Pregame is often the time to observe players from both clubs catching up in the outfield in between warmups and stretching. During a March 17 Grapefruit League game at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium, Marlins No. 6 prospect Starlyn Caba -- brought over from Minor League camp for his last of three Spring Training appearances -- eagerly approached Mets superstar Francisco Lindor. The previous year, Caba shared a quick hello and handshake with his idol. This time around, he approached feeling more like a peer. Caba wasn’t nervous. In fact, he relaxed when Lindor said he remembered him. “Super grateful for the opportunity being able to share a field with him, especially since I was able to see him when I was growing up,” Caba told MLB.com afterward via an interpreter. “Just being able to share the field and play by him, it was amazing for me.” Before parting ways for first pitch, Caba made sure they got a picture together. Later that afternoon, Caba singled and scored a run as an in-game replacement. |
“I was able to tell him that he was one of my favorite players, and just grateful for the opportunity,” Caba said. “When I was growing up, I was able to watch him play, and now I’m sharing the field with him -- it’s awesome.” Caba, whom the Marlins acquired in the December 2024 trade with the Phillies for Jesús Luzardo, would love nothing more than to share a big league diamond with Lindor in the future. The 20-year-old Caba’s first season in the Marlins’ organization in 2025 was limited to 51 games due to a thumb injury from a slide into second base. When he returned from the 60-day injured list, the production wasn’t there, and he finished with a .613 OPS for Single-A Jupiter. The Marlins sent Caba to the Arizona Fall League, where some of the game’s top prospects compete, to make up for some of those missed at-bats. In 18 games, Caba slashed .297/.409/.419 with three doubles, two homers, 10 RBIs and two steals. His performance warranted a Fall Stars selection. |
“It was more a mental than physical thing, especially coming out of an injury,” Caba said. “It's very tough mentally, but I was able to undergo a lot of preparation, even though it was hard. But I was able to go and I felt good.” Caba has carried over that momentum into the season’s first month at High-A Beloit. Entering Saturday, Caba had a slash line of .277/.385/.431 and had already hit two homers -- matching his single-season high -- in 17 games. MLB Pipeline recently named Caba the organization’s hottest hitting prospect. His glove has never been an issue. Caba is considered one of the best -- if not the best -- defensive shortstops in the Minor Leagues. Over the offseason, the 5-foot-9 Caba focused on gaining strength so he could impact the ball more, adding 10 pounds by eating better and training at the gym. According to MLB Pipeline’s scouting report, the switch-hitter already makes a ton of contact from both sides of the plate, handles secondary pitches well and rarely chases. “The main thing for me is to be able to keep myself healthy and finish this season at Double-A,” Caba said. |
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A familiar face returned to loanDepot park in the visiting dugout this weekend: Phillies interim skipper Don Mattingly. Mattingly, who spent the previous two seasons as a bench coach with the Blue Jays, took over for Phillies manager Rob Thomson earlier this week after serving as his bench coach. As the longest-tenured manager in Marlins history, Mattingly went 275-371 from 2016-22. Four players from that 2022 club remain in Miami: Sandy Alcantara, Anthony Bender, Max Meyer and Andrew Nardi. Bender recalled watching an MLB Network episode about “Donnie Baseball” inside -- of all places -- the visiting clubhouse in Philadelphia in 2022. “I'm watching all of the stuff he did back in the day, and obviously I knew Don Mattingly was a stud, but I didn't know what he actually did -- like all the grand slams and stuff like that,” Bender recalled. “And then I look away, and he's walking past, and I'm just like, ‘Holy crap. Don Mattingly is unbelievable. It's sick playing for him.’” Current Marlins manager Clayton McCullough worked for the Dodgers as their Minor League field coordinator during Mattingly’s final season managing L.A. -- his first stop as a big league skipper. “What I remembered most about Donnie is just class,” McCullough said. “You talk to Donnie, he doesn't come across as ‘Donnie Baseball.’ You'd have to go look up how great a career that he had when you just talked to him. Just a really solid person, genuine. Our few interactions that we had in 2015 there, he was incredibly polite and open-minded. He's a baseball lifer, and he's done some really great things in this game.” |
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