The Marlins’ June was the kind of month that makes people do a double take. Miami went 20-6, piled up a 129-78 edge in runs, and did it while carrying the lowest competitive balance tax payroll in MLB, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
That payroll wrinkle is what makes this run feel so strange. The club is winning at a pace nobody expected, yet the money side of the roster is still drawing attention.
Miami’s highest-paid player this season is Sandy Alcantara at $17 million, followed by Pete Fairbanks at $13 million. Then comes Giancarlo Stanton at $10 million.
Yes, that Giancarlo Stanton.
Stanton, who the Marlins traded to the New York Yankees in 2017 in a deal centered on Starlin Castro and a couple of minor leaguers, is somehow still the third-highest-paid player on Miami’s books. The Marlins are paying for a player who now suits up for a team with the most money in the sport, and they’re doing it while putting together one of the strongest months in franchise history.
The reason is tied to that 2017 trade. As part of the arrangement, Miami agreed to offset $30 million of Stanton’s contract, and that money is still on the books now.
It’s also hard to call the deal anything but a miss in hindsight. Stanton has had a good career with the Yankees, though injuries have been part of the story, while the return package of Castro, Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers never really paid off for Miami. If anyone can name their favorite Castro moment in a Marlins jersey, that would be saying something.
But the broader story here is bigger than one trade or one payroll number. The Marlins are winning despite the odds telling a different story.
They don’t spend much on players, and they’re still paying for one who hasn’t played for them in nine years. Somehow, it’s all working right now.
In Other News...
Red Sox Suddenly Face A Tough Deadline Call On A Key Starter
If the Red Sox cannot land Tarik Skubal, the trade market still offers a few arms that would change the conversation at the deadline. Joe Ryan stands out as one of the more attractive possibilities because of the control he brings through 2027, while Freddy Peralta offers the kind of pure stuff that can still make a contender dream on upside even after an uneven season. Around those names, clubs are weighing not just talent, but cost, timing and whether a seller is actually willing to part with a starter who can anchor a rotation.
That is where the Sandy Alcantara angle gets interesting for Miami watchers, even if the bigger picture is still fluid. Alcantara belongs in the same broad class of high-end starters teams would love to chase, but the Marlins have played well enough recently to complicate the usual deadline math and make their direction harder to read. For a club that has spent a lot of time in the rumor mix, that uncertainty may be the most important part of the story right now. [Read more 🡒]
Max Meyers Historic Run Ended In A Game Marlins Shouldve Taken
Max Meyers standout run finally ran into trouble at Coors Field, where the Marlins dropped a 6-3 decision to the Rockies and saw their young right-hander absorb his first loss of the 2026 season. Miami had a chance to come away with a game it probably should have taken, but Colorado got enough timely production from Mickey Moniak and Hunter Goodman to keep the pressure on throughout the night. Even with the defeat, Meyers season numbers still looked strong, as he continued to give Miami a frontline look every time he took the mound.
The bigger concern for the Marlins was the way the game slipped away after they had a path to control it. Meyer worked six innings and the final line did not fully reflect how the outing unfolded, while a defensive miscue helped open the door for Colorados go-ahead rally. Goodman kept adding to a powerful stretch at the plate, and Miami never quite found the answer after falling behind, leaving Meyers historic start intact in all but the one detail the Marlins had spent all year avoiding. [Read more 🡒]
Marlins May Be Building A Rotation The NL Wont Want Later
With a 46-41 record and a spot 5.5 games back of Atlanta, Miami has spent enough time in the race to make the rest of the National League pay attention. The rotation has been a big reason why, with Max Meyer setting the tone and Eury Perez and Sandy Alcantara already in place, giving the Marlins a core that looks a lot sturdier than the one they carried into the season.
Even with that foundation, the biggest question is still the fifth spot, where Janson Junk, Tyler Phillips, Robbie Snelling and some low-priced free-agent possibilities are all in the mix. And while Thomas White is not going to factor into the 2026 picture, the organization still sees him as part of the long-term answer, which is why this group can look more dangerous down the line than it does right now. [Read more 🡒]