Marlins’ Clayton McCullough gets real on demoting Agustin Ramirez to AAA

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Zachary Weinberger, ClutchPoints

Mon, May 4, 2026 at 9:32 PM UTC ·

2 min read

Marlins’ Clayton McCullough gets real on demoting Agustin Ramirez to AAA appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

After a solid April for the Miami Marlins , the team is looking to continue to show how much they have improved over the past several seasons. Throughout the progression of the season, there are going to be some players that struggle, as Marlins manager Clayton McCullough shares his thoughts on the latest young player that has been optioned.

The team announced Monday that 24-year-old catcher Agustin Ramirez has been sent down to their Triple-A team in Jacksonville after a bumpy start in 2026, as he’s recording a .230 batting average to go along with two home runs and 14 RBIs. McCullough would speak honestly on Monday about Ramirez’s struggles.

“I have a lot of affinity for [Ramirez],” McCullough said, via Marlins Radio Network. “He’s a tough kid, and certainly has had his struggles at times here. And so I think this got to the point where it becomes his performance. And felt like, especially on the defensive side of things, that while he put in a lot of good work this offseason, and had seen some glimpse of things getting better, that part of his game needs to continue to improve to be able to catch up here for us.”

Marlins’ Clayton McCullough speaks more on Agustin Ramirez

McCullough would keep speaking about the decision from the Marlins to option Ramirez, expressing his belief that the way for him to improve will be in Jacksonville, rather than Miami at this moment.

“You’re not the first young player that has come up and had bouts of struggle, and had to get optioned. And so he won’t be the last…continue to work on the defense and offensively as well, I think we just didn’t see this year offensively, some of the impact, especially the extra base power that we believe he has, and so a ton of confidence in him offensively,” McCullough said.

At any rate, it remains to be seen when Ramirez returns to the majors for the Marlins as the team finishes the current series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday before starting a three-game stretch on Tuesday, facing the Baltimore Orioles .