Amid trade rumors, Edward Cabrera delivers strong start in potential Marlins swan song

Miami Herald

23-07-2025

If Tuesday was Edward Cabrera's final time pitching for the Miami Marlins, he made an unforgettable last impression.
It wasn't just his performance against the Padres in the 4-3 win at loanDepot park, which undoubtedly boosted his trade value before the July 31 deadline and eased teams' possible concerns about his elbow.
It was also Cabrera's final play before exiting — a headsy, athletic move that preserved the Marlins' fragile one-run lead in the sixth inning.
With one out, the 6-foot-5 right-hander charged Xander Bogaerts' soft grounder, lunged, barehanded the ball, and in one fluid motion flipped it to catcher Agustín Ramírez, who tagged out former Marlin Luis Arráez sliding into home.
'I'm always aggressive for any situation that presents,' Cabrera said via team interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. 'Once you see the ball, you just start running to make the play. It's just something that comes out naturally.'
Cade Gibson took over for Cabrera at that point, quickly retiring Jackson Merrill. The Marlins then added to their lead in the bottom of the sixth when Heriberto Hernández singled off starter Stephen Kolek after the Padres intentionally walked Kyle Stowers.
Javier Sanoja's RBI triple with two outs in the eighth gave the Marlins a 4-1 lead.
'It was huge,' Marlins' manager Clayton McCullough said. '[Sanoja] has a real knack for the dramatic and he's come up with some really big hits for us, really, all season long. He's got no fear of any scenario or situation.'
In the ninth, Merrill smacked a two-run double off reliever Ronny Henriquez after Henriquez gave up a walk and a double to the first two batters he faced. But Henriquez bore down and retired the next three Padres to secure the victory.
'Great way to finish it,' McCullough said. 'Ronny has top-of-the-line stuff…it's nice to have that type of stuff and be able to bail yourself out of a jam.'
Like Henriquez, Cabrera was able to escape trouble — a few times.
Before the game, McCullough said, 'We feel great about where Cabby is' with his elbow, which forced him to leave his previous start on July 11 in Baltimore after four innings.
Cabrera played catch during the All-Star break, completed his usual side session, and benefited from the rotation reshuffle and a few extra days of rest, McCullough added.
'I was not worried at all,' Cabrera said of his elbow after the game. 'Because I trusted in myself and knew I was coming back.'
Cabrera pitched 5⅔ innings Tuesday, giving up five hits while striking out six and issuing no walks. He threw 86 pitches, reaching a top speed of 98.8 mph.
'Now we're just coming to expect him to pitch in that manner and go deep into a game and give us a real shot to win,' McCullough said.
'Attacking them — that was the best part today,' Cabrera said. 'Mostly for strikes.'
If Cabrera has been distracted at all by the trade rumors surrounding him, he didn't show it on the field Tuesday, or at his locker postgame.
Both Cabrera and the Marlins' starting pitcher Wednesday, Sandy Alcantara, were among MLB's top 30 most likely to be dealt — Alcantara was No. 4 and Cabrera was No. 18 — in ESPN's most recent trade deadline predictions.
Asked about the trade rumors, Cabrera laughed.
'I try not to think about it,' Cabrera said. 'At the end of the day, it's something that's completely out of my control, so there's no point of thinking too much about it.'
The 27-year-old's latest outing should increase the asking price for him. He has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in nine of his past 10 starts. The only exception was four runs against the Orioles, when Cabrera experienced elbow discomfort.
'I want to keep pitching the way I'm pitching right now, go out there and do my best,' Cabrera said. 'Get good results and let those results speak for themselves.'
The Marlins jumped out to a quick lead in the first inning Tuesday when Otto Lopez stroked a two-out single and scored on a throwing error after Ramírez's infield single.
Stowers followed with a double to right, bringing home Ramírez all the way from first to make it 2–0. Stowers started the game tied with teammate Xavier Edwards for second in the NL with a .295 average.
The Padres got on the board in the third when Arráez singled home Martin Maldonado, who had doubled and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Cabrera escaped a second-inning jam by striking out Jose Iglesias on an 85-mph curve with runners at the corners and two outs.
'He's done a great job limiting damage and keeping innings from spiraling out of control,' McCullough said. 'That's a lot of maturity on Edward's part with how he navigates through an outing.'
▪ Outfielder Derek Hill was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left middle finger sprain. Hill injured the finger in the batting cage on Saturday.
▪ Infielder Jack Winkler was recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville.