Behind-the-scenes details on Marlins’ flurry of deals at trade deadline and names raised
Marlins trade deadline postscripts after a flurry of deals:
▪ When Miami initially called the White Sox — before acquiring Chicago’s third baseman, Jake Burger — the Marlins initially were interested in pitcher Lance Lynn. The Marlins wanted to bolster their rotation and liked Lynn as a back end option for the remainder of the season.
But Lynn was dealt to the Dodgers, and conversations shifted to Burger, who has displayed significant power but uneven bat-to-ball skills.
Burger has played nearly the equivalent of a full season over three years with Chicago (154 games) and is a career .230 hitter (.291 on base) with big power numbers (34 homers, 81 RBI) and 173 K in 500 at-bats.
He entered the week with the fifth-worst on-base percentage and sixth-highest strikeout rate (31.6 percent) of any player in the majors (minimum 300 plate appearances). But he’s under team control through 2028.
Burger was the 11th overall pick in the 2017 Draft, ruptured his Achilles twice, missed three seasons and publicly disclosed his battle with depression.
The power developed impressively. The contact skills? Not so much.
The Marlins still value the bat-to-ball skill approach, but they didn’t prioritize that at the trade deadline because they felt they needed more thump in the lineup.
Bell went 2 for 4 in his Marlins debut.
“How much he has improved this year, it’s definitely tough to lose him,” White Sox manager Pedro Grifol said. But “we were able to acquire a guy we feel we can develop into a top-of-the-rotation [starter] or close to it.”
White Sox GM Rick Hahn said of Burger: “Everyone in baseball should root for this kid. We’ve been clear that culture is of the utmost importance to us, and in that end, Jake Burger fits that, on the relationship side, on the human side, on the clubhouse side — it’s a difficult move to make…. Eder, we think, has a chance to be very special.“
The White Sox, all along, had interest in Eder after their scouts saw him in person. Chicago asked for him when the teams spoke on Tuesday, and the deal for Burger was completed hours later.
Burger is expected to play third base (where his metrics are subpar) and first base. This winter, the Marlins will decide where he fits best.
As for trading Eder, the Marlins were happy with his progress after Tommy John surgery (4.25 ERA in six starts at Double A Pensacola), but it came down to moving Eder, Max Meyer or even potentially Dax Fulton.
Since teams could not see Meyer or Fulton pitch because of injury recoveries, Eder became the easiest to parlay into a bat because teams could watch Eder pitch.
Many scouts believe the ceiling is higher for Meyer and Fulton, with Eder generally projected as a potential No. 2 or No. 3 starter in the big leagues.
▪ One Marlin who drew trade interest that wasn’t dealt: right-hander Edward Cabrera.
Cabrera, who was recently demoted to the minors after control problems led to early exits in two starts, was discussed in trade talks with multiple teams leading up to the deadline.
In fact, there was so much interest in him that Miami summoned Devin Smeltzer from Jacksonville to potentially fill-in if Cabrera was dealt.
Cabrera had a disappointing start to the season, then missed a month and five days with right shoulder impingement. He was solid in his first start back (two hits and a run in five innings) but lasted a combined five innings and walked eight in his next two starts, triggering his demotion.
Miami still views Cabrera as part of their long-term plans but clearly needs to see growth when he returns to the big leagues.
His 4.79 ERA in 17 big-league starts this season is more than a run above his 3.01 ERA in 14 starts last season. Control has been the big issue; he walked 33 in 71 ⅔ innings last season, but 52 in 77 innings this season.
If Cabrera spends 20 days or more in the minors, he won’t have any minor league options left after this season.
▪ Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was in play for the Marlins, but they felt Washington wanted too much, and the Nationals dealt him to the Cubs. Some inside the organization felt he was the best bat available at the deadline, but Miami ultimately decided not to make the deal.
He’s hitting .258 with a .342 on-base percentage and 16 home runs — so less power, but a higher average, than Burger.
But Candelario is an impending free agent; Burger is under team control for six years.
The Marlins talked to Colorado about first baseman C.J. Cron (.259, 11, 33) but decided to focus instead on Bell.
▪ Here’s the good news with Bell: After a slow start, he had four homers and 16 RBI in his final 30 games with Cleveland before his trade to Miami.
On the flip side, his .318 on-base is well below his .347 career on-base percentage, and .233 average is well below his .259 career mark.
Cleveland manager Terry Francona was puzzled why there wasn’t more production.
“It looked like he was going to get going and he’d have moments, but it just wasn’t maybe as much as we had hoped,” Francona told Cleveland reporters this week. “That said, he didn’t shortchange anybody on effort or being a teammate though, I guarantee you that.”
Excluding the COVID-shortened season, Bell’s RBI have dropped to 116 to 88 to 71 the past three seasons. He’s at 48 this season, a pace for about 75 RBI if he plays 55 of the Marlins’ final 64 games.
Fangraphs.com’s Ben Clemons said of Bell: “He’s making his customary loud contact and putting up good strikeout and walk numbers, but the power just hasn’t appeared. He also has a pretty horrendous .272 [batting average on balls in play], especially vexing when you consider how many grounders and line drives he hits. Garrett Cooper, who Bell is replacing, had similar numbers but worse raw measurables; I think Bell is a small upgrade.”
▪ The Guardians wanted no part of Jean Segura, who was sent to Cleveland — with shortstop prospect Kahlil Watson — for Bell.
But Cleveland, which is releasing him, took on his salary at the Marlins’ insistence, so Miami could offset some of the money owed to Bell in 2024. The Marlins are taking on Bell’s full salary, and it’s likely he will exercise his $16.5 million player option for next season.
If that were to change, Miami could play Burger at first base next season.
Segura is making $6.5 million this season and $8.5 million next season, and there’s a team $2 million buyout on a 2025 option.
▪ Marlins owner Bruce Sherman and the ownership group agreed to add about $10 million in salary with all of the trade deadline moves, with Bell and to a much lesser extent, closer David Robertson, accounting for that additional expenditure.
▪ The Marlins were high on Watson entering the year but he hit .206 in 58 games at High A Beloit this season and strikeouts remain a problem.
▪ Once Miami knew they were acquiring Bell, they quickly found a spot for Cooper in San Diego, in a deal for erratic young starter Ryan Weathers. There would not have been much playing time for Cooper after the deals for Burger and Bell.
The Padres wanted Sean Reynolds, more affirmation that the Marlins made the right move in transitioning him from a position player to a back-end reliever.
The Marlins view Weathers as a back-of-the rotation starter; he will be given time to develop at Triple A and the Marlins hope he will benefit from a change of scenery.
Miami is paying the remainder of Cooper’s salary; he’s making 4.2 million this season.
Weathers, the seventh overall pick in the 2018 Draft, has a 5.73 ERA in 143 innings but has been decent in Triple A (4.20 ERA in 40 ⅔ innings this season).
His fastball reaches the mid 90s, and his changeup is pretty good, but he has struggled to find a consistent third pitch. As Fangraphs noted, Weathers “has struggled to find the strike zone this season, and the strikes he has thrown have often gotten hit.”
As The Athletic’s Keith Law said, Weathers is “just 23 and an excellent athlete who was in the majors far too soon. As reclamation projects go, he’s a good one.”
▪ Eury Perez is on track to return to the Marlins at some point next week. Marlins GM Kim Ng told reporters she was monitoring his progress, but from what we hear, that progress is leading to a quick return to the big leagues. It seems possible Perez will pitch against the New York Yankees next weekend at loanDepot park.
He has made two minor league appearances since his last big league start on July 6. In the most recent of those appearances, he struck out six batters in the first two innings and ended up going 3 ⅓, with seven strikeouts and three earned runs allowed.
With the Marlins, he was 5-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 11 starts and 53 ⅓ innings.
Herald senior baseball correspondent Craig Mish hosts Newswire from 11 a.m. to noon weekdays on Sportsgrid. Follow him on Twitter at @CraigMish. Follow Barry Jackson at @flasportsbuzz
This story was originally published August 3, 2023 at 3:54 PM.
