Caissie traded to Marlins, Taillon to pitch for Canada in WBC

January 8, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Caissie traded to Marlins

The Chicago Cubs have traded prized outfield prospect Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) to the Miami Marlins as part of a package for right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera.

The Marlins will also receive minor league infielders Cristian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon in the deal.

Jeff Passan, of ESPN, was the first to report the completed transaction.

The 23-year-old Caissie heads to the Marlins after making his major league debut with the Cubs in 2025. After receiving his first big league call-up on August 14, the 6-foot-3 outfielder proceeded to belt a home run and had four RBIs in 12 major league games for the Cubs.

Caissie spent the bulk of 2025 with the Cubs’ triple-A affiliate in Iowa. In 99 games with Iowa, Caissie batted .286 and posted an .937 OPS with 22 home runs, 55 RBIs and five stolen bases. Following the season, he was named a triple-A All-Star by Minor League Baseball and earned the Canadian Baseball Network’s Randy Echlin Award, as top Canuck minor league hitter in the affiliated ranks for a second consecutive year.

Chosen by the San Diego Padres in the second round of the 2020 MLB draft, which made him the highest Canuck taken that year, Caissie never played a game in the Padres’ organization before he was dealt to the Cubs as part of a group of players for right-hander Yu Darvish on December 29, 2020.

Caissie then played five seasons in the Cubs’ organization.

The Fieldhouse Pirates and Junior National Team alum also spent 2024 with the triple-A Iowa Cubs, batting .278 with 19 home runs, 75 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, while posting an .848 OPS, in 127 games. He was added to the Cubs’ 40-man roster following the season.

In 2023, after starting the year with a home run and four RBIs in three games for Canada at the World Baseball Classic, Caissie batted .289 with 22 home runs and 84 RBIs in 120 games with the Cubs’ double-A Tennessee Smokies.

Caissie spent 2022 in High A, hitting .254 with 11 home runs in 105 contests after he had batted .302 with seven home runs in 54 games between Rookie Ball and Low-A in 2021.

With the young Marlins squad, Caissie has a good shot at cracking their Opening Day roster in the outfield. In Miami, he’ll join two of his likely World Baseball Classic teammates: catcher Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.) and shortstop Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.).

Taillon to pitch for Canada at WBC

Veteran right-hander Jameson Taillon confirmed on X on Wednesday that he has agreed to pitch for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in March.

It will be his first appearance for Canada at the event since 2013.

“Honored (Honoured?) to play for Baseball Canada in the World Baseball Classic!” wrote Taillon on X on Wednesday. “Excited to put on the uniform and represent my family and our Canadian roots!”

Though he was born in Lakeland, Fla. and drafted out of The Woodlands, Tex., Taillon has Canadian parents. His mother was born in Toronto while his father is from St. Andrews West, Ont. (near Cornwall).

When he was 21, Taillon started for Canada against the U.S. in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and allowed just one earned run in four innings in Canada’s eventual 9-4 loss.

Since then Taillon has developed into a reliable big league starter who owns an 82-60 record with a 3.87 ERA in 224 appearances (223 starts) in nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs.

In 2025, Taillon went 11-7 with a 3.68 ERA in 23 starts for the Cubs. He struck out 98 batters in 129 2/3 innings. The 6-foot-5 right-hander had 14 quality starts, while his 1.057 WHIP was second among Cubs’ starting pitchers. He was particularly good in the second half after returning from injuries. In six starts in August and September, he went 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA and had 24 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings.

He also had a strong start in the third – and deciding game – of the National League Wild Card Series against the Padres, permitting just two hits in four scoreless innings to help the Cubs to a 3-1 win.

Taillon will be a key starter for Canada, who are hoping to advance to the second round of the WBC for the first time.