Miami Marlins will undoubtedly trade Dan Straily this offseason

The Miami Marlins have unloaded the bulk of their major salary burdens. There are a few more trades that will net plus prospects remaining.

In an earlier article I talked about a few of the contracts that the Miami Marlins have left to unload for purely financial purposes. While those trades won’t bring back much in terms of prospects, the team still has some bullets left to help build the farm.

The organization has all but conceded that 2018 won’t result in many wins. Much like the Houston Astros, who suffered through three consecutive 100-loss seasons, the Miami Marlins are playing the long game.

Trading pitcher Dan Straily will be bolster the farm system even further.

The Miami Marlins have been mum on Straily’s status with the team to this point. With a number of other deals occupying their time, it’s not a total surprise. He’ll get a lot more attention now that the marquee payroll weights are no longer with the team.

There is no doubt that the team will be looking to trade him.

Aside from the obvious moves that signal they’re rebuilding, Miami added several arms in the Rule 5 Draft. Their numbers suggest that Elieser Hernandez and Brett Graves aren’t ready to make the jump to the MLB, but the Miami Marlins are intent on finding out.

Both pitchers must remain on the active roster, or they’ll be offered back to the Astros and Athletics, respectively. Neither has any big league experience, and they’ve been good, not great in the minor leagues. Miami likely isn’t banking on either of these guys for opening day.

That won’t change the way they approach the sell-off. Straily garnered a lot of attention at the trade deadline, and he figures to do so again this offseason.

Straily: Why, what, and when

In short, Dan Straily isn’t part of the Miami Marlins long-term plans. Clearly favoring homegrown talent at this point, Miami is the fifth team the red-bearded righty has already played for. Surprisingly, he’s hitting arbitration for the first time in his career this offseason.

That means that Straily won’t need to be under contract until the end of the 2020 season. That’s huge for teams ready to compete immediately. But for the Marlins, it means very little.

He figures to between $4-5 million dollars this year, a modest sum that competitive cash-strapped teams will drool over.

Straily would be ready to cash in just as the organization figures to have raised it’s homegrown prospects. That’s what makes it such an easy decision. He holds far more value to everyone else than to the Marlins.

The fact that Straily is coming off an effective season will make it easy to get back an impressive haul for him. With three years of cheap labor ahead, it’s an easy decision for teams looking to add good value and stay under a certain payroll figure.

Don’t be surprised if Straily brings back multiple prospects that land in the top 30 for the Miami Marlins. Unlike Giancarlo Stanton, he doesn’t come attached to a burdensome contract. And unlike Marcell Ozuna, the tendencies of his agent don’t all but guarantee he’s little more than a short-term loan.

Next: Miami Marlins still have several salaries to dump

Nothin is imminent. Expect a period of inactivity for the Miami Marlins following an incredibly active appearance at the Winter Meetings. There are also a number of bigger names that need to come off the board before teams start giving Straily serious consideration.

He isn’t going to be the “big move” that anybody makes, but he figures to slot comfortably as the number three pitcher in just about any rotation in baseball.