What Marlins are expected to do this offseason. And Bendix reflects, looks ahead
The Marlins, who were largely observers in free agency last winter, will be active participants this offseason, according to a source briefed on the team’s plans.
At the very least, Miami will try to add an established bat and bullpen help; they’re willing to make competitive offers for players they decide to target.
The Marlins also will continue to search for diamonds in the rough. The Marlins eyeballed and acquired several under-the-radar success stories in the past year, including shortstop Otto Lopez, outfielder Heriberto Hernandez and pitcher Janson Junk, all of whom were significant contributors.
Last winter, Miami mostly sat out big-league free agency until signing starting veteran starter Cal Quantrill just before the start of spring training.
“We are always going to look for ways to improve our club; that’s what this offseason is going to be about, trying to find ways to improve our club,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said at his season-ending news conference on Wednesday.
“We are trying to build something the organization has never had, being competitive for a long period of time. It’s about improving this club for the short-term and long-term.
“In 2026, we are going to have a really competitive, exciting team. The future beyond that is also really bright,” adding that the goal is “to build a team that is competing for the NL East [title] and the playoffs year in and year out.”
The Marlins’ $68 million payroll, which was the third lowest in baseball, is expected to rise, but the extent of the increase remains to be determined. The Marlins will have a lot of bang for their buck next season, because many of their best players remain under team control and not yet eligible for arbitration.
The Marlins exceeded any reasonable expectations this season, finishing third in the National League East at 79-83. Their 17-game jump in wins, from 62-100 in 2024, was the largest in Marlins history.
Several prospects established themselves as longterm building blocks, and four minor league affiliates made the postseason.
“We never gave up,” Bendix said of the 2024 team. “We fought until the last out. We punched above our weight. We put fear in other teams. And we were striving to get better. That is what our culture is all about.
”Bendix was particularly pleased that “virtually every player made tremendous progress. We are not where we want to be yet, but it was still tremendous progress.
“I’m sitting here both very disappointed to be talking to you while other teams [are in the playoffs], but proud of the progress we’ve built and where we are going. I’m proud of our players, proud of Clayton [McCullough], proud of so many people hired.”
▪ Pitchers Max Meyer (coming off June 27 hip surgery) and Braxton Garrett (who missed all of the 2025 season after elbow surgery) are expected to be “healthy and ready to go for spring training,” Bendix said, “with the caveat that there’s a long time between now and spring training.”
▪ Bendix said McCullough, who replaced Skip Schumaker last offseason, proved to be a “phenomenal leader, a phenomenal support person to help players get better. Being a manager is incredibly difficult. Being a first year manager is beyond difficult. He handled himself exceptionally well.”
▪ The Marlins began calling pitches from the dugout in September, and Bendix said that was planned months before that.
“Pitch calling is something we’ve done in the minor leagues since day 1,” he said. “As it went really smoothly, we [wanted] to try it at the major league level. We wanted to do that before the season ended.”
▪ Bendix praised the progress of catcher Liam Hicks, multi-position backup Javier Sanoja and reliever Lake Bachar, among others. “Those are guys immediately off the top of my head. I could go player by player off our roster.”
He said of Sanoja: “His development was incredible to watch. To be a jack of all trades and play above average defense at every position is incredibly hard to do.”
▪ Sandy Alcantara had a 3.13 ERA over his final 13 starts, looking closer to his 2022 Cy Young form.
“The improvement that Sandy showed from the beginning to the end of season was very impressive,” Bendix said. “We saw him round into form into the version of Sandy we all know.”
▪ He said of rookie catcher Agustin Ramirez, who had 21 homers and 67 RBI but committed 10 errors and threw out only eight of 91 base-stealers:
“We saw all of Agustin’s positives as well as the areas he needs to improve. He showed the ability to be a major league catcher. He needs to improve a lot to achieve that level. His offense could even take another step forward… He hits the ball incredibly hard… Doesn’t swing and miss a ton. There’s a lot more to come offensively from him.
“We need to get better at our catcher defense. When we traded away Nick Fortes, we knew we were putting a lot on two rookies catchers. I was really happy with Liam and Gus and what they showed this year.”
He said top minor-league catching prospect Joe Mack “is an incredibly impressive prospect, doing what he did at 22 all season in Triple A. Above average offensive performer, tremendous defense, excellent defense. He’s everything you can ask for in a catcher.”
