The Marlins are heading into the offseason with a different kind of problem: not a glaring hole, but a roster that already has some real promise.
That was the message from president of baseball operations Peter Bendix during the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas, where he talked through Miami’s priorities and the shape of the club heading into 2026. Bendix said he feels “very good about the rotation right now,” pointing to the group the Marlins expect back, the top-end arms already in place and the depth behind them.
He also noted that the club has pitchers who can take a step forward, plus young arms returning from injury. Even with that confidence, he made clear the door is open for outside help.
Left-handed relief is one area that could get attention. Bendix called it “probably among the higher things that we could need,” while also singling out Dax Fulton’s progress out of the bullpen.
As Fulton pitched more in relief, Bendix said, “we kind of saw the stuff tick up, the confidence grow.” He added that the team could still use additional left-handed relievers, but Fulton showed he “could be pretty good.”
Catching is another spot Miami is weighing. Bendix said the club believes Gus is capable of serving as the backup catcher, but the Marlins will still “look for additions as well.”
The work isn’t limited to one position group. When asked about the club’s issues against left-handed pitching, Bendix said the answer is part personnel, part approach and part development.
He pointed to the roster makeup, saying Miami had more than the usual number of players with big platoon splits who struggled against lefties but performed well against righties. He also said some of that pressure became mental once the struggles started to show up.
In his view, some of the fix comes from changing the roster, some from adjusting how players attack those matchups, and some simply from growth over time.
For Bendix, the bigger picture is encouraging. “We think we are in a really strong spot organizationally, which is a great place to be,” he said.
Miami wants to improve, and Bendix stressed that the front office will keep looking. But he doesn’t see one glaring weakness that defines the roster.
“I don’t view any particular spot as one in which we’re circling and saying, "Oh man, this is the one thing we really, really need."”
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Marlins Face A Bullpen Question That Could Test Their Offseason Limits
The Marlins are once again staring at a bullpen decision that says as much about their budget as it does about their roster. Miami has long operated with less spending power than most of baseball, and last winters one-year bet on Peter Fairbanks was supposed to help stabilize the ninth inning. Instead, the move never gave the club the late-game reliability it was chasing, leaving the front office with another familiar question heading into the offseason.
Now the conversation has shifted to whether Miami could even enter the market for a proven closer, a path that would mark a meaningful departure from the way the franchise usually shops. There is some speculation around a high-end free agent reliever, but the fit looks doubtful given the Marlins history of restraint. For a team trying to squeeze value out of every dollar, the bigger issue may be whether it can afford to solve the back end of the bullpen in the way contenders typically do. [Read more 🡒]