The Miami Marlins are slogging through a brutal summer. With a 30-54 record, the team is currently 25 games out of first place in the NL East and 13.5 back in a National League Wild Card race that just about every team seems to be in the thick of aside from Miami and the Colorado Rockies.
Just a year removed from making the postseason, this Marlins squad is going nowhere fast. With a miserable record and a depleted farm system, new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix figures to start the inevitable rebuild this summer, turning the Marlins into big time sellers and pilling up prospects.
The team removed any doubts about their intentions and set the stage for a sale in July by moving infielder and two-time batting champ Luis Arráez to the San Diego Padres in May for prospect capital.
That move is likely just the start of things to come as the Marlins look to take advantage of what is shaping up to be a sellers’ market at the MLB trade deadline.
Miami doesn’t need to cut a bunch of bloated salaries in an effort to reduce spending. At just over $100 million, the Marlins have the fourth lowest payroll in the majors. They do need to revamp their farm system by stocking up on prospects and developing talent. And they have some attractive pieces to offer for the right packages.
Sadly for Miami, one of those pieces is unlikely to move this summer. The Marlins 26-year-old lefty starter Jesús Luzardo, who was thought to be one of the team’s primary trade chips at the deadline this year, hit the 60-day injured list with back pain. This means he won’t be eligible to return to action until after July 30, greatly diminishing – if not outright destroying – his trade value.
Luzardo wasn’t having a very good season prior to the injury but he did fan 208 batters in 178.2 innings last year, to go along with a 3.58 ERA and an ERA+ of 130. A quality left-handed starter under team control until the 2027 season would have made for a very valuable trade asset. Now the Marlins will miss out, assuming they’re unwilling to sell for pennies on the dollar.
The team’s other big name starting pitcher, former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcántara, was lost to Tommy John surgery last fall, knocking him out for the entire 2024 season. Fortunately, the Marlins have other pieces they can deal as they look to completely overhaul the roster and build for the future.
Marlins will be sellers at trade deadline
For pitching needy teams, there’s lefty reliever Tanner Scott, who’s putting together another quality year out of the bullpen for the struggling club with a 1.50 ERA, 12 saves and a sterling ERA+ of 292. Scott has racked up 38 strikeouts in 36 innings, which is solid, but his 9.5 K/9 is down from his career mark of 11.9, meaning his best work might still be yet to come this year.
Scott is making a very reasonable $5.7 million this season. However, he’ll enter free agency in 2025, making him merely a second half rental. But for teams in need of relief help for a postseason run, Scott will be toward the top of the list.
Those looking for a power boost at a corner infield spot could do worse than first baseman Josh Bell. Bell is having a down year in 2024 but he’s just a season removed from hitting 22 home runs and 28 doubles between two big league clubs.
Last year he was traded by the Cleveland Guardians at the deadline to help the Marlins’ push for the Wild Card. This season, he could end up part of another team’s second half surge. However, Bell is making a somewhat prohibitive $16.5 million in 2024 and will hit free agency next year, so his mid-season trade value will be capped.
Then, of course, there’s the Marlin’s prized offensive trade chip Jazz Chisholm Jr. The converted center fielder started slow but has heated up as the season progressed. He’s now up to 10 homers and 14 steals to go along with an improved .747 OPS. And he’s batted above .300 over his last 15 games. The former All-Star is just 26-years-old and under team control until the 2027 season.
Chisholm Jr. should draw serious interest from teams needing outfield help that miss out on the Chicago White Sox’s Luis Robert Jr., assuming the asking price isn’t preposterously rich.
For new Marlins’ boss Bendix, the 2024 trade deadline, in the middle of a lost season, is the perfect opportunity to handpick young prospects that he can use to restock the farm system and ultimately, rebuild the franchise. Miami may not have the trade chips that the White Sox boast – especially with Luzardo’s injury news – but everyone is up for grabs. And some very useful parts can be acquired.
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