Nick’s father, Alfredo, was born in Holguín, Cuba, the country’s fourth-largest city, and immigrated to Florida at age eight on one of the last Freedom Flights to the United States in the early 1970s… Nick and his family embrace their Cuban heritage to this day, carrying on several cultural traditions, including the celebration of Noche Buena each year on Christmas Eve…his favorite Cuban foods include picadillo, a traditional beef and potato stew; ropa vieja, a dish consisting of shredded beef in a tomato-based sauce with bell peppers, onions and spices; and pastelitos, a flaky puff pastry with sweet or savory ingredients...Nick was a Rays fan while growing up in DeLand, Fla. and recalls watching franchise icons like Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, James Shields and Ben Zobrist…he was 14 years old when he watched Longoria hit the most memorable home run in franchise history to send the Rays past the Yankees in Game 162 back in September 2011...His favorite catcher while growing up was Cardinals legend Yadier Molina…Nick modeled his game after the 10-time All-Star while learning the ropes behind the plate as a little leaguer in DeLand...Nick didn’t grow up speaking Spanish and had only basic knowledge when he began his professional career based on what he had picked up from his father…he benefited from the Marlins overhauled player development program under Derek Jeter, which included tailored Spanish language classes…Nick was a dedicated student and, after several sessions, was able to communicate with his father in Spanish over the phone…the program helped him learn to more effectively communicate with Latin teammates...Nick and his wife, Alli, were married in November. Selected by the Marlins in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Mississippi…batted .308/.411/479 (126-for-409) with 37 XBH and 82 RBI across 126 games spanning three seasons with the Rebels…earned All-SEC second team honors following his 2018 junior season...Named the 2018 SEC Tournament MVP and received all-tournament team honors…went 4-for-4 in the title game vs. LSU, becoming the third player in history with four hits or more in an SEC Championship Game along with Chris Moller (1996) and Mike Kelley (1979)…also joined Mark Wright (2006) as the only Mississippi players to be recognized as the tournament’s MVP…was the third catcher ever to receive the honor along with Florida’s J.J. Schwarz in 2015 and Georgia’s Roger Miller in 1989...Spent the summer of 2017 in the Northwoods League with the Fort du Lac Dock Spiders, batting .292 (59-for-202) with 34 RBI, third most on the team, over 54 games…was the first Fort du Lac alum to appear in the majors since the club was founded in 2016...Graduated from DeLand (Fla.) High School, the same school as Yankees reliever Luke Weaver… hit .512 with 6 HR and 40 RBI as a junior.
2025
Appeared in 97 games between the Marlins (59G) and Rays (38G) in his fifth major league season, hitting .229/.296/.349 (50-for-218) with nine 2B, one 3B, five HR and 21 RBI between the clubs…acquired in a midseason trade July 29 for OF Matthew Etzel...All 62 of his starts came behind the plate, 36 with Miami and 26 with Tampa Bay…made 29 appearances at catcher off the bench, second most in the majors behind SD Elias Díaz (37)...Among catchers who finished the season in the AL, ranked highly in blocks above average (T7th, four), pop time to second base (eighth, 1.93 sec.) and catcher framing runs (T9th, 2)...Min. 200 PA, his 18.9 pct. whiff rate was seventh among Major League primary catchers, trailing WSH Keibert Ruiz (12.8%), BAL Adley Rutschman (14.5%), MIN Christian Vázquez (16.9%), AZ Gabriel Moreno (18.0%), CIN Jose Trevino (18.4%) and TOR Alejandro Kirk (18.5%)...Batted .280 (14-for-50) with runners in scoring position, including 11-for-31 (.355) with one HR and 12 RBI with RISP and two outs…the latter average was sixth best in the Majors (min. 30AB)…overall, hit .302 (26-for-86) with two outs and .159 (21-for-132) with one or zero outs…over half (13) of his 21 RBI came in two-out situations...Made his third straight Opening Day roster with the Marlins...Tallied an extra-base hit in each of his first three games (March 27-30), the longest streak of his career at any point in a season (two 2B, one 3B)...Hit .310 (13-for-42) with two 2B, one HR and five RBI over 19 games in June…min. 40 AB, marked his second-highest average in any month of his career to July 2024 (.358). On June 15 at WSH, collected a season-high three hits as part of a season-long six game hitting streak from June 7-17, over which he was 10-for-21 (.476) with 2 XBH and 4 RBI…tied the second-longest streak of his career behind a seven-game run from June 26–July 7, 2024...On July 29 at NYY, made his Rays debut starting at catcher and batting eighth…walked in his third trip to the plate to set the stage for Taylor Walls’ RBI-double one batter later...On Aug. 6 at LAA, homered for his first hit as a Ray, snapping an 0-for-11 skid to begin his tenure…was his first long ball since June 10 at PIT, ending a 34-game (70AB) drought, second longest of his career...Hit safely in 11 of his final 14 starts (Aug. 29-season’s end), going 13-for-47 (.277) in those games…entered that stretch with four hits (4-for- 34/.118) in his first 12 appearances with the Rays...Batted .292 (14-for-48) with three 2B, two HR and seven RBI over 19 games in September…min. 50 PA, his .825 OPS during the month was fifth highest among AL catchers...On Sept. 1 vs. SEA, recorded a season-high three RBI with a three-run homer in the second inning, his fourth career game with three RBI or more…marked the 12th instance of a Rays catcher tallying three RBI or more in the first two innings of a game, first since Travis d’Arnaud on July 21, 2019 vs. CWS...On Sept. 13 at CHC, homered in the ninth inning to put the Rays in front, 5-4, his second career go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later, joining June 26, 2022 vs. NYM (walk-off)...In his final six starts of the season from Sept. 17-27, went 7-for-22 (.318) with 1 2B and 2 RBI, hitting safely in each game…was the first Rays catcher to have a hit in six straight starts since René Pinto from Aug. 29–Sept. 8, 2023.
2024
Set career highs in games played (110), hits (70), doubles (16) and RBI (29) while slashing .227/.259/.318 in his fourth season with the Marlins...Made his second career Opening Day roster...Missed eight games on the IL from Aug. 7 (retroactive to Aug. 6) until Aug. 16 with a right quadriceps strain...Went 19-for-53 (.359) with four doubles, four RBI, one walk and six strikeouts during the month of July, marking the most hits in any calendar month of his career....Batted .185 (34-for-184) with nine extra-base hits and 15 RBI in 68 games before the All-Star Break with a .466 OPS. In 42 games after the All-Star Break, hit .290 (36-for-124) with 11 extra-base hits, 14 RBI and a .737 OPS...Hit just .196 (19-for-97) against left-handed pitchers with one home run and a .534 OPS, while batting .242 (51-for-211) with three home runs and a .597 OPS against right-handed pitchers...Went 12-for-34 (.353) with runners in scoring position and two outs. His AVG ranked fourth among NL hitters with at least 30 at-bats in these situations...Caught 26-of-119 stealing attempts (21.8%), ranking tied for second among all National League catchers in caught stealings and tied for fifth in MLB. Marked the most in a single season by a Marlins catcher since J.T. Realmuto in 2016 (28 CS)...Also ranked seventh in the NL with 99 starts at catcher, and eighth with 864 innings at the position. Per Baseball Savant, his nine blocks above average ranked fourth in the NL and T7th in MLB...His .292 AVG (45-for-154) from July 12 through the end of the regular season was the highest among all qualified catchers in the National League, and second in MLB to only HOU’s Y. Díaz (.332 AVG)...Became the first Marlin since Dee Strange-Gordon in 2015 (10th occurrence) to finish a season with at least five sacrifice hits and at least five sacrifice flies. His seven sac hits are also the most since Dan Straily had eight in 2017.
2023
Finished his third season with the Marlins batting .204 (60x294) with 33 runs, 10 doubles, six home runs, 26 RBI and a .562 OPS (.299 SLG/.263 OBP) in 108 games...Recorded career highs in hits (60), doubles (10), RBI (26) and games played (108)...Posted a 16% caught stealing percentage (14 CS, 72 SB) in 85 starts at catcher (108 G)...2023 vs. RHP: .165 AVG (36x218) and .460 OPS...vs. LHP: .316 AVG (24x76) and .854 OPS...Recorded a career-high four hits on Sept. 17 vs. ATL...Was one of eight Marlins to have a four-hit game this season...Also scored a career-high four runs in the same game...Had 12 multi-hit games...Held a career-high five-game hitting streak from April 27 - May 4...Went 6x16 (.375) during span with a .819 OPS...Recorded his second-career walk-off hit on May 31 vs. SD...Was part of a two-run ninth inning rally that began with a leadoff walk by INF Yuli Gurriel, followed by INF Joey Wendle’s sac-bunt and then INF Jean Segura’s RBI single to score Gurriel from first base...Made his first career Opening Day roster...Made postseason debut in Game 1 at Philadelphia in the Wild Card Series going 0x2 with a strikeout.
2022
Nicholas Fortes appeared in a career-high 72 games with Miami following opening the season with Triple-A Jacksonville and hit .230 with a .696 OPS...Posted .851 OPS in 37 home games with six home runs and 15 RBI compared to .532 OPS with three home runs and nine RBI in 35 road games...Was recalled May 27 and posted a .917 OPS in June, batting .263 with three home runs and eight RBI in 13 games...Recorded first career multi-home run game Aug. 16 vs. San Diego (two HR off Sean Manaea)...Hit first career walk-off home run June 26 vs. New York-NL off Adam Ottavino. Was Miami’s lone walk-off homer of 2022...Made 48 starts at catcher and 11 at designated hitter. Hit all nine of his home runs as catcher, going 47-for-170 (.277 avg.) and a .710 OPS...In 28 games with Triple-A Jacksonville, posted a .257 average, .342 on-base pct., and .381 slugging pct. with three home runs and 13 RBI.
2021
Played in 14 games for Miami in 2021. Hit .290 with four home runs and seven RBI...Made MLB debut Sept. 18 vs. Pittsburgh; became eighth player in club history to hit a home run in debut. Had a home run in each of first two career starts, becoming first player in club history to do so. Became first player in club history to hit a home run in three of first five Major League games...Opened 2021 season with Double-A Pensacola, batting .251 average with .697 OPS...Posted .237 average and .700 OPS, with four home runs and 21 RBI in 38 games with Triple-A Jacksonville.
2020
Did not play in 2020.
2019
Spent all of 2019 with Advanced-A Jupiter playing in 76 games. Hit .217 with three home runs and 29 RBI. Added 11 doubles and a pair of triples.
2018
Limited to just 19 total games across three levels in 2018. Played 11 games for the GCL Marlins, 3 games for Short Season-A Batavia and five games for Single-A Greensboro...Selected by the Marlins in the fourth round of the 2018 Draft out of the University of Mississippi...As a junior in 2018, started all 65 games (46 at catcher, 16 at first base and three in right field). Hit .319 with 11 home runs, 12 doubles, .519 slugging percentage, scored 56 runs and drove in 49...Stole 14 bases in 20 attempts...Had four multi-hit games in SEC Tournament, including 4-for-4 effort with two runs scored in Championship Game against LSU, becoming just the third player in history with four or more hits in the SEC Tournament Championship Game...Earned SEC Tournament MVP and All-Tournament Team honors.
