Fansided

Imagine a world where the Dodgers land one of these trades at the deadline

By Joshua Sadlock

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 27: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 27: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 30: Kyle Barraclough #46 of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Marlins Park on June 30, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FL – JUNE 30: Kyle Barraclough #46 of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the New York Mets at Marlins Park on June 30, 2018 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

4. Kyle Barraclough

No one is quite sure what to make of the Miami Marlins at this year’s trade deadline. The whole-scale sell-off that began this winter might be on hold for now. Or, another wave of trades could be coming down the pike. The Marlins still have chips that would draw interest on the trade market, but they have been playing it close to the vest as the deadline approaches.

It’s understandable if the Marlins want to hold onto catcher J.T. Realmuto for the foreseeable future, but there isn’t much reason to keep holding onto 28-year-old reliever Kyle Barraclough. While it’s true that Barraclough has several years of team control remaining, his value really can only go down from here.

In 42 games this year, Barraclough has pitched to a 1.34 ERA across 40.1 innings while striking out 9.8 per nine and holding opponents to a microscopic .119 batting average. The right-hander is having the best year of his career by far and has also begun picking up save opportunities.

Rebuilding teams like the Marlins should not risk holding onto their relief aces too long, as they are one elbow injury away from having zero trade value. Teams might not be willing to pay up for a rental closer like they once were, but a cheap reliever like Barraclough would bring back a haul and let the Marlins start focusing more on getting all their prospects ready at once for a big launch back to winning baseball.

Home/MLB