In most cases, players spend merely a “chapter” of their careers with the Marlins. It’s hard for a franchise to retain quality contributors without the willingness to pay them market value nor the allure of winning on a consistent basis. Thankfully, there have been a few exceptions.
I am defining the length of a player’s tenure as starting with their first major league regular season appearance with the Marlins and ending on the day that they were officially acquired by another organization via trade or free agency. Time spent developing with minor league affiliates prior to debuting was ignored—otherwise, the likes of Isaac Galloway would be featured prominently, and that isn’t the spirit of this exercise.
Here are the players who had the distinction of being Marlins big leaguers for longer than anybody else.
8. Jeff Conine
Marlins debut: April 5, 1993
First Marlins departure: November 20, 1997
Marlins return: August 31, 2003
Final Marlins departure: January 11, 2006
We begin with a complicated case because Conine had two separate stints as a Marlin. Put together, he played a total of six years, 11 months and 26 days with the Fish. Every player featured below exceeded seven calendar years.
Conine was remarkably durable, which allowed him to accumulate 1,014 games played—that ranks second in franchise history.
“Mr. Marlin” has remained involved with the Marlins for most of his post-playing life. He’s currently a special advisor to principal owner Bruce Sherman.
7. Josh Johnson
Marlins debut: September 10, 2005
Marlins departure: November 19, 2012
On the other hand, it doesn’t feel like Johnson’s tenure was especially long because a large chunk of it was spent on the injured list (it was known as the “disabled list” back then). He pitched the necessary innings to be a qualified MLB starter only three times, earning National League All-Star selections in two of those campaigns.
Despite being frequently sidelined, JJ is the most productive pitcher that the Marlins have ever employed in terms of both bWAR (25.8) and fWAR (21.4).
6. Ricky Nolasco
Marlins debut: April 5, 2006
Marlins departure: July 6, 2013
Ricky Nolasco was a statistical anomaly. No pitcher during MLB’s modern era with a minimum of 1,500 career innings had more of an “unlucky” gap between their ERA and FIP. That gap was even more pronounced as a Marlin (4.44 ERA/3.80 FIP) than it was with the other clubs we later pitched for.
Nolasco overcame a chronically inflated batting average on balls in play to become the all-time Marlins wins leader in 2012 and nobody has come close to catching him since then.
5. Álex González
Marlins debut: August 25, 1998
Marlins departure: February 6, 2006
His individual numbers were unimpressive, but González provided the Marlins with seven-plus seasons of continuity at the shortstop position.
One of his ugliest slumps as a hitter coincided with the 2003 postseason—González entered the World Series with a .100/.122/.150 slash line. The Marlins’ patience was rewarded when he launched a walk-off home run to win Game 4. He also scored the go-ahead run in Florida’s Game 6 clincher.
4. Sandy Alcantara
Marlins debut: June 29, 2018
Alcantara is entering the final guaranteed year of his contract, which the Marlins astutely signed him to before his Cy Young campaign. He was made available to contending teams at the 2025 trade deadline, but reportedly at a steep price that none of them were willing to meet. As a result, he has become the longest-tenured Marlins pitcher ever.
Alcantara will rise to second on this list if he remains with the Fish at the start of next year’s spring training.
3. Giancarlo Stanton
Marlins debut: June 8, 2010
Marlins departure: December 11, 2017
Stanton is the only player who has ever signed a “lifetime” contract with the Marlins. Just days after celebrating his 25th birthday, he received a record-breaking extension covering the next 13 years.
However, new ownership took over three years later and their top priority was reducing payroll. Fresh off the greatest season of his career, Stanton was put on the trade block. He exercised his right to veto agreed-upon deals with several other teams before eventually landing with the New York Yankees.
Although the relationship ended awkwardly and Stanton’s tenure did not result in any team success, hopefully the Marlins will shower him with the affection he deserves once his career concludes.
2. Miguel Rojas
Marlins debut: June 27, 2015
Marlins departure: January 11, 2023
What a journey. The acquisition of Rojas was an afterthought, but eventually, he emerged as the leader of the Marlins clubhouse. He was one of the only holdovers from the Jeffrey Loria era who was wholeheartedly embraced by Sherman’s front office (his contract was extended twice).
Alas, outside of South Florida, there won’t be many fans associating Rojas with the Marlins moving forward. The first paragraph of his baseball epitaph will describe him as the perfect “glue guy” who helped the Los Angeles Dodgers to back-to-back championships. He’ll be finishing his playing career with the Dodgers in 2026.
1. Luis Castillo
Marlins debut: August 8, 1996
Marlins departure: December 2, 2005
Like Conine, Castillo has already been inducted into the Marlins Legends Hall of Fame. An excerpt from his plaque will suffice:
“A three-time National League All-Star and three-time Gold Glove recipient (2003-05), the switch-hitting infielder also led the NL in stolen bases twice (2000 and 2002). The San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, native played 10 seasons with the Marlins, and upon his induction, he ranked as the franchise leader in hits (1,273), at-bats (4,347), plate appearances (4,966), games played (1,128), singles (1,081), triples (42), walks (533), and stolen bases (281).