ORLANDO, FL—The Winter Meetings are underway and on day one, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix and manager Clayton McCullough spoke to the local media.
After a 17-win improvement, Bendix believes that the 2026 club will be one that can compete for a National League wild-card spot, noting that 79 wins “is not the goal.” Bendix also said that there will be additions needed from outside the organization to ensure the goal of another improving year.
“We are trying to put a really competitive team together in 2026 and we’re trying to build for to be as good as we can for as long as we can,” said Bendix on Monday morning. “We’re having lots of conversations with free agents and with other teams. It’s my job to listen and to understand where the market is and what our opportunities are to ultimately to make the best decisions.”
When it comes to the current free agent market, a couple big names connected to the Marlins have come off the board. Relievers Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley signed multi-year deals with the Mets and Orioles, respectively.Â
“I think there’s parts of the market that are surprising, other parts that are taking a long time,” said Bendix. “That’s how it is every year. I think it’s very easy to craft narratives when you get to the end of the offseason and look back, but in the moment, it’s hard to tell.”
One of the main topics discussed was the potential trades of starters Sandy Alcantara and Edward Cabrera. As Fish On First reported ahead of the winter meetings, Cabrera appears to be the most likely to get traded, with the market looking similar to what it was during the trade deadline. Other reports have surfaced that the team is listening on every starter aside from Eury Pérez.
“It is my job to listen,” said Bendix. “I would be doing a disservice to our fans, a disservice to Bruce (Sherman), the organization if I didn’t listen to what is out there and understand our possibilities. The second thing is that not everything that you read is true.”
Following an uneven season returning from Tommy John surgery, the Marlins expect Alcantara to be closer to his Cy Young self in 2026.
Later in the day, manager Clayton McCullough opened his press conference, noting how year two of this process has been much more slowed down, rather than the craziness of having to fill out a staff and taking in as much information as possible. This also bleeds into spring training, now having more familiarity and a structure that the coaches and players are familiar with.
“When you walk on the fields, it’s one thing to know someone, their name, we watch them on the other side of the field or know a stat sheet,” McCullough told the media. “But to spend a year or spend months with a person, that’s when real bonds start to form. We hope that we can just somewhat pick up where we left off last year. The players will come in with an expectation and an understanding of what’s important to us, how we are going to run our drills and going to run camp. There’s going to be less of those unknowns. We can firmly make the focus on areas of which our team and individuals need to get better for us to accomplish what we’d like to.”
Although McCullough is retaining the majority of his 2025 staff, assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman is the most recent ex-Marlin to depart for a promotion elsewhere as he will become the Colorado Rockies lead pitching coach. Derek Shomon, Joe Singley and Tyler Smarslok also left for gigs with the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, respectively. The additions to the staff filling their shoes are assistant hitting coaches Chris Hess and Corbin Day, first base/catching coach Craig Driver, and as Fish On First reported, Blake Butler will become the new infield coach.
“As we went through that process, Blake stood out,” said McCullough. “Coming over from the Pirates, he managed in their system. He was going to be their infield coordinator. We love his technical acumen. He’s also someone who culturally will be a real additive for our group. I feel like Blake will come in and build strong relationships with our guys and team up with Hector Crespo, and those guys will continue to push our infield program forward.”
Looking at the team in 2026, the expectation is that AgustÃn RamÃrez will catch Sandy Alcantara on Opening Day. The Marlins continue to believe in RamÃrez as a catcher and want to see more out of him before pivoting. Driver and McCullough both spent time with the 24-year-old in the Dominican Republic.
“I think Gus had a chance to self-reflect some on the year, take a breath,” said McCullough. “One thing that he mentioned: physically he felt okay, but mentally, it’s quite the grind. I asked him to hit in the top of the lineup almost every day and having to go back there and catch, probably played more than he ever has. Gus was saying all the right things. He was embracing and taking on this offseason different than he did the last season, which is fair. He has a different perspective on what’s ahead and what’s expected.”
Aside from the two media availabilities, it was a slow first day at the Waldorf Astoria in Orlando. Day two will feature the MLB Draft Lottery, where the Marlins have a 1.85% chance to earn the number one overall pick in the 2026 draft. A new episode of Fish On First LIVE begins at 6:00 p.m. ET to react to the lottery results.
Elsewhere around the league, Michael Soroka signed a one-year deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Steven Matz signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.