The Miami Marlins finally stopped the freefall in 2025. They went 79–83 in Clayton McCullough’s first year, a 17-game jump from the 62–100 mess in 2024, and they hung around the Wild Card race until the last week.
It was progress. It was not a plan.
The offense finished near the bottom of MLB with 702 runs and a.711 OPS, 28th in the league. Sandy Alcantara made 31 starts and threw 174.2 innings after Tommy John surgery, but his 5.36 ERA shows how uneven the year was. Edward Cabrera quietly led the staff with a 3.53 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 137.2 innings. The bones of a pitching-first team are here. What the Marlins do at the Winter Meetings could determine whether this was a step forward or just a pause before the next slide.
1. First base can’t be a part-time experiment anymore
Miami got almost nothing from first base in 2025 — low power, low on-base, zero stability. They’ve tried patching it with fringe bats and short-term fixes, and it showed in every late-inning at-bat that screamed “easy out.” If the Marlins want their pitching actually to mean something, they need a real hitter at first base — someone who brings damage, not hope — and they need him now.
2. Decide what Sandy Alcantara is: the anchor or the trade chip?
Is he the centerpiece of the next good Marlins team, or the piece that brings back real offense? His second half looked like a pitcher finding himself again, and he’s on a contract other teams would love. Miami keeps insisting they’re not moving him. Maybe that’s true. But if they’re going to run a pitching-and-defense model with a bottom-five payroll, they at least have to explore what Alcantara or one of their other controllable starters could fetch. Sitting on that value and then watching more 5.36 ERA seasons roll by is not exactly intelligent small-market behavior.
3. Add real power so the rotation isn’t pitching for 2–1 every night.
Miami’s lineup was scrappy and annoying and still didn’t scare anybody. Kyle Stowers was the only real home run threat, leading the team with 25. Xavier Edwards hit.283 with three homers. Otto Lopez drove in 77 runs, but he’s more of a table-setter than a hammer. Agustin Ramirez showed flashes behind the plate with 21 homers, but lived in the low-230s. This team needs a real middle-of-the-order bat — preferably a right-handed slugger who can live in the 25–30 homer range. Until they add that, every night is going to feel like the pitchers are walking a tightrope.
