How Marlins will fill their payroll if there’s a salary floor. And hot stove news

Miami Marlins admin October 23, 2026 0 Comments

How Marlins will fill their payroll if there’s a salary floor. And hot stove news

A six-pack of Marlins notes on a Thursday:

▪ The Marlins finished the season with a $100.2 million payroll, including $18 million in player benefits, a figure that places them ahead of only the Cleveland Guardians, who finished at $90 million.

Meanwhile, MLB has proposed a salary cap floor of $171.2 million, including $23 million in player benefits, in ongoing negotiations with the players’ union on a new labor agreement.

The players are pushing back against a proposed salary cap floor and ceiling, and a lockout likely looms on Dec. 1. But if the owners can stomach a long lockout and ultimately cajole the union to accept a cap and floor, how exactly would the Marlins go about increasing their payroll? (A $66 million increase would be necessary under the current proposal.)

Here’s what we’re hearing:

1). The Marlins would not try to bridge the gap by signing any marquee 30-plus free agents to enormous deals. Even with a salary floor, the Marlins organization — under current leadership — would never offer the type of five-year, $155 million deal that Baltimore last winter gave first baseman Pete Alonso, who led the American League with 43 homers and 113 RBI.

Though Alonso potentially could have made the Marlins a playoff team, the front office is philosophically opposed to giving those types of very pricey multiyear contracts to outside free agents, in part because of concern that production would diminish as the player gets older.

2). The Marlins would look to add established players making in the $10 million to $15 million range through either free agency or through trades. Miami is open to trading some of their good prospects, but not their top prospects.

3). The Marlins would try to extend their top young players who are approaching their arbitration years — or are already in their arbitration years — potentially taking on some additional money early in multiyear contracts.

They had talks with Kyle Stowers, among others, last offseason, and those discussions could resume.

While the official floor is $171.2 million in MLB’s most recent proposal, teams would be allowed to drop as low as $154.1 million in a single year, provided they make up the spending difference over the following two years.

▪ The Marlins currently have only $10 million in guaranteed money on their books for next season, and that will be spent on a player who hasn’t been on their team in a decade (Giancarlo Stanton). That will grow to $31.5 million once Sandy Alcantara’s $21 million team option is picked up.

Per MLBtraderumors.com, the Marlins have 11 arbitration-eligible players: Stowers, Xavier Edwards, Anthony Bender, Max Meyer, Otto Lopez, Calvin Faucher, Eury Perez, Victor Vodnik, Tyler Zuber, Esteury Ruiz and Andrew Nardi.

It’s highly unlikely that the Marlins will tender Nardi and Zuber, who could miss all of next season with elbow injuries. Ruiz also is a non-tender candidate.

Peter Fairbanks is the Marlins’ only free agent.

All other Marlins players remain under team control and will remain very cheap.

▪ Manager Clayton McCullough told Griffin Conine to continue taking reps at first base this off-season.

The Marlins haven’t decided whether to use Conine, Stowers, Deyvison De Los Santos or an outside option at first base next season but want to keep their options open.

Conine played 20 games (15 starts) at first base this season and had a breakout year offensively, finishing with 19 homers and 43 RBI in 284 at-bats, with a .264 average and .353 on-base percentage.

“It was better than I could have imagined it,” Conine said. “I’m proud of how it went.”

▪ Outfielder Brandon Compton, who had a combined 36 homers and 103 RBI in 125 games in Single A and Double A, also has been told to work at first base this offseason.

“This year was a journey,” he said. “I got three levels in. It was awesome. A lot of developing, learning, getting better at what I can.”

Compton, drafted by the Marlins in the second round out of Arizona State in 2025, was one of only 10 minor league players to reach the 35 home run mark this season.

▪ Though the Marlins aren’t believed to be shopping Lopez or Edwards, neither player is considered untouchable. If a team is willing to offer a lot in return, Miami would listen.

The New York Post’s Joel Sherman reported recently that the Yankees have “greatly liked” Edwards over the past year.

▪ The Marlins, as reported in August, traded Liam Hicks to Tampa Bay in part because they wanted to sell high on him and also because they knew that other teams valued him as a catcher (a high-commodity position) while the Marlins knew he wouldn’t beat out Joe Mack as a catcher here.

But why did the Marlins trade him for prospects instead of a big-leaguer? We’re told the Marlins weren’t offered any big-league players that were close in quality, in their view, to the three prospects acquired (former first-round infielder Brayden Taylor, former first-round shortstop Adrian Santana and pitcher Jacob Kisting).

After batting .282 (.363 on-base) with 14 homers and 62 RBI in 101 games for the Marlins this season, Hicks hit .288 (.379 on base) with four homers and 20 RBI in 41 games for Tampa Bay, while throwing out five of 26 attempted base-stealers.

Heading into the World Series against Milwaukee, Hicks is batting 6 for 31 (.222), with three RBI during the playoffs.

This story was originally published October 22, 2026 at 2:05 PM.