This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola’s Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MIAMI – Hot Stove season is officially underway, and the Marlins have already made some changes to their 40-man roster.
Who’s in:
RHP Ronny Henriquez
RHP Cameron Weston
RHP William Kempner
RHP Adam Mazur
LHP Robby Snelling
LHP Andrew Nardi
Who’s out:
INF Graham Pauley
RHP Tyler Zuber
RHP Josh White
RHP Zach Brzykcy
RHP Wikelman González
RHP Bradley Blalock
LHP Patrick Monteverde
C Brian Navarreto
C Logan Driscoll
The 40-man roster has five open spots, and there could be more depending on how the next deadlines go. On Nov. 17, the players who received a qualifying offer must accept or reject it. On Nov. 20, clubs must decide on tendering contracts for the upcoming season to their 40-man players.
Here’s a breakdown of what the moves seem to be hinting at:
1. Javier Sanoja is the front-runner at third base
Pauley and Connor Norby, both of whom competed for the starting job out of Spring Training, are gone. Sanoja wound up with the most starts (84) at the hot corner for the Marlins, and he turned into one of the National League’s best.
Among players whose primary position was third base with at least 450 plate appearances, Sanoja ranked second in batting average (.295), fourth in slugging percentage (.458) and wRC+ (115) and fifth in fWAR (2.9). He was also named a Gold Glove finalist at the position after winning the utility award in 2025.
Overall, the 24-year-old Sanoja set career highs across the board – from games (144) to homers (11). The narrative has flipped, with Sanoja showing he can be more than a utility player.
“Javier's season was incredible,” president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said in his end-of-season press conference. “He showed us that he's an everyday Major League player who could be a superstar, and he just kept getting better.”
Barring an external addition (the free-agent class doesn’t possess a name with better 2026 numbers than Sanoja’s) or another infielder being shipped out and Sanoja taking his place, he is the clear favorite heading into Spring Training.
2. Agustín Ramírez is the backup catcher
With both Navarreto and Driscoll outrighted, Joe Mack and Ramírez are the only backstops on the 40-man roster. Because the left-handed-hitting Mack starts five or six times a week, Miami just needs its backup to be serviceable.
The right-handed-hitting Ramírez, who was demoted early in the season to improve his defense and recapture his swing, showed progress behind the dish in the 11 games (six starts) he made in his return to the big leagues. Ramírez didn’t commit an error or record a passed ball in 50 innings and was above average in ABS challenges. In 2025, he led the Majors in errors and passed balls.
Ramírez still boasts elite exit velocity (114.9 mph), but he must lift the ball (51.8% ground-ball rate) to capitalize on it. And while Ramírez got some practice at first base, he didn’t get into a game there. He split time at catcher and as the designated hitter.
“Gus had a tough year, right?” Bendix said. “It's not easy to go up and down the way that he did. He struggled. It's hard to do that and really maintain a high level of performance. And Gus recovered really nicely. I think he dealt with the adversity really nicely. I think he showed that he still has the ability to be a Major League catcher. He showed that he has the ability to be a very good middle-of-the-lineup hitter. Now it's about finding consistency.”
3. The Marlins aren’t afraid to take fliers
Weston, 26, is the latest player to be given a look. He has both starting and relief experience, which makes him fall under the description of “out collector” that the Marlins sometimes use.
With a career 4.32 ERA in the Minors, Weston could see a change in results by tweaking his pitch usage. Miami also has been able to help pitchers improve their velocity and movement while adding to their arsenal midseason.
4. Keep an eye on Nardi’s status
It was no surprise that the Marlins reinstated Henriquez (Spring Training return), Mazur (April/May) and Snelling (May/June) from the 60-day injured list. The same goes for Kempner (likely 2028). None of the aforementioned names are eligible for salary arbitration yet.
Nardi, however, is arbitration-eligible and can enter free agency following the 2028 season. He is expected to miss the majority if not all of 2027 due to left elbow surgery.
Would Miami hold a roster spot for Nardi despite his inability to pitch this season, especially when it comes time to add prospects later this month? The club did so a year ago despite him not pitching in a big league game since Aug. 21, 2024.
The 28-year-old was the feel-good story of the spring, when he made the 2026 Opening Day roster. Unfortunately, Nardi went down with a left rib cage stress reaction on May 30 and eventually underwent surgery.
Cade Gibson (5.36 ERA, 1.39 WHIP in 47 games) and Dax Fulton (3.77 ERA, 1.33 WHIP in 16 outings) are the only healthy southpaw relievers on the 40-man roster. While the Marlins might publicly say they don’t need to force having a lefty arm in the bullpen if they have righties who can get lefty bats out, there’s a reason why splits and platoons happen across MLB.