#miami-marlins

#miami-marlins

It's the number Miguel Cabrera wore for almost his entire Marlins career. So as we said at the top, obvious call. Cabrera made the switch to No. 24 after winning a World Series championship, evidently deciding the previous number was unlucky after he failed to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, and never looked back. Four years wearing it for the Marlins, four All-Star appearances, four years with MVP votes.

"We're not shy of the fact that this is in South Florida. I think that's what makes this unique and novel," said Anthony Favata, vice president of operations and events for the Marlins.

The MLB offseason slowed down in recent weeks after a few big name free agents were taken off the board, including the best closer in baseball: Edwin Diaz. Since the Dodgers signed Diaz to a three-year, $69 million deal, the defending champions have been quiet as have most other teams around the league. Things are expected to pick up as 2026 begins, and the Dodgers have continued their offseason moves by trading Ruiz.

The technicality answer would have gone to Brad Penny, who sported No. 33 in his brief return to the franchise in 2014. Top 5 in wins, Top 11 in WAR and strikeouts...he'd be a shoo-in if the point of writing this article series was to be the kind of person you rolled your eyes at from the back of the classroom.

Perez is already under team control through the 2029 season and doesn't even become arbitration-eligible until next winter, so there is zero urgency on Miami's part to move a pitcher who looks like a cornerstone. Of course, the Marlins' stance could change if a team approached them with a truly huge trade proposal for Perez, but barring that type of Godfather offer, Perez will surely be staying put.

The Marlins are going to send right-hander Zach Brzykcy outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com.

No player inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame has ever done so representing the Miami Marlins. That much is common knowledge to anyone reading this, and to much of baseball fandom. Fve players- Andre Dawson, Mike Piaza, Tim Raines, Ivan Rodriguez, and Ichiro Suzuki- enshrined in Cooperstown suited up for the Miami Marlins at some point in their careers.

The Marlins haven't finished higher than third in the NL East over the past five seasons, but they come into next year with optimism in the starting lineup. Kyle Stowers broke out last year, while Jakob Marsee excelled in his first taste of big league action, solidifying the outfield group. Agustin Ramirez finished sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting and provided thump at catcher and DH.

The Miami Marlins should spend more money on payroll. In other news, the sky is blue. The grass is green. One should try to avoid the Dolphin Expressway during rush hour. All of these things are equally true, but if saying them aloud makes you feel better, have at it. You'll never hear me disagree, as many, many articles of mine over the years can attest. South Florida baseball fans have been wronged by the Marlins for decades on that score.

Right-hander Tyler Zuber is heading back to the Marlins on a minor league deal, according to the transaction log on his MLB.com profile page. Zuber was outrighted off the 40-man roster in early November. Since he had been outrighted before in his career, he had the option to elect free agency, which he exercised. Miami grabbed Zuber off waivers from the Mets in early July. He gave up two runs over two innings in his lone appearance with New York.

The Marlins and right-hander discussed an extension earlier this year, according to reporting from Will 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 to Isaac Azout of Fish on First. Both Azout and Christina De Nicola of MLB.com say that the talks are expected to continue this offseason.

The team did lose former first base coach Clayton McCullough, who was named manager of the Miami Marlins after the 2024 season. McCullough was replaced by Chris Woodward, who returned to the Dodgers organization in 2023 after a stint as manager of the Texas Rangers. It appears the Dodgers are losing another member of their coaching staff to the Marlins as catching coordinator Craig Driver is set to be named Miami's new first base coach, via Craig Mish of SportsGrid:

"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."

All in all, you can't call the 2025 Miami Marlins anything less than a roaring success. The 2024 model of the Marlins went 62-100, and then proceeded to deal away their most productive offensive player in the offseason. To finish seventeen games better at 79-83 just a year later, and to do so without a ton of splashy free agent signings or promotions of generational prospects, is remarkable.

Miami (76-80) went ahead to stay in the fourth when Lopez had an RBI double and scored on a single by Heriberto Hernández off Merrill Kelly (12-9). Back-to-back doubles by Jakob Marsee and Agustín Ramírez made it 3-0 in the fifth. Lake Bachar (8-2) worked two innings for the win after taking over for 22-year-old starter Eury Pérez, who set a season high by striking out nine in four scoreless innings.