Offseason Outlook: Miami Marlins

The Marlins rode a big September winning streak to the fringes of the Wild Card race and weren’t mathematically eliminated from the postseason until Sept. 25. They have very little money on the books for the 2026 season and saw some key young players step up as potential building blocks. The front office, led by president of baseball operations Peter Bendix as he enters his third winter on the job, will now need to determine how real that surge was and how strongly to pursue win-now moves for next year.

Guaranteed Contracts

• Sandy Alcantara, RHP: $19MM through 2026 (including $2MM buyout of $21MM club option for 2027)

Additional Financial Commitments

• $10MM annually to Yankees, through 2028, as part of Giancarlo Stanton trade
• $5MM buyout on 2026 club option for since-released OF Avisail Garcia
• $500K buyout on 2026 mutual option for since-released RHP Woo-Suk Go

Option Decisions

• None

Total 2026 commitments: $32.5MM
Total future commitments: $54.5MM through 2028

Arbitration-Eligible Players (service time in parentheses; salary projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

• Anthony Bender (4.153): $2.3MM
• Braxton Garrett (3.168): $1.53MM
• Edward Cabrera (3.147): $3.7MM
• Ryan Weathers (3.066): $1.5MM
• Andrew Nardi (3.053): $800K
• Max Meyer (2.166): $1.3MM
• Calvin Faucher (2.156): $1.9MM

Non-tender candidates: Nardi

Free Agents

• None

Bendix offered little insight into his club’s direction during his end-of-season press conference. The former Rays general manager noted that he was both proud of his club’s strong finish to the season but disappointed to be talking to the media when other clubs were still playing. Bendix spoke in typical baseball operations generalities, deflecting questions about his expected level of aggression this offseason to merely say he hoped to build a team that was as good as it could possibly be for as long as it could possibly be. Asked whether fans should expect Sandy Alcantara to be a Marlin by the time spring training rolls around, he sidestepped and stressed the importance of being open-minded to any and all scenarios (link via Isaac Azout of Fish On First).

None of that is meant as a critique of Miami’s president, to be clear. The simple reality of running a low-payroll club and trying to navigate some degree of rebuild is that hard decisions will have to be made and that payroll concerns will persist each year. It’s unlikely that the Marlins will cannonball into the deep end of free agency this winter, but there’s plenty of reason to believe that they could also be a bit more active than they’ve been in recent offseasons.