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Photo by Matias J. Ocner<\/p>\n
mocner@miamiherald.com<\/p>\n
JUPITER<\/p>\n
Bruce Sherman and Peter Bendix know what other teams around Major League Baseball are doing compared to the Miami Marlins. The top teams are spending top dollars for top free agents, building what they hope to be championship rosters through large payrolls.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Marlins, one of baseball\u2019s perennial underspenders, spent just $20.5 million on four free agent signings this offseason in relief pitchers Pete Fairbanks ($13 million)<\/a> and John King ($1.5 million)<\/a>, starting pitcher Chris Paddack ($4 million)<\/a> and utility player Christopher Morel ($2 million)<\/a>. The team\u2019s projected payroll for its 26-man roster<\/a>, according to FanGraphs, is an MLB-low $73 million.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t care what other teams are doing,\u201d Bendix, the Marlins\u2019 president of baseball operations, said Monday before the team\u2019s first full-squad workout of spring training. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to beat them. That\u2019s what it comes down to. There\u2019s 30 teams. There\u2019s the same number of wins in baseball every single year. We\u2019re trying to get our share higher and higher every single year. So we don\u2019t really concern ourselves with what other teams are doing. We\u2019re just trying to beat them.\u201d<\/p>\n For the Marlins, for better or worse, they\u2019re committed to doing it their way.<\/p>\n That means a priority on infrastructure and player development to build a roster and sustainable success \u2014 their calling card catchphrase ever since Sherman bought the Marlins eight years ago \u2014 rather than competing in a bidding war with the likes of the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Phillies, Blue Jays and Braves of the world who have projected payrolls this season of upwards of $250 million.<\/p>\n They have funneled money into revamping their spring training and minor-league complex in Jupiter, with the renovations unveiled at the start of spring training last week. They have added technology. They have experimented with different innovative ways to prepare and produce, including replacing bullpens with \u201cpitch design sessions\u201d and having the coaching staff call pitches from the dugout.<\/p>\n They hope all of this, with select spending on the roster and improvement from within, leads to their end goal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to win,\u201d Sherman said. \u201cW. I. N. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n To their credit, the Marlins did finish last season on a winning note. After falling a season-low 16 games under .500 on June 11, at 25-41, Miami finished the season winning 54 of its final 96 games \u2014 a .563 win percentage over the final 60% of their schedule \u2014 to end the season with a 79-83 record and be in the race for a playoff spot going into the final week of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did it last year, right?\u201d infielder Connor Norby said. \u201cAnd we\u2019re only going to be better this year. … We\u2019re looking to take that next step and looking to compete.\u201d<\/p>\n They hope it\u2019s a sign of what\u2019s to come, a foundation that can be built upon \u2014 just like they hope the infrastructure they have invested in behind the scenes will serve as the needed backbone to produce on the field.<\/p>\n But will it? They can hope. But results won\u2019t show until the season begins on March 27 against the Colorado Rockies and the 162-game schedule plays out.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m excited about this year and the possibilities,\u201d second-year Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said, \u201cbut we can\u2019t fall into the trap of looking months ahead. If you\u2019re a player and you have counting stats that you want to hit, well, what happens in July, if you\u2019re way off of those? Do you give up as a team? Just trying to keep things as in the moment and in the present as we can to enjoy what\u2019s ahead of us. Where we are in September is where we\u2019ll be. I don\u2019t have a crystal ball what that looks like now, but I do know that each day, just trying to make strides and getting better is how you ultimately have a great season.\u201d<\/p>\n The Marlins, young and inexperienced and underdogs, know what it takes to make those strides.<\/p>\n Miami went on most of its late-season run last season without several of its top players.<\/p>\n Outfielder Kyle Stowers, who became an All-Star and extension candidate, missed the final six weeks of the season with an oblique strain. Norby, expected to have a breakout season, spent three separate stints on the injured list. Griffin Conine missed almost all of the season with a shoulder injury. Starting pitcher Braxton Garrett missed the whole season, as did lefty high-leverage reliever Andrew Nardi. Fellow starter Max Meyer got hurt in early June and never returned.<\/p>\n They received contributions from a slew of under-the-radar names.<\/p>\n Such as outfielder prospect Jakob Marsee, who is slated to be the starting center fielder; such as utility player Javier Sanoja, who won a Gold Glove while playing seven different positions; and from infielder Otto Lopez, who impressed at shortstop defensively and hit 15 home runs.<\/p>\n Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez continue to lead the rotation. The bullpen has improved, with Fairbanks and King (and potentially Nardi) adding to the likes of Tyler Phillips, Cade Gibson, and Calvin Faucher in high-leverage roles.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state of the organization, top to bottom, I feel like is in a very good spot with a lot of young players that can still get better but can really build upon last year, build upon the second half that we had last year,\u201d Bendix said. \u201cIt\u2019s still something that we\u2019re looking to improve at all levels. We need to develop our minor-league system. We need to develop everything to get to our goal of being really good for a long period of time.\u201d<\/p>\n But is it enough to make a statement this year? Is it enough to break through and get into the upper echelon of baseball \u2014 or at least stay in the tier that should compete?<\/p>\n There are still doubts externally. Marlins are projected to win about 75 games this season<\/a>, that number fluctuating a game or two depending on the model used. Miami knows its improvements weren\u2019t made in a vacuum, that they weren\u2019t the only team trying to build upon what they did a year ago.<\/p>\n Then again, they were only projected to win about 70 games last year<\/a> and beat that mark by nine games.<\/p>\n \u201cThe reality of it is all 30 teams are trying to get better,\u201d Stowers said. \u201cFrom the Dodgers to the last-place team, every single team at the end of the season looks to improve. And so the notion that because we won however many games one year and then that many the next, there\u2019s not gonna be that same guarantee of increase, and we know that. There\u2019s got to be the hunger to go earn it and to continue to get as much as we can out of each day.\u201d<\/p>\n Internally, the Marlins know the challenge ahead. They know what will have to be done to accomplish their goals.<\/p>\n And they are embracing it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome the pressure,\u201d Bendix said. \u201cThe whole idea here is to win. That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing every single day is trying to win. And we\u2019re trying to win not just one season, not just two seasons; we\u2019re trying to win for as many seasons as we can, for a long period of time. \u2018Sustained success\u2019 are more than just words. It means important games in September every year. It means playing in October every year. It means winning multiple World Series. That\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to do, everything that we do every day, everything that you see, everything that you don\u2019t see, it\u2019s all towards that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published February 16, 2026 at 2:57 PM.<\/p>\n Miami Marlins owner Bruce Sherman speaks to the media before the start of their team’s first full-squad spring training workout at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Jupiter, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Miami Marlins players huddle during the team’s first full-squad spring training workout at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Jupiter, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n
Miami Marlins catcher Joe Mack (80), shortstop Xavier Edwards (9) and center fielder Jakob Marsee (87) run drills during the team’s first full-squad spring training workout at Roger Dean Stadium on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Jupiter, Fla. Photo by Matias J. Ocner mocner@miamiherald.com <\/p>\n