The thing about the miami marlins roster 2025 is that it wasn't really a "roster" in the traditional sense. It was a chemistry experiment. Or maybe a fire sale that accidentally left some high-quality furniture behind. Honestly, if you looked at the Opening Day lineup in March 2025, you probably saw a bunch of names that made you reach for Google. Kyle Stowers? Connor Norby?
It felt like a Triple-A team with a Cy Young winner at the front. But then something weird happened. They actually played some decent baseball.
Basically, Peter Bendix (the President of Baseball Operations) spent the better part of late 2024 and early 2025 turning the Marlins into "Rays South." The logic was simple: get younger, get cheaper, and hope the pitching factory doesn't stop humming. It was a gamble that most fans in South Florida hated, especially after watching the 2023 playoff high evaporate.
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The Rotation That Kept the Miami Marlins Roster 2025 Afloat
You can’t talk about this team without starting at the mound. It’s the only reason they didn't lose 110 games. Sandy Alcantara coming back from Tommy John surgery was the biggest storyline of the year. He wasn't quite the 2022 "Sandman" immediately—his ERA sat at 5.36 for a good chunk of the season—but he ate innings. That’s what he does. He threw 180+ innings when the rest of the league's starters were getting pulled in the fifth.
Then you had Eury Pérez. At 22, he's basically a create-a-player from a video game. Standing 6'8" and throwing 100 mph with a changeup that falls off a cliff. Watching him and Sandy go back-to-back in a series was the only time Marlins Park—sorry, LoanDepot Park—actually felt alive.
The depth was there too. Edward Cabrera was still doing the Edward Cabrera thing: striking out 150 guys but walking the bat boy. He was eventually traded to the Cubs in early 2026, but during the 2025 run, he was a vital, albeit frustrating, piece of the puzzle. Max Meyer and Braxton Garrett rounded things out, providing that left-right balance that kept hitters guessing.
It's actually kind of wild how much pitching they had compared to the offense.
The New Kids in the Infield
If the pitching was the foundation, the infield was a revolving door of "let's see if this works." Xavier Edwards was the clear breakout star. He hit .328 over a 70-game stretch and finally looked like the leadoff hitter Miami has been begging for since... well, a long time.
The defense? Not great.
Edwards struggled at short, which led to a lot of "offseason throwing programs" and late-night defensive drills. Beside him, Connor Norby—acquired in the Trevor Rogers trade with Baltimore—became the de facto third baseman. He’s gritty. He’s a hard worker. He also hit 8 home runs in his limited 2025 time, showing enough pop to make you think he’s a 20-homer guy if he plays a full season.
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Then there’s Otto Lopez. He ended up leading the team in RBIs with 77. Think about that for a second. Otto Lopez, a guy most people didn't know existed two years ago, was the primary run producer. It says a lot about the miami marlins roster 2025 and how they had to manufacture runs.
- Xavier Edwards (SS/2B) - The spark plug.
- Agustín Ramírez (C) - The future behind the plate with real power.
- Connor Norby (3B) - The Baltimore transplant.
- Otto Lopez (2B/SS) - The accidental MVP.
The Kyle Stowers Breakout
Everyone expected the outfield to be a disaster after Jazz Chisholm Jr. was shipped off to the Bronx. And for a while, it sort of was. But Kyle Stowers decided 2025 was his year. He blasted 25 home runs, leading the team by a wide margin.
He finally got the everyday at-bats he never could find in the Orioles' logjam.
Watching Stowers in 2025 was like watching a guy who finally realized he’s allowed to swing hard. He wasn't just hitting wall-scrapers; he was tattooing balls into the upper deck. Of course, he got hurt late in the year, because he’s a Marlin and that’s just how the script goes. But for four months, he was the only reason anyone stayed in their seats during the middle innings.
The rest of the grass was a mix of Griffin Conine (yes, Jeff’s son), Jesús Sánchez, and Derek Hill. Sánchez is still the most frustrating player in baseball. He'll hit a ball 480 feet on Tuesday and then look like he's never seen a slider on Wednesday.
Why the Payroll Numbers Matter
A lot of people looked at the 2025 payroll—roughly $70 million—and laughed. It was the lowest in the league. About 85% of the guys on the 40-man roster were making the league minimum.
You had guys like Sandy Alcantara making $11.2 million, and then a massive gap. Avisaíl García was still getting paid $13 million to not play for the team, which is a fun bit of accounting that every Marlins fan loves to complain about.
It was a "lean" year.
But that's why Clayton McCullough was brought in as manager. He’s a "player development" guy. He wasn't there to manage a pennant race; he was there to make sure Agustín Ramírez didn't forget how to catch and that Eury Pérez didn't blow out his arm again.
What Really Happened with the 2025 Pitching Staff
The "Big 3" of Alcantara, Pérez, and Cabrera didn't actually last the whole year. Rumors swirled for months that Bendix was going to move one of them for a "haul" of bats.
They eventually did.
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By the time we hit the 2025-2026 offseason, Edward Cabrera was gone to Chicago for Owen Caissie. Ryan Weathers—who had a sneaky good 2025—was flipped to the Yankees for four prospects.
The miami marlins roster 2025 was essentially a shop window. Everything was for sale if the price was right.
It’s a tough way to run a franchise, honestly. You're asking fans to fall in love with a player while simultaneously keeping a suitcase packed for him. But if you look at the 75 wins they scraped together, it’s a miracle. They weren't a "bad" team; they were a "young" team.
The Defensive Struggles
If there was one thing that absolutely killed the 2025 season, it was the glovework. The Marlins were near the bottom of the league in defensive runs saved.
- Xavier Edwards struggled with his arm strength at short.
- Agustín Ramírez is still learning the nuances of framing.
- Connor Norby is a second baseman playing third.
It felt like every time a pitcher induced a weak ground ball, there was a 50/50 chance it would end up in the dugout. McCullough spent a lot of time in 2025 trying to fix this, but you can’t teach range. You either have it or you don't.
Moving Into 2026: What's the Plan?
Now that the 2025 season is in the rearview mirror and we’re sitting in January 2026, the picture is a bit clearer. The Marlins aren't trying to win the World Series yet. They're trying to find five guys they can actually build around.
They found Edwards. They found Ramírez. They (hopefully) found a healthy Sandy.
The addition of Pete Fairbanks as the closer for 2026 shows that they might actually be ready to start protecting leads instead of just evaluating talent. It’s a small step, sure. But for a team that spent most of 2025 checking IDs at the clubhouse door, it’s progress.
If you’re looking to follow this team going forward, keep an eye on the international signing period. They just landed Santiago Solarte and Ronny Muñoz. These are the guys who will be the "next" Xavier Edwards in three or four years.
The Actionable Strategy for Marlins Fans:
- Watch the Rotation: With Ryan Weathers gone, look for Max Meyer to step into a permanent role. His slider is elite; his health is the question.
- Track the K-Rate: Kyle Stowers needs to prove his 2025 power wasn't a fluke. If his strikeout rate stays under 28%, he’s a legitimate middle-of-the-order threat.
- Monitor the Defense: If the Marlins don't improve their infield defense, the young pitching staff will continue to get burned by "bad luck" BABIP.
- Check the Waiver Wire: Bendix loves to find value in other people's trash. Guys like Otto Lopez and Jesús Tinoco are proof that the bottom of the roster will always be fluid.
The 2025 Marlins weren't a playoff team, and they weren't trying to be. They were a necessary, painful, and occasionally exciting bridge to whatever comes next.