Clayton McCullough isn’t going anywhere.
During Miami’s season wrap-up press conference, president of baseball operations Peter Bendix made it clear the Marlins are bringing back their manager for a third year, calling McCullough “ an excellent…voice of the organization, and he has helped establish a fantastic culture in our clubhouse. He’s an excellent communicator. He’s very good at a difficult job.”
Bendix didn’t say whether the Marlins will talk extension with McCullough, and the team usually keeps contract details quiet anyway. In fact, the length of McCullough’s original deal only came to light today, with Barry Jackson reporting that 2027 is the final season of what was apparently a three-year contract.
That means McCullough is entering the last year of the deal after guiding Miami through two solid seasons in a rebuild. The Marlins went 79-83 in 2025 and improved slightly to 80-82 this year, doing it all with the second-lowest payroll in baseball. Bendix pointed to that progress while also making it plain the job isn’t finished.
“ we’re all disappointed ”, he said about missing the postseason, and “ we are not satisfied with where we are. That said, I’m also very proud of our team, our organization. There was tremendous progress shown on the field, off the field.”
The injury picture was a lot less encouraging in some spots, especially for Andrew Nardi. Bendix said the left-hander will miss most or all of next season while recovering from elbow surgery he had in mid-August. Bendix left the possibility of a return slightly open, which could suggest Nardi had an internal brace procedure instead of full Tommy John surgery.
Nardi’s 2026 season was already derailed before the elbow issue even entered the picture. He missed all of 2025 with back problems, then logged a 5.16 ERA across 22 2/3 innings this year while dealing with a stress reaction in his ribcage and later the elbow injury that ended his season. He’s arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter and is in line for only a small raise from his $800K salary, but he looks like a strong non-tender candidate.
Bendix also said William Kempner will miss all or most of next season after his own elbow surgery in August. Adam Mazur is expected back in April or May after an internal brace procedure last March, while Robby Snelling’s brace procedure last May puts him on track for a return in May or June of 2027.
There was better news on several other injured players. Bendix said Max Meyer, Owen Caissie, Ronny Henriquez, and Anthony Bender should all be ready when Spring Training opens.
Tyler Zuber and Jakob Marsee, though, are heading for more evaluation. Both will see Dr. Keith Meister because of elbow soreness.
Zuber, a veteran of five MLB seasons, set career highs in games pitched and innings this year, appearing in 44 games and throwing 39 2/3 innings. He also posted solid strikeout and walk numbers, but the results went sideways fast: a 5.67 ERA, plenty of hard contact, and 10 home runs allowed. Miami put him on the 15-day IL with a right elbow sprain on the third-to-last day of the regular season, and the visit with Meister should clarify where things stand going into the offseason.
Marsee’s season was a mixed bag, but the finish was loud. After breaking out in 55 games as a rookie in 2025, he became Miami’s everyday center fielder and hit .231/.348/.359 with 11 homers and 23 steals in 616 plate appearances.
He struggled to a .615 OPS in 389 plate appearances before the All-Star break, then turned in an .862 OPS after it. Bendix said that late push came despite Marsee being banged up all year.
“Credit to Jakob, he was banged up all season with a lot of different things,” Bendix said. “ Not just the elbow, a lot of things, [and] never went on the IL. Continued to play through, and not only that, but had an incredible stretch at the end of the season.”
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