The Miami Marlins have spent 2026 looking like a team that found something real a little ahead of schedule. At 64-63, they’re sitting in the middle of the National League Wild Card race, four games back and packed in with the St. Louis Cardinals, Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
And in the middle of that push, Griffin Conine has been one of the loudest bats in the lineup.
The multi-positional veteran has been scorching in the second half, posting an OPS above 1.000. That kind of production puts him in rare air; only two players have cleared that mark since the break with at least 100 plate appearances, and the other name is Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez, who leads Major League Baseball with a 1.054 OPS.
Conine’s overall season OPS sits at 0.933, but August has been especially strong. He has put up a 1.049 OPS this month, and the numbers since he came back from a torn left hamstring have been even more eye-catching. The injury cost him 64 games, but since returning, he has hit .273/.360/.591 for a .951 OPS.
For the season, Conine is batting .278 with 14 home runs and 31 RBI in 169 at-bats.
Miami has been trying to balance two things at once: keep winning while also making sure Conine gets the at-bats he needs to keep growing. Manager Clayton McCullough has used him all over the field, rotating him through corner outfield, first base and designated hitter. So far, the production has followed him everywhere.
“We value versatility," Peter Bendix told the Miami Herald. "We have a lot of good players, and it’s not entirely clear the best way to put them together on a nightly basis.”
That’s the puzzle for the Marlins right now. Conine keeps hitting, the lineup keeps finding ways to use him, and Miami keeps hanging around in a race that still has plenty of moving parts.
In Other News...
Marlins Offense Has A Growing Problem At The Worst Possible Time
The Marlins lineup has lost some of the spark that helped carry it through the first half, and the timing could hardly be worse. Following the All-Star break, Jazz Chisholm Jr. has not been producing at the same level, with his batting average, slugging percentage and barrel rate all slipping from where they stood before the break. For a club that needs its most dynamic players setting the tone, that kind of dip changes the entire shape of an inning.
Xavier Edwards has also cooled off, and his struggles have added another layer to Miamis offensive issues. The lack of power and a reduced walk rate have made it harder for the Marlins to build the sustained pressure they need, leaving the lineup thinner and less threatening in the second half. If Miami is going to stabilize its offense, it will need those two to start looking more like the players who helped fuel the better version of this team earlier in the year. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Playoff Push Keeps Running Into The Same Frustrating Problem
With the Marlins sitting at .500 and trying to keep their postseason hopes alive, the same issue keeps surfacing whenever they run into a left-handed starter. Miami has been much more productive against righties, while its offense has sputtered more often against southpaws, creating a lineup imbalance that has shown up in the lower half of the order and made every at-bat feel a little more important than the last.
There are signs the pitching side is moving in the right direction, at least. Eury Perez and Tyler Phillips have looked sharper when leaning more on changeups and splitters instead of letting fastballs do all the work, and Sandy Alcantara has continued to mix things up on the mound. The next chance to see whether that progress carries over comes in Washington, where another left-handed matchup will test whether Miami can finally turn a familiar weakness into something more manageable. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins Face A Defining Series As Their Playoff Push Wobbles
The Marlins have spent most of the summer trying to keep their playoff chase within reach, but the margin for error has narrowed in a hurry. After a rough stretch that included a 12-game losing streak in July, Miami heads into a home series against the Nationals trying to steady itself before the calendar gets any tighter and the pressure around the Wild Card race keeps building.
It is the kind of series that can sharpen a teams focus or expose how much ground still needs to be made up, and Miami has little room to waste any more winnable nights. The rotation matchup for the opener features Ryan Gusto for the Marlins and Brad Lord for Washington, a first step in a series that carries more weight than a mid-August set usually should. [Read more 🡒]