start game one.

Norby, at the time of the trade, was likely seen as the headliner in the return that sent left-handed pitcher Trevor Rogers to Baltimore. An injury limiting him to only 88 games played, and a 4.0 fWAR season by Stowers, has erased that notion.

Nonetheless, Norby still provides this team with value on both sides of the ball. While he does not have a true home on defense, he does provide them with some versatility being able to play third, second, and possibly even some outfield. Though he has seemingly been forgotten in some aspects of discussions over the past year, Norby was once a top prospect in the Orioles system.

Conine, as mentioned previously, is going to get opportunities at first base this spring in order to get his bat into the lineup as much as possible. Given that he does not have any experience at the position at the professional level, it remains to be seen how that will work out, but the Marlins are optimistic that he is going to do enough to be able to spend some time at first this season.

Morel was signed back in December as, what was likely to be, the “favorite” to start at first base for them after that was the report that soon followed his signing. Now, that does not seem to fully be the case. He looks to be in a true competition with the names mentioned.

Opening Day Predictions

Lineup

• Catcher: Agustin Ramirez
• First Base: Graham Pauley
• Second Base: Xavier Edwards
• Third Base: Connor Norby
• Shortstop: Otto Lopez
• Outfield: Owen Caissie, Jakob Marsee, Kyle Stowers
• Designated Hitter: Griffin Conine
• Bench: Liam Hicks, Christopher Morel, Javier Sanoja, Heriberto Hernandez

Starting Rotation

• 1: Sandy Alcantara
• 2: Eury Perez
• 3: Max Meyer
• 4. Braxton Garrett
• 5. Veteran Free Agent