Marlins Rising Young Star Tabbed as Untouchable Trade Chip This Summer
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When it comes to the Miami Marlins and trades, well, anything is possible. President of baseball operations Peter Bendix has shown that he's not afraid to make trades when the time comes.
That was the case over the winter. There were months of rumors from the end of the 2025 season as to whether or not Bendix would move any of his starting pitchers. Three names emerged: Sandy Alcantara, Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera. Alcantara and Cabrera have been names that have been floated about at recent trade deadlines, but Bendix held onto them.
That wasn't the case in January when Bendix traded Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs for a package of prospects that centered around Owen Caissie. Then, the Marlins sent Weathers to the New York Yankees for another haul of prospects. Alcantara remains in South Florida as of now, but you get the feeling that it's only a matter of time before he's moved.
The MLB trade deadline is still well over two months away, but it's never too early to look at how things might go. Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report listed one untouchable trade chip from each team. For Miami, he listed shortstop Otto Lopez as untouchable this summer.
Marlins young shortstop Otto Lopez Tabbed as Untouchable Come Trade Deadline
Now let's be clear about one thing: if things continue to trend in the direction they already are, the Marlins will not be buying this summer. Instead, they'll be selling and most likely be parting ways with Alcantara. One player they should not be parting ways with is Lopez.
He is a clear building block for Miami going forward as they build their roster around some young players who are gaining valuable experience this season. Lopez is one of those players who has had a strong 2026 campaign so far after struggling at times in 2025.
Last season in 143 games, Lopez slashed .246/.305/.368 with 15 home runs and 77 runs driven in. This year in 43 games, he's slashing .337/.367/.492 with 63 hits, which is already nearly half of what he had last season with 134. Defensively, he has been as good as advertised and certainly a building block for the future for Miami.
Bendix and the Marlins clearly are building for the future and selling high on Alcantara is certainly something he'll likely need to do come the trade deadline. The return package of prospects could be worth it. Whatever Bendix decides to do should not include Lopez.
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