The Marlins announced a quartet of roster moves this morning. Infielder Graham Pauley and lefty Dax Fulton were optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Right-hander Stephen Jones‘ contract was selected from Double-A, and outfielder Heriberto Hernandez has been recalled as well. Miami had an opening for Jones on the 40-man roster after this week’s DFA of veteran righty Chris Paddack. However, with top prospect Robby Snelling confirmed to be Friday’s starter and needing a 40-man spot, the Fish will now need to make a 40-man roster move between today’s game and tomorrow’s game in order to get Snelling onto the roster.
It’s the first time in nearly a year that Pauley has been sent to the minors. He’s taken the majority of Miami’s reps at third base this season but has struggled immensely, batting just .173/.225/.293 in 81 turns at the plate. Pauley didn’t offer much with the bat last year, either, but his .224/.311/.366 slash (184 plate appearances) was miles better than what he’s posted so far in 2026. Pauley is actually chasing fewer pitches off the plate and making contact on a higher percentage of his swings, but because he’s swinging less often in general and thus taking more called strikes, his walk and strikeout rate have both trended in the wrong direction.
A brief reset for the 25-year-old Pauley could do him some good. He turned in a strong .263/.342/.511 batting line (127 wRC+) in 37 games with the Marlins’ Jacksonville affiliate in 2025, walking at a quality 9% clip against a tiny 11.6% strikeout rate. Given that Pauley plays an above-average third base, Miami would surely take even average offense out of his bat.
With Pauley looking to get back on track in Jacksonville, the Fish will likely turn third base over to utilityman Javier Sanoja, although fellow infielders Leo Jimenez and Christopher Morel could potentially mix in as well. Morel was signed to be the primary first baseman and is a poor defender at third base, but he does have experience there. Connor Norby — who also has experience at third base — has been the primary option at first base, but the Marlins could at least consider sliding him back across the diamond on occasion. Broadly speaking, manager Clayton McCullough will have plenty of scenarios to consider, though none of them stands out as ideal.
Jones, 28, will make his big league debut the first time he gets into a game. He’s a former Rockies draftee who spent the 2025 season in the Padres system and signed a minor league deal with the Marlins over the winter. Jones has opened the 2026 season with 16 2/3 innings and a 3.24 ERA. He’s surrendered six earned runs on 10 hits and a problematic 13 walks, tacking on 19 punchouts in the process. Jones’ 25.7% strikeout rate isn’t supported by his well below-average 8.5% swinging-strike rate, however, and his colossal 17.6% walk rate presents an obvious red flag. He’ll get an opportunity to show he can hack it in the majors, but he’ll need to both improve his ability to miss bats and, more importantly, scale back on those walks if he’s to have any staying power.
