The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired pitching prospect Adriano Marrero from the Miami Marlins in exchange for Esteury Ruiz on Monday night.
The move cleared a spot on the Dodgers’ 40-man roster, which was full before the trade. Marrero is not eligible for the Rule 5 Draft until 2029.
The right-hander began his pro career this past season after being signed by the Marlins during the 2024-2025 international signing period out of Cienfuegos, Cuba.
Marrero pitched 33 innings in the Dominican Summer League, allowing 14 earned runs (3.82 ERA) on 32 hits with 35 strikeouts and 12 walks. He appeared in 10 games, all of them starts.
Marrero has a high-spin slider and curveball, both of which get elite movement, along with an average changeup. The 18-year-old pairs his offspeed and breaking pitches with a fastball that sits in the upper 80s and projects to gain velocity as he ages and fills out his lanky 6’3, 184-pound frame.
As with any young pitcher, there’s work to do on keeping mechanics consistent, and that should also help Marrero increase his velocity while improving his already-solid command.
The combination of elite spin metrics, age and projection make Marrero an intriguing prospect, but he will need to put it all together to reach his potential as an MLB starting pitcher, and there’s certainly a chance he flames out as most prospects do.
Dodgers move on from Esteury Ruiz in trade
The Dodgers acquired Ruiz as a depth piece in a trade with the Athletics during the 2025 season while looking for a defensive replacement and pinch-runner for their roster, but ultimately settled on Justin Dean in that role.
Ruiz appeared in 19 games for the Dodgers, batting .190/.261/.333 with one home run, two RBI, two runs scored, four stolen bases and a 67 wRC+ across 23 plate appearances.
Over parts of four seasons at the Major League level, he’s appeared in 197 games and hit .241/.296/.343 with eight home runs, 62 runs, 59 RBI, 77 stolen bases and an 81 wRC+ across 621 plate appearances.
Earlier this offseason, the Dodgers claimed Michael Siani off waivers, pushing Ruiz further down the organizational depth chart.
Given that the Dodgers likely would have designated Ruiz for assignment to open up a roster spot in the future, they did very well in the trade to get an interesting prospect back.
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