MIAMI – The Marlins turned a breakout season from right-hander Edward Cabrera into a possible organization-altering return package.
Miami acquired outfielder Owen Caissie (MLB's No. 47 prospect overall, per Pipeline's rankings), infielder Cristian Hernandez and corner infielder/outfielder Edgardo De Leon in exchange for Cabrera on Wednesday. Caissie, who was the Cubs' top prospect, became No. 3 for the Marlins, and Hernandez, who was No. 11 for the Cubs, slotted in at No. 12.
“When we were able to get a package of these three players that we think can help us this year and beyond, that ended up being what got us over the line,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said Thursday on a Zoom with reporters.
TRADE DETAILS
Cubs get: RHP Edward Cabrera
Marlins get: OF Owen Caissie (CHC No. 1), INF Cristian Hernandez (CHC No. 11), INF Edgardo De Leon
Caissie is the big-time power prospect the Marlins’ system has been lacking. In 505 Minor League games since 2021, he has a slash line of .280/.384/.487 with 120 doubles, nine triples, 81 homers and 301 RBIs.
The 23-year-old Canadian made his Major League debut in August, appearing in 12 games and receiving 27 plate appearances, but he dealt with a lingering concussion down the stretch. By the end of the Cubs’ postseason run, he was back doing full workouts.
“With Owen, I think we're getting somebody who hits the ball very hard and hits for a lot of power,” said Bendix. “That's a hard thing to find. It's a hard thing to find in any area. It's usually very expensive to acquire, and I think every good team needs power.
“So I think with him, we're getting someone who has shown the ability to make adjustments as he's gotten older and as he's faced better pitching. He's still very young, he still has room for improvement offensively and defensively. But his performance to date, his career, has been exceptional. The power that he's generated, the exit velocities that he's generated, the improvements that he's made, they're all really exciting, especially for somebody as young as he is.”
The left-handed-hitting Caissie, who is expected to play for Team Canada in this year's World Baseball Classic, should compete for an Opening Day roster spot this spring. Miami’s outfield expects to start All-Star and Gold Glove finalist Kyle Stowers in left and Jakob Marsee in center. With his plus power (60 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale) and plus arm strength (60 grade), Caissie fits the right-field profile.
Other players in the mix include right-handed-hitting Heriberto Hernández and Esteury Ruiz as well as left-handed-hitting Griffin Conine, who will also see reps at first base.
“I think it adds another really good player to that competition,” Bendix said. “I don't know exactly how that's going to play out – that's what's going to be fun for us to watch in Spring Training and beyond. But I know that when you have a lot of really good players that these types of things work themselves out. Owen has to prove it. Owen had a taste of the big leagues and didn't show in that taste what I think he's capable of. And we're going to give him an opportunity to prove it, but he's also going to have to earn it because we have a lot of other very good players who are going to be competing for that spot.
“That's the situation that we want to be in. We want to be in the situation where we have lots of really good players competing for spots, and the bar for playing time is really, really high.”
The Dominican-born Cristian Hernandez was one of the top signings of the 2020-21 international class, drawing comparisons to Alex Rodriguez and Manny Machado.
Hernandez, who recently turned 22, struggled stateside from 2022-23 before earning All-Star accolades in the Single-A Carolina League in ‘24 by slashing .269/.382/.406 with 34 extra-base hits and 37 steals in 95 games. In 2025, he posted just a .694 OPS but stole 52 bases in 115 games at High-A.
De Leon, 18, hit .276/.353/.500 with five doubles, five triples, five homers and 15 RBIs in 43 games for the Arizona Complex League Cubs in 2025, his second season in pro ball.
“I think of most every single trade as a win-win, and I really think this one is, too,” Bendix said. “I'm very excited about the players that we're getting back. I think Owen has a chance to be a middle-of-the-lineup threat for years to come. I think Cristian Hernandez is tooled up, does a lot of things well, certainly has a lot of things he needs to improve, but he's very young and has a lot of ingredients in place. And Edgardo De Leon, he's even younger and has further to go. But the power that he has shown, the exit velocities that he has shown, the aptitude that he has shown, is really exciting for an 18-year-old.”
These three prospects head to the Marlins for Cabrera, who is in his first year of arbitration eligibility and is under team control through the 2028 season.
Cabrera, who will be entering his age-28 season in 2026, signed as a teenager out of the Dominican Republic as a part of the Marlins' 2015 international class. From 2021-25, Cabrera went 25-29 in 89 outings (87 starts) with a 4.07 ERA across 431 2/3 innings. He is coming off an 8-7 record in 2025, during which he recorded a 3.53 ERA and 125 ERA+.
“We're always having these conversations, and you never know when they're actually going to pick up, get across the line – there’s a lot of things at play,” said Bendix. “But I've said this before: It's my job to have these conversations. I would be doing a disservice to the Marlins organization if I wasn't talking to teams when they call. Doesn't mean that a trade is going to happen. Doesn't mean that we want to make a trade or need to make a trade, but it's my job to listen and have these conversations. And then when we have the opportunity to make a deal that we think is favorable for us, then we're going to act.”