The Marlins and Cubs swung a deal that sent RHP Edward Cabrera to the Cubs in exchange for top Cubs prospect Owen Caissie. The recipe of Peter Bendix and the Marlins continues to mirror the Tampa Bay Rays’ approach: sell high on your top players and trade them for larger long-term returns. Bendix made that clear by moving Cabrera to Chicago in return for a bat that can immediately help solidify Miami’s lineup.

The Marlins acquired OF Owen Caissie, INF Cristian Hernández, and INF Edgardo De León in the trade, but in this article I will focus strictly on Caissie and Cabrera. It is hard for a trade like this to be perfectly even. One team gives up a controllable veteran, while the other takes on risk by betting on prospects. In this case, however, there is little indication that this deal leans heavily in either direction. It looks like an even trade on both sides.

Miami fills a major hole in its lineup and outfield and now projects one of the better young outfields in the game with Kyle Stowers in left field, Jakob Marsee in center, and Owen Caissie in right. At the same time, the Cubs add another starting pitcher to their growing collection of arms, strengthening a rotation built to compete.

The 2025 season marked a revitalization of Edward Cabrera’s career. He set career highs across the board, signaling a new level of health and dominance. In 26 games, also a career high, Cabrera posted a 2.8 WAR, an 8–7 record, a 3.53 ERA, and 150 strikeouts over 137.2 innings, along with a 125 ERA+. At just 27 years old, all signs point toward Cabrera continuing to trend upward from here.

Staying healthy had always been the biggest question mark. Cabrera struggled to remain on the field earlier in his career, with his best prior season coming in 2023, when he went 7–7 with a 4.24 ERA in fewer than 100 innings. This was his first season showing sustained longevity while maintaining elite strikeout production, which made him a valuable asset for the Cubs—and one the Marlins clearly felt was the right time to move in order to secure a high return.

Edward Cabrera is also under team control for the next three years so a hefty return was required for Miami. Cabrera can now join Chicago in the midst of another season of competitive baseball as the Cubbies hope to make a return to October baseball.

As for the Marlins, they continue their team remodeling as they gear up for another season of baseball. The Marlins are closer to October baseball than many people think, and this move only makes that more clear. Owen Caissie is the No. 47 ranked prospect in baseball and the No. 3 prospect in the Marlins system, and for good reason—he is extremely talented.

Over the past three seasons in the Cubs’ farm system, Caissie has consistently produced power, hitting between 19 and 22 home runs each year while averaging between 55 and 84 RBIs during that stretch. His best season came in 2024 with the Cubs’ Double-A affiliate in Tennessee, where he put up 127 hits, 31 doubles, 22 home runs, and 84 RBIs, along with 76 walks. He posted a slash line of .289/.398/.519/.918 and recorded a career-high 228 total bases in just 120 games.

In 2025 at the Triple-A level, Caissie continued that production, appearing in 99 games and collecting 106 hits, 22 home runs, 55 RBIs, and 57 walks, with a slash line of .286/.386/.551/.937. The past three seasons have easily been his most productive, as he has totaled at least 204 total bases in each of those years.

Caissie is expected to be the Marlins’ starting right fielder on Opening Day, and I have full faith in the young 23-year-old to blossom among a fully young core of Marlins players. I am looking forward to the Marlins’ 2026 season as they take the necessary steps toward contention. After finishing just 79–83, Miami is poised for a bigger year in 2026, and Caissie will play a pivotal role in that jump.

As for the Cubs, Edward Cabrera instantly helps form one of the most formidable rotations in baseball.