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Series Preview: Blue Jays welcome back Otto López in three game series against Marlins
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Photo credit: © Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Ryley Delaney
May 25, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: May 24, 2026, 19:32 EDT
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The Toronto Blue Jays have to start to win consecutive games sooner rather than later.
With a chance to sweep their first series since the season opening in late March, the Blue Jays came up short on Sunday’s affair with the Pittsburgh Pirates, dropping a 4-1 decision. In the end, they beat themselves by going 1-12 with runners in scoring position and stranding 10.
More worrisome is both Dylan Cease and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. departed that game. Losing either player for an extended period of time would be devastating for this team. Thankfully, it looks like the Blue Jays avoided a worst-case scenario, as Cease left the game with mild left hamstring discomfort, while Guerrero Jr. has an elbow contusion.
If the Blue Jays can somehow find a way to sweep the three-game series with the Marlins, they’ll move to .500 for the first time since they were 4-4. By no means are they out of the postseason, especially the wild card race, but they have to start winning games at some point soon.
They kick-start this week with a three-game series against the 25-29 Miami Marlins.

Examining the Marlins

Like the Jays, the Marlins have had a slow start to their season, albeit a season with far less expectations. They sit second-last in the National League East after sweeping the NL East’s worst team, the 22-31 New York Mets.
They have a solid offence, the team is slashing .244/.320/.379 for a 98 wRC+, 19th-best in the big leagues. However, the Marlins happen to be one of just nine teams with fewer home runs than the Blue Jays, sitting on 45 for the season, tied for the fourth-fewest. In terms of strikeout rate, they sit in the middle of the pack with a 21.8 K%, while drawing a walk 8.9% of the time, tied for the ninth-lowest walk rate.
Their starting pitching hasn’t been good this season, posting a 4.75 ERA and 4.21 FIP in 284 innings pitched. That ERA is the sixth-worst in the big leagues, but the Marlins’ FIP is in the middle of the pack. Marlins starters have a 20.8 K%, the eighth-lowest in the big leagues, while walking 8.5% of the batters that come to the plate, right in the middle of the pack again. The Marlins starters also sit in the middle of the pack for home runs given up.
Miami’s best strength is their relief pitching, as the bullpen’s 3.33 ERA ranks eighth-best in the big leagues. They’re also tied for the fourth-best FIP, sitting at 3.44, which is thanks to the seventh-best K% of 24.9% and surrendering just 11 home runs, second-fewest for any bullpen in Major League Baseball. That said, the bullpen’s BB% of 12% is the sixth-highest in the big league.

One player to watch: Liam Hicks

The Blue Jays aren’t the only team with a Rule 5 success story. During the 2024 Winter Meetings, the Marlins drafted Canadian catcher Liam Hicks from the Detroit Tigers, a move that has paid off big time for the southernmost team in the big leagues.
Last season was okay for the Toronto native, slashing .247/.346/.346 with six home runs in 390 plate appearances for a 98 wRC+ and 1 fWAR. The 26-year-old has hit a whole other level this season.
Through his first 51 games, Hicks is slashing .275/.346/.497 with 11 home runs in 191 plate appearances, good enough for a 133 wRC+. He also rarely strikes out, posting a 9.4 K% on top of an 8.4 BB%. But where he’s excelled is driving runners in, as his 44 RBIs are third-most in the big leagues.
What a great pickup this turned out to be for the Marlins.

Quick Hits

  • Xavier Edwards, once a top Marlins prospect, has broken out in 2025, slashing .313/.395/.478 with six home runs, nine doubles, and three triples in 229 plate appearances. Those six home runs are a career-high already, doubling his 2025 total that he achieved in 619 plate appearances. Edward’s 147 wRC+ is the best on the Marlins.
  • Former Blue Jay Otto López has really found a home with the Marlins after joining the team in 2024. He’s added some pop to his game with excellent middle infield defence. So far this season, he’s slashing .337/.367/.481 with four home runs and 14 doubles in 221 plate appearances for a 138 wRC+.
  • Unfortunately, former Blue Jays Griffin Conine and Leo Jiménez won’t be involved in this series. Conine tore his hamstring in mid-April and is expect to be out for 6-8 weeks. As for Jiménez, he is on the 7-day concussion injured list, but is allowed return for Wednesday’s game.
  • Janson Junk has pitched six and two-thirds innings against the Jays, allowing three earned runs and striking out four. He’s the Marlins’ expected starter on Monday. He’ll be opposed by Trey Yesavage.
  • Sandy Alcántara looks like he’s returning to form, posting a 4 ERA and 3.74 FIP in 69.2 innings pitched this season. The Jays have gotten to the 2022 National League Cy Young winner in the past, scoring 10 earned runs over 21 innings of work in three starts. Alcántara starts Tuesday evening’s game,  with the Jays expected to have a bullpen game.
  • Eury Pérez, once a top pitching prospect, is off to a rough start this season, posting a 4.91 ERA and 5.02 FIP in 58.2 innings pitched this season. He’s started two games against the Blue Jays, allowing just two runs in 12 innings of work. Pérez is the projected starter for Wednesday afternoon’s getaway day game.

Probable pitchers

Monday: Trey Yesavage/Janson Junk
Tuesday: TBA (Spencer Miles)/Sandy Alcántara
Wednesday: Kevin Gausman/Eury Pérez

Game times

Monday: 7:07 PM ET
Tuesday: 7:07 PM ET
Wednesday: 1:07 PM ET
Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for Blue Jays Nation, Oilersnation, and FlamesNation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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