The Miami Marlins have had a busy offseason, trading away two promising young starting pitchers and bringing in multiple heralded outfield prospects. The Philadelphia Phillies’ division rivals are working hard to improve upon a 79-win 2025 campaign, and could be lining themselves up for a dark horse playoff run in 2026.
The most recent major move for Miami was Tuesday’s trade of starting pitcher Ryan Weathers to the Yankees, which saw the Fish reel in four prospects from a thin Yankees system. Weathers, a 26-year-old lefty, has three more years of team control remaining, and should stabilize a Yankees rotation that will open the season with All-Stars Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón on the shelf, as well as dependable right-hander Clarke Schmidt.
Miami Marlins trade Ryan Weathers for even more outfield help
In exchange for Weathers’ services the Yankees parted with a pair of exciting young outfielders, and another pair of interesting infielders.
The best of the bunch is slugging center fielder Dillon Lewis, who is still a ways away from the majors but could give the Phillies fits when he arrives. Joining him in the return for Miami is speedster Brendan Jones, another center fielder who doesn’t have as high of a ceiling but could reach the majors as soon as this coming season. The two infielders the Yankees gave up, Dylan Jasso and Juan Matheus, aren’t as well-regarded, but Jasso is coming off of a nice 2025 season in Double-A and could reach the big leagues this season.
The Weathers trade comes on the heels of an even bigger trade last week when the Marlins shipped out electric right-hander Edward Cabrera for outfielder Owen Caissie and a pair of minor leaguers. Cabrera was far and away the Marlins’ best starting pitcher last season, as the 27-year-old posted a solid 3.53 ERA in over 26 starts.
In Caissie the Fish add a lefty-swinging corner outfielder with troubling strikeout numbers, but light-tower power. Caissie and All-Star slugger Kyle Stowers should blast plenty of homers in the outfield corners for a revamped Marlins squad in 2026.
Despite surrendering two talented hurlers in less than a week, Miami still has plenty of options with former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara headlining the rotation. Behind him is tantalizing 22-year-old Eury Pérez, and former first-round picks Braxton Garrett and Max Meyer who are recovering from injuries. The fifth starter job is likely up for grabs, but could go to depth pieces Ryan Gusto or Janson Junk, or prospects Adam Mazur, Thomas White, Robbie Snelling, or Dax Fulton.
All told, the Marlins are betting that they still have enough starting pitching to hold opposing offenses at bay, even after trading Weathers and Cabrera. With offseason acquisitions Caissie, Christopher Morel, and closer Pete Fairbanks in the fold they seem to have an improved lineup and bullpen. The Fish are still far from a World Series favorite, but could sneak their way into a playoff spot. If the Phillies aren’t careful, they could drop more games than they’d like to a new-look Marlins squad.