There has been speculation all winter that the Marlins will add hitting help by trading one of their starting pitchers. Eury Perez appears to be the only name that is off limits, as The Athletic’s Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal write that the Fish are “at least listening on offers” for pitchers besides the 22-year-old right-hander.
Given how the Marlins have talked about a contract extension with Perez’s camp in the past and are expected revisit those talks this offseason, it’s no surprise that Perez is being held out of any broader trade negotiations. Perez is already under team control through the 2029 season and doesn’t even become arbitration-eligible until next winter, so there is zero urgency on Miami’s part to move a pitcher who looks like a cornerstone. Of course, the Marlins’ stance could change if a team approached them with a truly huge trade proposal for Perez, but barring that type of Godfather offer, Perez will surely be staying put.
There’s also the fact that if the Marlins actually did look to deal Perez now, they’d be doing so at something less than peak value. Perez has still thrown only 186 2/3 innings in the majors, split almost evenly between 91 1/3 innings in his 2023 rookie season and 95 1/3 frames this past year. In between, of course, the 2024 campaign was a total wash for Perez due to Tommy John surgery, and his recovery from the procedure kept the righty from making his 2025 debut until June 9.
The return to action went fairly smoothly, as Perez posted a 4.25 ERA, 27.3% strikeout rate, and 8.3% walk rate in 2025. This was an identical match to his 2023 walk rate and only a slight drop from his 28.9K% in his rookie year, and while Perez had a 3.15 ERA in 2023, his SIERA totals over the two seasons (3.94 in 2023, 3.80 in 2025) were pretty much the same. Perez did allow a ton of hard contact in 2025, but his fastball velocity and fastball spin rates both remained elite post-surgery.
Now further removed from the TJ procedure and with a normal offseason, Perez is being eyed as a major piece of the Marlins rotation both in 2026 and into the future. His import to the rotation only grows if the Marlins do end up moving another starter, which seems like a logical tactic for the Fish to address their lineup holes. Sammon and Rosenthal describe a starter trade as “a strong possibility” for the Marlins, while ESPN’s Jeff Passan goes a step further by writing “Miami is almost certain to move a starting pitcher this winter.”
Braxton Garrett missed all of 2025 due to UCL revision surgery and Max Meyer had a season-ending hip surgery in June, so it can be assumed that these two pitchers are probably also unlikely to be dealt coming off such significant injuries. Thomas White and Robby Snelling are two of the Marlins’ top prospects, and since the Fish aren’t far removed from being in full rebuild mode, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix isn’t likely to move such key minor leaguers before they’ve even reached the Show. Any of Dax Fulton, Ryan Gusto, Adam Mazur, or Janson Junk probably wouldn’t bring back much of a trade return.
This leaves perhaps the likeliest trade candidates as Edward Cabrera, Sandy Alcantara, or Ryan Weathers. Alcantara is the Marlins’ highest-paid player and has been the subject of trade rumors for years, yet now that Miami is seemingly on the verge of returning to contention, the Fish may be moving away from the idea of moving him whatsoever. Recent reports indicate that Alcantara is now expected still be with the club in 2026, and the Marlins will only move Cabrera for a big trade return.
Cabrera and Weathers are each controlled through 2028, so again, there is no reason Miami necessarily has to move either of these arms prior to Opening Day. Both pitchers have lengthy injury histories, however, and the Marlins might be willing to sell relatively high (on Cabrera in particular) before another health issue impacts future trade value or keeps either pitcher off the Marlins’ own mound.
