Marlins Skipper Confident Team Will Improve Amid Playoff Aspirations

The Miami Marlins’ quest for postseason baseball begins in spring training

Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough in the dugout | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Miami Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough had his first media interview of the Marlins 2026 spring training. 

Marlins pitchers and catchers reported to Jupiter, Florida, and McCullough provided information on several of his players and the team's expectations for spring training and the season as a whole. 

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McCullough Seems Relaxed in Media Press Conference Compared to Year One

Miami Marlins manager Clayton McCullough walks to the dugout | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

McCullough is thrilled with the progress of his players. He also admires the improvement of the Marlins facilities.

“We continue to lay a really great foundation for where we are now as an organization,” McCullough said. “A big part of development is having a facility that can really support that, and also that guys when they wake up in the morning are excited to be coming to work.” 

There are high expectations for Agustin Ramirez to perform much better offensively, especially defensively. Ramirez has been training hard at the Marlins academy facility in the Dominican Republic. 

“I expect Gus to get better,” McCullough said. “Seeing him down there in person and having some conversations with him, and the great part about it was Gus was realistic with how things went, and Gus was very realistic with the need to get better. He never shied away. He knows he needs to take steps as a player, and he put in an incredible amount of time and effort in that regard.” 

Ramirez looks physically better, and McCullough believes he’s going to improve defensively. The skillet has a lot of trust and confidence in him because of what he saw during this off-season. The Marlins are hoping those words come true when spring training and the regular season approach. 

McCullough knows that one of the things he must do is manage playing time with so many players. There’s depth in pitching and outfield. 

“We have an incredible amount of arm talent,” McCullough said. “We do have a lot of talented pitchers, and we have a group of pitching coaches and a staff that I know can improve guys' stuff, and I know that if guys that need to improve command, who have great stuff, we can help them get in the box more often. As a message in totality for me with that group is that our pitchers and our ability to pitch at a very high level is going to be the backbone of our teams, and it will be the backbone of our success.”

Pitching wins titles. A great pitching rotation can take a team to elite status. There are playoff aspirations for this group.

The Marlins have a rotation that consists of the 1-2 punch of Sandy Alcantara and Eury Pérez. Those two pitchers must need the Marlins to succeed. As for the three pitchers who could fill the rotation, most likely they will be Chris Paddack, Max Meyer, and Braxton Garrett.