Miami Marlins: 3 potential trade targets to help the bullpen

The first half of the Miami Marlins season was on that exceeded everyone’s expectations and in part the pitching staff was the key factor. Now the impact the first half has had leaves the second half in question, due to the use of the pitching staff.  Most starting pitchers in the first half, aside from Sandy Alcantara, pitched around five or six innings at the most.

Manager Skip Schumaker is partly to blame both in good and bad ways about the current state of the Marlins pen. Skip has limited his starting pitchers and put them on pitch counts for at least three of the five pitchers.  Most notoriously, skip has kept the young rookie Eury Perez to a very tight pitch count around 80 pitches, which led to him exiting most games in the 5th and some later in the year in the 6th.  

In addition Braxton Garrett is also on a similar pitch count and is averaging around five innings per appearance.  He is most often pulled before the fourth time through the order, to which some fans cheer the move for analytics sake but now we are seeing the impact.  When you have two pitchers who leave the game and need four innings out of the bullpen each time, unless you have a very good long relief pitcher, you’re going  to hurt.  Now at the deadline, it is imperative for the Marlins to trade for pitching, both a starter to eat innings and a bullpen arm to help the suffering pen, so we take a look at 3 potential candidates. 

Keynan Middleton - CWS

Keynan Middleton might be the Marlins bread and butter if they can pry him from the White Sox.  Middleton is making under $1 million this year and is a solid bullpen piece that I would love to see on the Marlins squad.  Middleton would fit in well with the back of the game relief options and be a great stopgap in close games.  

Middleton’s stats are outstanding as he sits at a 3.00 ERA and his clutch stats really shine.  With 2 outs and runners in scoring position Middle has held hitters to 3 hits in 13 at bats and a .231 average.  Even more impressive however are his late and close stats, which is why we need him on the team.  In that situation he has held players to a .175 average and 11 hits on 63 at-bats.  

Finally he has a 3.38 ERA in the 8th inning which could be a great spot for him out of the pen and a 3.14 ERA in innings 7-9 combined.  If I’m Kim Ng this is who I want to go for!  He has great potential, longer term availability, a lower salary point, which would free up monies to go after a bigger name bat which is think is first priority, more than anything else.

Scott Barlow - KCR

Scott Barlow is not scheduled to be a free agent until 2025 which is an added bonus if the Marlins can trade for him.  The Royals are selling and he could be a great add to the pen for the Marlins.  Barlow sits with a 3.97 ERA and a1.294 WHIP over 34 innings pitched.  Barlow last year however had a 2.18 ERA and in 2021 had a 2.42, so there’s great potential for him to get even better as the season goes.  

Barlow has only 34 innings pitched and the past two years he threw 74.1 innings so he has plenty of fuel left in the tank to finish out the Marlins season.  Most impressively Barlow has held right handed batters to a .145 batting average in 62 at-bats.  With the strain on right handed relievers in the Marlins pen, he would be a perfect fit.  Barlow has 11 saves on the year and could be the one two punch the Marlins need to end the game.  

If you could have an 8th with Barlow and a 9th with A.J. Puk or Puk in the 8th and Barlow in the 9th, it would be a tough end of the game for opponents.  He would be a great option if a return of Brad Hand isn’t available as we wrote about previously, or Middleton's price is too high.  Either way, one of these three options would be a great add to bolster the Marlins pen for the tough August stretch and playoffs.  Make it happen Kim Ng.