A couple of lower-payroll clubs could spend a bit more than usual, as Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic report that agents are saying the Pirates and Marlins are showing a greater willingness to spend. MLBTR covered the Pirates in this post.
“We have put ourselves in a position based on the improvement we made in 2025,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said, per The Athletic. “We think we can put together a really exciting team for 2026 and also continue our quest to build a foundation of talent at all levels that will allow us to stay good for a long period of time.”
For Bendix, spending more is a low bar to clear. This is his third offseason since being hired to run the club’s front office. In his first, they only signed one free agent to a big league deal, giving shortstop Tim Anderson $5MM. Last winter, they signed infielder Eric Wagaman to a split deal and then gave $3.5MM to right-hander Cal Quantrill. It would be hard to spend less.
There are reasons to be more aggressive now. As Bendix alluded to in his quote, the Marlins flashed some encouraging signs in 2025. They went from 62 wins in 2024 to 79 this year. They were 35-32 after the All-Star break.
That perhaps gives the club a bit of momentum heading into 2026. They also have almost nothing on the books, thanks to the aforementioned lack of spending over the past few years. As of right now, they have literally one player signed to a guaranteed contract for 2026. Sandy Alcantara is owed $17MM next year, followed by a $21MM club option for 2027 with a $2MM buyout. Other than that, the future payroll is completely clean.
No one will expect them to jump to the top of the market but they could make a few targeted strikes. It has already been suggested that they could target the infield corners and/or the bullpen, including a connection to Devin Williams.
The Athletic downplays the corner infield pursuit a bit, suggesting the Marlins may not want to block internal options. That could include guys like Graham Pauley, Connor Norby or Deyvison De Los Santos. It’s also possible Agustín Ramírez ends up moving from catcher to first, especially once Joe Mack reaches the majors.
Instead, it’s suggested by The Athletic that the Fish could add to the rotation, even though it’s already a strength. They currently project to have a starting group including Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Ryan Weathers, Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer, Ryan Gusto, Dax Fulton, Adam Mazur, Thomas White, Robby Snelling and others.
There are some question marks in there but the group is strong enough that rumors have swirled around Alcantara and Cabrera. Perhaps a trade could be combined with a free agent signing. Last offseason, the Marlins traded Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies for prospects and then signed Quantrill.
Presumably, they would be aiming higher this time around. It would be quite shocking for them to target the top free agent starters like Dylan Cease or Framber Valdez but perhaps signing someone like Michael King, Zac Gallen, Brandon Woodruff, Shota Imanaga, Chris Bassitt or Merrill Kelly would be feasible, depending on how those markets play out. Time will tell how it all goes for the Marlins but they are going into the winter with a bit of optimism and could be more interesting than they have been in a few years.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
