MLB Trade Rumors: “Frustrating” Marlins not willing to part with talent

Well, it’s looking more and more like the Marlins are going to stay put at today’s trade deadline and just hope the team can catch lightning in a bottle and somehow put together a postseason push.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports tweets us a very telling bit of information about the way the Marlins are doing business as the deadline looms:

Yeah, that sounds about right.

I mean, just about everyone knew that the Marlins striking a deal for Jon Lester was a pipe dream, but it was still fun to think about. Acquiring a front-line, impact player would likely cost the team valuable prospects, and that’s just not how the Marlins front office does things; that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Sitting a game under .500 at 53-54, six games out of the division lead and 4.5 out of a Wild Card, the Marlins are very much in the thick of the postseason race. However, in addition to starting pitching the team has glaring holes at second base, shortstop (although, Adeiny Hechavarria has been hot lately, as much as that pains me to say) and the bullpen.

One or two small tweaks won’t make this team a World Series contender, and while as a fan I would love to go all-in and win right now, no Marlins fan should want that at the expense of Miami’s very deep, very promising farm system moving forward.

Of course, there is still the possibility GM Dan Jennings and Co. shock us and strike a deal by 4 PM today. Off the table are the biggest names like Lester, John Lackey and Tommy Milone (to whom the Marlins were previously linked) but it appears the front office is at the very least still kicking some tires:

Jarred Cosart, though, is not the type of impact pitcher that would propel the Marlins into true contender status. But he does own a respectable 4.41 ERA and 4.02 FIP pitching in the tough American League West, and isn’t arbitration-eligible until 2017 so he would be under club control for several years.

I could see the Marlins dealing for Cosart today with the understanding that he won’t be the reason they win it all in 2014, but would provide a clear improvement to the rotation for the foreseeable future.

Oh well. No one can argue that the Marlins have exceeded expectations by a landslide this season. If you would have told me in January that we’d be discussing the Marlins as possible buyers ON the afternoon of the trade deadline, I would have had to confiscate your crazy pills.

Hey, at least they aren’t going to be sellers. So let’s enjoy this 78-win season, and see if the Marlins can build upon their success.