The best trade the Marlins Marlins have made this past decade

The best trade the Marlins organization has made in the past decade is one that many might have missed with the sale of the team to CEO Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman.

The Marlins best deal of the 2010s was the one that slipped under the radar. While fans were screaming over the trades that stripped the team of Dee Gordon, Giancarlo Stanton. Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, team CEO Derek Jeter made a move with his former team the New York Yankees that should impact the team this season in a good way.

It will also go down as one of the best trades the Marlins and Jeter have made in team history.

Miami brought in Caleb Smith and Garrett Cooper from the New York Yankees in exchange for Mike King and $250K international bonus pool money. It didn’t look like much on the surface, but it will be known as a move that helped set up the team’s starting rotation and provided manager Don Mattingly with some lumber at first base and in the outfield.

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Sometimes, it’s the little things teams do that become a bigger part of the fabric of a baseball franchise. The Atlanta Braves sent veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander to the Detroit Tigers in 1987 for a prospect named John Smoltz. This might not have the same kind of impact as that deal, but the Marlins got two good players for their future.

Smith has the potential to become the ace of the pitching staff. Cooper could be a big-time slugger if he can remain healthy.

Smith is firmly entrenched in the rotation this season and could be the Opening Day starter. The lefty threw 168 strikeouts in 153.1 innings last season and missed time on the bump because of a hip injury. He wasn’t the same pitcher in the second half of 2019 as he was when he threw gas and won his first three games of the season.

Hopefully, the time off this winter means the coaching staff will the more dominant pitcher back. Smith led the team with 10 wins last season.

Cooper smacked 15 home runs last season in a limited role with the team due to injuries. He is listed as a first baseman on the team’s depth chart but could see time in the outfield as well, just like he did the last two seasons. There is plenty of potential in his bat, just as long as he can stay off the injured list and in the team’s lineup.

For now, Jesus Aguilar is expected to be the Marlins starting first baseman, but Cooper still remains an option even if he is not considered an every-day player by Mattingly.