The 2018 Miami Marlins need to look no further than their clubhouse for proof of why they need to add more trade bait to fish with this summer.
Despite an offseason full of subtractions, plenty of attractive talent remains on the Miami Marlins roster. However, virtually none of that talent makes their money on the pitching mound, and the bulk of it comes with either injury questions, a burdensome contract, or both.
Which is a big problem given the fact that the entire reason for being of the 2018 Miami Marlins is to make the 2020 Miami Marlins worth watching. Even if all those talented parts- J.T. Realmuto, Justin Bour, Starlin Castro, Martin Prado, Brad Zeigler- all stay healthy and match or exceed their career bests, all but Realmuto would only be fetching moderate returns. And that would be one massive if, especially when you start thinking about this franchise’s track record.
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Bottom-line, the Marlins need as many Trade Deadline lottery tickets as possible. Which means it’s time to start looking at some free agent starting pitchers.
The funny thing though is that a textbook example of why this is so will already be sitting in the Miami Marlins clubhouse next week when pitchers and catchers report. That example’s name is Dan Straily, probable Opening Day starter and an object lesson for Derek Jeter and the rest of the front office.
Which brings us to the Chicago Cubs, the original architects of the tank for a championship blueprint the Miami Marlins seem to be following.
The Cubs entered 2014 with zero plans to compete, but developed a surprisingly good pitching rotation, with three starters posting ERAs under 3.00. Two of them-Jason Hammel and Jeff Samardzija– were flipped to Oakland for star prospect Addison Russell and two throw-ins. One of those throw-ins? Yep, Dan Straily.
Four years later, Russell is a World Series hero, and Straily has the chance to step into the Hammel/Samadzija role. Starting pitchers are the ultimate bargaining chip for buyer and seller alike come Deadline time, and it would be a surprise to see him open 2019 in a Marlins uniform. But Straily is the only chip Miami has to play within that regard.
Anyone else currently projected to start for the Miami Marlins this year is either too valuable a prospect, too cheap to get rid of or also Wei-Yin Chen. Plus, it needs remembering Straily pretty much fell off a cliff in the second half last season. For his career, he’s had a WAR value above 0.0 for less than two of his six big league seasons. In short, he’s still a gamble.
Apparently then, the Marlins need to take advantage of this absurdly sluggish free-agent market and add at least one veteran starter. Someone who could be poised for that 2014 Jason Hammel type breakout- until that season, he was Tom Koehler. Someone they could get to sign a cheap, one to two year prove it deal. Sell them on playing time, sell them on Florida’s lack of income tax. Heck, be blunt and promise to trade with them to a contender come July.
Worst case scenario, such a move buys time for prospects to develop and keeps those service clocks on hold. It even keeps the Players Union off their back. Best case though, the Marlins reel in a future star. It’s a win-win either way.
Next: Phil Coke eyeing MLB return after stint in Japan
So time to start fishing.