How Marlins’ Connor Norby plans to bounce back from ‘the most frustrating year’
It’s easy to understand why Connor Norby described the 2025 season as “the most frustrating year of my career.” It was supposed to be the season that Norby established himself as an MLB regular. He was one of the players the Miami Marlins made a focal point of their promotions leading into a season that began with a slew of questions externally but ended with optimism as they finished just on the outside looking in of a playoff spot.
Instead, Norby spent almost as time off the field as he did on it.
Three separate stints on the injured list — first for an oblique strain, then wrist inflammation and finally a left quad strain — led to a choppy first full season with the Marlins that was far from his expectations.
But Norby, who hit just .251 with a .689 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over the 88 games he was able to play in, is using that frustration to fuel him heading into 2026.
“First, you never want to miss games,” Norby said. “And second, I’ve got this wired energy that I need to be out there every day, and it was frustrating for me to not be out there. You feel like, at times, you let your teammates down, and are letting the fans down. But when I look back at it, it’s going to probably be the best year of my career in terms of the things I will take from it. But yeah, I’ve got to be healthy. When I am healthy, I know how good I can be, and it was just hard last year, obviously, catching a rhythm and keeping that rhythm. But yeah, I’m excited to get going here.”
Norby, who the Marlins acquired along with outfielder Kyle Stowers at the 2024 trade deadline from the Baltimore Orioles for left-handed pitcher Trevor Rogers, will certainly get every opportunity to get on the field.
It might involve a potential position change.
The 25-year-old has played exclusively third base so far in his Marlins tenure after going through the minor leagues as a second baseman. However, Norby will get some looks at both first base (a position he never played) and the outfield (a spot he played sparingly in the minor leagues with the Orioles) during spring training in addition to his normal reps at third base.
Norby and Graham Pauley are the main contenders to play third base for Miami this season, but Pauley is currently sidelined with a right elbow injury. Pauley told MLB.com on Tuesday that he will hopefully be out no longer than two weeks with the injury. Imaging on his elbow revealed no structural damage to his UCL.
“My goal is always be on the field, play every game and help this team win,” Norby said, “and I think I can.”
Now comes the balancing act for Norby. He plays with an intensity and such a high expectation that he is rarely satistfied with his performance. He knows there’s always another level he can achieve, whether that’s better production at the plate or improving on his defense. He always plays with a chip on his shoulder — one that he said is “bigger than ever” this season.
But how does he make sure that mentality doesn’t go overboard and hinder him when he’s already trying to have a bounce-back season?
For that, Norby just looks around the clubhouse. The Marlins are coming off a season in which they finished 79-83 — far better than their preseason projections, many of which had them losing near 100 games — and were still in the race to get a wild-card spot into the playoffs into the final week. So many of Norby’s teammates had strong seasons that they are trying to build on. Others — including outfielder Griffin Conine and a slew of key pitchers (Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer, Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi among them) were like Norby and dealt with injuries that either sidelined them for the whole season or kept them from fully tapping into their potential.
“You play to win,” Norby said, “And when you have an organization that’s committed to that, I think that everyone’s play rises. Last year, I kind of got into a little bit of, ‘Well, I’m struggling,’ or ‘I’m hurt,’ and you start to feel sorry for yourself a little bit, especially when we weren’t playing well. That helps nobody, and I’m better than that. It was a tough year, and it is what it is. You move on, you take in the offseason, you learn from it. It’s gonna be a fun year, and it’s gonna be a good year.”
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