Phillies, Mets need to race for ideal bullpen trade target as Marlins fire sale starts

The MLB trade deadline is one of the most exciting and hectic times of the baseball season. Teams spend a few months finding their direction for the season and it all culminates to the week before the July 30 trade deadline.

By that time, teams have to know whether they're buying or selling so they can either acquire players to make a playoff run or deal their talent away to stockpile prospects for the future. It's truly a magnificent game to be seen in the way that these teams do business. There's no other sport quite like it.

On Thursday night, the Miami Marlins continued their fire sale by dealing lefty reliever A.J. Puk to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Marlins received Deyvison De Los Santos, Arizona's 14th-ranked prospect, and Andrew Pintar, Arizona's 30th-ranked prospect, in the deal. They got quite the return on their reliever.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, and join the discord to get the inside scoop as we near the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

Marlins continue 2024 fire sale with Puk trade, Chisholm, Scott to be next

With Puk and Hunter Harvey now off the board, there are a few reliever-needy teams that are dialing in on the Marlins closer, Tanner Scott. The Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees and New York Mets are just a few teams that have reported interest in Scott.

And with Puk going for such a high price, Scott could land the Marlins a top-10 prospect in a team's farm system. The market is incredibly expensive before this season's trade deadline. It's almost unprecedented how much these pitchers are going for.

Scott, 30, is on an expiring deal though. That would drop his price quite a bit considering Puk has an additional year of arbitration on his contract. But Scott also has an ERA of 1.21 through 44.2 innings this season. No, that's not a typo. He's been one of the best pitchers in the game, period.

The Phillies, Yankees and Mets are just a few teams that come to mind as being in the market for the Marlins closer. The Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox are also two teams that have been in the market to add relief pitching. In fact, almost every contending team at every trade deadline is looking to bolster their bullpen.

The next few days are bound to get very hectic, very fast. Try your best to keep up.