Miami Marlins make a surprise trade of slugger

The Miami Marlins are making room in the first base/DH mix for next season. There is a very obvious reason for that happening. That said, it's still shocking to see a player not rumored to be trade...well traded. In this case, it was first baseman/DH Jake Burger getting traded to the Texas Rangers for prospects. How does this trade look for The Fish?

The Miami Marlins traded Jake Burger to the Texas Rangers in a surprise trade.

Peter Bendix is clearing house and the entire Miami Marlins team built by Kim Ng. The latest departing player is the aforementioned Jake Burger. I can kind of understand the reasoning. Burger doesn't play good defense and is a low batting average/high strikeout bat. I typically don't like this profile in a player and it seems that Bendix doesn't either.

Jake Burger batted a surprisingly good .303/.355/.505 in 53 games and 198 AB in 2023. He had 9 home runs and 28 RBI in that stretch, helping lead the Marlins into the playoffs. The 2024 season wasn't as good. Burger batted an underwhelming .250/.301/.460, with 29 home runs and 76 RBI in 137 games and 535 AB. He was worth just 0.5 WAR for that performance.

So who are the prospects going back? Middle Infielder Echedry Vargas was the #17 prospect in Texas's system. The projections aren't particularly exciting here, with him being expected to be a utility player who will likely debut in the 2027 season. Another prospect is SS Max Acosta. He wasn't among Texas's top prospects, but he batted .288/.353/..425, with 8 home runs and 58 RBI in 104 games and 386 AB in AA.

Left-handed pitcher Brayan Mendoza was also not one of the top prospects in Texas's system. He pitched to a 2.32 ERA at the single A and A+ Minor League levels in 2024. We'll see how any of these prospects work out and I hope that Peter Bendix has other moves in store. I want to see the Miami Marlins adding some much-needed bats to the lineup. I hope this off-season won't be just about trading players away.