Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins pull off a blockbuster!

After months of rumors about the Miami Marlins trading starting pitching for hitting, after months of speculation it finally happened! Pablo Lopez is no longer a member of the Miami Marlins! He was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Luis Arraez, in a package that also includes infield prospect Jose Salas and OF prospect Byron Chourio. This is indeed a blockbuster trade so let's get into it and find out how it looks in detail!

The Miami Marlins made a blockbuster trade with the Minnesota Twins.

Let's start with the departing Pablo Lopez. Pablo is a free agent in two years and with his long history of injuries, he was certainly not a good extension candidate. He was also not very considtent or reliable. He more than 111.1 innings for the first time in the 2022 season. That season he produced a 3.75 ERA/3.71 FIP in 32 games and 180.0 innings with 8.7 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9. He was worth 3.0 WAR. It's clear that he was useful, but a career 3.94 ERA/3.71 FIP wasn't particularly impressive or promising going forward. A team like Minnesota that badly needs starting pitching however fit the bill as a team that needed Pablo.

The big piece going back in return to the Miami Marlins is of course Luis Arraez. Arraez can play first base, second base and third base, but will most likely play first with Garrett Cooper serving as a bench piece, though it's also possible that they split up first base and DH with Jorge Soler sticking in LF. He can also play second base with Jazz Chisholm Jr. moving over to SS. Arraez was actually better than Pablo in 2022, being worth 4.4 WAR. He batted .316/.375/.420 with 8 home runs and 49 RBI in 144 games and 547 AB. He's a career .314/.374/.410 hitter in 389 games and 1413 AB. He also comes with three years of team control.

The prospects are #5 prospect (on The Fish) Jose Salas and OF prospect Byron Chourio (not in the Miami Marlins top 10 even). I think that giving up Salas may have been a bit too much, but Luis Arraez is a string return for Pablo. I'm very excited about this trade that looks like a win for the Miami Marlins at the moment.