Marlins Outfielder Owen Caissie Proves Team Won Offseason Trade With Cubs
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If someone had said that the Miami Marlins were going to start the year 5-1 after trading away their best starting pitcher this offseason, it would have been easy to laugh in their face. But here we are.
To start 2026, the Marlins dealt away Edward Cabrera, who led the team in strikeouts and ERA in 2025, to the Chicago Cubs. In exchange, they got a piece of the Cubs' future, including their No.1 prospect Owen Caissie.
DOWN TO THEIR LAST OUT. OWEN CAISSIE HITS A WALK OFF HOME RUN AND THE MIAMI MARLINS ARE 3-0 pic.twitter.com/7JiGEQEN9k
— js9innings (@js9inningsmedia) March 29, 2026
At the time, this looked like an easy win for the Cubs as Caissie hit under .200 throughout his callup for Chicago last season, but right now it looks like the Marlins won the trade, and that has nothing to do with Cabrera.
Cabrera has been nearly perfect since joining his new team, as he posted six scoreless innings in his first start with the Cubs. But, as good as he has been, Caissie has been better.
Caissie Leads Marlins To No.1 in NL East
In a division that features the Atlanta Braves, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the New York Mets, it is the Marlins who sit perched at the top. It is obviously a team game, but the charge is being led by the red-headed rookie.
Caissie isn't just putting himself as the front-runner of the NL Rookie of the Year, but is competing with some of the best outfielders in the game, including Corbin Carroll, who won his first Silver Slugger in 2025.
*Note* These rankings are looking at all qualified outfielders in the NL
- RBI- tied for 1st with Carroll
- Doubles- tied for 4th
- Total Hits- tied for 4th with Carroll
- .350 Batting Average- 5th
- .391 On-Base Percentage- 8th
- .600 Slugging Percentage- 6th
- .991 OPS- 5th
Cubs With No Bats and No Outfield Depth
It isn't necessarily just what Caissie has done at the plate that makes his loss an even tougher pill to swallow for Chicago, but the fact that he is an outfielder. They already lost Kyle Tucker to the reigning world champs, and Seiya Suzuki started the year on the injured list.
The 92-win Cubs from last season don't have a player in 2026 hitting over .300, let alone .400. They need a bat and are now having to watch one of their own that they molded in their pipeline for years perform at an elite level for another team.
Losing Cabrera is definitely not ideal for the Marlins, but as of right now, they are dealing with that just fine.
