Robby Snelling Undergoes Internal Brace Surgery
May 22nd: The Marlins announced today that Snelling underwent a UCL repair surgery with an internal brace. They listed his return timeline as 10 to 12 months, so it seems he could have a shot at returning in the first half of the 2027 season.
May 21st: The Marlins announced to reporters, including Craig Mish of SportsGrid, that left-hander Robby Snelling will undergo Tommy John surgery. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list earlier today and will stay there for the rest of the year. He’ll likely be out until around the 2027 All-Star break.
It’s obviously awful news for any pitcher when a Tommy John surgery is required but it’s particularly bitter timing for Snelling. He has spent the past few years working his way through the minor leagues and became one of the top pitching prospects in the game. Miami called him up to the majors earlier this month and he made his big league debut. But he experienced some discomfort after his first start and was diagnosed with a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament, the ligament that is replaced in Tommy John surgery.
Instead of building up his major league track record, Snelling is now going to be rehabbing for quite a while with just one game on his stat sheet. TJS usually requires 14 months or more of recovery time, so Snelling will miss the rest of the 2026 season and probably at least half of 2027.
For Snelling personally, the one silver lining is that this injury occurred just after his promotion. Since he is on the major league IL, he will collect big league pay and service time throughout his rehab process. If the injury occurred a few weeks earlier while he was still in the minors, that would not have been the case.
That’s a small positive for Snelling but a negative for the Marlins. They called up Snelling in May, so he wasn’t in position to get to a full year of service this season. That means his window of club control would include this year and six additional seasons. He could have been a Marlins rotation mainstay for that time. Or even if he eventually wound up on the trade block, as many Miami pitchers do, that window of control was going to be part of his eventual trade appeal.
Instead, he’s now going to be on the shelf for most of the first two years of that seven-year window. He will still have lots of time to get back on track and establish himself as a viable big league arm, but this is going to take a big bite out of the club’s control window.
The Marlins will also now have to proceed without Snelling in their plans for quite a while. Not too long ago, they were overflowing with rotation depth. They felt good enough about their stable of arms to trade Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers in the offseason, allowing them to add some offense and prospects. Even with those trades, they came into the season with a rotation consisting of Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer, Chris Paddack and Janson Junk. Their minor league depth included Braxton Garrett, Snelling and fellow prospect Thomas White.
But has so often happens, the surplus has evaporated. The Fish designated Paddack for assignment to open a spot for Snelling. Once Snelling hit the IL, they called up Garrett, but Garrett made two poor starts and was optioned back to the minors. White was placed on the minor league IL on Tuesday, so he’s not a short-term option.
Junk started for the Marlins yesterday. They have Alcantara, Pérez and Meyer slated to start the next three games. By Sunday, they will need some kind of plan, whether that’s a bullpen game or a spot starter. Tyler Phillips has been pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen and could be part of the solution. In addition to Garrett, they have Dax Fulton, Ryan Gusto and Bradley Blalock on optional assignment. Those three all have ERAs north of 4.40 in Triple-A this year.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Marlins Acquire Rece Hinds
The Marlins and Reds announced that they have made a trade sending outfielder Rece Hinds from Cincinnati to Miami. The Marlins optioned him to Triple-A Jacksonville and transferred left-hander Robby Snelling to the 60-day injured list to open a 40-man spot. The Reds, who designated Hinds for assignment a few days ago, receive minor league right-hander Zach McCambley in return. The Marlins also recalled infielder Graham Pauley and placed infielder Leo Jiménez on the seven-day injured list with concussion symptoms.
Hinds, 25, has shown the potential to be a masher but hasn’t yet done that in a major league setting. In 131 big league plate appearances, he has a .172/.221/.426 line. But he hit five home runs in spring training this year, leading to a ridiculous .410/.465/.949 line. In Triple-A, dating back to the start of 2025, he has 31 home runs in 540 plate appearances a .303/.371/.576 line.
There is clearly some power there but the concern is when he doesn’t connect. Hinds has generally struck out in about a third of his plate appearances throughout his minor league career. In his brief big league action, he has a massive 42% strikeout rate.
There is a small hint of optimism in that department. At Triple-A, again dating back to the start of 2025, his strikeout rate is just 26.3%. That’s still above average but not as bad as his earlier minor league numbers, as he had a 35% strikeout rate from 2021 to 2024. He’s got some wheels and a good arm for right field, so he could be a real asset if he can get the strikeouts under control.
Hinds is in his final option year. The Marlins can keep him at Jacksonville for now and get a close-up look at his offensive approach. If there’s an injury in the big league outfield or he shows notable improvement, he could be called up.
The Reds moved on from Hinds but are able to turn him into some extra pitching depth. McCambley, 27, is a reliever who has shown some promise in the minors. The Phillies grabbed him in the Rule 5 draft in November but returned him to the Marlins at the end of spring training.
McCambley has a mid-90s four-seamer but that’s only his third pitch in terms of usage. He primarily throws his high-80s cutter and mid-80s slider, throwing each of those pitches about a third of the time. Four-seamers, sinkers, curveballs and changeups make up the other third.
Between last year and this year, he has thrown 67 1/3 Triple-A innings thus far, allowing 2.94 earned runs per nine. His 11.6% walk rate in that time is too high but he has punched out 30.3% of batters faced and induced a good amount of grounders as well. He is not on the 40-man roster but the Reds could call him up at some point down the line if they need a fresh arm or want to shake up their bullpen mix.
Snelling was diagnosed with a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament last week. It’s not yet clear if he will undergo surgery but it’s not a surprise to see him transferred to the 60-day IL. Even the non-surgical paths back from a UCL sprain require lengthy recovery periods. He will technically be eligible for reinstatement in July but time will tell what a realistic timeline is for his return.
As for Jiménez, he exited yesterday’s game with an apparent injury. As Ronald Acuña Jr. was sliding into third base, Jiménez tried to tag him and the two collided, as seen in this clip from MLB.com. As Jiménez recovers, Pauley will get another shot in the big leagues. Pauley is a strong defender at third base but his offense is more questionable. He hit .173/.225/.293 for the Fish earlier this year before getting optioned to Jacksonville. He hit three homers in nine games for the Jumbo Shrimp and will now try to produce more offense in the big leagues.
Pauley has one option year remaining. A player burns an option year once they spend 20 days on optional assignment. It was two weeks ago that Pauley was sent down, so he still has a chance to carry that option into 2027 if he stays up from here on out.
The Hinds/McCambley trade and Pauley’s recall were first reflected in the transactions tracker at MLB.com. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald first reported that Jiménez would go on the IL. The Snelling move came from the official team announcement.
Marlins Notes: Garrett, Snelling, Alderman
The Marlins are optioning lefty Braxton Garrett back to Triple-A Jacksonville, reports Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. They’ll make a corresponding move tomorrow.
Garrett was recalled to step into the rotation last week. His season debut could hardly have gone worse. He allowed five runs on four hits and five walks while recording just four outs in a road loss to the Twins. Garrett took the ball again today against the Braves. He required 65 pitches to complete three innings of two-run ball, allowing three hits and walks apiece with a pair of strikeouts.
The 28-year-old Garrett was a capable mid-rotation starter between 2022-23. He lost most of the ’24 season to a flexor strain and underwent UCL surgery in January 2025. That wiped out all of last year. The Marlins optioned him out of Spring Training to allow him to build up in Triple-A. Garrett has a 2.30 ERA and 26% strikeout rate through six starts with Jacksonville, but his command has been a work in progress in the minors as well (12.3% walk rate).
Miami only recalled Garrett last week due to an unfortunate injury to rookie southpaw Robby Snelling. The 22-year-old made his MLB debut on May 8. He reported elbow discomfort during a between starts throwing session and was diagnosed with a UCL sprain. That’ll keep him down for a while, with a specific timeline to be determined after he goes for further testing.
The team announced yesterday that Snelling will see Dr. Keith Meister on Thursday (relayed by Kevin Barral of Fish On First). They should have a better idea by the weekend whether Snelling will require an operation or can proceed with a non-surgical route.
In either case, the Marlins will need to figure out the fifth rotation spot this weekend. Janson Junk and Sandy Alcantara will go for the final two games of the Atlanta series. Miami hasn’t announced pitching plans for their weekend set against the Mets. Eury Pérez and Max Meyer would be on regular rest for the first two games.
Ryan Gusto, Bradley Blalock and Dax Fulton are all on the 40-man roster and in the Jacksonville rotation. Fulton pitched tonight, while Blalock has struggled his last two times out. Gusto scuffled a bit early in the season but has turned in strong outings in three of his last four appearances. He struck out 10 over seven innings of two-run ball over the weekend.
Top prospect Thomas White isn’t on the 40-man but also looms in Triple-A. The 6’5″ southpaw has made five starts since returning from a season-opening injured list stint due to an oblique strain. He has yet to complete five innings in a start and has given up eight runs (six earned) over six combined frames in his past two outings. It’d be an odd time to call him up, but White ranks as the #4 pitching prospect in the sport at Baseball America. He’d been scheduled to start for Jacksonville tomorrow, but they now list reliever Zach McCambley for that game. It’s unclear if that’s related to a potential promotion or due to some kind of health question.
An injury probably will delay the debut for another of Miami’s better prospects. Triple-A slugger Kemp Alderman was placed on the minor league injured list after a collision at first base over the weekend. A natural outfielder, Alderman had recently begun getting some first base reps.
Alderman is out to a .303/.376/.526 start with nine homers in 40 games for Jacksonville. He’s striking out at a concerning 31% clip but obliterating the ball when he makes contact. Alderman has made hard contact on 64% of his batted balls while posting a 96 mph average exit velocity. That’s comparable to what James Wood, Munetaka Murakami and Oneil Cruz are doing at the MLB level. Alderman is obviously facing far lesser pitching than he’d see in the Majors, but he clearly has immense raw power.
Miami could certainly have used a jolt at first base. Christopher Morel, signed to a $2MM free agent deal to handle the position, missed most of April with an oblique injury. He has hit .152 without a home run in 15 games since returning. Connor Norby has a league average .231/.335/.378 slash line between the corner infield spots and designated hitter.
MLBTR Podcast: Patrick Bailey To Cleveland, The Struggling Astros, And Arizona’s Outfield Changes
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 Giants trading Patrick Bailey to the Guardians (1:25)
- The Astros losing Carlos Correa to season-ending ankle surgery (18:40)
- The Diamondbacks calling up Ryan Waldschmidt and trading Alek Thomas to the Dodgers (28:05)
- The Mets calling up A.J. Ewing (38:25)
- The Marlins calling up Robby Snelling (42:55)
Plus, we answer your questions, including…
- Are the Tigers struggling due to injuries and will be fine as guys get healthy? Or should fans be more worried? (49:30)
- Which starting pitchers can the Cubs pursue? (53:25)
- When will the Yankees realize they need to upgrade on David Bednar as the closer? (58:20)
Check out our past episodes!
- Skubal’s Injury, The Marlins’ Catchers, Eldridge Called Up, And Volpe Sent Down – listen here
- The Alex Cora Situation, Lucas Giolito Signs, And The Phillies Fire Rob Thomson – listen here
- Kevin McGonigle, The Padres’ Franchise Valuation, And Edwin Díaz To Miss Time – 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 David Dermer, Imagn Images
Marlins Place Robby Snelling On IL With UCL Sprain
The Marlins announced that left-hander Robby Snelling has been placed on the 15-day injured list with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. Right-hander Pete Fairbanks has been reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move. Snelling had been scheduled to start Thursday’s game. Lefty Braxton Garrett will be recalled to start for the Fish on Thursday.
It’s brutal timing for Snelling and the Marlins. The lefty is one of the top pitching prospects in the league. He started the season in the minors but the club recently decided to shake up their rotation. Just over a week ago, Chris Paddack was designated for assignment. Snelling then came up to take Paddack’s rotation spot. Snelling made his major league debut on Friday, allowing three earned runs over five innings.
Prior to today, there wasn’t any indication that anything was wrong. Manager Clayton McCullough spoke with reporters, including Marlins broadcaster Kyle Sielaff, and said Snelling experienced some discomfort after throwing a between-starts bullpen session. The skipper confirmed that Garrett, who was scratched from his minor league start, would be called up to take the mound in the majors on Thursday.
McCullough didn’t have any more information about Snelling’s status, apart from the fact that the southpaw would be undergoing more testing. UCL sprains are often precursors to major surgeries, such as Tommy John. That’s not always the case, as some pitchers are able to return without surgery, though even those cases involve months of rehab.
It’s obviously very poor timing. Both Snelling and the Marlins hoped his promotion would be the start of a blossoming major league career. Instead, he’s facing a significant injury and potentially a lengthy absence, though time will tell on the specifics. For Snelling personally, the one silver lining is that this injury occurred after his promotion. That means he’ll collect major league pay and service time while he’s on the IL. That would not have been the case if he were injured while still in the minors.
If Snelling does end up requiring surgery, it could be a bitter development for the club. A lengthy surgery rehab could wipe out most of his 2026 and part of his 2027 as well, which would be a decent chunk of the club’s window of control over the lefty. That could also potentially impact the club’s trade plans this summer or in the coming offseason. The club’s knack for developing pitchers has allowed them to continually trade starters for bats and then replace the arms internally. Subtracting Snelling from their rotation depth chart could make that less likely.
For the short term, they will turn to Garrett. It’s unclear if this will be a spot start or if Garrett will stick around, as Marlins could also turn to another prospect in Thomas White. At least for tomorrow, it will be Garrett.
Garrett already has some major league experience under his belt, though it’s been a while. His best season was 2023, when he tossed 159 2/3 innings with a 3.66 earned run average, 23.7% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate and 49.1% ground ball rate. Shoulder and forearm injuries limited him to just seven starts in 2024, then UCL surgery wiped out his 2025 campaign entirely.
He has been healthy here in 2026 but the Marlins have been cautious with him. They optioned Garrett to Triple-A Jacksonville at the end of spring training, opting to start the season with Janson Junk in the final rotation spot behind Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer and Paddack.
The Fish have given Garrett a lighter workload, giving him at least six days of rest between each start. He has pitched well with the kid gloves on, tossing 31 1/3 innings over his six outings this year with a 2.30 ERA. His 12.3% walk rate is high but some rust isn’t too surprising after almost two whole missed seasons. He has struck out 26.2% of batters faced while inducing grounders on 53% of balls in play.
The Marlins are one game into a stretch of playing 16 days in a row. If the plan is to keep Garrett in the majors, he’ll need to pitch on a more traditional five-man rotation, unless they try to get creative. They could go for a six-man rotation, deploy some bullpen games or have some other guys make spot starts.
If this isn’t just a one-and-done for Garrett, it will be notable for him from a career perspective. He came into 2026 with his service time count at three years and 168 days, which is just four days shy of the four-year mark. If he had spent all of 2026 on optional assignment, his path to free agency would have been delayed, but even a very brief stint in the majors will keep him on track for free agency after 2028.
As mentioned, it’s possible the Marlins consider involving White in some way. Snelling perhaps got the call first because he’s a bit older and has more Triple-A experience, and because White had been slowed by an oblique strain in spring training, but prospect evaluators rank White ahead of Snelling in terms of his potential future impact. White has recovered from that oblique issue and has been in the Triple-A rotation of late. It’s unclear if he’ll be called up in the immediate future but Snelling’s injury surely increases the odds of him getting the call at some point this year.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
Marlins Promote Robby Snelling
May 8: The Marlins have formally announced Snelling’s selection to the big league roster. He’ll start tonight’s game. Miami designated righty Stephen Jones for assignment in a corresponding move.
May 6: The Marlins are calling up pitching prospect Robby Snelling. He’ll be selected to the roster and will start Friday against the Nationals. They have an open 40-man spot after designating Chris Paddack for assignment earlier this week, so they will only need to open an active roster spot for him. Manager Clayton McCullough announced the news to reporters, including Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base.
The Snelling promotion has been expected since not long after Paddack’s DFA. He and fellow lefty Braxton Garrett were possibilities to take the ball Friday in place of Paddack, but Garrett tossed 80 pitches in a start for Triple-A Jacksonville last night, strongly hinting that Friday would be Snelling’s big league debut. The team has now made that official.
Selected by the Padres with the No. 39 overall pick back in 2022, Snelling made his way to the Marlins organization as part of the return in the deadline trade sending relievers Tanner Scott and Bryan Hoeing to San Diego. His stock was down a bit at the time of the swap, but he’s rebounded nicely with the Marlins organization — so much so that Baseball America ranked him 26th on this morning’s refresh of their top-100 prospect rankings.
The 22-year-old Snelling has been excellent this year in six Triple-A starts, recording a 1.86 ERA and a mammoth 40% strikeout rate — albeit against a concerning 13.6% walk rate. He’s kept 57% of batted balls against him on the ground. Snelling was also lights out in 11 Triple-A starts last year (1.27 ERA — 2.51 overall ERA between Double-A and Triple-A). At this point, he seems more than ready for a look in the majors, even with the sub-par command.
Snelling, listed at 6’3″ and 210 pounds, works primarily off a four-seam fastball that averages just over 94 mph and a curveball that sits 82-83 mph. He mixes in an occasional changeup and slider, but the four-seamer/curveball combo has accounted for more than 80% of his pitches in 2026. Snelling’s four-seamer and curveball both drew plus grades (60) on BA’s scouting report, while his lesser-used changeup and slider still garner above-average (55) ratings on the 20-80 scale. He’ll need to rein in his command, but it’s not hard to see why the Marlins are eager to take a look at a 22-year-old southpaw with four above-average pitches and a sub-2.00 ERA in 18 career Triple-A starts.
Since Snelling opened the season in the minors and wasn’t called up until early May, he won’t qualify to net the Marlins an additional draft pick under MLB’s prospect promotion incentive (PPI) program. Enough time has elapsed this season that the only way for him to accrue a full year of major league service time would be to finish first or second in National League Rookie of the Year balloting. Snelling certainly has the pedigree to do so, but young standouts like Nolan McLean, JJ Wetherholt and Sal Stewart all have a considerable head start on him in that race.
Barring a top-two Rookie of the Year finish, Snelling will remain under club control for at least six years beyond the 2026 campaign. If he sticks in the majors for good from this point forth, he’ll be a surefire Super Two player, thereby making him eligible for arbitration four times (beginning after the 2028 season) rather than the standard three.
With Paddack on his way out the door, there’s a long-term spot in the Miami rotation open. This figures to be more than just a simple spot start. Snelling should have a clear runway to prove he can be a building block in the rotation. Triple-A teammate Thomas White, who ranked 11th on the aforementioned Baseball America top-100 update, should get the chance to join him at some point down the road this year.
Miami only has Sandy Alcantara signed through the 2027 season, but the allure of a rotation including Alcantara, Snelling, White, Eury Pérez and Max Meyer — with Garrett and Janson Junk also in the mix — is readily apparent. Even if the Fish finally trade Alcantara this summer, the starting staff has several high-upside young pieces who could form the nucleus of a contending staff … if the Marlins can find a way to put together a decent offense. Only twice in the past two decades have the Marlins put together an offense that was better than league-average, by measure of wRC+. The 2007 and 2017 Marlins both logged collective wRC+ marks of 101, indicating they were 1% better than average. They’re exactly average (100) so far in 2026.
Marlins Designate Stephen Jones For Assignment
The Marlins announced Friday morning that right-hander Stephen Jones has been designated for assignment. His spot on the 40-man and active rosters will go to top pitching prospect Robby Snelling, whose widely reported promotion to the majors is now official.
The 28-year-old Jones received his first call to the majors just yesterday after eight years in pro ball, but the Marlins didn’t get him into a game before removing him from the roster. He’ll now be traded, placed on outright waivers or released within the next five days. Waivers would take another 48 hours, so his stay in DFA limbo could last up to a week.
Jones has opened the 2026 season with 16 2/3 innings and a 3.24 ERA in Double-A. He’s surrendered six earned runs on 10 hits and a problematic 13 walks, tacking on 19 punchouts in the process. Jones’ 25.7% strikeout rate isn’t supported by his well below-average 8.5% swinging-strike rate, however, and his colossal 17.6% walk rate presents an obvious red flag.
Originally a 21st-round pick by the Rockies back in 2019, Jones is in his first year in the Marlins system. Miami signed him as a minor league free agent over the winter. He spent 2025 with the Padres organization — also after inking a minor league contract. He typically works off a four-seamer that sits 95 mph and a slider that sits 86 mph, sprinkling in an occasional sinker, cutter and changeup.
Marlins Recall Dax Fulton For MLB Debut
1:45pm: The Marlins have now officially announced that they have recalled Fulton and optioned Kempner.
11:32am: The Marlins are set to recall left-hander Dax Fulton from Triple-A Jacksonville, Isaac Azout of Fish on First reports. Righty William Kempner, who made his own big league debut last night, will be optioned to Jacksonville in his place. Fulton has been a starter for the vast majority of his professional career but will make his debut in the Miami bullpen, Azout adds. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that left-hander Robby Snelling is still on track to make his big league debut Friday in place of recently DFA’ed veteran Chris Paddack.
Kempner tossed only eight pitches in last night’s debut, so it’s not a matter of him being unavailable. Perhaps the Marlins simply wanted another lefty in the ‘pen after Andrew Nardi tossed 22 pitches yesterday, or perhaps they preferred to add some more length after using five relievers Tuesday. Whatever the rationale, Fulton will head to Miami for his first call to the majors. He’s made five starts and two relief appearances this season in Jacksonville but been hit hard: 20 innings, 17 earned runs, 23 hits, 11 walks, three hit batters and 24 strikeouts.
It’s been a shaky start to his year, clearly, but Fulton is a former second-round pick and well-regarded prospect whose path to the majors has been set back by injuries. Most notably, he underwent an internal brace procedure on his left UCL in June 2023. (Fulton also had Tommy John surgery as an amateur.) That 2023 surgery wiped out his entire ’24 campaign. Fulton returned in 2025 with 103 2/3 innings, posting an unsightly 5.38 ERA with more encouraging underlying marks (3.55 FIP, 23.8% strikeout rate, 47.3% grounder rate).
Fulton is a towering 6’7″ southpaw who’s listed at 245 pounds. He’s sitting 93.6 mph on his heater and can ramp the pitch up to 96-97 at times. The big lefty’s other go-to offerings are a low-80s curveball and an upper-80s changeup, though he’ll occasionally sprinkle in a sinker.
Whether the move to a relief role has any permanence remains to be seen. The Marlins have a good bit of rotation depth even after Paddack’s DFA and offseason trades of Edward Cabrera and Ryan Weathers. The current staff includes Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Max Meyer and Janson Junk. Snelling, who sits 26th on Baseball America’s just-released update of their top-100 prospects, seems ticketed for a debut Friday.
Fellow lefty Thomas White, ranked even higher at No. 11 overall, will likely debut at some point this season. The Fish also have talented lefty Braxton Garrett in Triple-A — he started last night and is thus not a candidate to return to the big league rotation Friday — alongside swingmen Ryan Gusto and Bradley Blalock. Jacob Miller and Karson Milbrandt, the team’s second- and third-round picks in 2022, are both in their second stints at the Double-A level (with the latter throwing very well at present).
That stock of arms could make the bullpen Fulton’s clearest path to carving out a lasting spot on the big league roster, but he’ll likely need to get back to his pre-surgery form with another stint in Triple-A regardless. If he’s up to provide some length in the bullpen for the next couple days, he’ll be a candidate to be sent back down to Triple-A on Friday — assuming Snelling is indeed promoted for his debut that day.
Marlins Notes: Alcantara, Rotation, Ramirez
Sandy Alcantara‘s name is all but perpetually ingrained on the rumor mill. The Marlins are always in a state of needing to keep an open mind to trade offers regarding their stars, and he’s currently one of two members of the roster earning more than $4MM. (Closer Pete Fairbanks is earning $13MM on a one-year deal.)
Alcantara is earning $17MM in the final season of his contract, though the team holds a $21MM club option (or $2MM buyout) on the 30-year-old for the 2027 season. After a shaky 2025 campaign — his first season back from Tommy John surgery — Alcantara looks a bit more like his old self. His 3.04 ERA is quite strong, but his rate stats are less encouraging.
Alcantara’s 16.1% strikeout rate is about six points shy of average. His 7.8% walk rate is better than average but still up a ways from his 5.6% peak. Ditto his 47.2% grounder rate — it’s about five points higher than par but about six points shy of his previous top levels. On the plus side, Alcantara’s 97.3 mph average four-seamer remains strong, he’s getting good results on a new 90.1 mph cutter, and his overall 11.2% swinging-strike rate is right in line with the league average, thereby suggesting his strikeout rate could climb up in the weeks ahead.
It’s still been a strong start overall, and other clubs would surely love to get their hands on Alcantara in hopes of restoring some whiffs and adding a former Cy Young winner to their playoff rotations. However, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic cautions that Alcantara isn’t a lock to be traded. Beyond being a leader in the clubhouse, he’s a personal favorite of owner Bruce Sherman.
It’s not as though the Marlins, who opened the season with a comically low payroll in the $73-74MM range, feel financial pressure to trade Alcantara. If anything, the opposite might hold true. The Major League Baseball Players Association has filed grievances against the Marlins and a few other bottom-of-the-barrel payroll clubs in recent years, arguing that said teams aren’t sufficiently spending the money they receive from larger clubs via MLB’s revenue-sharing system.
In all likelihood, Alcantara will again command plenty of headlines this summer as the Aug. 3 trade deadline approaches. Miami is currently in second place in the NL East, but that’s a nominal feat in a generally disappointing division. The Fish are 8.5 games behind the Braves for first place. They’re technically only four games out in the Wild Card chase, but at 16-19 overall with a -28 run differential, the outlook isn’t especially rosy.
Rosenthal suggests that the Marlins could instead listen on righties Janson Junk and Max Meyer this summer, but Junk is a journeyman with a similarly low strikeout rate (17.4%) and a swinging-strike rate (8.4%) that sits considerably shy of league average. It’s doubtful another team’s going to part with much to acquire him, although given that he was a minor league free agent pickup in the 2024-25 offseason, any return would be considered found money. Meyer would make a far more compelling trade target (37 innings, 2.68 ERA/3.60 SIERA, 26 K%, 8.4 BB%), but the Marlins control the former No. 3 overall pick for three more years beyond the current season. If he’s pitching like this in July/August, the Marlins should have an even higher ask for him than they would Alcantara.
Miami probably hoped that free-agent pickup Chris Paddack would pitch well enough to make himself a deadline candidate as well, but that didn’t happen. The Fish designated him for assignment this morning, cutting bait on a $4MM contract and opening a spot in the rotation in the process. Reliever William Kempner is up from Triple-A Jacksonville to give the bullpen a fresh arm, but the Marlins will need a starting pitcher this Friday.
Braxton Garrett and top prospect Robby Snelling have been mentioned as candidates, but Fish On First reports that Garrett is still slated to make his scheduled start for Jacksonville tonight. If Garrett indeed takes the mound, he won’t be an option to start Friday. That’d be Snelling’s natural turn in the rotation. He’s been starting once every seven days in Triple-A, and his last start came on Friday, May 1.
Snelling, 22, is a former No. 39 overall pick who came to Miami from the Padres as part of the Tanner Scott trade. His stock was down a bit at the time of the swap, but he’s rebounded nicely and now ranks among the sport’s 100 best prospects. So far in six Triple-A starts, he’s posted a 1.86 ERA, a mammoth 40% strikeout rate and a concerning 13.6% walk rate. He has kept 57% of batted balls against him on the ground. He looks to have little left to prove in Triple-A after also posting a 1.27 ERA there in 11 starts last year (2.51 ERA overall in 25 starts between Double-A and Triple-A). He’s not on the 40-man roster, but the Fish have an open spot after Paddack’s DFA.
While the Marlins’ ability to develop young pitching always makes their rotation a point of focus, their catching situation has been a long-running point of focus for the opposite reasons. Miami has struggled to find a solution behind the plate since trading J.T. Realmuto to the Phillies nearly a decade ago. They’ve cycled through Jorge Alfaro, Jacob Stallings, Nick Fortes with cameos from veteran backups like Sandy Leon, Chad Wallach and Bryan Holaday.
There’s more hope on the Marlins’ catcher horizon than at any point in recent memory. Liam Hicks is enjoying a breakout showing at the plate, and Miami just called up top prospect Joe Mack for his major league debut. If Mack hits the ground running, Miami could shift from that revolving-door setup to suddenly having a pair of solid catchers on the roster — a luxury they haven’t enjoyed at any point in recent history.
Mack’s promotion coincided with a demotion for former top prospect Agustin Ramirez, but despite Ramirez’s immense defensive struggles behind the dish, the Marlins aren’t giving up on him as a catcher. Manager Clayton McCullough told the Marlins beat this week that his message to Ramirez was simple (link via MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola): “You’re going to go down to Triple-A, and you’re going to continue to catch. You’re not the first young player that has come up and had bouts of struggle and had to get optioned.”
Ramirez caught only 605 innings last year but was still dinged for a remarkable -14 Defensive Runs Saved. Statcast pegged him as the game’s least-effective catcher in terms of both throwing out would-be base thieves and even more so at blocking balls in the dirt. His minus-28 “blocks above average” was nearly double the second-worst player on the list (a 35-year-old Salvador Perez). Things haven’t improved in 2026, and Ramirez’s bat wilted as well; he hit just .230/.318/.345 in 129 plate appearances.
Ramirez was always a bat-first catcher, and the Marlins don’t have clear long-term options at first base or designated hitter. If he can get his swing back on track, there could yet be a path to seeing semi-regular time between first base, designated hitter (where he’d presumably share times with Hicks) and perhaps some occasional starts behind the plate. It’ll be Mack and Hicks getting the major league opportunities right now, but Mack is just getting his feet wet and Hicks has already cooled a bit after a blistering start to the season.
Marlins Designate Chris Paddack For Assignment
1:08pm: The Marlins have now officially announced the Paddack and Kempner moves.
8:22am: The Marlins are designating veteran righty Chris Paddack for assignment, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. The team has yet to formally announce the move or a corresponding transaction, but Christina DeNicola of MLB.com reports that reliever William Kempner will be recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville. It’s Kempner’s first big league promotion. He’ll be making his MLB debut when he gets into a game.
It’s a hook on the 30-year-old Paddack, who signed a one-year, $4MM deal to return to the organization that originally drafted him (but traded him to the Padres in a 2016 swap for reliever Fernando Rodney). The hope had been that Paddack could provide some stable innings following offseason trades of Ryan Weathers (to the Yankees) and Edward Cabrera (to the Cubs). He looked great this spring (two runs, 13 innings pitched) but was shelled in seven regular season appearances with Miami (six of them starts).
Paddack only completed five frames once in his return to the Marlins organization: a quality start against his former Tigers teammates in Detroit (six innings, two runs). He allowed at least two runs in fewer than five innings each other time he took the mount, including a trio of appearances that saw him tagged for five, seven and eight runs apiece. His time with the Fish will draw to a close with a 7.63 ERA, an 18.5% strikeout rate and a 6.8% walk rate in 30 2/3 innings.
A former top prospect, Paddack debuted with a 3.33 ERA in 140 2/3 innings for the 2019 Padres. He’d have been a Rookie of the Year finalist, if not winner, in most seasons, but he happened to be up against Pete Alonso‘s 53-homer debut, Michael Soroka‘s 174 2/3 innings of 2.68 ERA ball, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Bryan Reynolds; excellent as Paddack’s debut was, he didn’t even receive a down-ballot vote.
Injuries have held Paddack back in the years since. He missed time with a UCL sprain in 2021 and then underwent his second career Tommy John surgery — his first came as a prospect — with the Twins in 2022. His 2024 season was cut short by a forearm strain.
In 471 2/3 innings since his terrific debut campaign, Paddack has posted a 5.23 ERA. He regularly shows strong command but has never missed bats at the same level he did as a rookie. He’s also been far too homer-prone, serving up an average of 1.55 round-trippers per nine frames from 2020-26.
It’s fair to wonder how many more rotation opportunities Paddack will get. He struggled out of the rotation more often than not in Minnesota, and the Tigers dropped him to the bullpen after just seven starts last summer following a trade to acquire him. The Marlins, obviously, are moving on in quick fashion.
Perhaps another club with a pile of rotation injuries will plug Paddack into its starting five when he’s inevitably released, but other clubs will surely be interested in what he might look like as a reliever. When Paddack returned from his second Tommy John procedure with the Twins late in the 2023 season, he pitched 8 2/3 innings between the regular season and postseason, allowing three runs with a 14-to-1 K/BB ratio. He looked particularly dominant in the postseason, and his typically 93 mph four-seamer was averaging 95.5 mph. He was hit hard out of the Detroit ‘pen last year, but they were using him as a long man, and not the short-relief role in which he excelled during that brief, post-surgery run with the Twins.
For the time being, the Marlins will have five days to trade Paddack or release him. (They could also place him on outright waivers, but he’d surely clear due to his salary and struggles, and Paddack has enough service time to reject an outright assignment while retaining his remaining guaranteed salary.) It’s possible they’ll find a taker who’s willing to pay a nominal portion of that guarantee, but the most common outcome in these scenarios is a simple release. The Marlins will remain on the hook for that $4MM salary. A new team would owe Paddack just the pro-rated league minimum for any time spent on the major league roster.
As for the 24-year-old Kempner, he came to the Marlins in a Jan. 2025 swap that sent international bonus pool space back to the Giants. The 2022 third-round pick had a big season in the minors last year between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A, combining for a 2.26 ERA with a 33.6% strikeout rate in 67 2/3 frames of relief. Command is a clear flaw, as Kempner walked 14.1% of his opponents along the way.
Kempner was selected to the 40-man roster back in November, thus shielding him from December’s Rule 5 Draft. He’s out to a tough start in ’26, with a 6.46 ERA in his first 15 1/3 frames at Triple-A. However, he’s fanned a preposterous 47.9% of opponents and allowed only a 63.8% contact rate. Kempner sits 95.5 mph with his heater and pairs it with a low-80s slider. He has a seldom-used cutter for a third offering but is primarily a two-pitch righty.
Kempner gives Miami a fresh arm for the next few days. Paddack’s spot in the rotation would be up this weekend. De Nicola lists Braxton Garrett and top prospect Robby Snelling as options to step into the rotation. Both pitchers have sub-2.00 ERAs with strong strikeout rates (Snelling in particular) but poor walk rates through their first handful of starts in Jacksonville.