The Miami Marlins are hoping for some top notch defense, as well as plenty of trade flexibility, from newly promoted prospect Jacob Amaya.
The Miami Marlins have once again gone to the prospect well looking for some help to keep their surprising season on track.
Jeff Lindgren, George Soriano, Xavier Edwards, and Eury Perez have all made their MLB debuts already in 2023. Peyton Burdick was recalled and given another chance to prove he could belong in the bigs. Obviously, Perez has been otherworldly. The rest though? It’s been a mixed bag at best, and there’s a reason Miami is still scouring for answers … particularly in terms of position players.
Enter Jacob Amaya, fresh off a 1-for-3 big league debut with an RBI in Sunday’s 4-2 victory over the Washington Nationals. He was called up Saturday, but rode the bench that day.
Plenty already has been, and will continue to be over the next few days, written about whether Amaya’s success at the plate in Triple-A will be translate to the big leagues. If his plus defense will play at this level, and allow him to help out the club, it will be a plus since it’s been a pretty bad defensive club. At the time he was acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for 2022 Gold Glove runner-up Miguel Rojas, it was said that a good comp for Amaya … actually was Rojas, just with six more years of club control. Amaya being anything close to prime Rojas (above average defense, mostly average offense) would be a nice change at short for the Marlins.
Again, there will be plenty of Amaya-focused content out there. What interests me most in this space is what Amaya’s arrival could mean for the rest of the roster, and what kind of impact that could end up having on Miami’s plans at the MLB trade deadline.
Because a successful Jacob Amaya, one that dazzles defensively and can hit for even just a respectable average, opens up a world of possibilities for the Miami Marlins.
As cited above, the Marlins have had their issues defensively. The most fretted about issues going into the season (Luis Arraez being overwhelmed by second base and Jazz Chisholm looking like the last pick in a middle school kickball game in center field (I can make that joke because I was that last pick)) have not been nearly as bad as originally believed. Overall though? It has looked like a collection of players with limited defensive ceilings to begin with asked to play different positions than what they were used to. That’s exactly how it was drawn up, and exactly what everyone feared. Offense is certainly bigger concern; the team’s run differential is an abysmal (24 on the year). That doesn’t change the fact that the infield defense, particularly on the left side, must improve if Miami is going to make a real run at contending all season long.
If Amaya can provide that defensive upgrade, it means the Marlins don’t have to trade for it.
Which means that Miami could go after the best offensive talent available. To put it in Pat Riley/Miami Heat parlance, what if a whale becomes available over the next month? What if it’s not just the A’s and Royals selling off parts, but an offseason contender that realizes they are actually just a pretender after all? None of the dream names imaginable in that situation play shortstop or third base. You could argue I’m overlooking Tim Anderson, but I assure you I’m not. He’s a tier below.
Miami’s system isn’t the deepest. They are also not really a true, blue one piece away contender. Consequently, there are only so many bullets the Marlins have available to fire this summer, and it’s fair to wonder how many they’d even be willing to fire in the first place. Not having to worry about shortstop frees the Marlins up to cast the widest net possible in their search.
None of this is to say the Marlins won’t acquire multiple players over the next six weeks if they stay in the race. The more trades you make though, the more pieces you move, the harder it is to make that big, franchise-altering move.
Bottom-line, if Amaya sticks, the Marlins are free to think outside the box in those acquisitions. If he doesn’t, you pretty much know what the team is going to do … and so will 29 other MLB GMs.