Practically every high-quality major leaguer in Miami Marlins history eventually parted with the franchise, either via trade or free agency. Major league service time played a huge role in the timing of those transactions, and it will continue to impact decisions made by the Marlins front office moving forward.

Players receive MLB service time for each day spent on the 26-man active roster or the major league injured list during the regular season. Accruing at least 172 days in a single season counts as a full year. As the years go by, players get more expensive. They become eligible for arbitration after three years—some qualify even earlier, as will be covered below—and eligible for free agency after six years.

Sites like Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs show service time on their player pages, but those figures are only updated once a year in January. Fish On First has done the math manually so that Marlins fans don’t need to wait that long.

I will be keeping this page updated until 2026 Opening Day arrives, listing all players under contract with the Marlins organization who have at least one day of service time in their careers. 

 

All grown up

Alcantara’s service time history is pretty straightforward. The Marlins called him up for good on September 1, 2018, and he’s been a mainstay ever since. He was credited with full years of service annually from 2019 through 2025.

Alcantara would have qualified for free agency last offseason had he not previously signed a contract extension with the Marlins. The extension guarantees him $17.3 million in 2026 and includes a $21 million club option ($2 million buyout) for 2027.

 

Arbitration eligible

Contrary to what MLB Trade Rumors listed earlier this month, there are actually eight current Marlins players who qualify for arbitration entering 2026.

Meyer and Faucher qualify as “Super Two” players—they rank in the top 22% of MLB players in terms of service time among those who have between two and three years. So does Zuber, who was overlooked by MLBTR. It’s probably going to be a moot point because the combination of Zuber’s struggles on the mound and his season-ending right lat strain make him the team’s leading non-tender candidate.

 

Pre-arb eligible (at least one year of service)

The overwhelming majority of the Marlins’ production in 2025 came from players who earned league-minimum salaries (or close to it) and will continue to work for cheap next season. Needless to say, it’s an advantageous place to be from a payroll perspective.

 

Pre-arb eligible (less than one year of service)

As Fish On First covered at the time, Ramírez’s debut was delayed just long enough to prevent him getting a full year of service as a rookie. Expect the Marlins to also follow that playbook with their next wave of highly regarded prospects, such as Joe Mack and Robby Snelling, regardless of how much they impress during spring training.