The Miami Marlins made the right move in keeping Garrett Cooper and Pablo Lopez. The only problem is they looked clueless in the process.
At some point, if the Miami Marlins are going to contend, they need to stop dealing away proven stars.
And in that light, the decision to not deal away two of their four best players was the right call. Garrett Cooper and Pablo Lopez are still Miami Marlins, for at least the rest of this season, and hopefully for 2023 as well. There can be zero doubt about their talent, and what their presence means for a team that absolutely has to take a massive step forward next year.
The only problem for the Miami Marlins is that, as the MLB trade deadline expired, fans were left with the sense that the whole organization is pretty much run by those without a vision for the near future.
Mostly, this is on account of there being a ton of smoke but no fire for the Marlins in the lead-up to this deadline. There was no shortage of rumors surrounding Lopez in particular, which led to a gradual buildup in expectations for a major prospect haul coming back to Miami. Those expectations skyrocketed in the wake of the Luis Castillo deal that sent two Top 100 prospects and more to Cincinnati in exchange for the two-time All-Star. Throw in two weeks worth of terrible offensive play and brutal injuries, and Marlins fans had seen enough. Major change was all that would suffice.
Instead, Marlins fans got just one trade. One. A pretty decent one, honestly, but one that has zero impact on the batting order the team will send out tonight. And, much more frustratingly, might not even have an impact on the lineup they send out on Opening Day 2023.
It’s not as if Marlins fans wanted to see Pablo go. He’s immensely popular, and really good. In terms of WAR, he’s been the third-best player on the team. The same can mostly be said for Cooper, although there is growing frustration about Miami’s first base logjam and what it is doing for key prospect Lewin Diaz’s development. However, if those two pieces were going to be kept, then more pieces needed to be sent out. Nothing of the sort happened.
Maybe that would have resembled clearing house on players that had disappointed this season, freeing up roster space for prospects that need a look. Maybe that would have resembled trading multiple top prospects for an established MLB player who would have filled a hole on the roster. Rolling the dice on splashy, aggressive play for Juan Soto might have always been a long shot. But not doing anything remotely bold made it sting all the more.
All of which has just led to the growing view amongst the Marlins fanbase that general manager Kim Ng is not capable of closing the big deal. Now without question, there are times when the best move you can make is not making a move at all. All season, I’ve personally been of the view that the Marlins should wait until the offseason if they were to move a major MLB piece like Lopez, because I think they have to get MLB pieces back. The kind of talent any team contending for a playoff spot in 2022 probably wasn’t going to be willing to part with this week.
The only problem is all that smoke though. A few thoughtfully phrased comments in media appearances over the past week would have made all the difference between the perception that a deal couldn’t be closed, and that sage decision-making led to holding off on trying for a deal at all. Instead, fans are forced to conclude the team again came up short. That, or got so wrapped up trying for a Lopez deal that they didn’t try enough to free up space at first base or to unload one of their ineffective outfielders.
At the end of the day, the Miami Marlins have a lot of work to do in order to convince their fans they have any kind of effective plan in place that will allow the team to compete in 2023.