The two biggest transactions of the 2025-26 Miami Marlins offseason both subtracted major league starting pitchers to fortify the organization’s position player pipeline. The Marlins insisted that this was not punting on their current team, that the quality of their rotation depth will be strong enough to make up for the absences of Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers. I was dubious of that argument, but we’re still several months away from being able to render a verdict.

If you are in the Marlins front office, Monday’s performances were unsettling.

Signed to a one-year free agent deal in the aftermath of the Cabrera and Weathers trades, Chris Paddack took the mound at loanDepot park. He began his night with two sharp innings against the Chicago White Sox, following by two catastrophic innings. Paddack had been susceptible to home runs throughout the second half of last season, and that was his undoing here, as Austin Hays (three-run homer) and Miguel Vargas (grand slam) combined to give the visitors an insurmountable lead. The veteran right-hander individually allowed more runs than the entire Marlins pitching staff did during their previous series sweep of the Colorado Rockies.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s other MLB club also won comfortably, led by Cabrera. He tossed six scoreless, efficient innings at Wrigley Field, extracting 18 outs from the 19 Los Angeles Angels batters he faced.

Cabrera “might be as important as anyone to the team’s pursuit of its first full-season division title in almost a decade—and he showed why on Monday,” explains Northside Baseball’s Matthew Trueblood.

Edward’s got it. 😮‍💨 https://t.co/AGSQoKmH91 pic.twitter.com/PAYqScxQwc

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 31, 2026

Matched up against a Seattle Mariners offense that projects to be among MLB’s elite, Weathers did pretty well in his debut, too. Although removed after just 4 ⅓ innings, he struck out seven. Seattle’s lone run off of him came via a broken-bat blooper. The 26-year-old lefty received a no-decision as the Mariners ultimately won in walk-off fashion.

I’d be remiss not to mention that rookie outfielder Owen Caissie was acquired in exchange for Cabrera. He has made an immediate positive impact, doing his best Kyle Stowers impression through four Marlins games with a 231 wRC+ and a walk-off homer. Perhaps even if the back end of Miami’s rotation proves to be a weakness, Caissie could add enough pop to their lineup to compensate for it.

Conveniently, Weathers is lined up to face the Fish at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.