The Miami Marlins were expected to have pieces to sell off at the MLB deadline. Which players involved in Marlins rumors should we pay attention to this month?
The Miami Marlins came out of the all-star break 16 games below .500. This wasn’t a shock to anyone. After the Marlins new ownership spent the off-season unloading the stars of the team, the Marlins were going to be bad. However, a number of surprising pitcher performances have given them a number of interesting pieces to continue building for the future.
Many will talk about starting rotation options, though with the Miami Marlins, it’s basically boiled down to one now – Dan Straily. Straily was acquired in a trade that sent some much better pieces to the Cincinnati Reds that the Marlins would sure like to have back.
Straily has come back after a rough opening to his season to put up numbers worthy of a mid- to back-rotation option for a club in need of such a piece, with a 4.02 ERA and 1.32 WHIP over 78 1/3 innings. As in most of his career, control and the long ball have been his biggest issues on the season, as he’s allowed 31 home runs the last two seasons, and if he would not have had some injury issues this year that caused him to miss some time, he would be right on pace for that same number this year.
The other two Miami Marlins veteran starters that could be of interest at the trade deadline have been a mixed bag this year. Wei-Yin Chen has a 5.75 ERA this year after missing much of the 2017 season due to injury. He has been better over his last four starts, however, against some pretty good clubs, putting up a 3.63 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and a 4/21 BB/K ratio over 22 1/3 innings, which could entice a team, though his big contract through the 2020 season would likely have to be eaten by the Marlins to swing a deal.
The other pitcher who will likely draw some interest is Jose Urena, who has posted a 4.39 ERA, 3.70 FIP, and a 1.22 WHIP over 108 2/3 innings this season. He’s eligible for arbitration for the first time this season and likely would make 7 figures, so the Miami Marlins could shop him in an attempt to cut costs for next season.
Next: The big fish