Are some Miami Marlins players “untouchable”?

The Miami Marlins have worked hard to procure talent through the MLB Draft, free agency and trades. Which players are considered “untouchable”?

I’m glad this is a topic that has been brought up in Joe Frisaro’s most recent “In Box” feature on MLB.com. The Miami Marlins have a nice core of players to build from over the next few seasons. As we all know, the team is not producing runs and the pitching staff is young and inexperienced. If there was a chance to upgrade the Major League roster with a slugger or veteran arm, which players in the organization are untouchable?

Off the top of my head, I can come up with three of four names, but that may not be what the organization thinks in terms of long-range goals for the 25 men who play in a Marlins uniform.

"“At the big league level, their controllable starting pitchers are pretty close to off limits. Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez, Sandy Alcantara and Caleb Smith are extremely unlikely to be dealt any time soon,” Frisaro points out. “So are right field/third baseman Brian Anderson and catcher Jorge Alfaro. They’re all big parts of the building process.”"

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Ah, yes, the process that the front office is still preaching and building through. The Marlins have won a total of seven games this season and look to be mired in the bottom of the National League East once again. Miami doesn’t have a big name star to trade away anymore, having emptied the cupboard this past offseason when J.T. Realmuto was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies. So if the team were to make a deal, it’s almost assured that one of the young arms would be packaged as part of a trade.

There is also a belief veterans like Starlin Castro and Martin Prado may get dealt at the MLB Trade Deadline for prospects – yet again. The Marlins have gone all in with the poker face of theirs. You know the outcome of what comes back in a trade even before a deal is done.

"“The club’s top prospect, right-hander Sixto Sanchez, will soon be joining Double-A Jacksonville’s rotation. He isn’t going to be shopped either,” Frisaro added.“I know Marlins fans are used to seeing their favorite players being traded, and no one is truly untouchable. But a good number of these players acquired are part of the bigger, long-term picture.”"

If Miami is going to get better, the every-day players must develop at the same rate as the team’s future arms. If no one is truly untouchable, how soon would it be before one of these “big-time” arms finds a suitor willing to trade for an established bat that could ultimately help the Marlins head toward mediocrity?

It’s a question that will remain unanswered until it happens.