The Marlins entered the trade deadline with a plan and left with hitting reinforcements
The Miami Marlins knew their strength heading into the trade deadline. They held a considerable amount of controllable pitching — both starters and relievers.
That was a premium this year, as it is most years, as Wednesday’s 4 p.m. deadline crept closer and closer.
They also knew their weakness: A need to add organizational hitting depth, preferably lefties who could hit for power.
This simple internal understanding resulted two trades on Wednesday. The Marlins sent starter Zac Gallen to the Arizona Diamondbacks for shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm. About an hour later, right up against the deadline, they solidified a deal that sent starter-turned reliever Trevor Richards and rookie reliever Nick Anderson to the Tampa Bay Rays for outfielder prospect Jesus Sanchez and relief pitcher Ryne Stanek.
All this four days after they sent traded veteran reliever Sergio Romo, along with pitching prospect Chris Vallimont and a player to be named later, to the Minnesota Twins for left-handed, power-hitting first base prospect Lewin Diaz.
So in summary: Four pitchers, a pitching prospect and a player to be named later for three top left-handed power-hitting prospects and a 28-year-old relief pitcher in his third MLB season.
“The deals that we made,” Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said, “made sense for us.”
It came at a cost, though.
Gallen, acquired as part of the Marcell Ozuna trade in December 2017, compiled a 2.72 ERA over 36 1/3 innings since making his MLB debut on June 20. He threw a career high seven innings in each of his last two starts, a win over the Chicago White Sox and a loss to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday that saw him hold one of MLB’s most potent lineups to just four hits and two earned runs.
“It’s a little shocking any time you get traded during the season,” Gallen said shortly after being informed of the trade. “Last time I was traded during the offseason so I was able to get my bearings. It’s a little bit quicker of a turnaround, but I’m excited.”
Anderson, a 29-year-old rookie, struck out 69 of the 186 batters he has faced this year (37.1 percent) heading into Wednesday and was primarily used in pressure situations late in games. He has five years of team control left after this season.
Richards, whose changeup is one of the best swing-and-miss pitches in baseball, recently moved to the bullpen and has thrown three scoreless outings since making the switch. He has four years of team control left.
“All three of those players have done tremendous jobs for the Miami Marlins,” Hill said. “We’re definitely thankful and grateful for the jobs that they did for us while they were with us and wish them nothing but the best in their future professional endeavors. But that’s our job: To make smart decisions and take advantage of value when value presents itself.”
The Marlins believe they did that, adding two top-60 prospects and continuing their trend over the past couple months to add left-handed hitters into their minor-league system.
Sanchez, ranked as the No. 42 overall prospect by MLBPipeline, is hitting .263 this season with nine home runs and 54 RBI between the Double A and Triple A levels. He played in the MLB All-Star Futures Game in 2018 and “has the ingredients to be a difference-maker with the bat, as he’s already shown that he can hit for both average and power during games at a young age,” according to his MLBPipeline scouting report.
Chisholm, MLB’s No. 59 overall prospect, is a 21-year-old infielder Hill views as the team’s “shortstop of the future.” The Bahamian began his professional career as an international free agent in 2015 and is a career .253 hitter with 53 home runs over four minor-league seasons. He is hitting .204 with 18 home runs and 44 RBI in 89 games at the Double A level this season.
Diaz, acquired Saturday in the Romo trade, provides needed depth at first base, which the Marlins have lacked.
The trades come after the Marlins selected a pair of left-handed college hitters in JJ Bleday and Kameron Misner with their first two picks in the MLB draft.
“We understood that we needed to add impact bats up to our organization,” Hill said. “We looked across our system and as we build that championship club, that championship core, that we felt like we needed to add. ... There’s risk with every deal that you make, but we worked from a position of strength to add talent that we think is incredibly special.”
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