MIAMI — The Miami Marlins promoted highly-rated catcher Joe Mack from Triple-A and demoted slumping catcher Agustin Ramirez before the club’s 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday.
Mack hit .244 with three homers and nine RBI through 24 games with the Marlins’ affiliate in Jacksonville. He hit seventh in Miami’s order on Monday, and finished 0-for-3 in the loss.
“Obviously, would have loved to win but just being able to be here with the guys and the experience of what it is to be a major league baseball player, it’s amazing,” Mack said. “It was very cool to step on that field and take it all in. It was a whole new experience.”
In ESPN’s latest team-by-team rankings, Kiley McDaniel has Mack rated as Miami’s No. 3 prospect behind pitchers Thomas White and Robby Snelling, and ahead of the season, he had him ranked 61st among all prospects in baseball.
“It’s everything that I’ve worked for my whole career, my whole life,” Mack said before the loss. “You dream of this as a kid and finally being able to actually be here, it’s just truly amazing. I thank God every single day for it. He’s carried me through everything. Very blessed to be in the spot that I’m at.”
The 24-year-old Mack has ascended through the Marlins’ organization after he was the 31st in the 2021 draft. The club notably values his defensive skills.
“They called me up for a reason and they called me up to be me,” Mack said. “I’m not going to go out there and be somebody else. I’m going to play my game.”
Mack will split catching duties with Liam Hicks, who also been one of Miami’s top offensive performers this season. Hicks, who went 0-for-4 on Monday, has a team-leading seven homers and 29 RBI.
“It’s exciting for anybody making their debut,” Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said before the loss. “Joe has earned that on the performance side of things.”
After a breakout rookie season in 2025, when he hit 21 homers and drove in 67 runs, Ramirez was hitting .231 and had two homers before his demotion to Triple-A. Ramirez, who finished sixth in the 2025 NL Rookie of the Year voting, also struggled defensively. He has thrown out two of 20 base stealing attempts and has an NL-leading four errors in 17 games.
“We’re going to continue to surround a lot of support around Agustin,” McCullough said. “This is a hot place, there’s nowhere to hide. You hear the narrative. You start to read about it. Sometimes getting out of the spotlight a little bit and have the light a little bit dimmer can let you reset and get back to the player we all know he has a chance to be.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
