Marlins Notes: Mack, Ramírez, Junk
The Marlins have three catchers on their 40-man roster. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the club would prefer to open the season with Agustín Ramírez and Liam Hicks in the big leagues, with Joe Mack optioned to Triple-A, though it’s possible Mack could win a job.
Ramírez has shown a lot of promise with the bat but was arguably the worst defensive catcher in the majors last year. In 605 2/3 innings, he was behind the plate for 19 passed balls and 36 wild pitches. In terms of the passed balls, Ramírez lapped the field, with no other backstop allowing more than nine. Four catchers were present for a larger totals of wild pitches but they all had larger samples of playing time.
Modern analytics also agree. Ramírez was credited with minus-14 Defensive Runs Saved last year. The only guy worse was Salvador Perez at minus-15, in a larger sample of innings. Fielding Run Value had Ramirez at -12, worse than everyone except for Edgar Quero. Statcast ranked Ramírez as one of the worst catchers in terms of blocking and controlling the running game, though his framing was well regarded.
It feels inevitable that Ramírez will get moved to designated hitter or first base, where he has spent some time in the minors. The Fish don’t really have a slam-dunk first baseman standing in the way, as they’re going into the season with a hodgepodge group consisting of Hicks, Christopher Morel, Connor Norby, Griffin Conine and Graham Pauley. But the Marlins are apparently not quite ready to make that move. Jackson reports that they still want to give Ramírez a shot to show some improvement behind the plate and potentially stick as a viable backstop.
That could leave Mack trapped at Triple-A for a while longer, even though he feels like the long-term answer behind the plate. The 31st overall pick from the 2021 draft, Mack played 112 games last year, 99 of those at the Triple-A level. His 27.9% strikeout rate at that level was a bit high but he hit 18 home runs and slashed .250/.320/.459 for a 107 wRC+. That’s great production for a catcher, especially one with a strong defensive reputation like Mack. The Marlins added him to their 40-man roster in November to keep him out of the Rule 5 draft.
Going into 2026, Mack is a consensus top 100 prospect, which means the prospect promotion incentive factors in. If the Marlins were to carry him on the roster early enough to get a full year of service time, he could net them an extra draft pick by playing well enough to garner awards consideration. If they don’t call him up that early, he could earn a full year of service retroactively with a top two finish in Rookie of the Year voting.
If Mack ends the 2026 season with a full year of service, he would be on pace for free agency after the 2031 season. If the Marlins hold him down long enough to not get a full year of service and he doesn’t get one retroactively, then that schedule would be pushed into the future by a year.
Turning to the pitching staff, right-hander Janson Junk suffered a right ankle sprain about a week ago and was in a walking boot for a while. It seems he is moving quickly past the issue. Per the MLB.com injury tracker, he was scheduled to throw 15 to 18 pitches off a mound yesterday. There hasn’t been word on him since, so he presumably threw without issue. He posted a 4.17 earned run average for the Marlins in a swing role last year. As of now, he will probably open the season as a long reliever but could earn a rotation job if injuries open a path for him.
Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images
The Marlins’ Catching Conundrum
Miami has struggled to find a viable option behind the plate since trading away J.T. Realmuto ahead of the 2019 season. After Jorge Alfaro, who returned in the Realmuto deal, failed to provide consistent results, the Marlins have shuffled through a mix of veterans and fringe MLBers over the past few seasons. Miami backstops finished 29th in OPS at the position in both 2023 and 2024.
Agustin Ramirez seems like the answer, at least on offense. Acquired in the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade, the top prospect popped 21 homers and stole 16 bases in his first taste of MLB action. Ramirez paced the team in doubles and total bases. He was a fixture in the heart of the lineup since getting promoted in late April.
The problem with Ramirez as Miami’s solution at catcher was the catching part. He led the league with 19 passed balls, more than twice as many as the next-closest player (Shea Langeliers at nine). Ramirez also led all catchers with 10 errors, despite only making 71 starts at the position. The throwing aspect of the job didn’t go much better. Ramirez allowed 83 steals and threw out just 8 base runners, good for a paltry 8.8% caught stealing rate. He ranked dead last in Statcast’s CS Above Average metric, which compares the number of extra caught stealings to the expectation of an average catcher.
Ramirez made 61 starts at DH in his rookie season. While that may be his ultimate home, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix hasn’t given up on Ramirez in the field. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Bendix said Ramirez still has “the ability to be a major league catcher and also needs to improve a lot to be able to consistently achieve that level” (link via Kevin Barral of Fish on First). It isn’t the strongest endorsement, but it’s enough to keep the door ajar on Ramirez’s future at the position.
Liam Hicks functioned as Miami’s backup catcher for the majority of the 2025 season. He started 49 games behind the plate, while also making 23 starts at first base and 20 at DH. Hicks joined the team as a Rule 5 selection from Detroit. He posted a solid 98 wRC+ across 390 plate appearances, though the power was lacking. Hicks hit just a half dozen home runs and finished with a .099 ISO. He doesn’t have the type of thump typically associated with 1B/DH types, so sticking at catcher might be his only avenue to consistent playing time.
The main issue with Hicks as a long-term option is the same one that plagues Ramirez. Hicks allowed 51 stolen bases last season, while catching just six would-be thieves. He had the fifth-worst mark in Statcast’s CS Above Average metric.
The real answer at catcher might be waiting in the wings at Triple-A. Joe Mack is the organization’s fourth-ranked prospect according to MLB.com. FanGraphs ranked Mack third among Miami prospects in their midseason update. Mack was a first-round pick in 2021. He’s put up strong offensive numbers at each minor league stop, including a 129 wRC+ in 112 games at Double-A in 2024. Mack torched Double-A pitching once again to begin 2025 and was quickly bumped to Triple-A. He hit 18 home runs with a solid .250/.320/.459 slash line in 412 plate appearances with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The 22-year-old has an elite arm, which will provide some much-needed help in slowing down the run game. Mack has a shot to break camp with the team in 2026 after hitting .298/.382/.766 with six homers in 14 games in September.
Whether or not Mack is with the big-league club next season, the team could use a glove-first veteran option. Victor Caratini, Austin Hedges, and James McCann would be viable options that shouldn’t be overly expensive. Old friend Jacob Stallings could also be a candidate to soak up innings behind the plate for a low investment. Ironically, Nick Fortes would’ve fit the bill as a veteran caddy to Mack. Fortes led the Marlins in starts behind the plate in 2023 and 2024, but was shipped out at the trade deadline this past season.
Marlins Place Otto Lopez On Injured List, Activate Nick Fortes
The Marlins announced a pair of roster moves today as they placed infielder Otto Lopez on the 10-day injured list due to a Grade 2 sprain of his right ankle. Replacing Lopez on the active roster is catcher Nick Fortes, who was activated from his own stint on the shelf.
Lopez, 26, exited Miami’s game on Friday due to what was termed at the time right ankle discomfort, was unavailable Saturday after undergoing an MRI that revealed the sprain as noted by Christina de Nicola of MLB.com. A specific timeline for Lopez’s return is not yet known, though it’s worth noting that de Nicola suggests a typical timetable for this sort of injury is in the three-to-six week range. That would leave the club without Lopez at second until at least the end of May, creating a void at the keystone.
After bouncing between the Blue Jays and Giants organizations earlier in his professional career, Lopez joined the Marlins last season and settled in as the club’s everyday second baseman. In 147 games with Miami since he joined the organization last year, Lopez hasn’t hit much with a slash line of just .262/.309/.367 across 553 plate appearances. With that being said, he offers solid defense and the versatility to play anywhere on the infield if needed and has also contributed on the basepaths with 23 steals in 28 attempts.
Overall, Lopez is a fairly average regular which makes him a key piece for a Marlins team that has gotten bottom-ten contributions from its lineup in the majors by measure of both wRC+ and fWAR. Without Lopez at second base everyday, a hole alongside Connor Norby and Xavier Edwards opens in the club’s infield mix. Javier Sanoja has hit .305/.333/.407 in a part-time role with the Fish this year and figures to get the first crack at playing time at the position, though infielder Graham Pauley is also on the roster as a potential option to mix in for starts at the keystone while Lopez is out of commission.
Replacing Lopez on the roster is Fortes, who started the season in a tandem with Rule 5 draft addition Liam Hicks behind the plate but was sidelined early in the year by an oblique strain. Fortes was hitting .300/.333/.500 in seven games at the time of his injury but is generally considered a glove-first catcher, offering strong value defensively that’s somewhat held back by his lackluster .216/.261/.309 slash line at the plate across 218 games in 2023 and ’24. Still, rostering a quality defender like Fortes makes plenty of sense given that Hicks is generally considered a bat-first catcher and well-regarded prospect Agustin Ramirez faces questions regarding whether or not he can stick behind the plate at all long-term.
While Fortes figures to rejoin Hicks as one of the club’s primary catchers going forward, Ramirez has earned his roster spot to this point with a strong .256/.293/.615 slash line in his first 41 plate appearances since making his big league debut last month. With eight extra-base hits in just ten games, Ramirez now appears likely to be an occasional catcher for the Marlins but mostly serve as the club’s primary DH. That could eat into the playing time afforded to Matt Mervis, who has played in a first base/DH role since starting the season as the club’s everyday first baseman, as well was Eric Wagaman, who has spelled Mervis at first base on occasion while also being part of the Miami outfield mix.
MLBTR Podcast: Justin Steele, Triston McKenzie, And Tons Of Prospect Promotions
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 Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…
- The Cubs’ rotation outlook after Justin Steele’s UCL surgery (1:15)
- The Guardians designating Triston McKenzie for assignment (7:30)
- The Athletics promoting prospect Nick Kurtz (16:10)
- The White Sox promoting prospect Edgar Quero (20:55)
- The Rays promoting prospect Chandler Simpson (26:45)
- The Marlins promoting prospect Agustín Ramírez (33:30)
- The Twins promoting prospect Luke Keaschall (38:30)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Can high-caliber early-career players like Paul Skenes demand trades or are they stuck where they are? (44:45)
- With constant injuries and DFAs, could the new CBA lead to some changes in roster rules? (49:25)
Check out our past episodes!
- Free Agent Power Rankings – listen here
- Vlad’s Massive Deal, Extensions for Merrill and Marte, And Quinn Priester Traded – listen here
- Garrett Crochet’s Extension, Problems In Atlanta, And Other Early-Season Storylines – listen here
The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff. Check out their Facebook page here!
Photo courtesy of Matt Marton, Imagn Images
Marlins Recall Agustin Ramirez For MLB Debut
April 21: Ramirez’s promotion to the majors is official, per a team announcement. Miami officially recalled Ramirez and righty George Soriano from Triple-A Jacksonville. Lefty Cade Gibson was optioned to Triple-A to open one spot, while Brantly was placed on the 10-day IL due to a right lat strain in order to open the other.
April 20: The Marlins are calling up catching prospect Agustin Ramirez prior to tomorrow’s game against the Reds, SportsGrid’s Craig Mish reports. Ramirez will be making his Major League debut whenever the 23-year-old backstop appears in a game.
The corresponding moves aren’t yet known, though Ramirez is already on Miami’s 40-man roster. The likeliest 26-man roster move probably relates to catcher Rob Brantly, who made an early exit from today’s 7-5 win over the Phillies due to right shoulder discomfort. As per the Fish On First blog, the Marlins were already planning to call Ramirez up prior to today’s game and Brantly’s injury, so it’s a rough outcome for Brantly if he got hurt and lost his roster spot in the same day (though if he was on the cusp of a DFA anyhow, he’ll at least continue to accrue MLB service time and pay a bit longer this way).
Baseball Prospectus ranked Ramirez as the 55th-best prospect in baseball prior to the 2025 season, and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel also had Ramirez 96th on his top-100 list. In their ranking of Marlins prospects only, Baseball America slots Ramirez third and MLB Pipeline has him fourth. The pundits agree that Ramirez has a lot of hitting potential, with plus power and good contact numbers, plus a good batting eye. While not a quick baserunner, Ramirez is a canny baserunner who has stolen 53 bases (out of 63 attempts) during his minor league career — “in particular, he loves to steal third base by timing up pitchers’ looks,” as per BA’s scouting report.
It remains to be seen if Ramirez will stick behind the plate, as he is considered below average in pretty much every defensive category. Ramirez does has a strong throwing arm, but evaluators note that he can’t take full advantage due to a lack of accuracy, plus he isn’t quick in getting the ball out of his glove. If former first-rounder Joe Mack is the Marlins’ true catcher of the future, Ramirez’s eventual home might be first base, so that will put more pressure on Ramirez to produce at the bat-first position.
The Marlins have used Ramirez just as a catcher (and DH) during his two years in their organization. Ramirez was an international signing for the Yankees during the 2018 int’l window, and was dealt to Miami last July as part of the three-player return the Marlins received for Jazz Chisholm Jr. Over 86 games and 362 plate appearances at the Triple-A level, Ramirez has hit .248/.340/.430, with 12 home runs, 19 doubles, and 14 steals in 15 attempts.
Since starting catcher Nick Fortes is also on the 10-day IL recovering from an oblique injury, the Marlins’ decision to promote Ramirez may have been at least partially forced by a lack of depth behind the plate, which has now become pronounced if Brantly is out. Ramirez and Rule 5 Draft pick Liam Hicks now comprise Miami’s catching corps, and if Ramirez hits well, the rebuilding Marlins will likely let him stick around on the big league roster in order to get more experience in the Show.
Yankees Acquire Jazz Chisholm Jr.
Jazz Chisholm Jr. is on his way to the Big Apple. The Yankees announced they’ve acquired Chisholm from the Marlins for three prospects: catcher Agustin Ramirez and infielders Jared Serna and Abrahan Ramirez.
Chisholm, 26, was a consensus top-100 prospect when the Marlins acquired him from the Diamondbacks in the deal that sent right-hander Zac Gallen to Arizona. While Gallen has blossomed into one of the NL’s top starters since arriving in the desert, Chisholm’s time in Miami has been far less consistent. After a rookie 2021 campaign where he split time between shortstop and second base with roughly league average offense, Chisholm committed to second full-time in 2022 and broke out in a big way with an excellent .254/.325/.535 (136 wRC+) slash line that year. Unfortunately, Chisholm’s All-Star campaign was cut short by a stress fracture in his back that limited him to just 60 games that year.
That injury combined with the Marlins’ lack of quality options in the outfield led Miami to move Chisholm out of the infield ahead of the 2023 season, installing him in center field. The results of that experiment were somewhat mixed, as Chisholm took a step backwards on offense with a 103 wRC+ and was limited to just 97 games by a bout of turf toe but proved to be surprisingly solid defensively in center with +4 Outs Above Average, although Defensive Runs Saved disagreed with that assessment and graded him as one of the ten worst outfield defenders in the sport last year with a -14 figure. Chisholm’s offense hasn’t rebounded much in 2024 as he’s slashing .249/.323/.407 (104 wRC+) on the year, but his defensive metrics have settled in a bit more to paint him as a roughly scratch defender (+1 OAA, -4 DRS) in center field. Perhaps most importantly, the youngster has stayed healthy and on the field this year as he’s appeared in 101 of Miami’s 104 games while even getting some work in at second base again in recent weeks.
Chisholm’s versatility is surely part of what makes him an attractive addition for the Yankees. While Aaron Judge and Juan Soto‘s otherworldly 2024 campaigns have kept the Yankees offense afloat for the most part to this point and allowed the club to post a solid 60-45 record overall, they’ve gone just 6-13 in the month of July thanks in part to a lackluster supporting cast that has seen only catcher Austin Wells post above average numbers by measure of wRC+ among healthy Yankees players with at least 100 PA this year not named Judge or Soto.
With so many spots in the lineup that could do with an upgrade, Chisholm’s slightly better than average bat and versatility figure to be a major asset for the Yankees. SNY’s Andy Martino was among those to suggest following news of the trade that Chisholm’s position with the Yankees is not yet fully set in stone, and it’s easy to see why. Chisholm’s ability to play center could allow manager Aaron Boone to turn to struggling left fielder Alex Verdugo, who has posted a wRC+ of just 56 since the start of June, less often while pushing Judge to a less taxing spot in the outfield or perhaps even allowing him to DH on days where both Chisholm and Verdugo are roaming the outfield.
On the other hand, Gleyber Torres is having a relative down season (96 wRC+) as the club’s regular second baseman and third base has been a massive hole for the Yankees all season, though neither Torres nor Chisholm have any experience at the hot corner in the majors. Given Torres’s excellent 119 wRC+ against lefties and Verdugo’s brutal 63 wRC+ against fellow southpaws this season, it’s possible even to imagine Chisholm (who sports a decent 96 wRC+ against southpaws in spite of his own lefty bat) playing the outfield against lefty starters while mixing into the infield more often against righties, allowing the Yankees to play matchups more effectively for both Verdugo and Torres, especially in the event that New York brass don’t want to have either Chisholm or Torres learn third base on the fly.
Of course, another factor in Chisholm’s value to the Yankees is the fact that he’s controlled through the end of the 2026 season. For an offense that figures to see Soto, Torres, Verdugo, J.D. Davis, and perhaps Anthony Rizzo all depart for free agency following the 2024 campaign, adding Chisholm to the lineup as a long-term building block alongside sluggers Judge and Giancarlo Stanton as well as youngsters Wells, Anthony Volpe, and Ben Rice offers the Yankees the ability to decide Chisholm’s long-term home on the diamond based on both his defensive performance and the needs of the roster surrounding him in an offseason where re-signing Soto figures to be the top priority. It’s possible to imagine Chisholm settling in as a fixture of the club’s mix in either the infield or outfield depending on both the club’s external additions this winter and the performance of up-and-coming youngsters in the club’s system like infielder Oswald Peraza and outfielder Jasson Dominguez, both of whom could vie for everyday roles in 2025.
As for the Marlins, they’ll receive a package of three prospects in return for the youngster who has been the club’s lone productive hitter this year ever since Luis Arraez was dealt to San Diego back in May. The closest to making an impact at the major league level of that group is Ramirez, a 22-year-old catcher who is already on the 40-man roster and reached the Triple-A level earlier this year. The youngster is just the #20 prospect in the Yankees system according to MLB Pipeline but is a far more robust third in the system according to Baseball America.
A bat-first catcher who slashed an impressive .290/.372/.570 in 58 games at the Double-A level this year prior to his promotion to the next level, Ramirez offers enticing raw power and a knack for making contact in the zone, though upper-level breaking balls have given him trouble and both Pipeline and BA suggest that he’ll need to improve his swing decisions a bit to reach his potential as a hitter. Scouts have plenty of questions about whether or not Ramirez will be able to stick behind the plate in the majors, though there’s optimism that he’ll have a future in the big leagues even if he ends up moving off catcher to a more offensively demanding position like first base.
Also heading to Miami in the return is Serna, a 22-year-old infielder in the midst of a solid season at the High-A level. The club’s #19 prospect per Pipeline and #11 prospect per BA, Serna has slashed a respectable .253/.341/.444 in 88 games with the Yankees’ affiliate in Hudson Valley while swiping 11 bags and slugging 13 home runs, although his body doesn’t project for much more power and he’s expected to slug at below average levels in the majors. Serna is also viewed as unlikely to stick at shortstop long-term, with BA noting that his fringey arm means he’s likely to end up at second base although he does have experience in the outfield and at the hot corner as well.
As for the latter Ramirez, he signed with the Yankees out of Venezuela back in 2022 on a $30,000 bonus (h/t Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com) and made his stateside debut earlier this year. In 49 games in complex ball this year, the 19-year-old has looked good with an excellent .348/.447/.513 slash line in 189 trips to the plate while splitting time between shortstop as well as second and third base. Ramirez is not ranked within the Yankees’ top-30 prospects by any major public-facing evaluators at the moment, although given his youth and big numbers in complex ball it wouldn’t be a shock to see him make some noise in that regard with Miami at some point in the future.
Craig Mish of SportsGrid first reported the Yankees and Marlins were in talks about a deal that’d send Chisholm to New York for three prospects. Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic was first to say the deal was done. ESPN’s Alden González reported Agustin Ramirez was the headliner and Abrahan Ramirez’s inclusion. Christina De Nicola of MLB.com had Serna’s inclusion.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Yankees Select Agustin Ramirez, Clayton Beeter
The Yankees announced that they have selected the contracts of right-hander Clayton Beeter and catcher Agustin Ramirez. Today is the deadline for a club to add players to its 40-man roster in order to protect them from being eligible in the Rule 5 draft.
Beeter, 25, was selected by the Dodgers with the 66th overall pick in the 2020 draft. He came to the Yanks in the 2022 deadline deal that sent Joey Gallo to Los Angeles. Beeter split the 2023 season between Double-A and Triple-A, tossing 131 2/3 innings over 27 appearances, 26 starts. He struck out an impressive 28.8% of batters faced on the year but also issued walks at a 13.1% clip. That lack of control is nothing new, as he has walked 12.6% of batters faced in his minor league career overall.
Ramirez, 22, was signed as an international amateur out of Venezuela in 2018. In 2023, he spent time in Single-A, High-A and Double-A, getting 492 plate appearances in total. He launched 18 home runs in that time and also stole 12 bases. He walked in 12.4% of his trips to the plate while limiting his strikeouts to a 17.3% clip.
Baseball America currently lists Beeter as the club’s #20 prospect and Ramirez at #24. The former will give club some optionable pitching depth on the roster while Ramirez will add to a catching mix that is already somewhat crowded. Jose Trevino, Kyle Higashioka, Austin Wells, Ben Rortvedt and Carlos Narvaez are also on the 40-man, giving the Yanks six backstops on the roster, an unusually high number. It was reported last month that the club is signaling that they are willing to trade from their surplus in that department.