The Miami Marlins could use a spark, and Miguel Andujar could use a change of scenery. Here’s why Miami might make such a move.
Two interesting things happened this week: the Miami Marlins offense showed some signs of life, and disgruntled New York Yankees super utility player Miguel Andujar requested a trade.
The question is, could there be a match to be made here?
Despite those offensive signs of life, the Miami Marlins were still 3-4 this week. The fact that that record represents progress of a sort says a lot about the 2022 Marlins, and none of it good. Still, this remains a roster that the underlying numbers say is a good deal better than it looks; Miami presently has a Pythagorean record of 27-24, a positive run differential, and the fifth best wRC+ ranking in the NL. Adding talent isn’t unreasonable, even if they are eight games under .500 at the moment.
So why might Miguel Andujar be a solution?
Primarily, because he could help fill an area of need right now. None of this is to suggest that Andujar is the ultimate answer to all of Miami’s woes, and the missing piece for a playoff run. However, he just might be the missing piece to keep Miami alive to make such a run. Utilityman Joey Wendle recently found himself back on the IL, as did third baseman Brian Anderson. Seemingly every time Miami has been about to be back at full health over the past month, another illness or injury has struck. The players called up to account for these injuries have been uninspiring at best, and not MLB worthy at worst. This is the kind of move contenders make. Pretenders call up Erik Gonzalez instead of hotter hitting prospects.
In the best case scenario, there’s a non-zero chance that a change in scenery sparks Andujar to be something resembling the 2018 version of himself that won the AL Rookie of the Year award. Granted, that was many, many versions of a baseball ago, and his days as a 20-plus HR hitter are very likely behind him. Fortunately, the Marlins don’t need him to regain those 2018 heights to make a trade worthwhile. They just need him to be better than Joe Dunand, Erik Gonzalez, Luke Williams, and perhaps even the always amazing to watch Willians Astudillo.
Which, in terms of WAR anyway, he already has been this season. It doesn’t seem unreasonable at all to believe getting out of an unhappy situation could make him at least a little bit better.
Just better enough to turn a few of those theoretical wins into actual wins for the Miami Marlins. In a make or break June for the club’s playoff hopes, they are going need every win they can get- and Miguel Andujar can help get them.