Miami Marlins TD aftermath: 3 biggest winners

2. HOUSTON ASTROS

The other top American League team didn’t disappoint either. The Houston Astros needed to keep pace with the New York Yankees and they did just that. Their biggest needs were the bullpen, catcher and first base and they focused on improving all of those areas. This type of proactive behavior is something that the Miami Marlins need to have when the time comes as well.

The Miami Marlins need to learn to fill all of their areas of need in the same way.

The one swap that stands out to me is Houston dealing from their starting pitching surplus. Houston did so by trading starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi to the Atlanta Braves for relief pitcher Will Smith. This was a swap based entirely on filling each other’s needs. Atlanta improved their starting pitching depth and Houston improved their bullpen. 

The Houston Astros then looked to upgrade at catcher over Martín Maldonado, the veteran catcher is batting .173/.238/.337 in 79 games and 243 AB’s. He does have a 0.3 dWAR but the offense was simply not worth it. Houston acquired Christian Vázquez from the Boston Red Sox. Christian is batting .282/.327/.432 with a 0.9 dWAR. He was clearly an upgrade.

The Houston Astros then filled their hole at first base, or at least gave themselves an alternative. Incumbent starter Yuli Gurriel has been a disaster this season, batting .246/.295/.394 in 96 games and 350 AB’s. Houston needed an upgrade and got one in Trey Mancini from the Baltimore Orioles. Mancini is batting .268/.347/.404 in 92 games and 354 AB’s. He’s clearly an upgrade over Gurriel.

The Houston Astros upgraded their weak areas and are now right up there with the New York Yankees for a shot at the AL pennant. Why couldn’t the Miami MRlins do something like this in 2004 or 2005? Or even 2009?

3. SAN DIEGO PADRES

This list is in no particular order, but if there was an order, I think it’s pretty clear which team would have ended up in first place. The San Diego Padres did a monumental blockbuster to accentuate what was already a great trade deadline.

Let’s start with what they did closer to the deadline however… They locked up ace starting pitcher Joe Musgrove for 5 years/$100 million. Musgrove was on his way to being the most in-demand starting pitcher on the upcoming free agent market, but now he will stay in San Diego long-term instead. The Miami Marlins did something similar and for less money, when we locked up ace Sandy Alcantara last off-season for 5 years/$55 million.

The San Diego Padres finally shed the bad contract of 1B Eric Hosmer, shipping him to the Boston Red Sox for a lottery ticket prospect. They will however have to pay most of his salary, which is a bit of an issue. Ironically, I suggested this swap for the Miami Marlins before.

Let’s now turn to the blockbuster trade that rocked the trade deadline. The San Diego Padres acquired RF Juan Soto from the Washington Nationals. Not just Soto, but 1B Josh Bell as well. Bell is having a career year, batting .301/.384/.493 in 103 games and 375 AB’s. He’s a massive upgrade over Hosmer, who is batting .272/.336/.391 in 90 games and 335 AB’s. They traded Luke Voit as well, with the DH batting .225/.317/.416 in 82 games and 298 AB’s.

Juan Soto is a future Hall of Famer at his current career pace and so it was a stunner that it was the San Diego Padres that acquired him. The once overlooked team are now major players on the trade and free agency markets, pairing Soto up with SS Fernando Tatis Jr., recently signed to a 14 year/$340 million extension, and 3B Manny Machado, signed for 10 years and $300 million in free agency.

Having Soto, Tatis and Machado in the middle of the batting order is truly spectacular. San Diego did of course empty out their farm on a way, and will likely trade Soto before he hits free agency, but this is an amazing win-now move.

The Miami Marlins can learn a lot from these teams. The San Diego Padres in particular have been a small to mid-market team not known for spending, and then went all-out in the last few years. There’s no reason why The Fish playing in a big market can’t do the same. If not, we need new ownership.