MIAMI – The Marlins continued shaking up their roster on Thursday, recalling outfielder Heriberto Hernández from Triple-A Jacksonville and optioning slumping infielder Graham Pauley.
They also optioned lefty Dax Fulton, who provided four relief innings on Wednesday in his Major League debut, and selected the contract of righty Stephen Jones from Triple-A to add a fresh arm to the bullpen. Thursday marks Day 7 of 10 straight days with games for the Marlins, which began a stretch of 26 games in 27 days.
Pauley, who was battling Connor Norby for the Opening Day third-base job this spring, still made the roster despite being limited during big league camp because of right elbow discomfort.
After an encouraging end to his 2025 season (.840 second-half OPS), the left-handed-hitting Pauley hadn’t been able to get going so far in 2026, batting .173/.225/.293 in 81 plate appearances. He had been held hitless over his last 17 at-bats dating back to his homer on April 26 in San Francisco. His defense, which ranked among the best in the Majors at the hot corner in 2025 (three defensive runs saved, six outs above average), also took a downturn (0 DRS and 0 OAA).
"Offensively, just hasn't performed like either side was hoping coming into this year," manager Clayton McCullough said. "Graham had a good spurt last year. Certainly we still believe in Graham as a player. The defensive abilities there. Offensively, he was just struggling. Felt like it was the best thing for him to go down to Jacksonville, try to get himself going a little bit, impact the ball. Probably just not moving it forward enough and with enough hard contact. Graham will be fine. We'll see Graham again this year. He'll go down there and get it going. We feel like right now we just needed to make a change and give some other guys some opportunity."
Sending Pauley down will provide more opportunities for Norby and Javier Sanoja at third base and free-agent signing Christopher Morel at first. In addition, the introduction of catching prospect Joe Mack earlier this week means Liam Hicks bouncing around behind the dish, at first and as designated hitter to keep his bat in the lineup.
This move might impact Leo Jiménez more than anyone else. Since being acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays on March 29, the infielder has just 21 plate appearances and seven starts entering Thursday night's finale against the Orioles.
"I think that position now will open up some other guys to get some at-bats and how to best try to just utilize and maximize everyone that we have here," McCullough said. "And I think in Leo's case, it'll be a chance where we just give him some more opportunity that he's been presented with thus far."
Hernández, whom the Marlins optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on April 27, provides the left-handed-heavy club another right-handed option. Following a promising rookie season (117 OPS+), he also started out slow, with a 37 OPS+ in 74 plate appearances. During his brief stint back in the Minors, Hernández went 6-for-22 with eight runs, two doubles, two RBIs, three walks and just one strikeout.
His playing time will be determined by how he swings the bat, according to McCullough. Hernández started in left field and went hitless in four at-bats in Thursday's 4-3 walk-off win.
Jones, who has yet to make his Major League debut, could become the fifth Marlin to do so in consecutive days. The right-handed reliever had posted a 3.24 ERA, striking out 19 and walking 13 over 16 2/3 innings for Double-A Pensacola. He had been promoted to Triple-A Jacksonville and arrived there on Wednesday but didn't get into the game.
The 28-year-old was a non-roster invitee at big league camp after the organization saw him pitch at Driveline over the offseason and took a chance on him. He previously pitched in the Rockies' and Padres' systems and now features a mid-90s fastball and two breaking balls.
"Shape on pitches is a big one," Jones said. "My velocity has been decent so far this year, not as good as last year, but my shapes have improved. So I think that's a big piece of the puzzle."