Marlins Trade News: What we learned at the MLB Trade Deadline

The Marlins were active at the trade deadline, making moves to strengthen its future. Did they do enough now that they dealt pitching away instead of hitting?

After the dust settled and the Miami Marlins front office collectively caught its breath, the team traded away pitching rather than veteran players with expiring contracts. It’s a bit of a surprise, but not as dramatic in the final moments of the MLB Trade Deadline as some would think.

The moves the team made over the course of five days – dating back to Saturday with the move to trade closer Sergio Romo – makes the Marlins minor league system even better. It also makes this organization stronger moving forward.

It was one of those days the Marlins and their fans will remember for a while. It is also going to be a topic we all talk about for the remainder of the 2019 MLB season. For those playing at home, a bit of a recap…

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• The Marlins traded closer Romo to the Minnesota Twins, along with minor league pitcher Chris Vallimont for first base prospect Lewin Diaz. Diaz will finish the season at Double-A Jacksonville.
• Starter Zac Gallen was sent to the Arizona Diamondbacks for shortstop prospect Jazz Chisholm who will also report to the Jumbo Shrimp.
• As the trade deadline came to an end, Miami sent pitchers Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson to Tampa Bay for right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek and Outfield prospect Jesus Sanchez. Sanchez was once thought to be a player the team wanted if they could work a deal with the Rays for catcher J.T. Realmuto.

According to sources, Sanchez who was the Rays  No. 4 prospect, will start off at the Triple-A level in New Orleans.

The move for Gallen surprised me and left me in a funk for a while. But looking at the deal, it now makes more sense.

Marlins must really like pitcher Edward Cabrera and believe he is close to being ready for the majors. The same holds true for starter Sixto Sanchez, the team’s top minor-league prospects. There are still many arms in the minor-league system and a plethora of pitching depth at the major-league level for Miami to choose from.

We knew this would happen at some point, but many insiders thought it would be Jose Urena who would be moved. That was before his back injury.

The Marlins traded a very good starter who has time to develop before a shortstop prospect who could be a stud. The moves also make a minor league system that current moved into the top 10 in Minor League baseball even better. If you look at the Marlins top 30 prospects, you see the work put in by Derek Jeter and Michael Hill to establish the franchise for the future.

I’ll call the deal with the Diamondbacks a push.

Anderson was a player who received a lot of attention in the last couple of weeks but figured to remain on the roster. Richards season now has a chance to settle a bit and potentially change in new surroundings. I liked the idea of him moving to Miami’s pen with the potential to close games. Evidently, the Marlins have other ideas.

Who takes over as the team’s closer is still a mystery. I would not be surprised if Tayron Guerrero gets a long look. Also, the Marlins played with only 24 players on their roster last night. The team will make a move today.

As for the expiring contracts of Neil Walker and Curtis Granderson and the future of Starlin Castro, it would appear they will play out the string here in Miami until the end of the season. The team not moving Castro is the most surprising non-move of the deadline.