Miami Marlins could target a former top prospect

The Miami Marlins landed first base help for incumbent starter Jonah Bride. The newcomer is of course Matt Mervis. As we wonder if some Marlins trades should've happened, we can look at the possibility of another new addition. Colt Keith has been moved to first base by the Detroit Tigers, which makes another player suddenly available by trade. Let's take a look....

Could the Miami Marlins acquire Spencer Torkelson from the Detroit Tigers?

The Detroit Tigers no longer have much room for former top prospect Spencer Torkelson. Torkelson was the #1 pick of the 2020 draft, but hasn't fully lived up to the former hype so far. Torkelson debuted in 2022, and he batted .203/.285/..319, with 8 home runs and 28 RBI in 110 games and 360 AB. He was worth a pretty poor -1.3 WAR.

Things became better with Torkelson in the following 2023 season. This time, he batted .233/.313/.446, with 31 home runs and 94 RBI, in 159 games and 606 AB. He was worth 0.8 WAR, but the power production was clearly very impressive. At that point, I would say that Torkelson very clearly looked like an elite future first baseman.

Things unfortunately went bad for Torkelson in the 2024 season. He was even demoted to the Minor Leagues at one point. Torkelson batted .219/.295/.374, with 10 home runs and 37 RBI in 92 games and 342 AB. He was worth just 0.3 WAR, but he did much better in the second half than he did in the first half.

The Miami Marlins could very much use Spencer Torkelson in the mix with Jonah Bride and Matt Mervis. He might even fully break out and become a core piece couldn't he? He's also under control through the 2028 season. Detroit can of course use Torkelson at DH, but with all of their other options, it just makes more sense to trade him and get something back instead. That said, it could also be seen as selling low.

It remains to be seen if the Miami Marlins will actually trade for Spencer Torkelson, but it would be a very interesting and potentially very good move.