With the Marlins’ active roster set to grow in two weeks, the usual late-season temptation is right there in front of them: call up the kids, give them a taste, and see what sticks. But Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported a wrinkle that changes the calculation for Miami, especially with an MLB lockout expected to start Dec. 1.
The key issue is the 40-man roster. As Jackson laid it out, if the Marlins don’t think a prospect can truly help them win this year, they aren’t likely to bring that player up just to collect a few September at-bats if he isn’t already on the 40-man.
Why? Because once the lockout begins, players on the 40-man can’t have contact with coaches or the team’s medical staff, and they can’t use team facilities.
Players outside the 40-man don’t face that restriction. They can still work with coaches over the winter, keep using team resources, attend minor-league spring training and play in minor-league games next season.
That makes Miami’s decision a lot more delicate for several Triple-A Jacksonville hitters who are not on the 40-man but have produced this year, including Cam Cannarella, Kemp Alderman and recently acquired Jonathon Long. Fish On First’s Isaac Azout said during Sunday’s livestream that Alderman’s promotion had been viewed as “imminent” before an elbow injury on May 17.
Now, with only a small slice of the 2026 season left, the path is murkier. He may have less time to adjust to major league pitching, and the Marlins have to weigh that against the cost of losing direct access to him during what could be a months-long work stoppage.
There is one correction to Jackson’s note: he said the same thinking applies to right-hander Jace Beck, but Beck will be added to the 40-man roster before the lockout no matter what. The 26-year-old is a pending minor league free agent and could leave in November if he isn’t selected, and Miami will almost certainly move to protect him given his 35% strikeout rate this season and the upside he brings.
Most of the Marlins prospects caught in this spot already work with respected third-party training facilities, so they won’t be without serious offseason resources. Even so, the club would prefer not to give up oversight of their medical care or strength-and-conditioning work while the lockout hangs over the winter.
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