The Miami Marlins enter the 2025-26 offseason feeling confident about their depth at most positions and the impactful prospects who are close to arriving at the major league level. However, there is one obvious roster hole that cannot be ignored. Assuming the Marlins have more financial flexibility and motivation to spend on upgrades than they did in years past, the biggest item on Peter Bendix’s shopping list should be first base.
In 2025, Marlins first basemen ranked 24th in Major League Baseball in fWAR (-0.5) and 28th in wRC+ (83). The majority of that production came from rookie Eric Wagaman. To his credit, Wagaman had a strong finish to the season when he began platooning with fellow rookie Troy Johnston. When he wasn’t catching, Liam Hicks also got occasional reps there. Each of those players could contribute in the future, but they lack the power that is normally expected to come from that position.
In the minor leagues, Deyvison De Los Santos and Nathan Martorella have not developed as hoped since being acquired in trades during the 2024 season. De Los Santos in particular is likely to make his MLB debut in 2026, but the Marlins cannot rely on the 22-year-old to be successful right away considering the disappointing season he just had at the Triple-A level. It makes a lot of sense for the Marlins to pursue short-term help in free agency.
1. Pete Alonso
2025 team: New York Mets
The cream of the crop within the first base market is Pete Alonso, who announced about ten minutes after Sunday’s game that he would be opting out of his contract and entering free agency for a second straight offseason. The all-time Mets home run leader is coming off a season where he slashed .272/.347/.524/.871 with 38 homers, 126 RBI and a 141 wRC+. He was especially awesome when facing the Marlins (.389/.441/.815/1.255, 5 HR and 19 RBI in 13 G).
Alonso was born in Tampa and played college ball at the University of Florida. He seems to love loanDepot park—since becoming a big leaguer, he has hit more home runs at the venue (15) than any other visiting player.
Alonso would easily be the best power hitter that the Marlins have had since Giancarlo Stanton. He would also be easily the team’s most expensive player ever in terms of annual salary considering that he is declining a $24 million player option to test the market.
2. Josh Naylor
2025 teams: Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners
Reuniting with their former first-round draft pick would be another dream scenario for the Marlins. Josh Naylor is coming off a career year, slashing .295/.353/.462/.816 with 20 home runs, 92 RBI and a 128 wRC+. He has been a consistently good contact hitter and 2025 was no exception as he cut down his strikeout rate to 13.7%.
On a more surprising front, Naylor stole more bases (30) than anybody on the Marlins did. The majority of those steals came after he moved to Seattle in a deadline deal.
With Naylor only being 28 years old, he will be aiming for a long-term deal that almost certainly is out of the Marlins’ price range.
3. Ryan O’Hearn
2025 teams: Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres
Outside of Alonso and Naylor, the next-best options at first base profile as platoon players rather than true everyday solutions. A first-time All-Star in 2025, Ryan O’Hearn slashed .281/.366/.437/.803 with 17 home runs, 63 RBI and a 127 wRC+. He got 80% of his plate appearances against right-handed pitching, though he performed just as well in his limited opportunities against lefties.
O’Hearn was valuable on the defensive side, posting six outs above average and four defensive runs saved. Although he has plenty of experience in right field, the Marlins have a lot of depth there and would be viewing the 32-year-old only as a first baseman moving forward.
This is O’Hearn’s third straight year of playoff experience, which never hurts.
4. Paul Goldschmidt
2025 team: New York Yankees
Paul Goldschmidt would be the epitome of a veteran presence in the clubhouse. A borderline Hall of Fame candidate once he retires, the 2026 season would be his 16th in the league.
Goldschmidt was the NL MVP in 2022, but he has clearly declined since then. He finished the 2025 regular season slashing .274/.328/.403/.731 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI and a 103 wRC+, with almost all of his production coming off of lefties (169 wRC+). After signing for $12.5 million as a free agent last offseason, it’s safe to assume his price would dip even more this time around.
5. Josh Bell
2025 team: Washington Nationals
Josh Bell was well respected by those who were around him when he spent a year with the Marlins organization. In Washington, the journeyman switch-hitter quietly hit at a very high level from the middle of June through season’s end to recover from a slow start to 2025. Overall, he slashed .239/.326/.421/.747 with 22 home runs, 63 RBI and a 109 wRC+.
Bell has an impressive history of durability, reaching 140 games played in every full-length season he’s been a part of. His salary was only $6 million with the Nats, so affording him won’t be an issue.