MLB rumors: Marlins will have money to add players at trade deadline
Looking to take advantage of a relatively weak NL East, the Miami Marlins will seek to improve their roster before this year’s trade deadline, reports Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio.
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Currently 37-38, the Marlins are just 2.5 games out of first place in a surprisingly mediocre division. Miami GM Dan Jennings recently went on Duquette’s show, and when asked about the team’s plans, said, “Yeah, there will be money,” for the team to add talent through trade.
That creates an interesting wrinkle for a team that was expected to bow out of contention once star pitcher Jose Fernandez suffered a season-ending injury. Instead, strong performances from the likes of Giancarlo Stanton, Henderson Alvarez and Marcell Ozuna have kept the Marlins highly competitive and right in the thick of the division race.
So rather than gamble on the young roster staying in the race through the remainder of the season, Miami will apparently add some reinforcements to improve those odds. More than likely, any additions will come to the pitching staff, as the Boston Globe‘s Nick Cafardo reported last week that the Marlins are looking for pitching, and they’re rumored to be suitors for David Price.
Beyond Alvarez, Nathan Eovaldi and Tom Koehler have been the only other steady starting pitchers for Miami. Jacob Turner, one of the team’s top young talents, was decently demoted to the bullpen in order to make room for Andrew Heaney, who made his MLB debut last week.
Alvarez has been incredible, posting a 2.39 ERA with 61 strikeouts and 18 walks over 94.1 innings, while both Eovaldi and Koehler have sub-4.00 ERAs over 15 starts apiece. Adding another solid veteran or two to that mix would seem to be a logical next step.