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Marlins Designate Derek Hill For Assignment

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The Marlins announced a big series of roster moves today. Right-hander Edward Cabrera has been reinstated from the 15-day day injured list and outfielder Griffin Conine from the 60-day IL. To open active roster spots, right-hander Adam Mazur and outfielder Joey Wiemer have each been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. To open a 40-man spot for Conine, outfielder Derek Hill has been returned from his rehab assignment, reinstated from the 10-day injured list and designated for assignment.

Hill, 29, was claimed off waivers from the Giants in August of last year. Since that claim, he has generally continued to have roughly the same level of production before he came to Miami. Though he can make some nice catches and steal a few bases, he has generally been a guy with subpar offense, thanks to poor strikeout and walk numbers.

He has made a few trips to the injured list this year, two due to a left wrist sprain, another due to a left middle finger sprain, and most recently a right hamstring strain. Around those IL trips, he has appeared in 53 games for the Marlins. In his 141 trips to the plate, just 6.4% of those have resulted in him taking a walk while 32.6% of them ended in strike three. His .213/.275/.331 batting line translates to a 68 wRC+.

Though he has seven stolen bases on the year and strong defensive grades, the bat was dragging him down. He is out of options and can’t be easily sent to the minors. He has crossed three years of big league service time this year, meaning he was going to qualify for arbitration this winter. It seems the Marlins weren’t planning to tender him a contract, so they have cut him early in order to open a roster spot for their other moves today.

Since the trade deadline has passed, he will be on waivers in the coming days. There wouldn’t be much short-term appeal for other clubs, since the season is almost over and he wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any claiming team. He can be controlled for three seasons after this one, but a club would only grab him if they thought he was worth an arbitration raise for 2026. If he clears waivers, he will have the right to elect free agency.

The returns of Cabrera and Conine are also potentially notable here, as the Marlins are clinging to a tiny hope of a miracle run to finish the season. They are four games back of the Reds and Mets with six games left to play. Both players were performing well earlier this year, so perhaps they can give Miami a boost for an incredible sprint to the finish line.

Cabrera’s return is also notable for the upcoming offseason. He has had something of a breakout here in 2025, as his results have kicked up a notch. He has always been able to get strikeouts and ground balls, but his stock has been held back by poor control and some injury concerns.

He has softened both of those worries a bit here in 2025. He came into this year with a 13.3% walk rate but has managed to limit the free passes to a 7.7% clip this season. He has also stayed healthy enough to log 128 2/3 innings. He had never before hit the century mark, so that’s easily a career high.

An elbow sprain did put him out of action at the start of this month, but he has managed to return three weeks later. If he can stay healthy and effective in the final week, that could give him and the Marlins some peace of mind about him going into 2026.

The Fish will are theoretical candidates to trade a starting pitcher this winter. Rumors surrounding Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara were common this summer but the Marlins held both beyond the trade deadline. Going into next season, their rotation mix includes those two as well as Eury Pérez, Ryan Weathers, Janson Junk, Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer, Ryan Gusto, Mazur, Dax Fulton and Freddy Tarnok, with prospects Thomas White and Robby Snelling currently lurking in Triple-A.  It’s possible to imagine the Marlins revisiting the possibility of trading Alcantara or Cabrera this winter, which could give Cabrera’s return today a bit of extra intrigue.

Photo courtesy of Jonathan Hui, Imagn Images

Sandy Alcantara Is Finding His Old Form

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The Marlins were expected to trade Sandy Alcantara at the deadline. The former Cy Young winner had returned from the Tommy John surgery that wiped out his 2024 season. The hope was that he'd immediately recapture his ace form, demonstrate that over his first 18-20 starts, and be the prize of the summer rotation market.

Alcantara's return didn't go anywhere near that smoothly. His velocity was back, but he struggled to throw strikes or miss bats. He allowed over eight earned runs per nine innings in April and May. He showed flashes in June and July but remained up-and-down. Miami's deadline calculus became whether to sell low on their longtime ace -- a move that would've been more about cutting his $17MM salaries through 2026 than netting a huge prospect return. Given the organizational history, no one would've been surprised if they'd gone that route.

They instead decided to hold Alcantara and were only modest sellers overall. Miami dealt third catcher Nick Fortes to Tampa Bay and flipped platoon outfielder Jesús Sánchez to Houston for a three-player package. In addition to Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Kyle Stowers, Anthony Bender and Calvin Faucher all stayed.

Miami was willing to cover what remained of Alcantara's 2025 salary to take a couple more months to get him on track. That has paid off. The 30-year-old righty has looked more like his old self. He's showing better control than he did in April and May. The improved efficiency has allowed him to work deeper into games. His stuff has gotten sharper as the season has progressed. That'll all be very encouraging as the Marlins field new trade offers in the offseason.

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Seth Martinez Clears Waivers, Elects Free Agency

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Right-hander Seth Martinez went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment, per the transaction log at MLB.com. Miami assigned him outright to Triple-A Jacksonville, but Martinez has rejected that assignment in favor of free agency — as is his right as a player who’s previously been outrighted in his career.

The 31-year-old Martinez pitched just 6 2/3 innings with the Marlins in 2025, during which he allowed four runs on four hits and three walks with four punchouts. He’s now pitched in parts of five big league seasons, with all but this year’s Marlins cup of coffee coming in an Astros uniform. The Arizona State product has logged 144 innings in the majors and delivered a flat 4.00 ERA with a 20.5% strikeout rate, a 9.3% walk rate, a 38.6% ground-ball rate and 1.06 homers per nine innings pitched.

Martinez has never been a hard thrower, but this year’s 90.1 mph average four-seamer and 88.8 mph average sinker both represent career-low marks. Those obviously came in small samples, but Statcast shows that his velocity in the upper minors was virtually identical.

In 43 2/3 innings at the Triple-A level this season, Martinez worked to a solid 3.71 earned run average. He fanned 28.9% of his opponents despite that lackluster velocity, and his 9.6% walk rate mirrored what he’s posted in big major league career. In parts of five Triple-A seasons, Martinez touts a 2.97 ERA through 148 2/3 frames. We’re close enough to the end of the season that he may just remain a free agent until the offseason is underway. Regardless, he’ll likely land a minor league deal on the open market.

Marlins Designate Seth Martinez For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that left-hander Ryan Weathers has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, a move which was previously reported. In a corresponding move, right-hander Seth Martinez has been designated for assignment.

Martinez, 31, had some decent run with the Astros earlier in his career. Over 2022 and 2023, he gave Houston 81 2/3 innings, allowing 3.75 earned runs per nine. His 23.7% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate were both close to league average. But last year, his strikeout rate dropped to 16.2%. He was sent to the minors a few times, exhausting his final option season.

He was therefore out of options heading into 2025, which gave him a tenuous hold on a roster spot. But given his past success, he still had enough appeal to bounce around the league. In the offseason, he went to the Diamondbacks, Marlins, Mariners and Marlins again via a series of waiver claims. The Fish put him on waivers again around Opening Day, when he finally cleared.

He has therefore spent most of this year pitching in Triple-A. He logged 43 2/3 innings for Jacksonville with a 3.71 ERA, 28.9% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate. He was called back up to the big leagues about two weeks ago. Between then and now, he tossed 6 2/3 innings for the Marlins, allowing four earned runs via four hits and three walks while striking out four. It appears that wasn’t enough to get him beyond the fringes of the roster, so he’s been bumped off today.

With the trade deadline having passed, Martinez will have to be on waivers yet again in the coming days. He won’t have much short-term appeal to clubs, since he wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any claiming team. But he can be controlled for four seasons beyond this one since he has less than three years of service time. Given the notable interest he garnered in the offseason and his recent uptick in strikeouts in the minors, perhaps there’s a team intrigued enough to make a claim. If such a team exists, they could get a close-up look at Martinez in the final few weeks of the season as they decide about putting him in their 2026 plans.

Photo courtesy of Brad Mills, Imagn Images

Marlins Notes: Stowers, Norby, Pauley, Myers

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It’s been nearly a month since Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers was sidelined by side strain, and he actually began a rehab assignment on September 5 at the Triple-A level. Unfortunately, that September 5 game remains his most recent appearance after he was sidelined by a right oblique strain. According to Kevin Barral of Fish On First, manager Clayton McCullough relayed to reporters yesterday that he isn’t “exactly sure” how long Stowers will be shut down for, and that a clear timetable might not be available until after Stowers has had a few more days of downtime.

With so few days left in the regular season and the Marlins an insurmountable nine games back in the Wild Card race, there appears to be a real chance that Stowers’s 2025 season has come to a close. McCullough acknowledged as much yesterday, telling reporters (including Barral) that “we know where we’re at in the calendar.” If Stowers’s first full season as a Marlin is in fact over, it’s still hard to call it anything other than a massive success. The 27-year-old emerged as a core piece for Miami this year as he slashed .288/.368/.544 with 25 homers, 21 doubles, and 3 triples across 117 games. It was enough to earn Stowers an All-Star nod, and he’s sure to be a fixture of the club’s outfield mix next year as well.

Turning away from Stowers, the Marlins provided plenty of updates (as relayed by MLB.com) about other injured hitters today. Infielder Graham Pauley began a rehab assignment at Triple-A today as he recovers from an oblique strain suffered last month. Tomorrow, meanwhile, will see both infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Dane Myers begin rehab assignments. Norby was sidelined by a quad strain just a few days ago, while Myers has been out of commission since late August due to an oblique strain of his own.

Of that trio, Pauley is having the best season at the plate. That’s not saying very much, as the left-handed utility man is slashing .229/.310/.371 in 159 plate appearances across 54 games for the big league Marlins this year. Norby, meanwhile, has posted only slightly weaker numbers in more of a regular role. He’s slashed .247/.298/.373 in 295 trips to the plate this year while battling injuries, including a hamate fracture that required surgery back in July. He had looked a lot better after returning from that surgery, but his burgeoning hot streak was cut short at just five games by his aforementioned quad ailment. As for Myers, the 29-year-old has hit just .233/.292/.325 in 99 games this year, but he has swiped 17 bases and played strong defense in center field.

Assuming none of them face setbacks like Stowers has, all three should be expected to return before the end of the year. Maximo Acosta, Xavier Edwards, and Javier Sanoja have mixed and matched at second and third base while Pauley and Norby have been out, with Otto Lopez at shortstop. That quartet will likely be forced to get the majority of their playing time up the middle as Pauley and Norby seem poised to reclaim their timeshare at the hot corner. Myers, meanwhile, has been overtaken on the depth chart by Jakob Marsee in center field but could still see some use off the bench or in the outfield corners.

Marlins To Activate Ryan Weathers On Thursday

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Ryan Weathers is listed as the Marlins’ probable starter for Thursday’s game against the Nationals. He’ll be activated from the 60-day injured list and take the ball for the first time in three months. Miami will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

Weathers has struggled through a second straight injury-riddled year. An index finger strain on his throwing hand cost him most of the second half of 2024. This year saw him miss the first six weeks after he suffered a Spring Training forearm strain. Weathers returned and took five starts over three weeks before he sustained the lat injury.

The health problems have interrupted a potential breakout. The former seventh overall pick turned in a 3.63 ERA with solid strikeout and walk numbers across 16 starts a year ago. He has worked 24 2/3 frames of 3.28 ERA ball while punching out 22.5% of opponents this year. Weathers has pushed his average fastball velocity above 97 MPH. His changeup and breaking ball have each gotten strong results. Weathers has also shown far better command over his two seasons in Miami than he did early in his career with the Padres. He has the ability to be a mid-rotation starter if his arm holds up.

Weathers has crossed the three-year service threshold and will reach arbitration for the first time in the offseason. His limited body of work will keep his salary affordable, and he’s under team control for three years. He’s part of a talented but volatile collection of starting pitchers in Miami.

The Fish have Sandy Alcantara signed for $17MM next season. Weathers, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Max Meyer are all eligible for arbitration. They’ve all shown flashes of promise but haven’t proven they can stay healthy. Eury Pérez is still in his pre-arbitration years. Janson Junk and Ryan Gusto could compete for spots at the back end. That’s before accounting for a minor league pipeline that features Thomas White, Robby Snelling and Noble Meyer. Alcantara will probably be on the trade block during the winter. Much of the Marlins’ short-term future will hinge on the health and development of their collection of younger arms.

Cabrera may be the biggest x-factor. He has had a career season, working to a 3.57 earned run average over a personal-high 24 starts. He has performed at a top-of-the-rotation level going back to the beginning of May: 110 innings of 2.95 ERA ball with a 26.5% strikeout rate. The run was halted when an elbow sprain sent him to the injured list last week. Cabrera also has a history of shoulder problems and hadn’t reached 100 MLB innings in a season until this year.

The Marlins shut the righty down for a week after the diagnosis. Manager Clayton McCullough said this afternoon that Cabrera will now ramp up a throwing program that gives him a chance to return this season (link via Christina De Nicola of MLB.com). McCullough unsurprisingly suggested the team would quickly shut things down if Cabrera’s elbow doesn’t respond well but indicated the pitcher and team both want to see how he feels as he throws with more intensity. Even if Miami isn’t playing for anything in the standings, Cabrera would surely feel a lot better about his offseason if he’s able to get back on the mound for an appearance or two before the year closes.

Marlins Outright Luarbert Arias

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The Marlins have outrighted right-hander Luarbert Arias to Triple-A Jacksonville, according to a report from Daniel Alvarez Montes of El Extrabase this afternoon. Arias had previously been designated for assignment by Miami in a flurry of roster moves earlier this week, but the club evidently successfully passed the righty through waivers.

Arias, 24, made his big league debut with the Marlins earlier this year. A product of Maracay, Venezuela, Arias signed with the Padres as an amateur and made his pro debut back in 2018. He stuck around the Padres organization in the lower levels of the minors until he was plucked from San Diego by the Marlins in the minor league phase of the 2021 Rule 5 draft. He made his organizational debut in 2022 and mostly pitched well at the Single-A level before enjoying something of a breakout season in 2023 when he posted a 1.84 ERA in 58 2/3 innings of work between the High-A and Double-A levels.

That excellent performance earned Arias his first call-up to Triple-A in 2023, and in 86 1/3 innings of work at the level over the past two seasons he’s mostly looked quite good with a 3.23 ERA in 59 outings. A 22.0% strikeout rate against a 9.7% walk rate leaves something to be desired, but those peripheral numbers looked better in 2024 than they have this year, when he’s struck out just 8.5% of his opponents while walking 15.9% in 15 appearances. Regardless of those struggles, the Marlins still opted to bring Arias up from Triple-A to make his major league debut this year. He’s struggled badly through 10 1/3 innings of work, surrendering an ERA of 11.32 with an 18.2% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate.

While Arias lacks the requisite service time to reject the assignment in favor of free agency, he does have a previous outright on his record after being outrighted off Miami’s roster earlier this year. That means he could head into free agency early if he so chooses, but either way he’ll be granted minor league free agency at the end of the season if he’s not added back to the 40-man roster before then. The right-hander would then be available on the open market to any team interested in taking a chance on him. Given his success at Triple-A as recently as last year and the fact that he has minimal service time with minor league options remaining, he should be a fairly attractive candidate for a minor league deal in free agency if not added back to Miami’s 40-man roster.

Marlins Select Christian Roa, Release Declan Cronin

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The Marlins announced a trio of roster moves, including the news that right-hander Christian Roa’s contract has been selected from Triple-A Jacksonville.  To open up space on the 28-man and 40-man rosters, Miami placed right-hander Freddy Tarnok on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to September 3), and released right-hander Declan Cronin.

Roa will be making his Major League debut whenever he appears in his first Marlins game.  A second-round pick for the Reds in the 2020 draft, Roa struggled with control problems in 2023-24 and his 2024 season was cut short by injury.  This didn’t stop the Marlins from claiming him off waivers last November, and the righty has rebounded with a better showing in a full-time relief role in 2025.

Over 57 1/3 innings in Jacksonville, Roa has a 2.83 ERA and a 26.1% strikeout rate.  The 12% walk rate is still on the high side and Roa has benefited from a tiny .221 BABIP, but the bottom-line efforts have been enough to earn Roa his first taste of Major League action.

Tarnok is dealing with a left ankle sprain, and the timing of the injury means that he could be shut down for the rest of the season unless there’s some quick progress in his recovery.  With a whopping 17 players now on the injured list, the Marlins as a whole are to some extent just trying to get to the finish line of the season, though Kyle Stowers, Ryan Weathers, and Janson Junk are all expected to be activated from the IL within the next week.

A minor league signing for the Marlins last winter, Tarnok had his minors contract selected to the active roster in mid-June, and he has made five appearances for Miami while being frequently optioned back and forth from Triple-A.  Within the small sample size of 7 1/3 innings, Tarnok has a 2.45 ERA and a big 35.7% strikeout rate, with a 14.3% walk rate.  This marks Tarnok’s first big league action since 2023, and he has a career 3.97 ERA across 22 2/3 innings with the Marlins, Athletics, and Braves.

Cronin’s release comes as the right-hander has been on Jacksonville’s IL for about the last three weeks, due to an undisclosed injury.  Cronin already missed the first two months of the season due to a hip problem, and with a 4.87 ERA over 20 1/3 Triple-A innings, Cronin didn’t seem to be 100 percent.

After tossing 11 innings with the White Sox in his 2023 debut season, Cronin became a regular in Miami’s bullpen last year.  Cronin’s 4.35 ERA wasn’t too impressive, but that statistic was inflated by a .365 BABIP, as the righty didn’t receive much good fortune from his 57.6% grounder rate.  His 23.2% strikeout rate and 8.2% walk rate were also solid, and Cronin was a workhorse in tossing 70 1/3 innings over 56 appearances.

These numbers were strong enough that it is a little surprising to see Cronin released entirely, even despite his tough 2025 season.  It could be that the Marlins have a handshake deal in place to bring Cronin back, and today’s move was made just to open up a 40-man roster spot.

Marlins Announce Several Roster Moves

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The Marlins have designated right-hander Luarbert Arias for assignment and selected the contract of infielder Jack Winkler from Triple-A Jacksonville, per a club announcement. They’ve also placed third baseman Connor Norby and outfielder Derek Hill on the 10-day injured list — the former due to a quad strain and the latter due to a hamstring strain. Lefty Josh Simpson and infielder Maximo Acosta have been recalled from Triple-A to take that pair of roster spots.

Arias, a 24-year-old righty, made his major league debut with Miami this season but was torched for 13 runs in 10 1/3 innings. He’s posted a 3.93 ERA in 18 1/3 innings in Triple-A but walked nearly twice as many batters (13) as he’s punched out (seven). The Marlins selected Arias, a former minor league Rule 5 pickup out of the Padres organization, back in November to protect him from being nabbed in the major league phase of the most recent Rule 5 draft.

At the time, it wasn’t hard to see why. Arias was coming off a strong year in Jacksonville, having totaled 68 innings with a 3.04 ERA, 25.8% strikeout rate and 9.3% walk rate. He’s taken notable steps back this season and has already been designated for assignment and passed through waivers once this summer. Because of that prior outright, he can reject a minor league assignment in favor of free agency if he once again goes unclaimed.

Winkler’s contract is being selected to the roster for the second time this season. The 26-year-old utilityman went 2-for-12 with a pair of singles in a very brief MLB look earlier this year but has since been designated for assignment and outrighted. He’s back in the majors now despite struggling through a 9-for-58 skid in Triple-A between big league stints. He’ll add a righty bat with some defensive versatility to the Marlins’ bench while Norby is out, but Winkler posted a lackluster .220/.291/.328 batting line in 261 plate appearances during his Triple-A debut this year, so fans shouldn’t expect much in the way of offensive contributions.

It’s the third IL stint of the season for both Norby and Hill. Given the minimal time left on the regular-season calendar, either injury could feasibly be season-ending, but there’s been no definitive word from the club on that front just yet.

Norby, acquired alongside Kyle Stowers in last summer’s Trevor Rogers trade with Baltimore, hasn’t hit nearly as well as hoped this year. The former top prospect has been sidelined by oblique and wrist injuries previously, batting .274/.298/.373 when healthy enough to take the field. Hill, 29, has played strong defense but hit just .213/.275/.331 in 141 plate appearances on the year. He’s previously missed time due to wrist and finger injuries.

MLBTR Podcast: Aroldis Chapman, And Offseason Possibilities For The Braves, Rangers, Pirates And Marlins

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What will the Braves do this winter after claiming Ha-Seong Kim? (10:10)
  • What can the Rangers do this winter? (22:05)
  • What can the Pirates do for left field next year? (31:30)
  • Who will the Marlins make available in trades this offseason or at next year’s deadline? (36:40)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Photo courtesy of James A. Pittman, Imagn Images

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