Eury Perez Set Two Priorities for Improvement During Marlins Offseason Work
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For the Miami Marlins, the development of starting pitcher Eury Pérez is even more important in 2026.
Pérez returned from Tommy John surgery, which erased his 2024 campaign, to put in solid work for the Marlins in 20 starts. He went 7-6 with a 4.25 ERA, including 105 strikeouts and 32 walks in 95.1 innings. Miami sees him as key to their future. The importance grew earlier this month when the Marlins traded Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs.
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That was a hit for the organization and for Pérez. The two were friends. Now, Pérez must slide into that void as the team’s No. 2 starter.
During a Spanish-language video interview with Fish on First’s Kevin Barral, which included English subtitles, Pérez was asked about his offseason, and he said he focused on two key areas of his game to prepare for 2026.
Eury Pérez’s Two Big Offseason Keys
The first was his weight. Pérez ended last season at 225 pounds. He told Barral that he’s now at 240 pounds. He’s been working to add strength, not just weight, to prepare for what he hopes is a complete Major League season.
“I’m trying to keep adding more and stay strong to last the entire season,” Pérez said.
He’s never pitched a full MLB season. When he made his debut in 2023, he started 19 games with a 5-6 record and a 3.15 ERA. He also had 108 strikeouts and 31 walks in 91.1 innings. He showed enough promise to finish seventh in National League Rookie of the Year voting.
The other is working on refining two of his pitches, most notably a sweeper that he started throwing during last season.
“It’s a pitch that I am still working on to maintain in the zone or whenever I want to throw outside the zone,” Pérez said. “Same with the change-up, which is one of the pitches that will help me a lot at the big-league level.”
He relied heavily on a four-seam fastball and slider mix last season, throwing those two pitches 73% of the time per Baseball Savant. The sweeper and change-up were only thrown a combined 16% of the time. The sweeper averaged 82.8 mph, just below the average for right-handed pitchers. His change-up averaged 87.9 mph, well above the right-handed pitching average.
Combine those two pitches effectively with a fastball that can average 98 mph, and it would give Pérez a lethal arsenal to use on opposing hitters and serve as a brilliant complement to ace Sandy Alcántara.
