They are 0-7, with four starting pitchers on the injured list. No, it’s not too early to consider the Miami Marlins as a deadline seller, not when they’ve already moved a veteran player and received offers for some of their biggest names.
The Marlins’ traded veteran infielder Jon Berti, 34, was only a part-time contributor. Second baseman Luis Arraez, 27, and left-hander Jesús Luzardo, 26, are more valuable commodities. The Marlins resisted trades before Opening Day. But if their play doesn’t improve, first-year general manager Peter Bendix will almost certainly be more inclined to dismantle his roster.
The San Diego Padres showed interest in Arraez throughout the offseason and made him an attractive offer during spring training, according to sources briefed on the Marlins’ discussions. A Padres source, however, said the team was more focused on Luzardo, who represented an alternative in trade talks to right-hander Dylan Cease, the pitcher San Diego acquired from the Chicago White Sox on March 13.
Arraez is a two-time batting champion, but how could he have fit in with the Padres, a team that reduces its payroll for opening day of more than $80 million between 2023 and 2024, is an open question.
The Padres announced early in camp that they were moving Xander Bogaerts to second base to free up shortstop Ha-Seong Kim. The only way to create room for Arraez — and accommodate his $10.6 million salary — might have been to trade Kim and move Bogaerts back to short position, or to trade Jake Cronenworth and play Arraez at first goal. The Padres, according to FanGraphs, are $14 million away from the luxury tax threshold, and they want to maintain flexibility in case they need to address multiple needs before the trade deadline.
Arraez’s contact skills certainly would have been welcome on a San Diego lineup that lacks established left-handed hitters. Padres general manager AJ Preller sometimes puts players together without regard for their natural position. But the Marlins, heading into the start of the season, worried they wouldn’t be able to adequately replace Arraez, whom former general manager Kim Ng acquired from the Minnesota Twins in a four-player trade that included right-hander Pablo López in January 2023.
Luzardo, obtained from the Oakland Athletics for outfielder Starling Marte in July 2021, was another Ng acquisition. He’s making $5.5 million this season and is under club control for two more. Arraez, on the other hand, will only be under control until next season. The way Miami operates, neither he nor Luzardo seem likely to receive a contract extension.
The Marlins are coming off their first full-season playoff appearance since winning the 2003 World Series. Their manager, Skip Schumaker, is the reigning National League Manager of the Year. Yet the team signed just one major league free agent this offseason: shortstop Tim Anderson, for one year, $5 million.
Bendix, according to Marlins officials briefed on the team’s strategy, has spent most of his time and resources trying to improve the team’s infrastructure. Miami added three executives — assistant general manager Gabe Kapler, farm manager Rachel Balkovec and director of baseball operations Vinesh Kanthan — to positions that were left vacant last season or didn’t exist. But his $92 million Opening Day payroll was slightly lower than it was last season, ranking 27th in the majors.
Berti, earning $3.625 million, was sent to the New York Yankees as part of a three-team trade in which the Marlins received one prospect from the Yankees and another from the Tampa Bay Rays. The Marlins had other utility types – Vidal Bruján, Jonah Bride and Xavier Edwards, who is currently on the injured list – to fill Berti’s role. Their rotation, decimated by injuries, is another matter. Through seven games, Luzardo’s ERA is 4.35 and that of the other starters combined is 6.75.
The Marlins, playing at home against two modestly talented clubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Los Angeles Angels, were dominated 51-24. Their schedule will now become more difficult. Starting Thursday, they will face the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees on the road, the Atlanta Braves and San Francisco Giants at home and the Chicago Cubs and Braves on the road.
2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara will miss the entire season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Eury Pérez, last year’s phenom, is out due to inflammation in his right elbow. Two other starters, left-hander Braxton Garrett and right-hander Edward Cabrera, are dealing with shoulder impingements.
Bendix was previously employed by the Rays, who typically have one of the lowest payrolls in the game, and are considered the model franchise for doing more with less. Marlins owner Bruce Sherman hired Bendix to follow a similar plan. If Miami remains uncompetitive, moving veterans to prospects will be inevitable.
Arraez and Luzardo would have the most value, but the Marlins could also look to move anyone earning big dollars — first baseman Josh Bell ($16.5 million this season), outfielder Avisaíl García ($24 million dollars in 2024 and 2025), maybe even Alcantara ($43.9 million from 2024-26) and center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr., who is making $2.625 million this season but has two years left. salary arbitration.
If the Marlins under Bendix are to operate like the Rays, they will be open to trading any players at any time. And if the spiral continues, it will only accelerate the process.
(Luis Arraez Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)