How the Miami Marlins outsmarted other teams

Elite prospects aren't always acquired via high draft picks. Sometimes a gem of a prospect can be acquired under the radar. It took 13 rounds in 1999 before the St. Louis Cardinals drafted a largely ignored player. A player that every other team passed on, with many repeatedly. That player turned out to be future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. MLB.com recently published an interesting article about just that: under the radar prospects. More specifically I'm focusing on Miami Marlins starting pitcher Eury Perez. You won't believe how he was acquired...

The Miami Marlins outwitted other teams to acquire Eury Perez.

Eury Perez is currently #7 on the MLB top 100 prospects list. He probably shouldn't really be on the list anymore, considering he's now in the Major Leagues...but that's just semantics. The MLB list did have some other notables, and specifically from The Fish's division rivals. The Atlanta Braves specifically have LHP Dylan Dodd on the list. Dodd is currently in the Major Leagues, and has a 6.46 ERA/5.72 FIP, with 4.1 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 in 3 games and 15.1 innings pitched. He was a third round draft pick in 2021 despite receiving a ton of hype for that draft.

Let's get back to the Miami Marlins and Eury Perez. The Boston Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies were both interested in him. Both teams have starting pitching issues now, so you can imagine how much they must regret passing on him. Boston is in a tough AL East, where very team is playing above .500 and having any advantage is critical. Colorado just needs help period, and with their history of rotation issues, Eury would've been so crucial for them.

Boston and Colorado passed n Eury Perez because they questioned his health. They backed out of signing him, and let the Miami Marlins swoop in and sign him for $200,000 as an international free agent out of the Dominican Republic. Eury currently has a 3.86 ERA with 13.5 K/9 and 3.9 BB/9, in a game and 4.2 innings pitched. Eury's upside is huge and acquiring him was a major steal for The Fish.