Miami Marlins Have the Pieces to Be Much Better in 2025

Not only was the prospect pedigree one that the Marlins have not been able to get their hands on in a while, but Norby’s start to his Marlins career has been incredible.

Despite going on record saying he is a second baseman, the Marlins starting third baseman is on some sort of tear. When he was acquired at the deadline, with outfielder Kyle Stowers, for left-handed starter Trevor Rogers, the industry as a whole was scratching their head.

Even more so now that Rogers is currently pitching in Triple-A Norfolk, and Norby has been one of the hottest hitters in all of baseball since the deadline.

No matter what position on the diamond Norby is going to call home entering 2025, he looks to be a key cog in the Marlins plans going forward.

The second biggest move made was the second San Diego Padres trade where the Marlins’ return was headlined by left-handed pitching prospect Robby Snelling, along with Adam Mazur, Graham Pauley, and Jay Beshears.

Snelling is the player who provides the most intrigue. 2024 has not been kind to him, but I would go out on a limb and say I trust the Marlins pitching development to help unlock something in Snelling to get him back on track.

The next deal features a player that Marlins fans won’t see until the start of the 2025 season, but catcher Augustin Ramirez could be the future at the position for the Fish.

Since the trade of JT Realmuto, there has been a revolving door of disappointment behind the dish. Augustin Ramirez has been one of the better hitters in all of the Minor Leagues in 2024 and while his defense has left something to be desired, it is his bat that is going to create the most impact for the organization going forward.

Ramirez possesses a well-developed skill set at the plate that should allow him to be successful at the Major League level. While it is easy to just say it, I’d venture to say that the intrigue that comes with his potential is one that Marlins fans should look forward to seeing.

Then there was the trade with the Diamondbacks that netted them Deyvison De Los Santos, the power-hitting first baseman who was leading all of the Minor Leagues in home runs.

De Los Santos entered this season in the Guardians organization after being taken by them in the Rule V draft in December. Even though he had an impressive spring training, he was returned to the Diamondbacks, where he continued to have incredible success at the plate.

Though the defense as a whole is a question mark, he can play a passable first base, which is another position the Marlins have been looking to fill.

Positive Internal Developments

While the Marlins season has been largely disappointing, there have been a few internal developments that have helped bring some optimism for future Marlins lineups to come.

First and foremost, the Marlins may have their shortstop of the future in Xavier Edwards.

At the beginning of the season, the Marlins were running Tim Anderson out at shortstop everyday in hopes that he would turn himself into a trade chip at the deadline.

When that clearly was not going to happen, Anderson was DFA’d in early June and Edwards was called up from Triple-A to take his place.

Not known for his glove, Edwards got the call after hitting .330/.376/.450, in 26 games in Triple-A. Miami hoped that hit tool would translate against big league competition, but they could not have expected him to nearly maintain his batting average after making the leap back up.

Across his first 54 games in 2024, Edwards is hitting .328/.401/.403, with 25 stolen bases on 27 attempts. A combination of Edwards and Norby atop the lineup has given the Marlins a fighting chance, and also gives them a foundation to build around in their infield.

Fellow rookie Otto Lopez has been starting at second base for the Marlins as well. While he has not fared very well with his bat (.642 OPS), Lopez has graded out elite defensively by both DRS (9) and OAA (15). This gives Miami a glove-first utility infielder if nothing else.

The final piece to the infield is Jake Burger, who has shaken off a rough first three months of the season to bounce back strong in the second half. Burger hit just seven home runs before July 1st, but has 18 of them since, showcasing the power that any team can use in the corners.

Since Bell got traded, Burger has been able to get his playing time over at first base, which is clearly a better position for him moving forward. Only in his second full season, Burger won’t be a free agent until 2029, and won’t even hit arbitration until after next season.

With Edwards, Norby and Burger, the Marlins at least have three starters who you can realistically pencil into the lineup everyday for the next few years, with each presenting enough upside to get excited about. It may not seem like much, but that’s a good start for Bendix and the Marlins.

What to Expect in 2025

We have now reached the point where we are projecting what an Opening Day lineup can look like for the Miami Marlins.

C – Augustin Ramirez
1B – Deyvison De Los Santos
2B – Otto Lopez
3B – Connor Norby
SS – Xavier Edwards
OF – Kyle Stowers/Jesus Sanchez/Griffin Conine/Jakob Marsee
DH – Jake Burger

While it is obviously not what a perennial World Series lineup would look like, there is a lot of potential in what it could bring. Not only that, but let’s also remember what is going on with the starting rotation.

Former NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara will be back, headlining the rotation for the Marlins. Behind him is the uber-talented Jesus Luzardo, Eury Perez will also be back at some point after his return from Tommy John.

Ryan Weathers has flashed the ability to be a strong middle-of-the-rotation option. Then there’s Braxton Garrett who had his season lost due to injury, Edward Cabrera if he can figure out the command issues, and Max Meyer. Behind them are newly acquired Adam Mazur and Robby Snelling.

Marlins fans can hold out hope that the Front Office will add to their Major League roster during the off-season, but it does not seem likely. Peter Bendix made it a point to build up the Marlins farm system when he first arrived in Miami and, while the prospects brought it might not be on the top of prospect lists across the industry, the intrigue is there.

For the first time in a long time, the Marlins have depth within their organization and it will now be the job of the new development team brought in throughout the offseason to unlock the potential of all the young players.

It has been a roller coaster the past couple of seasons for this organization. As I have said in previous future Marlins outlook articles, it is a process and that is how fans should approach it.

Give it time. Peter Bendix has a plan to bring a winning team back to Miami.