Marlins Trades: Winners and Losers in the Jeter Era

The Miami Marlins entered a new era when Bruce Sherman and Derek Jeter took over.

Whether we look back on this time someday as a success or a failure still needs to be written – that’s why they play the games, after all. What I’m planning on to focus on here are the four deals that initially gutted the Miami Marlins at the major league level, in dealing away four all-stars in short order.

Namely, the Marlins traded away four established major leaguers after the 2017 season and prior to 2018 – more-or-less for mostly unproven prospects. Trades that give away performance for potential is nothing new, but these four trades tugged at more than a few Marlins-fans heartstrings. It’s easy to get attached to a good performer when they’re raking for your team.

Namely, the trades where the Marlins lost Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, and Marcell Ozuna are the ones we’re looking at right now.

These trades turned the Marlins from a near-.500 team to a total cellar-dweller, resided in by Miami since then and culminating in a 57-105 record in 2019. Which was the worst of these deals – and which was the best?

Going by chronological order, the first of these deals to occur was the relinquishment of second baseman Dee Gordon on December 7th, 2017. The Marlins traded Gordon and $1 million in international bonus pool money to the Seattle Mariners for Nick Neidert, Christopher Torres, and Robert Dugger.

Since that time, Gordon has not produced at the same level for the Mariners as he did with Miami. After totaling 9.2 WAR in three seasons for the Marlins, Gordon has managed to be just 1.0 WAR in two years for Seattle. He’s slashed .271/.295/.353 in 258 games, with 52 stolen bases in 69 attempts.

In the meantime, Neidert has risen to the cusp of the majors, peaking last season with the Triple-A New Orleans Baby Cakes in the Pacific Coast League. This, after he was 12-7 with a 3.24 ERA with the Double-A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp in the Southern League in 2018. Neidert is in the mix for a spot in the Marlins 2020 Opening Day rotation.

Dugger made his major league debut with the Marlins late last season, and went 0-4 with a 5.77 ERA over seven starts. He racked up a 1.456 WHIP in 34 1/3 innings, and finished at -0.6 WAR. Dugger is also a possibility for the Marlins rotation come March.

Torres, a middle-infielder, will be 22-years-old for Spring Training, and just completed a season with the Single-A Clinton LumberKings in the Midwest League. He hit .234/.346/.317 in 112 games, and is still at least two or three seasons off from making a possible impact with the parent club.

The name of the game in these trades are, ultimately, impact at the major league level. As such, this trade is currently slightly balanced in the Mariners favor, but could shift with an average season or two from the two pitchers.

On December 14th, the Marlins traded Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals. In return, Miami received starting pitchers Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen, and Daniel Castano, along with speedy outfielder Magneuris Sierra.

Ozuna has played 278 games for St. Louis since leaving Miami, and hit .262/.327/.451 with 52 home runs and 177 RBI. The two-time former all-star, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award winner hasn’t been honored such since joining the Redbirds. Thus far, he’s been worth 5.1 WAR.

Alcantara has started 38 games for the Marlins since joining the team, going 8-17 with a 3.81 ERA. He’s been more solid later in his run, with a 1.049 WHIP over the last two months of 2019. He has built up 3.6 WAR during his run thus far.

Gallen was staggeringly good for the Baby Cakes in the PCL in 2019, going 9-1 with a 1.77 ERA, 112 K’s in 91 1/3 innings, and putting up a 0.712 WHIP before getting called up. With the Marlins, he was 1-3 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.3 WAR before getting flipped to the Arizona Diamondbacks for shortstop Jazz Chisholm at the trade deadline.

Sierra has appeared in 69 games for Miami since the trade, hitting .225 with six stolen bases and totaling -0.9 WAR. He was notably better in a short look near the end of last year, hitting .350 over 15 games.

Still in the minors, lefty Castano also seems bound for bigger and better things. 7-2 with a 3.35 ERA for the Jumbo Shrimp in 2019, he seems on track to join the Marlins at the major league level sometime in late-2020 or out of camp in 2021.

So, Ozuna’s 5.1 WAR thus far outweighs the total 4.0 WAR from the four prospects we got in return, but this one may be the winner when all is said and done, and sooner probably than later.

On January 25th, 2018, the Marlins traded away then-future NL MVP Christian Yelich to the Milwaukee Brewers for a quartet of promising young prospects. Namely, outfielders Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison, second baseman Isan Diaz, and starting pitcher Jordan Yamamoto.

Yelich’s further travails are well documented. Since leaving Miami, he’s slashed .327/.415/.631, with 80 home runs and 207 RBI, along with 52 stolen bases in only 58 tries. He won the 2018 NL MVP and came in second in 2019, due only to missing the final month of the campaign with an injury. The now-two-time defending NL batting champion also led the NL with his OBP and SLG this season, with a league-best 179 OPS+. He’s earned 14.7 WAR since leaving, as compared to a Marlins-franchise sixth-all-time 18.9 before.

At the time, Brinson figured to be the centerpiece of the deal, with a nice five-tool scouting report to go with it. In 184 games since coming over, he’s hit just .189 with 11 homers and 57 RBI, including a .173/.236/.221 slashline in 2019, with zero home runs and 15 RBI. He’s been -2.3 WAR for Miami.

Yamamoto, who at the time was considered sort of a “throw in” to the larger deal, has gone 4-5 with a 4.46 ERA in 15 starts for Miami. He’s struck out 82 in 78 2/3 innings and allowed an oppBA of .191 and a 1.144 WHIP for a 1.0 WAR.

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Diaz made his major league debut with two months left in 2019, and hit just .173 in 49 games for Miami. He hit five round-trippers with 23 RBI, but struck out 59 times in 201 plate appearances for a -0.7 WAR.

Harrison has the loudest tools of the bunch, but hasn’t made his major league debut as of yet. Injured much of 2019, he clubbed 19 homers in 2018 for Jacksonville, but struck out a minor-league-wide-high 215 times in 583 plate appearances, a scary 36.9 percent whiff-rate.

As of this moment, the Marlins clearly lost this trade. They still remain on board with Brinson despite his struggles, and hope to see Harrison graduate to the top level as well. Yamamoto seems like he’ll be part of the rotation next season, and the second base job is Diaz’ to lose. Still, their combined output is unlikely to rival that of Yelich’s Herculean efforts of the last two seasons.