Sense of optimism at the Miami Marlins: Xavier Edwards rises to the top

The season has been far from encouraging for the Miami Marlins so far. Significantly trailing in the standings, the team recently traded some of their top players to competitors. However, these challenges have also created opportunities for new talents, and Xavier Edwards is seizing this chance with both hands. On Sunday, Edwards made history by becoming the second player in Marlins' history to achieve the "Cycle": a home run, a double, a triple, and a single earned him this rare distinction. The 24-year-old began the cycle with a home run on the first pitch of the game from Tobias Myers and completed it with a single with two outs in the top of the ninth inning, despite a 2-6 loss to the Brewers in Milwaukee. Luis Arraez is the only other player in the 32-year history of the Marlins to have achieved a cycle. He accomplished this on April 11 of last year on his way to winning the NL Batting Title. The Marlins traded Arraez to San Diego in May. In recent days, reliever A.J. Puk was traded to Arizona, and center fielder Jazz Chisholm was sent to the Yankees. Edwards, who will turn 25 next August, took over the leadoff hitter position from Chisholm, who now starts for the Yankees in the fifth position and center field in Boston. Edwards assumed the shortstop position after the Marlins released the veteran Tim Anderson in July. The switch-hitter Edwards stood out on Sunday with his first career home run. Originally a first-round pick by the Padres in 2018, he was traded to Tampa Bay in December of the same year in a deal for Jake Cronenworth and Tommy Pham. After two seasons in Tampa Bay’s farm system, Edwards moved to the Marlins in November 2022, in exchange for two minor league pitchers. In the final 30 games of last season, he hit .295 and improved this season, with a batting average of .379 and an OPS of .956 in 105 plate appearances. Edwards' cycle was already the third in the Major Leagues in 2024, following Wyatt Langford of the Rangers on June 30 and Yordan Alvarez of the Astros last Sunday.