When Owen Caissie set out for a day on the water, he was hoping to catch some fish. He also reeled in some career-changing news: he was being traded to the Marlins from the Cubs in the Edward Cabrera deal.
“[My] initial reaction was kind of shock,” Caissie said. “I was fishing. I’d been traded once before, and I guess the first initial reaction was kind of surreal. Like, is this really happening? ... It took a day for it to really set in.”
Caissie, who had been ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Cubs’ No. 1 prospect, was sent to Miami along with infielders Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon. Caissie became the Marlins' No. 3 prospect, and ranks No. 47 overall.
“First impressions: they want to win, and I can definitely see that they're bringing the right people to do that,” Caissie said Tuesday on a Zoom with reporters. “I’ve talked with a lot of front office, I’ve talked to a lot of people that are high up, and they’re just explaining what they're doing and what their path is to win. It sounds like they're going in a great direction for it -- and it’s going to be a good couple of years, and playoff baseball’s on the way.”
Originally selected by the Padres in the second round of the 2020 MLB Draft out of Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School (Burlington, Ontario), Caissie was traded to the Cubs in late December of that year. He rose up the ranks in Chicago’s organization, including back-to-back MLB All-Star Futures Games, and made his Major League debut on Aug. 14.
Caissie appeared in 12 games at the big league level. Following his debut, he made four starts in a row beginning with his third game before being primarily used as a pinch-hitter. The lefty hitter batted .192 with one double, one home run and four RBIs.
“I felt I did OK,” Caissie said. “If I had more consistent playing time, I would have done a lot better -- because the role of being a pinch-hitter, I've never done before, so to learn in the big leagues is kind of hard. But I know what I need to do.”
Caissie entered the offseason with a comprehensive game plan.
“Offensively, sticking to my approach, not deviating from it,” Caissie said. “Obviously, there’s going to be some bumps in the road, but really just sticking to my approach, drive the ball up the middle, get something middle of the plate I can handle and drive, not giving in to what the pitchers want me to swing at. Obviously, easier said than done.”
Caissie will compete for playing time in the Marlins' outfield, where he could join Kyle Stowers (left field) and Jakob Marsee (center field). Right-handed hitters Heriberto Hernández and Esteury Ruiz and left-handed hitter Griffin Conine also are expected to vie for reps.
“With defense, [I am focusing on] first-step quickness -- the quicker you can react, the quicker you can cover ground and get to the ball,” Caissie said. “I'm not really worried about route efficiency. Obviously, if I take the right first step, my route is going to be good. But really on defense, it’s really being quick, a quick first step.”
Caissie, 23, is looking forward to a Marlins team that ranked as the youngest in baseball last season. He already played with infielder Otto Lopez on Team Canada in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and he is expected to join catcher Liam Hicks on the ‘26 global stage this March.
“I kind of equate it to, we're going to be like a little older college team,” Caissie said of the Marlins. “We're all in it together as one big family. Not saying that other teams aren't families, but I’ve talked to Hicksy about this, he says all the guys are amazing. Really, it’s just getting to know guys, and us being the same age is going to be a lot of fun.
“I feel like it's going to be an extremely light-hearted team, but at certain points of time we're going to get that work done and have no worry about that. But us being like a younger team, we can go show them that younger guys can really do it.”