Marlins trade Rogers, Scott, Bell, De La Cruz. A look at what Miami netted in return
The Marlins made six deals before Tuesday’s Major League Baseball trade deadline, further replenishing a minor-league system that had been considered one of the sport’s weakest heading into the season.
Dealt away on Tuesday were relievers Tanner Scott, Huascar Brazoban and J.T. Chargois, starting pitcher Trevor Rogers, swing starter/long-man Bryan Hoeing, outfielder Bryan De La Cruz and first baseman Josh Bell.
Scott -- traded to San Diego along with Hoeing -- netted the biggest return of the group.
The Marlins snagged three of the Padres’ top five minor league prospects: Left-handed pitcher Robby Snelling (the No. 2 Padres prospect, per MLB Pipeline), right-handed pitcher Adam Mazur (No. 4) and third baseman/second baseman/outfielder Graham Pauley (fifth). All have dealt with adversity this season, but all three are well-regarded by evaluators. Miami also acquired infielder Jay Beshears, who was rated San Diego’s No. 24 prospect heading into the season.
Rogers, meanwhile, was traded to Baltimore for second baseman Connor Norby and right fielder Kyle Stowers.
De La Cruz was sent to Pittsburgh for right-handed pitcher Jun-Seok Shim (Pittsburgh’s No. 17 prospect) and infielder Garret Forrester, the Pirates’ No. 18 prospect.
Chargois was sent to Seattle for right-handed pitcher Will Schomberg.
Brazoban was traded to the Mets in return for infielder Wilfredo Lara, New York’s No. 22 prospect.
Bell was dealt to Arizona for cash considerations. The Marlins will cover all but $2.25 million of his $16.5 million salary this season.
More on the six trades:
▪ The Scott deal:
The Marlins netted quite a haul for their closer, who will be a free agent this winter.
Snelling, selected 39th overall out of a Reno, Nevada high school in 2022, has a 6.01 ERA in 16 starts in Double A San Antonio this season, after posting a 1.82 ERA in 22 games at three levels in 2022.
MLB Pipeline said he touches 96 mph on his fastball and noted that his “strong 2023 success reinforced his high floor as a future Major League starter. His continued comfortability with all three of his pitches could push him into at least the middle of a rotation.”
Mazur, drafted in the second round out of Iowa in 2022, had a 1.95 ERA in six starts at Double A San Antonio this year and has a 7.49 ERA (1-3 record) in eight games, all starts, for the Padres this season, with 61 base-runners in 33 ⅔ innings. That’s his only big-league experience.
MLB Pipeline said of Mazur: “A lack of more than two above-average pitches dilutes his ceiling some, but so long as he can get through a lineup twice, he should still fit the modern mold of a starting pitcher.”
Pauley, drafted in the 13th round out of Duke in 2022, has hit .228 (.342 on base) with eight homers and 41 RBI in 70 games at Triple A El Paso this year. He began the season with the Padres but was sent to the minors on May 1 after going 4 for 32 (.125) with 15 strikeouts for San Diego. He’s a .280 minor league hitter but must prove he can hit consistently above Double A.
Beshears, a sixth-round pick out of Duke in 2023, is hitting .261 (.373 on base) with 24 doubles and 30 RBI in 84 games at two levels of Class A ball.
In April 2022, Marlins acquired Scott (and Cole Sulser) for a competitive balance draft pick and minor league prospects Antonio Velez and Kevin Guerrero.
That ended up being one of the Marlins’ best trades this decade; Scott went on to save 50 games and win 19 games (opposite 15 losses) with a 2.70 ERA in 185 appearances.
This season, he was the Marlins’ representative in the All Star game and had 18 saves and a 1.18 ERA. And now he’s the centerpiece of a trade that has landed three top prospects in return.
▪ The Rogers trade:
Rogers never could fully reclaim the magic of 2021, when he posted a 2.64 ERA in 25 starts, made the All Star team and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year balloting.
He has battled injuries and ineffectiveness since; this season, he’s 2-9 with a 4.53 ERA in 21 starts. But he has pitched better recently, allowing two runs or fewer in eight of his past nine starts.
Selected 13th overall in the 2017 draft, out of a New Mexico high school, Rogers finished his Marlins career with a 15-32 record and 4.23 ERA in 80 games, all starts.
In the 24-year-old Norby, the Marlins get a polished-hitting second baseman who was ranked 93rd on Baseball America’s top 100 prospect list before the 2023 season.
Drafted in the second round out of East Carolina in 2021, Norby has batted .286 (with a .368 on-base average) in 373 minor league games, with 69 homers and 241 RBI.
This season, in 80 games in Triple A Norfolk, he’s hitting .297 with a sterling .389 on base average, with 16 homers and 57 RBI and 21 doubles. Last season, he hit .290 (.359) in 138 games at Norfolk, with 21 homers, 92 RBI and 40 doubles.
Norby, a right-handed hitter, has appeared in nine major league games, going 6 for 32 (.188), with two homers, a double, no walks and 12 strikeouts for Baltimore. All of his big league experience has come at second base, a position he has played in 272 of his 373 minor league games.
Norby, who also can play left field, is under Marlins’ control through 2030.
The Marlins also got the 26-year-old Stowers, who was drafted by the Orioles in the second round out of Stanford in 2019. He made his big league debut in 2022 but has appeared in only 67 games in the majors, going 36 for 157 (.229), with four homers, 20 RBI, 54 strikeouts and eight walks.
He has hit better than that in limited work for Baltimore this year: .306 (11 for 36). At Triple A this season, he’s hitting .240 (.322 on base) with 18 homers and 55 RBI in 58 games. He has 91 homers in 407 games over parts of five minor league seasons.
▪ The De La Cruz trade:
The Marlins landed a talented but often-injured prospect in Shim, who had a 3.38 ERA in four games for the Pirates’ rookie league team last season but has been sidelined this season because of a shoulder issue. Rated MLB’s No. 10 international prospect before the 2023 season, Shim dealt with an elbow injury in 2021 and a pectoral injury in 2023.
He has rarely been healthy but has displayed three dominant pitches when he hasn’t been injured.
Forrester, drafted in the third round out of Oregon State in 2023, is hitting .273 (.413 on base) with nine doubles and nine RBI in 34 games at High A Bradenton. He hit .326 with 26 homers and 144 RBI in three seasons at Oregon State.
De La Cruz was hitting .245 (.289 on base) with 18 homers and 51 RBI. He hit .258 with 55 homers and 191 RBI in parts of four seasons with Miami.
▪ The Chargois deal:
Chargois, who had a 1.62 ERA in 15 appearances for the Marlins this season, was dealt to Seattle for Schomberg, who had a 3.27 ERA in four starts at High A Everett after beginning the season with a 2.69 ERA and 6-1 record in 15 starts at Class A Modesto.
Schomberg, who wasn’t rated among Seattle’s top 30 prospects entering this season, went undrafted in 2021 out of Davidson, where he finished 12-4 with a 4.55 ERA.
▪ The Brazoban trade:
The Marlins got the 20-year-old Lara, who’s hitting .244 (.349 on base) with four homers and 29 RBI in 70 games at High A Brooklyn. He has played seven positions in four minor league seasons, with more starts at third than any other position.
▪ The Bell deal:
Bell, acquired by the Marlins last July for former first-round pick Khalil Watson and veteran Jean Segura, got off to a slow start this season after exercising his $16.5 million player option last winter. But he has hit .342 with five homers and 10 RBI in his past 10 games.
For the season, he’s hitting .239 (.305 on base) with 14 homers and 49 RBI in 104 games.
Following recent trades involving Jazz Chisholm (Yankees) and A.J. Puk (Arizona), the Marlins have now added 10 position prospects in the past week, as well as three highly-regarded starting pitching prospects, among others.
This story was originally published July 30, 2024 at 5:07 PM.
