The Marlins, who played the Israeli World Baseball Classic team on Tuesday and took Wednesday off, have begun to gain clarity on several percolating roster and lineup issues.
Keeping in mind that it’s too soon to form any definitive conclusions from limited spring work, here are 10 takeaways from the Marlins’ first 10 spring training games against big-league opponents, with Miami at 4-6 heading into Thursday’s 1:10 p.m. game against Houston in Jupiter:
▪ Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett have emerged as heavy favorites for the final two rotation spots behind Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez and Chris Paddack.
Meyer, who missed the final 3 ½ months last season because of a hip injury, is back to full strength and has one strikeout in one scoreless inning this spring.
Garrett, who hadn’t pitched since elbow surgery in December 2024, allowed two runs in one inning of his spring debut last week and pitched two scoreless innings (without allowing a hit) against Israel.
If either can go only five innings early in the season, the Marlins have very good depth among long relievers (Tyler Phillips and Janson Junk; and Ryan Gusto if he starts pitching better). Junk has been sidelined this spring with an ankle sprain but is scheduled to pitch on Saturday.
▪ The Marlins are giving Christopher Morel every chance to win the first base job, but he’s not exactly putting a stranglehold on the position.
Morel is 3 for 13 (two singles and a triple) with no walks and four strikeouts; defensively, he has two errors while playing first base for the first time as a professional.
The Marlins’ one-year, $2 million gamble on Morel (who hit .219, 11 homers, 33 RBI in 105 games for the Rays last season) seemed dubious, because he hasn’t hit big-league pitching with any kind of effectiveness since batting .247, with 26 homers and 70 RBI, for the Cubs in 2023.
The view here is that the Marlins should have bypassed Morel and kept Troy Johnston, who hit .271 (.331 on base), with four homers and 13 RBI in 44 at-bats for the Marlins last season. Miami designated him for assignment; he’s 5 for 21 with the Rockies this spring.
▪ Agustin Ramirez and Liam Hicks figure to begin the season as the Marlins’ catchers, but Joe Mack is pushing them.
While Ramirez is off to an 0 for 14 start (with six strikeouts) at the plate and remains a work in progress defensively, Mack — who is rated the sport’s No. 62 overall prospect by MLB Pipeline — has impressed everyone with a grand slam (he’s 3 for 12) and an eyebrow-raising, successful 87 mph first-base pickoff in a game this week.
“That was a special play, the arm strength going down to your knees,” manager Clayton McCullough said of the pick off. “He can really throw.”
With Ramirez and Hicks playing in the WBC, “Joe is going to get regular playing time and get starts behind the plate,” McCullough said.
▪ Outfielder Owen Caissie struggled before leaving to play for Canada in the WBC.
The hope is that Caissie, the top Cubs prospect acquired in the Edward Cabrera deal this past offseason, can seize a starting job immediately.
But he’s 1 for 9 (a single) with six strikeouts and will need a strong close to spring training to play ahead of Griffin Conine (who remains an option at first base) and Heriberto Hernandez.
▪ Two key components of the Marlins’ future remain out.
Outfielder Kyle Stowers, who has been sidelined with a hamstring strain, will get live at-bats on the back fields and start a running progression in the next few days.
Left-handed pitcher Thomas White, MLB.com’s No. 17 overall prospect, is sidelined for the remainder of spring with an oblique strain.
▪ The Marlins are working with Paddack to get him back on track after he allowed an American League-leading 94 runs last season.
“Chris was incredibly open-minded [to changes],” McCullough said. “His willingness to continue to throw the breaking ball, use the entire mix [is important]. He’s working on the sweeper with our guys.”
The results have been encouraging; he has logged three scoreless innings this spring, with two hits allowed and four strikeouts.
▪ The third base battle remains wide open.
With Graham Pauley sidelined by a hamstring injury, Connor Norby failed to take full advantage, going 2 for 13 with six strikeouts.
Now Pauley is healthy enough to play as a designated hitter but not quite ready to play in the field. A highly skilled defender, Pauley must prove he can hit consistently to start more than a few times a week.
“When Graham was very good for us [offensively in August], he was controlling the strike zone and was less [often] pulling ground balls and fly balls the other way,” McCullough said. “His swing and timing are in a good place.”
The left-handed Pauley and right-handed Norby could end up splitting time at third. Max Acosta has had a good spring but figures to begin the season at Triple A if Norby and Pauley are healthy.
▪ The flyer on Esteury Ruiz hasn’t yet paid dividends.
The speedy outfielder is 0 for 10, with three walks, three strikeouts and two steals.
Ruiz, acquired from the Dodgers in the offseason for minor-league pitching prospect Adriano Marrero, is best known for setting the American League rookie record for stolen bases in a season, with 67, for Oakland in 2023. That surpassed Kenny Lofton’s previous record of 62, set in 1992.
Ruiz has stolen 77 bases in 96 attempts in the big leagues, but his inability to get on base consistently (.296 career OBA) has prevented him from establishing a big-league foothold since his rookie season.
This spring, Ruiz, Ramirez and Jacob Berry (0 for 10) are the only Marlins who have gone hitless in at least 10 at-bats.
▪ It’s early, but several young pitchers have impressed.
That includes right-hander Adam Mazur (three scoreless innings; could get a promotion if the Marlins lose two starting pitchers to injuries), left-hander Dax Fulton (three scoreless innings as he tries to establish himself as a potential future rotation candidate after two serious elbow injuries) and Karson Milbrandt (who jumped from 21st to 10th on MLB Pipeline’s Marlins prospect list this week).
▪ It’s early, but several young position players have impressed.
That includes center fielder Jakob Marsee (4 for 9 with four walks after last year’s excellent rookie season); first base prospect Deyvison De Los Santos (4 for 11; will try to prove in Jacksonville that he’s worthy of a promotion this season); Mack; Hicks (last year’s Rule 5 success story is 4 for 9 this spring); outfielders Andrew Pintar and Kemp Alderman and infielder Jared Serna.
This story was originally published March 4, 2026 at 1:30 PM.
Miami Herald
Barry Jackson has written for the Miami Herald since 1986 and has written the Florida Sports Buzz column since 2002.