The Marlins were supposed to be one of the teams with a heavily watched rotation heading into the Aug. 3 trade deadline. Instead, the attention may be shifting somewhere else entirely.
According to Ken Rosenthal, Will Sammon and Katie Woo of The Athletic, Miami is open to listening on several controllable bats. The names mentioned were catcher/first baseman Liam Hicks, infielders Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards and outfielder Heriberto Hernandez.
If any of those players are actually made available, there should be no shortage of interest. ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Red Sox have inquired about Lopez, though there’s no word on how serious that interest is. Boston has been searching for help at the middle-infield spots and for a right-handed bat, and Lopez fits both needs.
That possibility is a little surprising given where Miami stands offensively. The Marlins have spent so much time trying to assemble a lineup that can really compete, and now they finally have something that looks usable. They rank eighth in the majors with a .732 OPS, and Edwards, Hernandez, Hicks and Lopez have all played important roles in getting them there.
There is also a case for selling high on parts of that group. Lopez and Hicks are in the middle of career years, while Hernandez was brought in as a minor league free agent and could be a prime trade chip if Miami wants to cash in now.
Still, the Marlins have other ways to add to the future without breaking up the heart of what’s working. Catcher Agustin Ramirez has seemingly fallen out of favor in Miami and is not far removed from a strong rookie season. Impending free agent Pete Fairbanks or reliever Anthony Bender could also bring back useful pieces.
What doesn’t make much sense is moving from the core of pre-arbitration players that has helped stabilize the lineup. If Miami is serious about building a sustainable playoff-caliber roster, that should be the group it protects, not the one it shops.
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