With only seven days and four Grapefruit League games to go until Miami Marlins baseball begins its 34th regular season, it’s time for one final Opening Day roster prediction. There have been a few notable changes since Kevin Barral’s mid-spring projection.
These are the 26 men who I expect to break camp with the big league club on March 27.
Position Players
Starting nine: Agustín Ramírez (C), Christopher Morel (1B), Xavier Edwards (2B), Connor Norby (3B), Otto Lopez (SS), Kyle Stowers (LF), Jakob Marsee (CF), Owen Caissie (RF), Heriberto Hernández (DH)
Bench: Esteury Ruiz (OF), Javier Sanoja (UTIL), Liam Hicks (C/1B), Graham Pauley (INF)
Stowers (hamstring) and Pauley (forearm) are both expected to be fully recovered and ready for Opening Day, manager Clayton McCullough said. Nevertheless, with left-hander Kyle Freeland starting the season opener for the Colorado Rockies, I expect Connor Norby to be in the lineup and manning third base. As of late, Norby has been swinging a hot bat, going the other way frequently and raising his spring batting average to .316 (he has yet to draw a walk, however).
After positive showings for Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic, Otto Lopez and Owen Caissie returned to big league camp with confidence. Lopez will be the everyday shortstop, while Caissie is expected to see most of his reps against right-handed pitching.
Despite Ruiz’s dreadful spring at the plate, it still feels like he has an inside track to break camp. He offers a right-handed bat in a mostly left-handed-hitting outfield. Additionally, he’s the only other player on the projected roster who can play center field. Sanoja could handle it in a pinch, but the Marlins prefer him in the infield.
The four Marlins who I consider to be true everyday players are Edwards, Ramírez, Lopez and Marsee.
Just missed: Griffin Conine
In a vacuum, it’s hard to deny that Conine is more deserving of a big league job than Ruiz. Unfortunately for him, his skill set may be redundant on the Marlins to begin the season, as Stowers and Caissie are expected to lock down the two corner outfield spots.
Pitchers
Starting Rotation: Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Chris Paddack, Max Meyer, Janson Junk
Bullpen: Pete Fairbanks, Calvin Faucher, Lake Bachar, Anthony Bender, John King, Cade Gibson, Michael Petersen, Tyler Phillips
The first four spots in the rotation are essentially locked up. The fifth spot was a battle between Junk and Garrett. Even before the Marlins made it official, I foresaw the job ultimately going to Junk. The right-hander is out of minor league options, which worked in his favor.
The six bullpen “locks” I identify are Fairbanks, Faucher, Gibson, Bender, King, and Phillips.
Bachar suffers from inconsistent control. However, he’s missing plenty of bats and provided some pivotal outs for Miami last season. Petersen, who opted to forego the World Baseball Classic to focus on making the team, has also had a strong spring (3.52 ERA in 7 ⅔ innings).
Just missed: Andrew Nardi, Braxton Garrett
As McCullough explained on Friday, Garrett has “worked his butt off to get back. He’s put in a lot of time to get himself healthy, was throwing the ball well this spring and just felt like to start the year that we had a five that I wanted to go with.”
Nardi has looked sharp in his return to competitive games after missing the entire 2026 season. Still, I expect Miami to ease him back in by starting him either in extended spring training or with Triple-A Jacksonville.