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Miami Marlins Go With Bullpen Plan B, Trade For Dylan Floro

By Sean Millerick

ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 27: Dylan Floro #51 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after striking out Randy Arozarena (not pictured) of the Tampa Bay Rays to end the top of the second inning in Game Six of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field on October 27, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 27: Dylan Floro #51 of the Los Angeles Dodgers celebrates after striking out Randy Arozarena (not pictured) of the Tampa Bay Rays to end the top of the second inning in Game Six of the 2020 MLB World Series at Globe Life Field on October 27, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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In the wake of Brandon Kintzler signing with Philadelphia, the Miami Marlins quickly went with Plan B in the bullpen, trading for Dylan Floro.

In a Friday afternoon trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Miami Marlins made what might well be their final addition to a revamped 2021 bullpen in veteran Dylan Floro.

It just likely wasn’t the final move they had in mind when the week started.

Just as Marlins fans were buoyed by the news that slugger Adam Duvall had signed with Miami, news broke that 2020 closer Brandon Kintzler had turned down an MLB offer from the Marlins for a minor league deal that could net more money from NL East rival Philadelphia. A mixed week for the Fish, drawing some to call out the club for a return to their penny-pinching ways.

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Credit to Kim Ng and the Miami Marlins front office for doing some extra work to shore up the bullpen in the wake of that disappointment, and bringing Floro to Miami.

To be sure, no one needs to mistake Floro as a presumptive favorite to lead the team in saves. Whereas Kintzler might have reclaimed his 2020 role, offseason addition Anthony Bass looks to be the likely candidate at this point. And for a team coming off a playoff run, and with as few payroll commitments as Miami has, signing a more proven closer was a reasonable expectation. Not a single closer that has signed so far this offseason landed a particularly onerous contract, and all would have immediately been the best arm in Miami’s pen.

But a true return to those penny-pinching ways of the past would have been for the Miami Marlins to just shake off the Kintzler spurning, saying they had plenty of faith in the players already on the roster. Saying that…while the very fact the Kintzler offer was issued served as proof that message was a hollow one. Instead, Miami went out and grabbed a reliable arm that will cost just shy of $1 million this season, and be arbitration eligible the next. Alex Vesia, the big name going back to the Dodgers in the deal, wasn’t even hitting arbitration until 2024.

Floro sports a four-pitch arsenal (fastball, sinker, slider, change), and should be a useful late inning option. The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson breaks down the repertoire and sabermetric success here. Floro also brings plenty of postseason experience, featuring some pretty distinct highs and lows. On the one hand, Floro did take the loss in Game 7 of the 2018 World Series. But on the other, he recorded a clutch strikeout against Randy Arozarena in Game 6 of the 2020 World Series.

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Probably fair to say not much is going to take him by surprise. Now let’s just hope he can go out and surprise a few batters by season’s end.

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