Miami Marlins should check in on Ryan Mountcastle price with Baltimore Orioles

In case you've missed it, the Miami Marlins have been pursuing a bold strategy at the first base position in 2026.

Unfortunately for Marlins fans...the approach is essentially not having a real first baseman.

Plenty of players on the roster are rumored to be in the mix for the job: Christopher Morel, Griffin Conine, Heriberto Hernandez. Liam Hicks spent some time there last year when he wasn't catching or DH-ing. Rookie Deyvision De Los Santos will get his shot one day, but there is little evidence to suggest that day will be this month and even less evidence to suggest he's actually good defensively. Morel would seem to have the edge for Opening Day, but he's never played a game there.

Bottom-line? Even the "future" of first base for the Miami Marlins comes with some questions, and the present is downright scary.

Admittedly, this might seem to fly in the face of a feature Marlin Maniac ran a couple weeks back on the possibility that Miami actually does know what they're doing at the position. However, the main thrust there was that De Los Santos could contribute to the majors someday- a point many fans seemed to be discounting heading into 2026. That article also made no attempt to sugarcoat the fact that Miami was wrong not to invest more in a better one-year stopgap than Morel, who has underwhelmed in nearly every aspect of his game this spring. Especially defense.

Fortunately, the price could be falling for one of the few remaining options out there- Ryan Mountcastle of the Baltimore Orioles.

A recent MLB Trade Rumors report has Baltimore still looking to move the power-hitting first baseman, who has started looking darn right superfluous on their roster. The report suggests the pressure is mounting to make a move as a result, which could well mean that whatever price has been out there could now be dropping. Whether that's less prospect capital being asked for, or an increased willingness to eat more of his 2026 salary, is no matter. Either way, Miami is better positioned today than they were a couple months ago to make a move.

As all Marlins fans know, at least for one more season (come on salary floor), Miami was never going to be a threat to sign Pete Alonso or Josh Naylor this offseason. However, that doesn't mean they can't now benefit from the fact that Baltimore's decision to pay up for Alonso is threatening to push Mountcastle off the roster. The best argument for Miami only spending a couple million on Morel this winter was that there wasn't much of a middle class worth investing in at first base, at least not for a team with Miami's financial means.

If the price has fallen for Mountcastle though, and after two weeks of watching Morel fail to look competent defensively at first base, that should change the math for the Marlins front office.

There's only one way to find out. Pick up the phone Marlins, and see if you can come through with one last splash before the season starts.