The Miami Marlins made a notable lineup change Wednesday in Houston, and it had nothing to do with injury or rest. For the first time this season, Jakob Marsee was left out of the lineup against a right-handed starter, with Esteury Ruiz taking the ninth spot and handling center field against the Astros.
Manager Clayton McCullough said the move was a direct response to Marsee’s season-long offensive slide.
"Talked with Jakob and I think we are at a point where it's no secret that Jakob has struggled this year from a performance standpoint," McCullough said. "Jakob is still going to play with regularity, but told him there's going to be some times here coming up where versus right, you don't start."
Marsee’s opening stretch in the majors had the look of a breakout. In August 2025, he hit .352/.430/.629/1.058 with four home runs, 25 RBI and nine stolen bases.
The production dipped the following month, when he posted a .231/.292/.327/.619 line with one homer, eight RBI and five steals. Even with that downturn, there had been talk over the offseason about a possible contract extension, though those conversations never advanced very far.
This season, the bat has never really come around. Through 98 games, Marsee is hitting .192/.313/.287/.600 with five home runs, 25 RBI, 19 stolen bases and a 73 wRC+.
Among players with at least 400 plate appearances, he sits at the bottom of baseball in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS and wRC+. Still, the Marlins have kept running him out there, and he ranks third on the club in games played and plate appearances.
The reason he has stayed in the mix is that Marsee continues to bring value in other ways. He has plus-five outs above average in center field, and his 19 stolen bases are second on the team.
"He has showed up on that side of the field defensively and played very well," McCullough said. "If he needs to pinch run, pinch hit or go on defense, we're going to use that because it's about trying to win games.
Ruiz, meanwhile, has made the most of his chances. He had appeared in 62 games entering Wednesday and was hitting .243/.363/.485/.848 with five home runs, 10 RBI, 20 stolen bases and a 132 wRC+.
"In a limited sample of opportunity this year, he has done some really nice things for us and just kind of got to the point with where we're at where give Esteury some more opportunity to get into the lineup," McCullough said.
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