Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards Emerging as Marlins Next Great Middle Infield Duo

It’s ironic that while the Miami Marlins are bringing back the uniforms and colors of a glorified past, they are sporting the next iconic middle infield duo.

Like Luis Castillo-Alex Gonzalez and Dan Uggla-Hanley Ramirez before them, Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards are emerging from low-key acquisitions as key parts of the Marlins lineup.

Lopez came to the Marlins in 2024 as a waiver claim. Just as the Marlins were slowly trading away pieces of their most recent playoff team, Lopez emerged as an intriguing rookie with a .270 batting average, 20 stolen bases, and elite defense at second base.

His bat has taken the next step this year, batting .337 with a .945 OPS through 22 games. He was a double shy of a cycle last Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers.

Marlins manager Clayton McCullough says Lopez is taking “less empty at-bats,” which is leading to better results.

“He’s a physically strong guy,” McCullough said of Lopez. “Maybe it doesn’t appear that way. It’s a really compact body. He’s strong. He’s got strong hands. There’s speed in his bat. So I think it’s not, to me, that completely shocking, that we’re seeing some of this.”

Around the same time, Edwards was also emerging alongside Lopez, batting .328 with 31 stolen bases in 70 games. Edwards didn’t replicate those numbers through the course of a full season in 2025 but his start to this season (.341/.423/.482) is signaling a return to his breakout season.

Edwards said during an interview with Five Reasons contributor Tyler Boronski that he has “been swinging at good pitches for the most part” and doesn’t feel the need to enter new seasons with statistical goals.

“I did that in years past and it’s kind of put pressure on myself to feel like I need to hit certain numbers,” Edwards said. “My goal this year is to play my game do my best every day and at the end of the year, I’ll look up and be happy with what I got.”

Unlike middle infield duos of the Marlins’ past, Edwards and Lopez switched positions and benefited from the adjustment.

“Otto has a bigger arm than me,” Edwards said. “We’re both really good defenders and pretty athletic so it’s a treat to play infield with him for parts of three years.”

Edwards came to Miami in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays leading up to the 2023 season. He was part of the Marlins’ fourth postseason appearance in franchise history (second since 2020) but became a key part of the rapid rebuild.

“We had a bit of an older team in 23 and now we’re one of the younger teams in the league,” Edwards said. “We made the playoffs that year and we got a good team this year, so looking to do the same this year. It’s been a lot of turnover but it’s a great group that we have here. It’s been a treat to come to the field with these guys and to suit up with them and spend time in the clubhouse. We got a great group.”