New Marlins outfielder Owen Caissie not short on confidence: ‘I can compete with anyone’
Owen Caissie went through the normal range of emotions that come with being traded.
But eventually, the initial shock turned into a “surreal feeling” as he began to think about the opportunity ahead of him.
Caissie, a left-handed-hitting outfielder ranked as the No. 47 overall prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline, is now joining a young Miami Marlins team looking to build on a surprise 2025 season in which they exceeded expectations and were in contention for a playoff berth going into the final week of the season.
“All I knew was I watched them have an insane second half,” Caissie said of the Marlins, who went 35-32 after the All-Star Break and won 13 of their final 17 games to end the season with a 79-83 record, “and it looked like the team had a lot of fun. Like, a lot of fun. You could see it. Everyone’s smiling, having fun. They’re all super, super young. I didn’t know much [about them]. I just watched them before. But talking to coaches, everyone’s relatively new, so I can definitely see that the organization is heading in a great direction, and everyone’s on board, pulling for the same thing.”
How Caissie, who was the headliner of three prospects coming back from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera, fits into Miami’s overall picture next season will become clearer in due time. The 23-year-old has big power potential and should be sound defensively, but a spot isn’t going to simply be given to him.
Miami has several outfielders competing for playing time alongside projected starters Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee. Griffin Conine will compete for playing time, although he could see action at first base next season too. Heriberto Hernandez was steady as a rookie last season. Super-utility player Javier Sanjoa is also in the mix for occasional reps.
Caissie hasn’t focused on that part yet, though. It will sort itself out during spring training.
“I’m not even going to lie, I haven’t even looked at it,” Caissie said of the Marlins’ outfield depth and potential internal competition. “And it might be nice for me to say that I don’t care. I’m just gonna play the best I can. I think when I’m at my best, I can compete with anyone. But really, I haven’t looked at it honestly. Truly. I haven’t looked at the roster. I know what guys they have, but at the end of the day, if I do what I do, I know I’m going to be on the field.”
Caissie made his MLB debut last season for Chicago, hitting just .192 with a .568 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and striking out in 11 of 27 plate appearances.
But after starting five of his first six games, he was primarily used off the bench the rest of his short stint, which was an adjustment for him.
And it’s something he said he learned from.
“To learn in the big leagues is kind of hard,” Caissie said, “but I know I need to really stick to my approach at the plate and handle what I can handle. And then on the defensive side of things, just be the best I can be, and win the first five to 10 steps of the route, be quick with the first step, and ultimately do anything I can to help the team.”
The Marlins are optimistic Caissie can make the leap based on his minor-league success. He has hit .281 with an .887 OPS, 41 home runs, 57 doubles, 130 RBI and 143 runs scored over 226 games at the Triple A level the past two seasons.
Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said Caissie has “a chance to be a middle of the lineup threat for years to come.”
“We are getting somebody who hits the ball very hard and hits with a lot of power. That’s a hard thing to find,” Bendix said. “It’s usually very expensive to acquire. Every good team needs power. We are getting someone who has shown the ability to make adjustments as he’s gotten older and as he’s faced better pitching. He’s still very young.”
Caissie has already had initial discussions with Bendix, manager Clayton McCullough and other members of the Marlins’ front office ahead of spring training to set expectations.
“They were just explaining how and what they’re doing and what their path is to win,” Caissie said. “And it sounds like they’re going in a great direction for it.”
This story was originally published January 13, 2026 at 2:25 PM.
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