Baseball's Best Duo Started as Other Teams' Castoffs

Two undersized ballplayers that other teams gave up on are now dominating Major League Baseball together, and their story proves that potential isn't always obvious.

Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez weren't supposed to be here. Edwards was traded twice before the Tampa Bay Rays decided he wasn't even worth a roster spot in 2022. Lopez was claimed off waivers by the Miami Marlins after the Giants acquired him from Toronto for cash.

Now they're baseball's best middle infield duo in 2026, and it isn't even close. Together, they've combined for 4.1 Wins Above Replacement this season, leading every other middle infield pairing across the majors. Only 10 middle infielders in baseball have produced at least 2 WAR this season, and the Marlins have two of them.

Both players stand around 5 foot 9 and weigh less than 190 pounds. They share compact swings, excellent bat-to-ball skills, and blazing speed. What they also share is a refusal to accept other teams' low expectations.

Edwards has transformed himself into a complete offensive threat this year. The switch hitter struggled against left handed pitching his entire career, batting just .255 with zero home runs from 2023 to 2025. This season? He's hitting .340 with four homers against lefties after completely redesigning his right handed swing.

"I got rid of my toe tap on the right hand side and it kind of freed me up a little bit," Edwards explained. His overall numbers tell the story: a .313 batting average, a .395 on base percentage, and career best plate discipline.

Lopez leads all of Major League Baseball in hits with 70 and batting average at .337. He's hitting the ball harder than ever before, with his average exit velocity jumping more than two miles per hour and his hard hit rate increasing by over six points.

The Ripple Effect

Their breakout performances are reshaping how scouts evaluate undersized players with strong fundamentals. Edwards and Lopez prove that tools like contact ability and baseball IQ can matter more than raw physical measurements.

The Marlins' willingness to give castoffs a real chance has created an environment where players can develop at the major league level. Hitting coach Pedro Guerrero and the coaching staff built on what these players already did well rather than trying to remake them completely.

Manager Clayton McCullough sees the confidence radiating from both players now. "He's just incredibly confident either side right now in the box," McCullough said of Edwards recently.

Their partnership also emerged organically. The Marlins acquired them under two different front office regimes with no master plan to pair them. Sometimes the best duos happen by accident when talented people get the right opportunity.

President of baseball operations Peter Bendix believes this is just the beginning for both players. "Just everything that they've set out to do, they keep doing, keep getting better," he said earlier this month.

Two players other teams threw away are now showing the entire sport what determination and the right environment can achieve.