Adding to bullpen was Miami Marlins’ ‘highest priority,’ Kim Ng said. What’s next?
As the calendar gets closer to August and MLB’s Tuesday trade deadline gets closer, the Miami Marlins had a clear-cut area it wanted to address above all else.
“The bullpen,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said Friday, “was the highest priority.”
And in a span of about 36 hours, Ng and the Marlins executed two moves to do just that.
It started Wednesday night when Miami made a one-for-one swap with the Minnesota Twins, acquiring right-handed reliever Jorge Lopez for Dylan Floro.
And then as Thursday turned into Friday, the Marlins traded two prospects who haven’t gone past rookie ball (infielder Marco Vargas and catcher Ronald Hernandez) to the New York Mets for closer David Robertson.
The trades, Ng said, came about “fairly quickly.”
“When we see something we like,” Ng said, “we say yes.”
And there’s a lot to like.
With the trades, Miami in theory now has four legitimate options with closing experience in their bullpen — righties Robertson and Lopez along with lefties A.J. Puk and Tanner Scott.
This provides Marlins manager Skip Schumaker with flexibility on a nightly basis as they enter the late innings of games with a lead.
“Giving him more weapons was really our intent,” Ng said.
Robertson, 38, has been the Mets’ primary closer this season after Edwin Diaz sustained a knee injury during the World Baseball Classic. The righty has converted 14 of 17 save opportunities while posting a 2.05 ERA and 48 strikeouts against 13 walks, a 1.00 WHIP and .199 batting average against in 44 innings over 40 relief appearances this season.
Over the course of his 15-year MLB career, Robertson has 171 career saves and has pitched to a 2.84 ERA over 771 career outings.
As for Robertson’s role?
“You’ll seem him late — probably the latest,” Schumaker said, insinuating Robertson will take over closer duties. “While A.J. and Tanner both have ninth-inning experience, David will have a really good shot of being the ninth-inning guy. He’s not going to be able to throw every single ninth inning, but I think you can see him in that closing role.
Lopez, who is under team control through the 2024 season, is a year removed from his best season as a big leaguer, when he pitched to a 2.54 ERA and made 23 saves over 67 total games, first for the Baltimore Orioles and then for the Twins after being traded midseason after being named an All-Star.
This season, Lopez has a 5.09 ERA in 37 games and has converted three of seven save opportunities for Minnesota. The right-handed pitcher has a five-pitch mix, throwing a sinker and a four-seam fastball that both average in the upper-90s along with an upper-80s slider and low 80s curveball that both induce swing-and-miss as well as a mid-80s changeup that is holding opponents to a .174 batting average against this season.
“We’re hoping [pitching coach] Mel [Stottlemyre Jr.] can work some magic and help him regain his form,” Ng said.
What’s next for the Miami Marlins?
While Ng said she is happy with the first two moves, the Marlins still have more moves they plan to make before the trade deadline at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
“We’re looking at anything and everything,” Ng said. “We need to improve the club. We know the different areas. ... These guys have played however many games now — 100 and something games — and we’re just here to provide some reinforcements for them.”
Despite going 3-9 in their first 12 games after the All-Star Break, Miami entered Saturday with a 56-48 record, tied with the San Francisco Giants for the final wild card spot in the National League.
“During this time, its easy to get emotional,” Ng said. “I know the club hasn’t done well the last couple weeks, but but it’s not a good time to get emotional — it’s the worst time, in fact. You just have to really be steady and convicted in how you want to approach this and stick to your guns.”
Regardless of what they pursue — an impact bat on paper is the priority, although Ng said they are exploring the starting pitching market as well — the Marlins know the pool of trade candidates isn’t as deep as it could be with several teams still teetering on the fence between buying and selling.
“There’s a lot of adapting to to the prices in the market right now,” Ng said. “It’s definitely a seller’s market. I think if there’s something that you see that you like, you have to step up.”
This story was originally published July 28, 2023 at 7:41 PM.
.JPG)