Luckily this Miami Marlins trade didn't happen

The Miami Marlins recently parted ways with General Manager Kim Ng. This is a tough time for the team, as a lot of her mistakes are being put in the spotlight. She did however make some good moves as well, acquiring second baseman Luis Arraez from the Minnesota Twins. The Fish were looking for a second baseman, but before striking gold with Arraez, had another option in mind...

The Miami Marlins almost made a terrible trade last year.

The Miami Marlins were looking for a second baseman last off-season, and were willing to trade from the starting pitching surplus to acquire one. Before the deal for Luis Arraez was done, there were other second base targets that were pursued. One of them was Colorado Rockies second bagger Brendan Rodgers. In return, The Fish would have traded starting pitcher Edward Cabrera.

Edward Cabrera was coming off a great season at that point. He had a 3.01 ERA/4.59 FIP, with 9.4 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 14 games and 71.2 innings pitched. He wasn't as dominant in 2023. He produced a 4.24 ERA/4.43 FIP, with 10.7 K/9 and 6.0 BB/9, in 22 games and 99.2 innings pitched.

What about Brendan Rodgers? Rodgers was a career .266/.318/.444 hitter in 271 games and 1011 AB. In 2023, he batted just .258/.313/.388, with 4 home runs and 20 RBI, in 46 games and 178 AB. He wasn't exactly an MVP candidate to put it mildly. He was worth 0.0 WAR. It's safe to say that if The Fish had Rodgers instead of Luis Arraez (4.9 WAR), the team would almost certainly not have made the playoffs.

Pablo Lopez has certainly been better than Edward Cabrera, but long-term I strongly feel that Cabrera has higher upside. Pablo was going to be a free agent after next season, and there was no guarantee that he would sign an extension with the team. Cabrera is under control long-term on the other hand.

Luis Arraez is significantly better than Brendan Rodgers, making the trade that didn't happen between the Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies a very good thing.