In playoff race that will go ‘right down to the wire,’ Marlins do their part to improve
When Miami Marlins general manager Kim Ng and her front office met Tuesday morning, with MLB’s trade deadline just hours away, they knew what their main objective needed to be..
“Number one,” Ng said, “was to really try and help the offense. ... It was really about lengthening out the lineup and trying to give our starters a little bit more support.”
It came down to the very end — “down to the absolute wire,” Ng said — but Miami ultimately swung two deals just before the league’s 6 p.m. deadline to beef up its offense.
First, the Marlins sent left-handed pitcher prospect Jake Eder to the Chicago White Sox for third baseman Jake Burger.
Second, they acquired switch-hitting first baseman Josh Bell from the Cleveland Guardians for infielder prospect Kahlil Watson and third baseman Jean Segura (who Cleveland promptly released).
Miami also dealt first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper and right-handed pitcher prospect Sean Reynolds to the San Diego Padres for left-handed starting pitcher Ryan Weathers to cap the three-trade day. It was the third pitcher Miami acquired this week after also trading with the Minnesota Twins for high-leverage reliever Jorge Lopez and the New York Mets for closer David Robertson.
So, in all, Miami made five trades in a seven-day span to upgrade the roster as it prepares for a two-month fight to make the playoffs. The Marlins (57-51) entered Wednesday one game out of the wild card picture.
But Ng knows this is the Marlins’ window. Their surprising first half of the season put them in position to make a push. She and the front office didn’t want it to go to waste.
“This team was contending without the additions,” Ng said. “With the additions, it only makes us stronger. These guys are fighters. They’re resilient. We’ve seen so many come-from-behind victories. We’ve seen them locking down the wins that they should. This is going to go right down to the wire, and there are a lot of clubs involved, but these guys compete their butts off every day.”
And now there are some reinforcements to help with that push.
Adding hitters
Start with Burger, who adds immediate power to the lineup. He hit 25 home runs in 88 games for the White Sox, matching Jorge Soler for the most on the Marlins’ roster. His .806 on-base-plus-slugging is higher than everyone on Miami’s roster except for Soler (.824) and Luis Arraez (.906).
There is a lot of chase and swing-and-miss in his game — he has a 31.6-percent strikeout rate — but his ability to impact a game when he makes contact is tough to deny. His average exit velocity (92.4 percent), expected slugging percentage (.528), barrel rate (19.6 percent) and hard-hit rate (50.5 percent) all rank in the top-10 percentile of MLB this season.
Burger, 27, is under team control through the 2028 season.
That’s the type of bat that can desperately help the Marlins’ lineup even if it goes against the team’s overall philosophy of professional hitters with plate discipline. Miami entered Wednesday tied for the fourth-fewest runs scored (439) despite having the third-highest batting average in the league (.265).
“With 25 home runs two-thirds of the way into the season, with as many baserunners as we get on, we thought this was an opportunity for him to get some RBI,” Ng said. “In terms of the profile, you always have an ideal that you’re shooting for, but you’re not necessarily going to get that profile on every single hitter.”
They do get that profile, however, in Bell. The 30-year-old switch-hitter, who was on the Marlins’ radar this offseason, is a career .259 hitter with a .347 on-base percentage and .798 OPS. He hit 11 home runs and 19 doubles with 48 RBI in 97 games with Cleveland this season before the trade. He was an All-Star in 2019 and won a Silver Slugger Award last season.
Bell signed a $16.5 million contract this offseason with Cleveland that includes a $16.5 million player option for 2024.
“He’s gonna lengthen out the lineup quite a bit,” Ng said.
State of the rotation
While the Marlins lengthened the lineup, they added depth but also questions in regards to their starting rotation.
Miami optioned right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera to Triple A Jacksonville on Tuesday after struggling in his Monday start, pitching just three innings and walking six. This leaves a void in the fifth spot of the rotation beyond righties Sandy Alcantara and Johnny Cueto and lefties Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett.
Miami’s main options for the time being:
▪ Weathers, who they acquired Tuesday from San Diego. The 23-year-old lefty had a 6.25 ERA over 44 2/3 innings this season in 12 games (10 starts) for San Diego. He has bounced between MLB and the minor leagues this season and was in Triple A when Miami traded for him.
▪ George Soriano. The rookie righty has been used exclusively out of the bullpen for Miami this season but has done well in multi-inning situations and has been a starter before in his career. Six of his 11 outings with Miami have gone at least three innings.
▪ Bryan Hoeing. The 26-year-old has bounced between the rotation and the bullpen this season, making six starts and 17 relief appearances. He is currently in Triple A Jacksonville.
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