JUPITER, Fla. – The number at Marlins big league camp has shrunk entering the final week of Grapefruit League action, painting a clearer picture of how the 26-player roster might shape up.
With Opening Night on March 27 at loanDepot park, manager Clayton McCullough admitted on Monday morning that decisions on the final spots will probably go to the very end.
“What's our last couple position players going to look like?” McCullough said. “How does the combination of what our bench from the position-player side shake out? And then also how does the end of the bullpen, the last couple guys that are going to be in our ‘pen, and what the rotation ends up settling out to be?”
Here’s a deeper dive into these final roster battles:
Rotation
Locks: RHP Sandy Alcantara, RHP Eury Pérez, RHP Chris Paddack
Basically a lock: RHP Max Meyer
Candidates: LHP Braxton Garrett, RHP Janson Junk, LHP Robby Snelling
Opening Day starter Alcantara, Pérez and free-agent signing Paddack are the three pitchers McCullough has named to the starting staff at some point or another this spring.
In his return from hip surgery, Meyer has struck out 12 batters in seven scoreless innings. His inclusion is pretty much set in stone in a make-or-break year.
But who will round out the rotation?
The Marlins are encouraging Garrett, who is returning from Tommy John surgery, to change his pitching philosophy a bit by living less on the edges and more in the bigger parts of the zone.
Like Alcantara last spring, Garrett is using Spring Training as his rehab. Since command often takes time to return after surgery, Miami might elect to give Garrett, a finesse pitcher, more time to regain his form, whether in a rehab assignment or with his one remaining Minor League option.
Junk is out of Minor League options, so he needs to make the Opening Day roster in some capacity. In 2025, his splits were better as a reliever (2.78 ERA) than as a starter (4.53 ERA). Junk, whose spring was delayed by an ankle sprain, still has time to build up to a starter workload.
“I see Janson as a starter for us, and the chance to get three ups today, we hope, and have another chance in this camp to get back to that three ups,” McCullough said. “If it ends up going that route, when the season starts, we feel like Janson, even with a little bit of a setback, would be in a very solid position, from a volume standpoint to start, if that's what we end up asking him to do.”
Then there’s Snelling, MLB Pipeline’s No. 39 overall prospect. He is not on the 40-man roster, so the organization would need to clear a spot for him. Space will free up when Miami places righty Adam Mazur (elbow surgery) on the 60-day injured list.
Bullpen
Locks: RHP Pete Fairbanks, RHP Calvin Faucher, RHP Anthony Bender, LHP John King
Basically a lock: RHP Tyler Phillips, LHP Cade Gibson, RHP Lake Bachar
Candidates: LHP Andrew Nardi, RHP Michael Petersen, RHP Junk, RHP Tyler Zuber, RHP Josh Ekness
McCullough confirmed that high-leverage arms Fairbanks, Faucher and Bender will be one-inning options, while Phillips, Bachar and Petersen have been built up for multiple frames. Newcomer King is the veteran southpaw the bullpen lacked last season. Gibson and Bachar experienced ups and downs during their rookie seasons in 2025. Zuber and Ekness are non-roster invitees.
The wild card is Nardi, who has looked much sharper than expected (four strikeouts in two scoreless innings) following a long break from game action. Nardi might still need more time to check off boxes like back-to-back outings, but he is trending up.
“It's stuff, striking ability, it's also what type of utility that individual has,” McCullough said of the bullpen decisions.
Bench
Locks: C/1B Liam Hicks, UTIL Javier Sanoja, INF Connor Norby, INF Graham Pauley, OF/1B Griffin Conine
Candidates: OF Heriberto Hernández, OF Esteury Ruiz
The Rockies’ projected Opening Day starter is lefty Kyle Freeland, which could mean the Marlins maximizing their lineup with as many right-handed bats as possible. The left-handed-hitting Owen Caissie could give way to Sanoja, Hernández or Ruiz. Norby could start over Pauley at third and Christopher Morel over Conine at first.
Hicks is the backup catcher, and Sanoja is the Gold Glove-winning utility player. Since Pauley just began throwing to bases on Monday, his health could give Norby the edge. Morel has gotten the majority of first-base reps over Conine and others.
The primary competition comes down to right-handed-hitting outfielders Hernández and Ruiz. Corner outfielder Hernández raked with pop in his rookie season. Ruiz can play all three outfield spots and has elite basestealing capabilities but has yet to consistently produce at the plate.