\n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\tOwen Caissie<\/p>\n
\n\tCaissie, 23, is the main piece of the return.\u00a0This is a player who the Marlins have had their eye on for a while now, dating back to last offseason when they were in discussions with the Cubs about a potential Jes\u00fas Luzardo trade. These teams held Cabrera talks leading up to the July 2025 trade deadline and Caissie was made available back then, sources tell Fish On First.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIn Triple-A this past season, Caissie slashed .286\/.386\/.551\/.937 with 22 home runs, 55 RBI and a 139 wRC+. The Cubs called him up towards the end of the season, and in 12 games, he slashed .192\/.222\/.346\/.568 with one home run, four RBI and a 56 wRC+.\u00a0He will very likely be on the Marlins Opening Day roster, slotting in right field, a source says.\n<\/p>\n
\n\tCaissie’s swing decisions were a lot better compared to 2024, when he also played at AAA. He chased\u00a0less outside the zone, going from 29.7% to 25.7%. He also made contact 52.0% of the time after only making contact 47.5% of the time the previous year.\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\n\tIn Triple-A, Caissie had a barrel rate above 15%, hard-hit rate above 53%, average exit velocity above 92 mph, an xwOBA above .380, and a whiff rate under 28%. The only three MLB players to check all of those boxes last season were Juan Soto, Pete Alonso, and Ben Rice.\n<\/p>\n
\t\tQndvdmxfWGw0TUFRPT1fQXdaUkFsZFFWMU1BQUFjR1hnQUhBZzVYQUZrQkJsWUFVRndCVVZFRUF3cGRDUXBV (1).mp4<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tIn his first taste of major league pitching, Caissie struck out 40.7% of the time against a 3.7% walk rate. Both of those marks will obviously need to improve for him to be successful.\n<\/p>\n \n\tPitches up and in to the left-handed hitter have given him problems, as shown by the graphic below. That is something the Marlins organization was able to address with Kyle Stowers last season. Slight mechanical adjustments turned him into an All-Star.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\t \t\tYkI5OXdfWGw0TUFRPT1fQkZWUlUxVlNYZ0lBRFZ0V1ZBQUhWVk1EQUFNR1ZWUUFDMUJUVWdFRUFBQlNBQVpU.mp4<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHis power potential is elite, but expect Caissie to have growing pains in the majors. In a best-case scenario, his first full season of production could look similar to what James Wood provided for the 2025 Washington Nationals, consistently blasting extra-base hits to left-center field at loanDepot park.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \tCristian Hern\u00e1ndez<\/p>\n \n\t \n\tHern\u00e1ndez, 22, was a highly touted international prospect who signed with the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic in 2021. Unlike Caissie, he has not been showing much game power in the minors, with only 24 home runs through five professional seasons. This past season, in 115 games at the High-A level, he slashed\u00a0.252\/.329\/.365\/.694 with seven homers, 53 RBI, 54 stolen bases and a 99 wRC+. He was left unprotected for the Rule 5 draft and did not get selected.\n<\/p>\n \n\tOne positive is that Hern\u00e1ndez has been putting more balls in play as the years go by. After posting a 30.3% strikeout rate in 2022, he has improved every year, dropping down to a 20.7 K% in 2025.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t#Cubs<\/a> No. 11 prospect Cristian Hernandez has seven hits in his last 12 at-bats, including a pair of homers and five RBIs.@USAFRecruiting<\/a> #AimHigh<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1mRLpIBjQj<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n \t\u2014 South Bend Cubs (@SBCubs) August 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tHern\u00e1ndez is an aggressive and efficient base-stealer with a 84.3% success rate in his MiLB career. His 52 steals in 2025 would have ranked second among all Marlins prospects.\n<\/p>\n \n\tDefensively, Hern\u00e1ndez is an above-average defender who has the chance to stick at shortstop. He’s also been given reps at second base every season. It will be interesting to see how the Marlins use him considering that top draft pick Aiva Arquette is a promising shortstop himself and both players are expected to spend most of the 2026 season at Double-A Pensacola.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \tEdgardo De Leon<\/p>\n \n\tThe final prospect included in this deal is a classic \u201clotto ticket\u201d player. Fellow Dominican Edgardo De Leon turns 19 next month and doesn’t yet have any experience above rookie ball. He’s been an effective hitter in both the Dominican Summer League (142 wRC+) and Arizona Complex League (118 wRC+) while putting up\u00a0a max EV of 112.6 mph.\n<\/p>\n \n\t\t17 year old Cubs infield prospect Edgardo De Leon gets every bit of this pitch for a long home run in the DSL. pic.twitter.com\/CrRMKyg049<\/a>\n\t<\/p>\n![\"image.png.35909ad80f78d31b4f76de6da073c3fe.png\"](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image.png.35909ad80f78d31b4f76de6da073c3fe.png\"\/)
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