Edward Cabrera's breakout year sparks trade rumors. Will the Marlins keep their ace, or will he pitch for another contender in 2026?
Miami Marlins fans didn't quite know what to make of Edward Cabrera before last season.
The starting right-hander had shown his potential before, going 6-4 with a 3.01 ERA in 2022.
But that was over just 14 starts. When Cabrera had a heavier workload -- 20 starts in 2023, another 20 in 2024 -- his numbers regressed.
In 2023, Cabrera's ERA went up to 4.24.
The next year, it ballooned to 4.95, and the Marlins lost 100 games.
But last year, both Cabrera and the Marlins improved significantly.
In a career-high 26 starts, Cabrera went 8-7 with a 3.53 ERA, and his Fielding Independent Pitching (3.83) was below four for the first time in his career. This helped the Marlins improve their win total by 17 games.
Cabrera was unquestionably Miami's ace in 2025, but will he be around in 2026?
For now, Cabrera is a Marlin, which makes him eligible to be the latest subject of "Getting to Know the Fish," a series profiling each Miami Marlins player.
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 217 pounds
Hometown: Santiago, Dominican Republic
MLB debut: 2021
Seasons with the Marlins: 4
Last year: Cabrera's surface numbers look solid, but as MLB Trade Rumors detailed on Monday, the soon-to-be 28-year-old could get even better.
"What makes Cabrera an especially enticing trade candidate is the possibility he’ll take a step forward in the future," MLBTradeRumors.com writer Nick Deeds noted Monday. "The youngster averaged a career-best 97 mph on his fastball this past season, despite throwing a career-high in terms of innings, and paired a strong 25.8-percent strikeout rate with a career-best 8.3-percent walk rate.
"With a solid 47.9-percent ground-ball rate for his career in addition to those strong strikeout and walk numbers, it’s not hard to imagine Cabrera building on his 2025 season to emerge as a dominant starter."
But Deeds also noted that there's cause for concern, and perhaps the main reason is Cabrera's health.
"2025 was the first year Cabrera crossed the 100-inning threshold at the big-league level due to an assortment of injury woes. The most significant of were shoulder problems that limited him in both 2023 and ’24, but even last season saw Cabrera make two trips to the injured list. His second trip to the shelf, which occurred back in September, saw him sidelined due to a right elbow sprain."
So, why was MLB Trade Rumors writing about Cabrera, anyway? Well ...
Where Cabrera stands: There's a chance Cabrera is pitching somewhere else come Opening Day.
Various reports have linked the Cubs, Giants, Mets, and Yankees to Cabrera trade rumors.
Although teams on the rise generally don’t trade their best players, the Marlins do need offense, so would they trade off Cabrera to try to get it?
In any case, Cabrera has a promising career ahead of him, wherever that may be.