Marlins Trade Away Defense-First Outfielder to Reds for Promising Outfield Prospect
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The Miami Marlins are looking to build for the future; that much has become clear, as their core of talent is geared towards competing both now and in the years beyond.
Having the ability to put together such a promising farm system as they have while also nearly making a postseason appearance in 2025 is extremely impressive and indicative of the moves they have made in recent years to replenish their minor league teams.
The trade for Kyle Stowers kick-started their competitive window, and now, with multiple young players who are able to produce on offense, they have a complementary offense to their already productive pitching rotation.
While they have not been a team that has sent out money for large-scale free agents in the past, they could look to add some more elements via trade or smaller deals to try to jumpstart their momentum even more.
Signing Pete Fairbanks was a good start to this, and following that, they made a trade with the Cincinnati Reds, sending out one of their outfielders, Dane Myers.
Myers has spent three seasons at the MLB level with the Marlins and has been productive defensively, but with so many outfielders on the roster, the team decided to trade him away instead.
Who Did the Marlins Get Back for Dane Myers?
In this trade with the Reds, Miami was looking to get some more pieces for their farm system, seemingly focusing on having talent down the road to call on if necessary. So, they traded Myers for Cincinnati's No. 18-ranked prospect, Ethan O'Donnell, as was noted in the official team transaction reports. O'Donnell was a 2023 sixth-round pick by the Reds and made it up to Double-A during the 2025 season.
The Miami Marlins today announced the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/HiajlALuc3
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) December 27, 2025
It is worth noting initially that this does open up a 40-man roster spot for the Marlins, as Myers was on theirs, while O'Donnell was not for Cincinnati. This allows them to make another move, whether that be a promotion, another signing, or a trade, depending on what they wish to do.
O'Donnell was a bit hit or miss in Double-A last year, slashing .236/.327/.325 with 59 runs, 56 RBI, seven home runs, 20 stolen bases, 129 strikeouts and 54 walks. In 985.1 innings in the outfield, he only had four total errors, which denotes just how reliable he is in the field, very similar to the player he was traded for.
Mostly, this just gives them a similar player with a few more years of control on his contract, which is a positive.
