An unexpected third base target for the Miami Marlins?

Neil Raymond

Jeimer Candelario / Bob Levey/GettyImages

It's pretty obvious that Jean Segura has failed being the Miami Marlins third baseman. With The Fish in playoff position, there's no time to wait and changes to improve the team must be priorities. This means acquiring the best potential third base option by trade. Unfortunately, that trade now looks less likely as the Boston Red Sox are suddenly back in playoff contention. Could a trade with division rivals make sense?

The Miami Marlins have an easy option to improve at third base.

The Miami Marlins can't possibly expect to keep Jean Segura at third base going forward. Segura has a -0.3 dWAR, which is the first time in his entire 12 year career that he's been worth a negative WAR for his defense. Offensively he hasn't been much better, as he's hitting a career low .190/.259/.234, with a home run and 11 RBI in 60 games and 205 AB. We just can't have him at third base in a playoff race.

Enter the division rivals Washington Nationals and theird third baseman Jeimer Candelrio. Candelario is a free agent at the end of the season, and Washington isn't going to the playoffs. This isn't the same situation as with the Boston Red Sox, this team just isn't going to turn things around.

The best part about trading for Jeimer Candelario is that he almost certainly won't cost much. Candelario is currently batting .256/.332/.447, with 8 home runs and 32 RBI in 69 games and 262 AB. It's not impressive production of course, but he's still been worth 2.3 WAR and 0.6 dWAR. The dWAR is impressive and so is the WAR. Can you imagine how The Fish would do with roughly three extra wins?!

Jeimer Candelario batted .246/.323/.406 throughout his entire career, so he's definitely doing better than usual this season. Career years happen and it just might be a career year for Candelario. He would be a massive upgrade over Jean Segura at this point. As I said earlier he could also be had for cheap, at least barring any surprising valuations by Washington. They might also not want to help their division rivals, but that's unlikely. Candelario could be a great target for the Miami Marlins.

Neil Raymond

Neil Raymond has been a lifelong Miami Marlins fan, with the 2003 playoff run being one of his favorite childhood memories. Neil has been called a "walking encyclopedia" for his knowledge of MLB statistics and the sport's history. He follows every game and actually invented his own statistic for player value on his side project BaseballAnalyzed.com. Writing for Fansided's Marlin Maniac since 2022, he also loves Fantasy Baseball and as such is an FSWA member. Neil also loves to travel, read and follow "Futbol" teams: Germany, Argentina, Greece, Inter Miami, Bayern Munich and NYC FC.