Miami Marlins will likely need some Cody Ross type magic to take next step

Let's get the obvious out of the way: "Toy Cannon" is the coolest nickname in Miami Marlins history.

Coolest, and the most apt. For Cody Ross was exactly that, an explosive, seemingly secret weapon for the Marlins. Long before cousin Trevor Rogers toed the rubber for the Miami, the team's original Pride of Carlsbad patrolled the outfield from 2006 to 2010- sometimes as a fourth outfielder type, sometimes as locked in starter.

His Marlins career began in 2006 when the club bought him from the Cincinnati Reds on May 26th. All he'd do after that was club 11 HRs across 91 games, quite the find for such a low level move. The cherry on top of that first season came nineteen years ago today on September 11, 2006, when he punished the visiting New York Mets with the second 3-HR game in Marlins history, to go along with 7 RBI.

His value to the Marlins would only take off from there, averaging 2.55 WAR a season during the rest of his Miami tenure. Two of those years had 20 plus homers, and it might have been three if it weren't for the over two months he missed due to a hamstring injury in 2007. He'd finish top four in WAR from 2007 to 2009, highlighted by his 3.4 WAR total in 2008 that helped the Marlins secure a winning season for the first time since 2005.

All of this is to say two things about the Marlins.

Firstly, two of my favorite memories as a Marlins fan came in September of 2006 when I bought tickets for two consecutive Anibal Sanchez starts. The first of those was Sanchez' no-hitter. The second was that 3 HR Ross outburst. I'll fully acknowledge that if I wasn't at the game, this article probably isn't being written. At the very least, I wouldn't have felt it had to come out today!

Secondly, and much more importantly, is that the Marlins are probably going to need to find another hidden gem like Ross to help push the club back over the .500 mark. It's something that the team was very good at for awhile. Cody Ross. Jorge Cantu. Justin Rugiano. Casey McGehee. All names that came out of nowhere to give the Marlins a major spark. When you can't afford to just buy all the talent in free agency, and this is hardly a burden only carried by Miami, you need to rely on one or two of these unexpected breakouts to do some of the heavy lifting.

Now, the only reason I say that the Marlins probably need to find a hidden gem like Ross (or Cantu) is that they arguably have already done so. Otto Lopez was acquired in a very similar, very cheap fashion...and is really doing his best to look like someone the Marlins just need to treat as a valued building block of their lineup. Where I think Ross separates himself is naturally the offensive prowess, but then again, Lopez is on pace to finish ahead of every Ross season but one in terms of RBIs. Their career OBPs look pretty similar as well. So it's really just the long ball favoring the Ross' and Cantus of the world over Lopez.

However, I do think it's fair to say that the Marlins need more thump in their lineup, and that Lopez' value comes predominantly on the defensive side. Ross frequently played in Miami lineups that featured multiple 30-homer hitters. The 2025 Marlins are far weaker in the pop department, and there wouldn't seem to a ton of options to change that in 2026. Outside help will be needed- affordable outside help.

Of course, there are plenty of young players that could step forward. Kyle Stowers is here for the long haul, and just like Ross, has a 3 HR game of his own with the Marlins. Also just like Ross, Jakob Marsee has one of the seven 7 RBI games in Marlins history. If they can build on their 2025 breakouts, if Agustin Ramirez can take a step forward, if Joe Mack's bat can play at the MLB level...then finding an essentially free 20 homer caliber hitter becomes a little less important.

It certainly wouldn't hurt though. Peter Bendix has been pretty good at finding those hidden gems so far for the Marlins. He'll need to keep it rolling if Miami is to roll their way into contending in 2026.