There were two signs over the offseason that proved the Miami Marlins front office believed in what they did in the first year of the latest rebuild and leaned into it going into 2026.

They signed a reliable closer in free agency and kept their ace.

Fresh off an Opening Day pitching performance that prompted infielder Connor Norby to call him “Vintage Sandy” in his postgame interview with the Marlins Radio Network, Sandy Alcantara tossed the first complete game shutout of the season, allowing only three hits with seven strikeouts to lead the Marlins to a 10-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.

“Sandy was really good,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “I thought we came in with a good game plan, guys were engaged and were competitive. We just got beat by a really good pitcher and I think it’s as simple as that.”

It was Alcantara’s 13th career complete game and first since 2023. A lost art in modern-day pitching, Alcantara won the 2022 National League Cy Young Award for throwing six complete games.

“It’s been a long time since throwing a complete game but this one is special for me,” Alcantara said.

In his first two starts of the season, Alcantara has gone 16 innings without giving up an earned run, nor has he hit the 100-pitch benchmark in each of his starts. He has 12 total strikeouts and two walks while averaging 10.4 pitches per inning.

“We just didn’t have an answer for him. He had really good stuff. He pounded the zone, made it really tough on us to do anything,” Venable said, “just never had a chance.”

Alcantara hasn’t looked as good since his Cy Young season. Unfortunately, that didn’t yield a winning season from the Marlins, and by the time Miami was good enough to reach the postseason a year later, he was declining to the point of requiring Tommy John surgery.

By the time he returned in 2025, it was a completely different team. He still had his affable apprentice in Eury Perez alongside him to form one of the more formidable 1-2 pitching duos in the NL East.

His return to form coincides with the team’s rebirth under a newer, younger flourish. As the Marlins started the previous season with a bunch of unknowns who arrived via waiver claims, mixed with some who came in high-profile trades. He had a pre-All-Star break ERA of 7.22 in 18 starts and the Marlins were as low as 25-41 on June 11, 2025.

A switch was flipped on June 13 and since then, only four division winners have won more games than the Marlins: Milwaukee (64),

Seattle (60), Toronto (60), and Philadelphia (59). Alcantara posted a 3.33 ERA in his final 13 starts of the season as a clear sign of his comeback.

“It’s been well-documented a ton how much of a struggle it was early for him last year and most of the year,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said. “So for him, he just never gives in. He just keeps competing.”

Marlins president of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix resisted the urge to trade Alcantara on the final year of a 5-year, $56M extension (with a 2027 team option) knowing what was coming. He predicted on Opening Day that this was going to be Alcantara’s best season and so far he may be right.

The Marlins (5-1) have won both of their home series to start the 2026 season. Miami will travel to New York to take on the Yankees on Easter weekend for their first road trip of the year. They are going to need vintage Sandy all year if their playoff aspirations are to be realistic, and they know that.

“Hopefully I gotta keep healthy all season long and keep winning to take this team into the playoffs,” Alcantara said.

The Miami Marlins were promised a star in the making in Owen Caissie and so far it appears that promise is being kept.

Very few Marlins players have made the introduction Caissie has. Every hit he knocks carries significance. None more so than when he entered Sunday’s game against the Colorado Rockies late and won it on a two-run walk-off homer to put the Marlins on top 4-3.

“I kind of blacked out,” Caissie said. “It was awesome to get the W and to get the sweep was great.”

Caissie wasn’t in the starting lineup entering the game due to the Marlins playing the matchups against Rockies left-handed starting pitcher Jose Quintana. He entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and delivered when the Marlins were down to their last out.

“You kind of wish for those moments like this,” Caissie said. “I just want to keep putting good swings on the ball. I know that it’s not always going to be like this, but if I can continue to stick with my plan, I know good things are going to happen.”

While the first series of the season is a microscopic sample size, one has to also include his initial introduction to the Marlins organization, which was to play for Team Canada at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. Caissie collected seven hits, led the team with five RBI, and helped propel Canada to its first quarterfinal round in the tournament’s 20-year history.

“He started off spring training a little slow. I think he was putting a little pressure on himself, obviously trying to make a good impression for the new organization. Then WBC he really kind of got those ABs every day,” said Marlins catcher Liam Hicks, who was also Caissie’s teammate with Canada. “It’s awesome to finally see him get the opportunity.“

Now compound that to his first three games where every time he reaches base, it leads to the Marlins scoring a run that proved to be the difference between 3-0 and 0-3. Similar numbers, as he went 5-for-10 with a home run, four RBI and a stolen base. 

“He’s been unbelievable for us,” Marlins second baseman Xavier Edwards said of Caissie, “swinging a really hot bat.”

With a left-handed stroke that generates swift bat speed and power, Caissie’s stated approach of hitting the ball down the middle has paid off early on. Especially Saturday when he hit for two doubles and a go-ahead RBI single.

“I’m gonna make mistakes, but today I felt like I did a good job at swinging at good pitches,” Caissie said after Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Colorado Rockies.

The price for him was seemingly high. The Marlins had to send Edward Cabrera away after completing the best season of his young career (3.53 ERA, 150 SO, 137.2 IP). He is signed for $4.45M this year and is bound to be far pricier as he goes through more years of arbitration, so it was time for the Marlins to restart the clock on a player with just as much potential.

It wasn’t the first time Caissie was traded for a potent pitcher. After the San Diego Padres made Caissie the highest-drafted Canadian outfielder ever (45th overall) in 2020, he became the prized prospect in a seven-player trade for Yu Darvish that December.

Through one year in Double-A and two in Triple-A, Caissie averaged 21 home runs per season in his aged 20-22 seasons. His 22 homers last year with Triple-A Iowa came in 99 games, his lowest since 2021, and it came with a career high .937 OPS, which was third in the International League. That propelled him to the big leagues with the Cubs in mid-August, where he collected five hits in 12 games.

It’s evident early on that Caissie fits with this young Marlins team far more than with a Cubs squad filled with established veterans and deep postseason expectations. Who knows, maybe they’ll meet again in October.

”We have a lot of fun and we play loose and relaxed,” Caissie said. “We’re never out of the game so we really play with that intensity.”

No Miami Marlins pitcher has started on Opening Day as often as Sandy Alcantara.

The first prized prospect netted in the Bruce Sherman ownership era, Alcantara made his big league debut in 2018 and he has been the ace of the Fighting Fish ever since, with two playoff appearances and a Cy Young award to his name.

Alcantara started the all-so crucial 2026 season with a strikeout. He finished his sixth Opening Day start with a seven-inning gem allowing no earned runs on four hits, two walks, and five strikeouts in a Marlins 2-1 win over the Colorado Rockies.

“We know this is a long season,” Alcantara said, “and it’s better when you start winning.”

It was the type of performance that had first baseman Connor Norby proclaiming it as “vintage Sandy” during his postgame interview.

“Everything was working today,” Alcantara said. “Put a lot of sweeper in today and we’ve got to see the result.”

That sweeper is what has the Marlins confident in the 30-year-old’s chances of returning to his peak form. After returning from Tommy John surgery and struggling through the first half of 2025, Alcantara went 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 13 starts, signaling a potential return to greatness this year.

“He’s building on that this year by adding a new pitch, adding a sweeper,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said. “His changeup is even better than before. It’s really the version of Sandy from a few years ago.”

Alcantara is in the final year of a five-year, $56M extension he signed in 2022, just before he won the 2022 Cy Young (2.28 ERA, 8.0 WAR, 228.2 IP, 207K). His contract also contains a team option for 2027, which has given the ace a lot of trade value.

However, Alcantara is more valuable to a Marlins team that is gearing up for a potential playoff push.

“Sandy’s really important to this organization,” Bendix said, “the things that he’s accomplished here, what he means to this organization. We know that and I think he’s proud of that. We’re proud of that.

Miami won 79 games last year with ascending talent and when the Marlins were at their best, so was Sandy. Should he and Eury Perez, who starts on Saturday, reach their potential this year, this young Marlins team could be positioned to compete for the postseason.

“I think this year could be maybe the best year yet for Sandy,” Bendix said.

Peter Bendix & Co. have been extremely busy this offseason, especially in the past month, with six (6!!) trades occurring in the past month, with the most recent one being the addition of Bradley Blalock to the Marlins bullpen depth. Between waiver claims and big league trades, the Miami Marlins are going to look very different this upcoming season. There have been big acquisitions, like Pete Fairbanks or Owen Caissie, but there are a lot of players that fly under the radar.

Player One: Brendan Jones (OF)

Brendan Jones is a player who, if you squint your eyes, may seem a little familiar to you. In fact, his 2025 season is very similar to fellow Marlin Jakob Marsee’s MiLB 2025 stats. With a matching 126 wRC+, BB% and K% within 1% difference of each other, and 10+ HR and 45+ SB, they are a near carbon copy. Jones flew under the radar initially by Marlins fans since the most intriguing piece in that acquisition is the outfielder (chosen one round later in the 2024 draft) Dillon Lewis. One big change I want to see from Jones is to begin to swing more for line drives. He currently sits at about 44.6% on his fly ball rate, and 22.3% on his line drive rate. With Jones’ speed, beginning to spray balls instead of launching them will allow him to be able to utilize his legs on the basepaths more. Jones should be expected to start in AAA-Jacksonville with a crowded competition, but his athleticism and attitude will make him a mainstay in the majors for a long time.

Player Two: Edward Cabrera (RHP)

I know, I know. We traded away Edward Cabrera, we didn’t trade for him. Now, Edward was stellar last year, with a 2.8 bWAR, a 125 ERA+, and a 3.53 ERA. Edward also pitched his career high in innings last season at 137 IP. However, with his 4 prior seasons with the Marlins, he had only pitched 294 innings in 63 G, for a 4.4 bWAR, averaging 4.2 IP per outing, with 5.14 BB/9. However, with the subtraction of Edward Cabrera, it allows the freedom for players like Robby Snelling and Thomas White to start the season in the majors. Robby Snelling, who came over in the Tanner Scott trade from San Diego, is poised for a big rookie season, after holding a 1.27 ERA in his first taste of AAA with a 11.5 K/9, while holding baserunners to a minimal 0.99 WHIP. Clearing up this rotational space allows an opportunity for the Marlins MLB ready pitchers to showcase their talents in the majors.

Player Three: Christopher Morel (1B/3B/OF)

The Marlins first MLB signing of this offseason, Christopher Morel comes to Miami after some really rough seasons in Tampa. Morel’s biggest flaw has been his struggle against the fastball. In 2024, he hit .164 off the 4-seam, and last season he hit .207 off the 4-seam. If he can find a way to become serviceable against the fastball, and learn to chase less, his bat can become impactful again. Even in his struggles last year, he still slugged, with a high bat speed of 76 MPH and an average exit velocity of 91.8 MPH. Now, Morel is scheduled to play a majority of his innings at 1B, a position in which he has not played at all in his professional baseball career thus far. It will be interesting to see how he fares defensively, and if that takes any focus away from his offensive capabilities. All that being said, I do expect Morel to be a positive WAR player. At $2 million this season, if there isn’t a positive impact, it’ll be an easy pill to swallow.

The Dream, minus All-Star Allisha Gray (knee), completed their miniseries at home (2-0) against the desperate Sparks, overwhelming them by going to the body and with a surplus of threes. Rhyne Howard and Maya Caldwell made up for most of the latter, shooting them up worse than Scarface at his last stand. The win also gave the hosts home-court advantage through the first round of the playoffs.

In combat sports, these types of matchups are called tune-ups because eventually one side will take off like a jet next to a dust cropper. In this case, the Dream pulled away in the second half as if they were in another time zone.

Nobody needed to wait long for the fireworks. Howard swished five triples on and off the dribble, plus nailed two freebies in the first quarter. Yet the Sparks were still within striking distance because of Dearica Hamby’s paint pressure, and outside shooting from Rickea Jackson and Kelsey Plum.

The visitors hung around, but Howard added another pair of 3-pointers and dribbled into the lane for two close-range baskets, lifting her output to a career-high of 29 first-half digits.

The Dream led 56-52 at halftime. Despite little separation on the scoreboard, one of the differences was Brittney Griner, standing at 6-foot-9, was a mismatch in the lane, too.

Then the game plan shifted as Brionna Jones punctured the heart of the defense four times. The problems were that her teammates went cold, and Atlanta’s defense had lost its teeth going back to the first frame.

It took Howard almost seven minutes to drain her first second-half triple as she curled around a dribble handoff at the top of the key, extending the lead to 11. That was also Atlanta’s 11th straight point coming out of a timeout halfway into the third. She buried another pull-up trey as 28 seconds were left in the third quarter.

The hosts were never in danger of losing their lead in the fourth, and they held LA to 25% shooting. Howard stayed through most of garbage time, too, looking for the 3-point record (10) but finished after 37 minutes.

The Dream won 104-85. They also outscored the Sparks by 26 off the bench. It was Howard’s second time logging nine 3-pointers this season, the current record for most made in a game, and her first was on June 13. The other players to share this record are Kelsey Mitchell (Sept. 9, 2019, Jewell Loyd (July 11, 2023) and Arike Ogunbowale (Sept. 1, 2024).