Marlins Urged to Add Another Bat to Lineup During Spring Training
In this story:
A lot of the offseason moves made by Miami Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix surrounded the pitching staff. Traded were starters Ryan Weathers and Edward Cabrera to the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs, respectively.
Sandy Alcantara begins spring training and the pitchers and catchers workouts as the ace of the rotation. How things fill in behind him remains to be seen.
If you like our content, choose Sports Illustrated as a preferred source on Google.
After a surprising 2025 season that saw the Marlins finish four games behind the Cincinnati Reds for the final National League wild-card spot, Miami is looking to follow that up and become a postseason team in 2026. If they are going to do that, they are going to need to add at least another bat and the options are interesting.
Marlins Still Need One More Bat To Contend for Playoff Spot in 2026
If there is one position that Bendix could add a bat to is at first base. Miami signed Christopher Morel of the Tampa Bay Rays after his former team non-tendered him. However, the Marlins have Liam Hicks and Griffin Conine, who can fill the first base/DH slots for second-year manager Clayton McCullough. Bringing in a veteran bat is still not out of the question before the regular season begins. If they do, there are some options, according to Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report, that they could kick the tires on.
"As things stand, the Marlins have Liam Hicks projected to be their starting first baseman and Griffin Conine at DH, both of whom are left-handed. They have taken a flier on Christopher Morel following his non-tender by the Tampa Bay Rays, though his .651 OPS since the start of the 2024 season leads you to believe they could benefit from adding another right-handed bat,'' Miller wrote.
Who is available? They could look to a team in their division, the Philadelphia Phillies, and Nick Castellanos. He showed some willingness to potentially make the move to first base this season if needed for any team. He would also be outfield depth, but he could also DH. He does still have power and maybe a change of scenery would help him.
Rhys Hoskins is another option. He has some good pop in his bat with 186 career home runs with the Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers in eight seasons. Miller also brought up an interesting name, Andrew McCutchen. He would strictly be an outfielder/DH for McCullough, but like Hoskins, he has pop in his bat and can run into some home runs still.
At this point, it would be somewhat surprising if Miami added someone ahead of the regular season, but if Bendix decides to, he has options.
