Miami Marlins: The Trade Destination that Makes Sense for Jesus Aguilar

As we are now mere days away from the July 30th MLB Trade Deadline, the Miami Marlins have yet to make any notable moves. However, that could very easily change at any moment now.

Miami holds multiple sought-after trade targets to contending teams around the league, with the arguable most-notable being star outfielder Starling Marte. While other names such as Adam Duvall, Richard Bleier, and Yimi Garcia also stick out as trade candidates as well, the player that will most-likely be the most sought-after behind Marte is first baseman Jesus Aguilar.

The NL leader in RBI’s, Aguilar has been phenomenal this season slashing .263/.327/.464 with 17 HR’s and 71 RBI’s. With No. 6 prospect Lewin Diaz ready to contribute in the big leagues full-time right now, it certainly appears likely that the Marlins may trade Aguilar, but where is the perfect fit/trading partner?

When looking back at Aguilar’s career before the Marlins, there is at-least one, if not two, of his previous teams that make sense as likely trade destinations for the 31-year old slugger.

Could the Miami Marlins trade Jesus Aguilar to the Milwaukee Brewers?

While a return to the Tampa Bay Rays as both a potential first baseman and DH was a possibility, that seems highly-unlikely to happen now that Tampa has traded for Nelson Cruz. So, with the Rays likely out of the way, what about the Milwaukee Brewers?

Aguilar spent three seasons in Milwaukee (2017-2019) where he slashed .261/.339/.492 during his time with the Brewers hitting 59 HR’s with 194 RBI’s. In fact, Aguilar’s lone All-Star appearance during his eight-year career came with Milwaukee during the 2018 season where he hit 35 HR’s and drove in 100+ runs in a season for the lone-time in his career.

After being traded at the 2019 trade deadline from Milwaukee to Tampa Bay, a reunion with the Brewers appears to be a likely destination. With the Brewers appearing playoff-bound with a sizable lead in the NL Central, upgrading the first base position seems like a likely move over the next couple of days with a familiar face in Aguilar seeming to be a perfect fit.

When looking at a potential return for the Marlins, Milwaukee displays a farm system with multiple big league ready arms, as well as five catchers ranked among their Top 30 prospects. Still under team control for another season, Miami could get a notable return from Milwaukee for the first baseman of big leagues pieces ready to contribute right now.

With Diaz big league ready right now, it certainly appears that a potential Aguilar trade is likely within the coming days. While the Miami Marlins could always opt-to keep the 31-year old first baseman, a potential trade with the Brewers is one that could realistically happen in the near future.