Bendix plans to be 'opportunistic' in quest to improve Marlins

Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix typically keeps his cards close to the vest, but he revealed some nuggets about the club’s Hot Stove plans.

In speaking with MLB.com colleague Mark Feinsand in Las Vegas at the General Managers Meetings, Bendix provided a glimpse into Miami’s possible direction.

“I think it's being opportunistic,” Bendix said. “We'd like to add some offense. You never have too much pitching. Cliches, but they're true, right? And so I think that the main thing is continuing on this path of giving our young players a chance to show us what they can do, building kind of the foundation of talent.”

Here are three places the Marlins will look to add:

First base
“That's one of the areas that we’re looking at.”

Marlins first basemen posted the fourth-lowest OPS (.663) in the Majors this season, so it makes sense this would be a position to target.

Matt Mervis was the club’s Opening Day first baseman but was designated for assignment on May 30. After his tenure, a group of rookies took over.

Eric Wagaman (.674 OPS) wound up collecting the most starts at first (94). Liam Hicks, who split time at catcher with Nick Fortes (now with the Rays) and Agustín Ramírez, started 23 games at first -- a position he learned on the fly -- to keep his left-handed bat in the lineup. Toward the end of the season, Miami also got Graham Pauley looks there.

After a breakout 2024 Minor League season, Deyvison De Los Santos (Marlins No. 22 prospect) took a step back at Triple-A (.674). Until the 22-year-old shows better plate discipline, his power bat will stay at Jacksonville.

On the free-agent market, Miami will not be part of the bidding war for Pete Alonso, and the Mariners have made reuniting with Josh Naylor a priority. All-Star Ryan O’Hearn could be a fit, though he’s coming off a career year that he’ll certainly try to capitalize on financially. In 144 games between the Orioles and Padres, the left-handed-hitting O’Hearn set career highs for homers (17) and RBIs (63). The 32-year-old earned $8 million in 2025. Other notable names include veterans Paul Goldschmidt and Rhys Hoskins.

The trade market depends on what teams are willing to part with. Tampa Bay, a frequent trade partner with Miami, has both two-time All-Star Brandon Lowe and 2023 American League batting champion Yandy Díaz on the final year of deals.

Right-handed-hitting outfield bat
“Yes, with the caveat that we're looking specifically at a number of different things. That's one of them, yes, but it's not the only thing.”

Miami’s 40-man outfielders skew left-handed: All-Star Kyle Stowers, Jakob Marsee, Griffin Conine and Victor Mesa Jr.

The right-handed bats come with question marks. After seven Minor League seasons, Heriberto Hernández made the most of his MLB opportunity (.785 OPS) to receive one down-ballot National League Rookie of the Year vote. One thing he has done at every level is hit, and his splits were nearly even, but can he recreate that success? Dane Myers dealt with injuries in a down season (.617 OPS) and Joey Wiemer, whom Miami claimed off waivers from Kansas City in August, had a small sample (.715 OPS in 27 games).

Marsee, Mesa and Myers are the center-field options. Stowers is the Gold Glove-nominated left fielder. Conine is a corner outfielder.

No matter the position, the Marlins will only bring someone into the mix if he is considered an upgrade over the talent already in the organization. For example, Kemp Alderman (Miami’s No. 10 prospect) garnered Marlins Minor League Player of the Year.

The free-agent market includes everyone from center fielder Harrison Bader (.796 OPS) to Lane Thomas (.859 career OPS vs. LHP).

Proven back-end bullpen arm
“We would like to add good relievers. I don't know that they necessarily need to be a proven guy, but yeah, I think that's another area that we're looking at to try to improve the team.”

The Marlins’ bullpen already features hidden gems like Ronny Henriquez and Tyler Phillips; Miami hopes right-hander Zach Brzykcy (10.05 ERA in 32 career outings) could be next after being claimed from Washington last week.

It’s no secret relievers can be volatile on a yearly basis. If the Marlins want to take the next step in 2026, does it hold some value to acquire a reliever that has a track record over multiple seasons to complement high-leverage arms Henriquez, Phillips, Anthony Bender and Calvin Faucher?

This free-agent class is chock full of those types of relievers, from Ryan Helsley to Pete Fairbanks.

“It's all about what they're going to do to help us next year,” Bendix said of proven names. “It's easier to see that if they've already done it, right?”