MIAMI—Edward Cabrera‘s five-year career in South Florida has been a captivating rollercoaster. He has had nagging injuries coupled with inconsistent command, leading to skepticism that the former top prospect might never reach his incredible potential. The Marlins have been patient with him because of the seductive highs—putting his incredible arsenal to use, dominating opposing lineups as prophesied.
In 2025, the ride has reached an unforeseen peak.
In what could’ve been his last time donning the home white jerseys at loanDepot park on Tuesday night, Cabrera was once again terrific against a veteran-led, star-studded Padres team. The 27-year-old, coming off an injury scare in Baltimore before the All-Star break, missed out on a quality start by the skin of his teeth, dealing five and two-thirds innings of one-run ball, striking out six. He walked zero for the third consecutive start. Aided by big swings off the bats of Kyle Stowers, Heriberto Hernandez and Javier Sanoja, Miami evened their series against the visiting Friars with a 4-3 victory.
“He looked strong,” raved manager Clayton McCullough postgame. “He had swing-and-miss with multiple offerings, really crisp on his breaking pitches, threw some really good changeups as well. Looking at that entire outing, him and Gus (RamÃrez) did a really nice job of using his his full mix, and again, another outing of no walks and getting into the sixth inning. That’s another good start from Cabby. I think now we’ve just come in to expect him to pitch in that type of that manner and to go deep into a game and give us a real shot to win.”
As alluded to by his skipper, Cabrera thrived courtesy of a well-orchestrated game plan between him and his catcher. After jumping on teammate Eury Perez’s fastball in game one, Cabrera attacked San Diego’s lineup with a curveball-heavy mix—throwing the spinner 31% of the time—while flashing a sharp sinker, slider and changeup. Each pitch was responsible for a whiff, with the curveball and changeup recording six and four, respectively. Cabrera also succeeded mightily with his first-pitch offerings, boasting a 70% number when it was all said and done.
“Attacking them was the best part about today,” said Cabrera through translator Luis Dorante Jr. “Getting that first-pitch strike—that was the goal”.
Although finding the zone consistently displays the maturity of Cabrera well, the right-hander’s ability to work out of multiple jams puts into perspective how far he’s come from years past, most notably the final out he recorded.
With his pitch count creeping into the mid-80s and runners on the corners, Cabrera bounced off the mound at the sight of a Xander Bogaerts dribbler and made a barehanded play to get Luis Arraez at the plate, keeping his team in the lead.
“Once you see the ball, you go start running and try to make the play, can’t wait for anybody else in that situation,” said Cabrera. “I’m always aggressive for any situation that presents [itself]. I try to be aggressive and get the out.”
Cabrera’s ERA in July sits at 2.66 to go along with a season-long mark of 3.48. He has faced 94 batters this month and walked only one, an unprecedented stretch of strike-throwing for him.
Naturally, this performance warrants the attention of nearly every contender in the sport. There have been a surplus of rumors regarding the possibility of Cabrera being dealt. A multitude of scouts were on site for this most recent outing. A critical decision looms for the Marlins front office—whether to trust him to sustain this success moving forward or flip him for a package headlined by a premium prospect.
Regardless, Cabrera’s name being engulfed in trade talk is all white noise to him.
“At the end of the day, it’s something that is completely out of my control, so there’s no point of thinking too much about it.”