Chicago Cubs: Owen Caissie’s struggles in Miami are ugly

The Chicago Cubs finally pulled the trigger on the trade for Edward Cabrera this offseason, after eyeing the emerging powerhouse starter for the better part of a year-and-a-half.

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They paid a steep price to get the 28-year-old right-hander, though. In the deal, Chicago sent over their no. 1 prospect OF Owen Caissie as well as infield prospects Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon.

For the Cubs’ front office, it was a deal worth making for the here and now, as Cabrera’s presence in the starting rotation could considerably fortify the team’s efforts to make a legit run at a championship. Also, the native of the Dominican Republic would be under team control through the 2028 season.

And even though Cabrera’s early-season shine has grown dull in recent outings—he has a 5.19 ERA over his last 6 starts—the Cubs look to have “won” the trade.

Caissie has been a complete disaster for the Marlins.

Owen Caissie is really struggling in Miami

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Excluding a walk-off home run in the opening series and a .348 batting average through the first seven games of the season, the 23-year-old’s 2026 has been brutal.

Since April 4, Caissie’s hitting .154 with no home runs and 6 RBIs. On the season, he’s slashing .198/.254/.317 with an OPS of .571. He’s also sporting a ridiculously high strikeout rate of 41.2% through 114 plate appearances.

“Adjusting to major league pitching is the hardest thing a player is ever going to do,” justified Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix.

“With guys like Owen, he has never failed at any point in his career,” Bendix added. “So what happens when you get punched? What happens when you get knocked down? You have to figure out a way to get back up and adjust. Players do that at different points in their careers. It takes them different amounts of time.”

Yes, all of that is true. And the Marlins are the right team for a young prospect looking to work through some issues at the major league level. After a hot start, the team has settled into its proper level as a lower-tier club, currently second-to-last in the NL East Division, ahead of the surprisingly lowly New York Mets.

And now it appears as though injury has entered the picture. Caissie was scratched from Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals due to “left triceps discomfort.”

Cubs dodged a bullet

If the Cubs had held on to him, there’s would’ve been some real issues, aside from them not having Cabrera to help fill out a banged-up starting rotation. Caissie surely would’ve been sent back down to Triple-A a good while ago. Like everyone saw last year with Matt Shaw’s early struggles, Chicago has no time for player development as they try to win a pennant.

The original plan looked to be a platoon situation for the young outfielder in right field, sharing time with Seiya Suzuki and also getting at bats as a left-handed designated hitter. It looks as though that absolutely would not have worked out.

It’s still early in the season and very early into Caissie’s career. So the Cubs may eventually rue the day they let him go for three years of Cabrera. But, right now? There’s no trader’s remorse at all.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-owen-caissie-miami-marlins-slump-struggle-cabrera/