MIAMI – The Marlins aren’t giving up on Agustín Ramírez as a catcher.
With Miami promoting Joe Mack, MLB Pipeline’s No. 54 overall prospect, the organization in turn optioned a struggling Ramírez to Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday.
“It was a hard one,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “They're never easy. It was a hard one yesterday. I have a lot of affinity for Gus. He's a tough kid, and certainly has had his struggles at times here. It got to the point where it is performance and felt like, especially on the defensive side of things, that while he put in a lot of good work this offseason and had seen some glimpse of things getting better, that part of his game needs to continue to improve to be able to catch up here for us. That was the main thing.”
This signifies a crossroads moment for Ramírez, whom the Marlins acquired to catch – a point of emphasis – as the centerpiece of the Jazz Chisholm Jr. trade in July 2024.
When Ramírez received his first Major League callup in late April 2025 due to then-backup catcher Rob Brantly landing on the injured list, he made history at the plate by becoming the first player in at least 125 years to log at least seven hits and at least five extra-base hits in his first three career games.
Ahead of the Deadline, the Marlins felt comfortable enough in the production of then-rookies Ramírez and Liam Hicks to trade Nick Fortes to the Rays. At the time, Ramírez received the majority of the starts, with Hicks serving as his backup.
Ramírez, then the organization’s fourth-ranked prospect, would naturally cool off. He still managed to pace all MLB rookies in doubles (33) while ranking first among NL rookies in runs (72), hits (124), total bases (222), home runs (21) and extra-base hits (55). He became the first rookie catcher in MLB history to record 20-plus homers and 10-plus steals, finishing sixth in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
But it was clear the 24-year-old Ramírez would need to improve behind the plate in order to stay there.
During his rookie season in 2025, Ramírez led all MLB backstops in errors (10) and passed balls (19). He threw out just eight of 91 basestealers. So Ramírez trained at the Marlins’ academy in the Dominican Republic over the winter and received an organization-wide vote of confidence in the spring. He even joined the DR as its backup catcher at the World Baseball Classic.
The Marlins were determined to give their 2026 Opening Day backstop adequate time to show improvement behind the dish. That didn’t happen, and his bat hadn’t woken up to warrant keeping him up here.
This season, according to Baseball Savant, Ramírez ranked in the first percentile in blocks above average (minus-6), 19th percentile in framing (minus-1) and 31st percentile in caught stealing above average (minus-1). His four errors were tied for the most among MLB backstops and his three passed balls tied for fourth (min. 100 innings).
By going hitless on Sunday, Ramírez’s 2026 slash line dropped to .230/.318/.345 with just eight extra-base hits in 129 plate appearances. His advanced metrics have been down across the board from average exit velocity (89.2 mph, 48th percentile) to hard-hit percentage (40.7%, 46th percentile) to whiff percentage (31.0%, 20th percentile).
“He wasn't chasing as much out of the zone,” McCullough said. “He just wasn't doing as much with balls in the zone. … Looking this year, he fouled off a lot more pitches, especially in the top of the zone that I think he moved forward last year and was able to do damage with.”
Ramírez’s counterpart Hicks, meanwhile, has emerged as one of the better hitters in the Majors. Hicks leads the club with a career-high seven homers and is tied for second in MLB with 29 RBIs, behind only Atlanta’s Matt Olson (31). His .309 average ranks 11th in the NL.
The decision being made now was threefold: Miami felt this was best for Ramírez to regroup, Mack had earned a big league opportunity and his presence behind the plate would improve the club’s overall defense.
In this age of baseball, the designated hitter is used to get starters off their feet. One must produce at a near-Hall of Fame level to be a full-time DH. There is no consideration yet for a possible defensive switch for Ramírez, who last played first base in 2024 within the Yankees’ organization at the Triple-A level.
“'You're going to go down to Triple-A, and you're going to continue to catch,’” McCullough said. “‘You're not the first young player that has come up and had bouts of struggle and had to get optioned,' and so he won't be the last.”