ATLANTA – The Marlins recalled Opening Day catcher Agustín Ramírez from Triple-A Jacksonville ahead of Tuesday’s series opener against the Braves at Truist Park.
Ramírez, whom Miami optioned to the Minors on May 4 – the same day rookie Joe Mack received his big league callup, had struggled both offensively and defensively to warrant a demotion.
In 31 games, Ramírez hit .230/.318/.345 with five doubles, one triple and two homers in 129 plate appearances while splitting time with Liam Hicks. Behind the dish, he committed four errors and three passed balls while throwing out just two of 21 basestealers.
Entering 2026, the Marlins had been optimistic that Ramírez, who led the Majors with 10 errors and 19 passed balls but also finished sixth in 2025 National League Rookie of the Year voting by slugging 21 homers, would show enough improvement to stick around. There were marginal gains, though not enough to justify his staying in the big leagues, especially with his bat not producing (.663 OPS).
While at Triple-A, Ramírez made 15 errors and allowed nine passed balls in 49 games (47 starts). At the plate, he was batting .254/.332/.427 with 14 doubles, one triple and seven homers for a 101 wRC+. Despite not going deep since June 28, Ramírez had nine extra-base hits and a .787 OPS in 85 plate appearances during that stretch.
The 24-year-old Ramírez’s walk (9.5% vs. 10.1%) and strikeout (21.6% vs. 21.7%) rates were nearly identical in the Minors and Majors, respectively, and his ground-ball rate (53.4%) was the second highest of his pro career. Digging deeper, however, his average exit velocity (91.7 mph), barrel rate (7.4%) and hard-hit rate (52.1%) were higher than this season’s MLB stint.
Dealing Hicks, who had been backing up Mack at catcher and Kyle Stowers at first while primarily serving as the club’s designated hitter, opened up a spot on the active roster. The Marlins elected to promote Ramírez rather than stick with Mack and Minor League journeyman Brian Navarreto (18 career MLB games from 2020, 2025-26) as their catchers.
Ramírez also provides another right-handed-hitting option on a left-handed-heavy roster that could use help against southpaw starters (.722 OPS, 12-17 record). Ramírez is slashing .320/.378/.570 with 14 extra-base hits in 162 combined plate appearances against lefties between the Minors and Majors.