Once a top prospect, Connor Norby battled injuries and a drop-off in performance in his first year with the Miami Marlins. Now healthy, he faces a crucial season to prove his worth.
When the Miami Marlins traded Trevor Rogers to the Baltimore Orioles at the 2024 trade deadline, Connor Norby was supposed to be the centerpiece.
Norby was the No. 5 prospect in Baltimore's system, and a 26-year-old Kyle Stowers had yet to break through at the big-league level.
Fast forward to January 2026, and Stowers is the Marlins' most dangerous offensive weapon, having hit 25 homers, driven in 73 runs, and posted an OPS+ of 149 (49 points above the league average) over an All-Star 2025 campaign.
Norby, on the other hand, has yet to break through, but it's a new year.
Norby is the latest subject of "Getting to Know the Fish", a Marlins Roundtable series profiling each Miami player.
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 180 pounds
Hometown: Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
2025: Last year was supposed to be Norby's first full season with the Marlins, and it didn't go according to plan. For one, multiple injuries limited Norby to 88 games. When he did play, Norby underwhelmed offensively, posting a .251/.300/.389 slash line and having an OPS+ of 90.
These projections have led to Norby being slated to bat eighth in the Marlins lineup, according to Fangraphs. That's not an ideal place to be, especially for a guy who was once a top-five prospect in an organization.
Outlook: The good news for Norby is that, as long as he's healthy and the Marlins don't make any offseason additions, he should be in the Opening Day starting lineup.
The bad news is that the Marlins could always sign a third baseman.
One player Miami has been linked to is Eugenio Suarez, who's a free agent after spending last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Seattle Mariners.
Suarez was one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball last year, ending the season with 49 homers (fifth in MLB), 118 RBI (4th) and a 126 OPS+.
Miami could also sign Yoan Moncada, who's a free agent after spending last season with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Moncada is still a productive bat (116 OPS+ in 2025), but hasn't played a full season since 2022, and at 29, he isn't getting any younger.
If the Marlins can't sign Moncada, the best course of action would probably be to either trade for a third baseman or stick with Norby, given that most of the top free agents at the position have been acquired.
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