The Chicago Cubs had been eyeballing right-handed power pitcher Edward Cabrera of the Miami Marlins for the better part of two years, starting from the end of the 2024 season. They finally pulled the trigger on the trade to bring him over this past offseason.
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Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer paid a hefty price for the emerging 27-year-old starter. To bring Cabrera aboard, they had to send over their top prospect OF Owen Caissie, their no. 11 prospect INF Cristian Hernandez, and 19-year-old talent INF Edgardo De Leon.
Both the Cubs and the Marlins walked away from the deal happy. So far, each side has every reason to feel like they came out ahead.
Cabrera and Caissie shining so far
Mar 29, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Owen Caissie (17) celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off two-run home run against the Colorado Rockies during the ninth inning at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
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In Cabrera’s first start with his new team, he blew the Los Angeles Angels away with a masterful showing. On the day, he tossed 6 shutout innings, striking out 5 while giving up only one hit and one walk in a 7-2 win.
The Marlins also have to be pleased with their new outfielder’s season so far, as he’s helped carry them to a very early first place spot atop the NL East. The 23-year-old outfielder has driven in 8 runs so far, with a walk-off home run and an impressive .350 batting average.
The success of both principal players in the Cubs-Marlins swap has created an odd point of debate when it comes to which team actually “won” the trade.
A trade that was both smart and dumb?
Feb 11, 2026; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Edward Cabrera (30) talks to the media during spring training camp at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Michael Brauner of SI.com encapsulates this perfectly in a recent piece regarding the Cubs dumbest and smartest moves of the offseason—including the trading FOR Cabrera as a smart one and the trading OF Caissie as a dumb one.
Per Brauner:
“Cabrera came in on Monday night and did exactly what he was brought in to do: generate a ton of swing and miss. The right-hander carved up the Los Angeles Angels lineup with six scoreless innings, striking out five and walking one while allowing just one hit.
Cabrera may just wind up as the ace of this staff, and if he keeps looking how he did on Monday night, he very well could be an All-Star as well.
He still has a ton to prove, but it was as strong a beginning to his time with the team as one could possibly hope for.”
Also, per Brauner:
“The way Chicago’s former top prospect has started with the Miami Marlins, it makes fans wish Hoyer had found a way to get Cabrera without sacrificing Caissie.
The 23-year-old has slashed .385/.429/.769 so far this year (.350/.391/.600 currently, as of April 2) coming off a huge showing in the World Baseball Classic and even hit a walk-off home run for Miami the other night. The Cubs needed pitching, but seeing Caissie have a huge rookie season would be a tough pill to swallow.”
There’s no doubt that Cabrera and Caissie will always be connected from this point forward with both team’s fan bases and the value of the trade judged by each player’s performance. But this very well could go down as one of those deals where both sides come out a winner.
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