Marlins trade Myers to Reds. The thinking behind it, and what Miami is getting
The Marlins needed to create a spot on their 40-man roster for new closer Peter Fairbanks, and the team accomplished that on Saturday by trading outfielder Dane Myers to the Cincinnati Reds for minor league outfielder Ethan O’Donnell.
In O’Donnell, the Marlins are getting the Reds’ 18th best-best prospect (per MLB.com) and a defensively-skilled player who has shown some power, has decent plate discipline (11 percent walk rate last season) and can play all three outfield positions.
A 2023 sixth-round pick out of the University of Virginia, the left-handed hitting O’Donnell has hit .259 (.350 on base) with 21 homers and 117 RBI in 256 minor league games, with 55 stolen bases in 63 attempts.
Last season, he appeared in 125 games in Double A Chattanooga and hit .235 (.327 on base) with seven homers, 56 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 23 attempts.
Here was MLB.com’s scouting report on O’Donnell, who’s a native of Chicago:
“O’Donnell started his college career at Northwestern, but after a strong Cape Cod League performance following his sophomore year, he transferred to Virginia. As a junior, he posted a .354/.448/.587 line with 13 homers and 18 steals, helping him land in the sixth round with the Reds. For two summers in a row, he’s finished strongly, posting a .960 OPS during his debut and then battling through a shoulder issue for much of his first full season to put up a 1.076 OPS in August with High-A Dayton. That set the stage for a move to the upper levels.
“A left-handed hitter, O’Donnell is capable of making a ton of hard contact with an ability to drive the ball to all fields. It might be more gap-to-gap type thump for extra bases, but there is some ability to reach the seats, and some think that there’s more offensive upside here now that he’s not dealing with a bad shoulder. He can get a little too overly aggressive and will have to watch his tendency to chase out of the zone as he advances.
“An above-average runner who swiped 30 bags [in 2024], O’Donnell has the skill set to play center field regularly, even though he saw most of his time with Dayton in the corners because of teammates on the roster. The Reds now know he’s an above-average defender in all three spots and could be the type of valuable fourth outfielder who can beat you in a number of ways.”
O’Donnell, 23, does not yet need to be protected on the 40-man roster.
The Marlins moved on from Myers, a former Tigers sixth-round pick who was selected by Miami in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in December 2022.
He hit .245 (.299 on base average) with 10 homers and 59 RBI in 172 games and 511 plate appearances in parts of three seasons with the Marlins.
Last season, he hit .235 (.291 on base) with six homers, 31 RBI and 18 steals in 23 attempts in 106 games. In 2024, Myers played 68 games for the Marlins in center field, 31 in right field and 11 in left field.
Myers was expendable because of the development of Marlins starting center fielder Jakob Marsee, who hit .292 (.363 on base) with five homers, 18 doubles, 14 steals in 20 attempts and 33 RBI in 55 games after his Aug. 1 call-up.
Victor Mesa Jr. is the only other center fielder on the 40-man roster, though utility man Javier Sanoja is capable of playing center field.
Miami likely will look for a cheap right-handed-hitting outfielder to replace the right-handed hitting Myers and compete for a backup outfield and pinch-hitting job in spring training. Perhaps that could be a player signed as a non-roster invitee closer to spring training.
But the need isn’t glaring because the left-handed hitting Marsee hit .324 (.370 on base) in 81 Marlins plate appearances against left-handers last season.
Here’s more on the Marlins’ acquisition of Fairbanks, who agreed to a one-year, $13 million deal.
This story was originally published December 27, 2025 at 4:54 PM.
