The Tampa Bay Rays made an odd move in trading one catcher to acquire another. Only the one they acquired is more of a downgrade from their previous one. In successive moves, the Rays traded Danny Jansen to the Milwaukee Brewers and traded for Miami Marlins catcher, Nick Fortes. It’s not really an upgrade as Fortes isn’t an offensive savant. That said, he does have three more years of team control, which is probably the most appealing part of the deal.
The Rays are in a weird situation where they could sell and buy, which is apparently what they plan on doing. The deadline is all about making significant moves and this just doesn’t fit the bill. I hope Tampa Bay has more moves to make because right now, they aren’t any closer to reaching the postseason. They’re currently three games back out of a wild card spot.
Tampa Bay Rays trade grade: C-
Miami Marlins trade grade: C+
Tampa Bay Rays make lateral move at best in trade with Miami Marlins
The other half of this trade, which involved Matthew Etzel, a minor league outfielder, going to the Marlins, really isn’t much of an upgrade for the Marlins either. I know they’re selling at this point so offloading Fortes was a positive, but the return wasn’t great. Granted, Fortes is slashing .240/.288/.347 with a .637 OPS this season. He’s played in just 29 games this year and has two home runs and 10 RBI.
As for Etzel, he isn’t a superior prospect. He was ranked the No. 27th prospect in the Rays farm system before the season started. Though he’s just in his second season since being drafted in 2023. He could very well be a long term project now for the Marlins. If he turns out to be a solid player for the Marlins then it was a massive win, but he’s more likely to be sub-average in the majors when he gets there.
This was an odd move, more so for the Rays than it was the Marlins. They haven’t decided if they want to throw this season away or try and salvage it. With their latest move, it just doesn’t make sense to me. If they make a few more moves then maybe that will bring some sense to this.
But the Marlins saw an opportunity to get a prospect that has enough upside to jump at them and you can’t blame them for that. At the same time, they got rid of a player they didn’t really have much use for.