JUPITER, Fla. -- The Marlins made their second wave of cuts at big league camp on Saturday afternoon, highlighted by seven prospects on the organization’s MLB Pipeline Top 30 list.
Corner infielder Deyvison De Los Santos (No. 12), right-hander Adam Mazur (No. 13) and middle infielder Max Acosta (No. 20) were optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Left-hander Dax Fulton (No. 14) and middle infielder Jared Serna (No. 16) were optioned to Double-A Pensacola. Southpaw Robby Snelling (No. 8), outfielder Andrew Pintar (No. 30), first baseman Nathan Martorella, right-handers Matthew Pushard and Christian Roa, lefty Dale Stanavich and infielder Jacob Berry were reassigned to Minor League camp.
After Saturday night’s matchup against the Mets at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, the Marlins have 15 Grapefruit League games remaining. That includes two split-squad days. As a result, there will be fewer plate appearances and innings to go around.
"These last few weeks are big on a lot of fronts,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “One is, you'll continue to see a lot of the position players getting stretched out a little bit more, getting into that seven-inning mark, playing some more back-to-back games, continuing to try to get the requisite number plate appearances where at least guys feel like they're getting some timing and ready for the season.
“The final few spots of what that roster ends up looking like will kind of crystallize here over the next few weeks on performance and just how the overall construction and best fits of the roster for Day 1 are. We know things are going to change, and they will throughout the course of the season.”
None of these moves come as a surprise, even for those headed to Triple-A. De Los Santos, Arias and Acosta have yet to make their Major League debuts, though the latter was one of the camp standouts as a newcomer to the organization (via the Jake Burger trade).
De Los Santos, who led the Minors in home runs (40) and RBIs (120) in 2024, is blocked at both corner-infield spots by Connor Norby, Matt Mervis, Jonah Bride, Eric Wagaman and Graham Pauley. If De Los Santos wants to make it to The Show, he will need to cut down on his 46 percent chase rate between Double-A and Triple-A, which would’ve been tied for the worst percentage in the big leagues (Ceddanne Rafaela).
"If you can hone in and win some counts within an at-bat to swing it in your favor, now you have more of a chance to access that power,” McCullough said. “So swing decisions being a big part there, firing at the correct pitches and game planning will be a big part of that as well. We forget this guy's 21 years old. He's very young, and he's gotten to the upper levels in rapid fashion because of his ability. And we're a real buyer of that talent.
“The strike zone discipline, and then challenge him on the defensive end, too, to continue to appreciate every part of your game and the importance that it plays. Not just what happens in the batter's box.”
Mazur had an outside chance of making the Opening Day rotation in a competition for the fifth-starter spot with righties Max Meyer and Valente Bellozo. That pair pitched at the MLB level for the Marlins last season, while the 23-year-old Mazur started for the Jumbo Shrimp following his arrival in a trade with the Padres.
Sandy Alcantara will likely be followed in no set order by lefty Ryan Weathers and righties Edward Cabrera and Cal Quantrill. It’s looking more and more likely that Meyer will round out the rotation, as he continues to start in Grapefruit League games over Bellozo.
"Knock on wood you'd love to run through a whole season, but we need as many quality options as we can that are stretched out and going in,” McCullough said. “Maz fits into that picture, so it's kind of like, where we're at right now if we broke, we see Adam as someone contributing, but maybe just not right away.
“'This is just more of a chance to go down and for you to get stretched out, be able to get to the requisite type of pitch count and ups that will have you ready for when you know the season starts.’ We'll be counting on Adam I'm sure at some point during the season.”