The trade market was relatively short on big deals over the course of the first two offseason months. That changed on January 7, as the Cubs traded for Marlins pitcher Edward Cabrera. It’s a deal that will send Cabrera to Chicago for three prospects, headlined by power-hitting outfielder Owen Caissie.

The Cubs’ Return

• SP Edward Cabrera (3.53 ERA, 150 K over 137 IP)

Edward Cabrera’s plight to the Majors was a wild one. Now 27 years of age, Cabrera got hit around early in his Minor League career but quickly developed into a name to watch before the shortened 2020 season. And while he didn’t pitch that year, Cabrera made his Major League debut a year later.

Cabrera looked electric in spurts during the early portion of his Major League career, thanks to two blistering fastballs — a four-seamer and two-seamer — that consistently hit the upper-90s. However. Cabrera routinely posted BB% rates north of 10% despite the premium stuff.

However, 2025 was the year when everything came together. Cabrera posted a respectable 8.3% BB%, struck out 150 batters, and became a true backbone of the Marlins’ rotation.

His .303 wOBA ranked 50th-best among the 126 starting pitchers who threw at least 100 innings last season.

Cabrera still possesses impressive velocity, as he averaged 97 MPH off the four-seamer and close to that with his sinker, a true sinker that has some heaviness and drop to it.

However, perhaps the gleam of Cabrera’s arsenal has been the changeup, a very different changeup compared to others. Cabrera’s changeup is a pitch that sits in the low-to-mid-90s, almost on par with the fastball. Generally speaking, pitchers — particularly good ones — have a seven to 10 MPH differential between changeup and fastball.

Cabrera’s, though, is different. The 27-year-old grips it more like a fastball, and not wedged in the hand.

His changeup isn’t an elite swing-and-miss offering, although he still will get some. It does, though, act like a second sinker, one that can get groundballs.

Additionally, Cabrera works with a slider and a hard curveball. The curveball was a heavily leaned-upon pitch for him in 2025, as he increased the usage of it.

Much like everything else in his arsenal, it’s a hard weapon, one that came in at the mid-80s with less depth.

Cabrera has three years of team control left.

The Marlins’ Return

• OF Owen Caissie (.192/.222/.346, one HR & two XBH in 12 GP (MLB))
• INF Cristian Hernandez (.252/.329/.365, seven HR & 34 XBH over 115 GP (A+))
• INF Edgardo De Leon (.276/.353/.500, five HR & 15 XBH over 43 GP (DSL))

The big piece in this deal is Owen Caissie, the outfielder who was acquired by the Cubs over five years ago in the Yu Darvish trade.

Even though Caissie didn’t put up crazy numbers in his brief MLB stay in 2025, the scouting report hasn’t changed on him. Plus bat speed and a lot of potential swing-and-miss, although the latter wasn’t that bad last year.

Caissie posted a sub-20% in-zone Whiff% in the International League this past year.

As for the other prospects, former bonus baby Cristian Hernandez is coming to the Marlins’ organization. Hernandez signed out of the DR for $3MM in the 2020-21 international signing season.

Very toolsy player. Hernandez stole 52 bases with South Bend this past year and showed power to both the pull side & opposite field. There is some swing-and-miss in his game, as Hernandez posted a 31% Whiff% in the Midwest League.

The third piece in this deal is Edgardo De Leon, an 18-year-old who spent the last two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. De Leon walked 32 times over 44 games in the DSL two years ago and had more extra-base hit power this past year.

Analysis

The Cubs are firmly in a win-now phase. With the likes of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Michael Busch, Seiya Suzuki, and Ian Happ, plus others, in the lineup, Chicago’s lineup can do serious damage.

Now, add in a hard-throwing starter who posted above-average swing-and-miss numbers, can beat batters in several different ways, and has control, and you can understand exactly why the Cubs made this deal.

It does solidify things in the short term. Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton were expected to headline a Cubs’ rotation that will also include Shota Imanaga, who took his qualifying offer, plus Colin Rea and Jameson Taillon as back-end options. There’s also Justin Steele, who is recovering from elbow surgery.

For at least the next few seasons, the Cubs have some assurances in that rotation to compete, assuming everyone can stay healthy. That includes Cabrera, who has his own injury history, including shoulder and elbow problems. In fact, the 2025 campaign was the first one in which he threw over 100 innings at the Major League level.

As for the Marlins, this move may be shocking to some — but perhaps not as much, particularly those who follow the organization closely.

Even though the Marlins did well by and large last season, this trade was an opportunity to add more beef. And Cabrera was expendable to a certain extent. While pitching is a scarce resource in the Majors, Miami has several high-end prospects like Thomas White & Robby Snelling who could force their way to the Majors in 2026.

Caissie helps line up the Marlins’ future outfield, one that already includes Kyle Stowers and Jakob Marsee. And on top of that, Miami also received two lottery picks, one of whom has had success at higher levels but has a lot to prove.

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