The Miami Marlins promoted No. 25 ranked prospect Maximo Acosta from Triple A Jacksonville on August 17, according to Daniel Álvarez of El Extra Base, ahead of their three game home series against the St. Louis Cardinals.
MLB Pipeline ranks Acosta No. 25 on the Marlins Top 30 prospects list. See profile here MLBPipeline.com. The call up carried mixed emotions. Acosta lost his father in recent months, and he spoke about the difficulty of balancing joy with grief as he finally reached the big leagues.
"The most beautiful part is that he taught me everything about this game."#Marlins No. 25 prospect Maximo Acosta — just called up for his MLB debut — credits his late father for his love for baseball: https://t.co/qTCtqSzvvk pic.twitter.com/9HH9WMXRQI
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 18, 2025
Acosta made his Major League debut on August 18 at loanDepot Park, starting at second base and batting eighth in the lineup for Miami.
Acosta stepped to the plate in the bottom of the second inning for his first MLB at-bat in front of the home crowd. He struck out on a called third strike, frozen by a 76.9 mph curveball from left-hander Matthew Liberatore.
The top of the fifth inning quickly turned into trouble for Miami. With one out, Pedro Pagés walked, and Nathan Church chopped a ball that forced Acosta into a rushed play at second. Credited with a fielding error, his second of the season, the play was also a product of Church’s quick speed and Acosta’s inexperience at second base. The mistake extended the inning, and the Cardinals piled on with wild pitches, walks, and RBI hits from Lars Nootbaar, Alec Burleson, and Willson Contreras to flip a 2–0 Miami lead into a 3–2 St. Louis advantage.
Acosta came back up in the bottom half of the inning and grounded out to third.
By the seventh, the rookie’s struggles continued. After Javier Sanoja lined out, Acosta struck out swinging for the second time of the night, leaving him hitless through his first two Major League games at bats.
St. Louis kept pressing, taking a 4–3 lead on Alec Burleson’s RBI single in the seventh and stretching the margin in the eighth and ninth. A Pedro Pagés RBI knock in the eighth made it 5–3, and in the ninth a passed ball and a two-run homer from Nolan Gorman blew the game open. The Cardinals went on to defeat Miami 8–3.
Acosta was due up next when Javier Sanoja struck out to end the game in the bottom of the ninth, leaving him on deck as the Marlins closed a sloppy night with their rookie still searching for his first big league hit.
Acosta was back in the starting lineup on August 19, this time shifting across the diamond to third base and batting eighth. Still looking for his first Major League hit, he went 0-for-4 in the Marlins’ 7–4 loss to St. Louis.
Acosta was tested quickly in the second inning, charging and throwing on the run to record a putout on Pedro Pagés. He followed it up in the third by starting a crisp 5–4–3 double play on Masyn Winn. In the eighth, he stayed busy at third, recording three outs in the frame with a pop out in fair territory, a pop up in foul ground, and a routine ground ball.
At bat, the struggles continued. Acosta grounded out in the third and fifth, struck out swinging in the seventh, and ended the game in the ninth by grounding into a force out with two men aboard. He is now hitless through his first seven plate appearances across two games, with three strikeouts.
Maximo Acosta getting some early work in with infield coach Tyler Smarslok. #Marlins pic.twitter.com/bUELITmUvN
— Christina De Nicola (@CDeNicola13) August 18, 2025
The Marlins confirmed the move on social media, and Kevin Barral of Fish On First shared video from Acosta’s debut.
Máximo Acosta speaking to the media ahead of his MLB debut.#Marlins @FishOnFirst pic.twitter.com/lidJIrSZct
— Kevin Barral (@kevin_barral) August 18, 2025
As part of the roster shuffle, Miami placed outfielder Kyle Stowers on the 10 day injured list with a left oblique strain and recalled left fielder Joey Wiemer from Jacksonville. Also, infielder Graham Pauley placed on 10-day IL (retro to Aug. 17) with right oblique strain.
Acosta joined the Marlins in a December 11, 2024 trade with the Texas Rangers that also brought shortstop Echedry Vargas and left handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza to South Florida in exchange for third baseman Jake Burger.
¡Un debut muy especial! 👏🇻🇪
Maximo Acosta debutará esta noche como segunda base y octavo en el orden al bate con Marlins de Miami. Será el venezolano número 504 que participará en la gran carpa. 🔥#MLB #QuoteBP pic.twitter.com/WU05VwgtC8
— BeisbolPlay (@beisbolplaycom) August 18, 2025
The 22 year old from Caracas, Venezuela appeared in 106 games with Jacksonville this season, hitting .232 across 430 plate appearances with 88 hits, 13 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 49 RBI, 28 stolen bases, 45 walks, and 113 strikeouts for a .695 OPS.
Defensively, Acosta started 101 games at shortstop for Jacksonville, logging 875 innings with 358 chances, 130 putouts, 215 assists, 13 errors, and a .964 fielding percentage. He also appeared in five games at second base, starting four, handling 18 chances cleanly with six putouts, 12 assists, no errors, and one double play in 41 innings.
¡Otro venezolano a Las Mayores! 👏🤩
Maximo Acosta habló en exclusiva para #ONEBaseball previo a su debut en MLB con #Marlins. Se convertirá en el venezolano número 504 que participará en las Grandes Ligas. 🗣️🇻🇪#MLBxOB#ONEBaseball único canal de Latinoamérica dedicado 100%… pic.twitter.com/u8xM4zQO3g
— One Baseball Network (@1baseballtv) August 18, 2025
Acosta played in six Grapefruit League games this spring and posted a .273/.429/.545 slash line with 11 at bats, three hits, one home run, one RBI, three walks, and three strikeouts before being optioned to Triple A on March 8.
In 2024, he played 104 games with Double A Frisco, hitting .288 with 23 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 58 RBI, and 26 stolen bases. That fall, he excelled in the Arizona Fall League with the Surprise Saguaros, batting .338/.413/.521 in 20 games and earning Rising Star honors.
Signed by Texas during the 2019 international signing period, Acosta has played five professional seasons, missing 2020 due to the canceled COVID 19 season. In 445 career games he owns a .260 batting average with 432 hits, 85 doubles, 10 triples, 36 home runs, 207 RBI, 131 stolen bases, 155 walks, and a .717 OPS.
Across all levels, he has logged 91 games at second base with a .975 fielding percentage, and 348 games at shortstop with a .958 fielding percentage.
First year manager Clayton McCullough will now evaluate how Acosta fits into the infield mix with Otto Lopez and Javier Sanoja as the Marlins look to finish strong.
Previewing Maximo Acosta's Debut Ahead of Marlins vs. Cardinals Game One https://t.co/Q2xsSJfvws
— Marlins Radio Network (@MarlinsRadio) August 18, 2025
Miami entered Monday at 59–65, seven games back of the third National League Wild Card spot. The New York Mets held that position at 66–58, with the Cardinals one and a half games behind at 61–64.