As the Yankees and Mets look to address their starting rotations, the Miami Marlins could represent a one-stop shop.
Both of New York’s teams have been linked to the Marlins as a potential trade partner, most recently with The Athletic reporting the Yankees are speaking with Miami about right-hander Edward Cabrera.
That report was confirmed by the Miami Herald, which added the Mets have shown interest in Cabrera, too.
The Cabrera buzz follows offseason speculation that the Mets and Yankees would be candidates to trade for Marlins ace Sandy Alcántara, though that asking price is considered to be sky-high.
Cabrera, 27, is a compelling option given his high-end talent and that he has three years of team control remaining. He is projected to earn about $3.7 million in 2026.
Armed with an upper-90s fastball and a devastating curveball, Cabrera went 8-7 with a 3.53 ERA and 150 strikeouts over a career-high 137.2 innings in 2025.
Cabrera limited the Yankees to one run over six innings with seven strikeouts during a Marlins win in early August.
He then hurled five shutout innings against the Mets in the season finale — a 4-0 victory by the Marlins that eliminated the Mets from postseason contention.
But Cabrera comes with risk, considering he’s spent multiple stints on the injured list in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Cabrera missed the start of the regular season with a blister on his middle finger, then missed three weeks in September due to a right elbow sprain.
Fresh off of a season in which Cabrera made 26 starts, the light-spending Marlins could try to maximize his trade value.
The Yankees seek rotation help because Carlos Rodón and Gerrit Cole are both expected to miss the start of the 2026 season as they work back from elbow surgeries, while Clarke Schmidt may not return until after the All-Star break as he recovers from Tommy John.
As it stands now, the Yankees have Max Fried, Cam Schlittler, Luis Gil and Will Warren as rotation options, while veterans Ryan Yarbrough and Paul Blackburn provide depth.
General manager Brian Cashman said at last month’s Winter Meetings in Orlando that he would “love to add a starter.”
“It’s got to be something that provides some flexibility,” Cashman said.
With his manageable salary, Cabrera would fit that bill for a Yankees team that, according to Cot’s Contracts, currently has a projected payroll of $286.5 million, including the luxury tax.
The Yankees and Marlins are frequent trade partners, as Miami sent Jon Berti and Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the Bronx in separate 2024 deals. Rachel Balkovec, the Marlins’ director of player development, worked for the Yankees from 2019-24, most notably as the Low-A Tampa manager for the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
The Mets, meanwhile, seek front-line starting pitching after last year’s rotation struggled to provide length and wilted down the stretch.
Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea, Kodai Senga and David Peterson remain under contract, while rookies Nolan McLean, Brandon Sproat and Jonah Tong showed varying degrees of promise during their late-season call-ups.
But the Mets’ rotation would be in a better position with a bonafide, innings-eating ace, which would allow everyone else to slide back a spot and afford more patience for the aforementioned young right-handers.
That’s why Alcántara has been linked to the Mets so frequently.
Alcántara, 30, won the National League Cy Young Award in 2022, when he pitched to a 2.28 ERA over an MLB-high 228.2 innings, but he missed the 2024 season due to Tommy John surgery and struggled upon returning last year.
The right-hander finished 11-12 with a 5.36 ERA in 2025, though he largely returned to form after the All-Star break with a 3.33 ERA over 13 starts.
Late last month, The Miami Herald reported it would take “an incredible offer” for the Marlins to consider an Alcántara trade.
The Mets may not be eager to part with the type of prospects it would take to trade for Alcántara. But Alcántara has two more years of team control, and he would provide the Mets with a No. 1 starter without them having to make a long-term commitment, which would fit president of baseball operations David Stearns’ modus operandi.
Cabrera is not as established as Alcántara, nor is he the same level of workhorse, but he is likely to require a lesser — albeit still steep — trade return.
Starting pitching isn’t the only shared area of need between the Yankees and Mets. Both seek a middle-of-the-order hitter and outfield help, which is why both are interested in Cody Bellinger.
Only one team will win the Bellinger sweepstakes, but in theory, both the Yankees and Mets could benefit from the Marlins’ stable of controllable arms.
