Marlins should target a first baseman in trade

We have an idea of how the Miami Marlins lineup will look like this upcoming season. A recent signing by the Boston Red Sox makes me think that The Fish could look into a trade, which could of course complicate the first base/DH mix, but for good reason. Should The Fish target Triston Casas in a trade? It might make sense.

The Miami Marlins might want to target a first baseman in a trade.

Boston just signed Alex Bregman which suddenly puts them into an interesting position. Rafael Devers has been their third baseman, but will now have to move to first base or DH. Assuming that he does, it makes Triston Casas now need a position. Boston has been rumored to be shopping Casas this off-season and that would likely force their hand.

The Miami Marlins have options for first base and DH already. Jonah Bride and Matt Mervis both look like they deserve opportunities to start, and it would be a shame to block them. That said, there's something about Triston Casas that just sticks out and make you wonder.

Casas is a former top prospect, who batted .241/.337/.462, with 13 home runs and 32 RBI in 63 games and 212 AB last season. That was OK and he was worth 0.6 WAR for that production. He was better in 2023, when he batted .263/.367/.490, with 24 home runs and 65 RBI in 132 games and 429 AB. He was worth 2.2 WAR for that production.

Casas had Exit Velocities of 91.1 and 90.2 in the last two seasons and clearly has a solid power bat. He won't be a free agent until after the 2028 season, and he's actually a Miami native! That last part makes me wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to bring the hometown boy home. Will it happen? Probably not.

The Miami Marlins will likely want to keep building up the farm instead of trading from it. This means that trading anything of significance wouldn't work, and so Boston will likely end up trrading Casas to a different team instead.