Re-examining the Miami Marlins deal for Lewin Diaz

The Miami Marlins traded closer Sergio Romo to the Minnesota Twins for minor league prospect Lewin Diaz. Diaz could be a steal at first base.

When the Marlins look back in five seasons on the trade that sent Lewin Diaz to south Florida in exchange for reliever Sergio Romo, will this price to be another under-the-radar move that makes the Marlins a better hitting ball club?

Diaz is already ranked 12th in the Marlins minor league system and has been assigned to Double-A Jacksonville. Miami is counting on his power, where he has hit 20 home runs in the Twins minor league system this season after dipping in Minnesota’s rankings from a poor 2018 campaign.

"“Diaz has been in the Twins system for a while and will be subjected to the Rule 5 draft after this season if not added to the 40-man roster,” Cole Schuessler of twinkietown.com wrote. “This means that there was a decent chance that the Twins could have lost Diaz anyway, another reason to trade Diaz and some of his other fellow prospects at the deadline. Diaz’s path to playing time in the majors with the Twins also looked murky.”"

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The Marlins have put a lot of effort this season in adding big time hitters through the MLB draft. Miami secured top shelf outfielders who should provide a big stick in the future. However, the problem with these moves is player development, which still may be at least two years away.

Diaz could be a year or two away from the MLB roster but has already been in the minors for an extended period time, so his development may be quicker.

If the Marlins are able to get the same kind of return on this deal with Minnesota as they did with the Yankees, when they acquired both Garrett Cooper and Caleb Smith prior to the beginning of the 2018 season, attend this will be a “win” for Miami.

While Romo is a valuable commodity because he can fill many bullpen roles, He wasn’t part of the teams plan past the season. Chris Vallimont, a minor league pitcher who was quite impressive in Single-A ball, still has a few years left before he even sniffed a major-league roster.

The Marlins won’t be able to secure heavy hitters before the MLB trade deadline. There are some prospects out there who might be major league ready for next season, but they won’t cure the team of its biggest issue right now which is the lack of power in the middle of the batting order.

This is at least one move that allows Miami to recoup a potential rising prospect for an aging veteran who would have no impact on the team next year. It could be a huge gain for the organization.

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