The Marlins have put themselves in a spot where buying at the trade deadline feels realistic, not wishful. At 44-40 and just half a game behind the final National League Wild Card spot, Miami is hanging around the postseason race for the first time since 2023.
That doesn’t mean this roster is finished. Third base has been a problem all year, the rotation has taken hits from injuries, and the late innings haven’t always been clean. With that in mind, Miami could target veterans who help now without forcing the front office to empty the farm.
One option is J.P. Crawford of the Mariners.
Seattle has started shifting him out of its long-term plans after top prospect Colt Emerson was called up as the shortstop of the future. Crawford has moved to third base lately, but that job is also expected to disappear once Brendan Donovan returns from the injured list.
In 67 games, Crawford is hitting .224/.342/.371/.713 with 10 home runs, 25 RBI and a 110 wRC+. The bat-to-ball profile still stands out: he’s walking 13.4% of the time and sits in the 96th percentile in chase rate.
He’s also on the final year of a five-year, $51M deal and is making $12M this season. Seattle isn’t acting like a seller, but Crawford is the kind of movable piece they can afford to deal.
For Miami, he could slot in as the main third baseman and offer insurance if star shortstop Otto Lopez misses time.
Isaac Paredes would give the Marlins a different kind of upgrade. He’s been more productive at the plate, batting .250/.348/.426/.774 with 11 home runs, 44 RBI and a 119 wRC+ in 79 games.
His strikeout rate is down to 16.3%, the lowest single-season mark of his career among seasons with at least 100 plate appearances. Paredes isn’t a strong third baseman, but Miami may be willing to trade some defense for the added offense.
He also has experience at first base. Financially, he’s under control at $9.35M in 2026, with a $13.35M club option for 2027, which could make him a useful piece if he keeps producing.
The rotation is another area where the Marlins could use help, and Robbie Ray fits that need. Miami has been short on swing-and-miss stuff, and Ray has spent 13 seasons piling up strikeouts at a historic pace.
Among pitchers with at least 1,000 innings, he ranks sixth in MLB history in career strikeouts per nine innings. He’s also been an All-Star twice, won an ERA title and taken home a Cy Young Award.
Through 17 appearances in 2026, he has a 3.39 ERA for a Giants team in rebuild mode, though his 4.63 FIP tells a less flattering story. The Giants also posted that Ray has allowed 8 hits and 0 earned runs with 23 strikeouts over his last three outings.
If Miami wanted to use him out of the bullpen, that’s an option too, especially with John King as the only left-handed relief weapon currently in the mix. Ray is a free agent after the season, so he’d be a rental, and the Giants would likely need to pay down part of his $25M salary to land a strong prospect return.
Then there’s Aroldis Chapman, whose career looked like it might be winding down at the start of 2025. Instead, he turned in a massive season for the Red Sox, finishing with a 1.17 ERA and a .189 on-base percentage allowed, both career bests.
He’s kept it going in 2026 as well, with a 2.19 ERA in 26 appearances and a fastball still sitting in the 91st percentile in average velocity. Miami already spent $13M on a closer this past offseason, but Pete Fairbanks has struggled badly, posting a 6.75 ERA, the third-highest mark among 165 relievers with at least 25 games pitched.
Adding Chapman would push Fairbanks into a lower-leverage role and give the Marlins a much steadier late-inning option.
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Now the spotlight shifts to Tyler Phillips, who is lined up to start Sunday against the Cardinals as Miami tries to keep another sweep within reach. The setting is a useful test of how long this formula can hold, especially with the Marlins asking so much from a group that has carried them this far by doing the little things exceptionally well. [Read more 🡒]