Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins swap relievers

The Miami Marlins are working on having a good Trade Deadline. There is still a lot to do, and there are even some specific trades that would make sense. In the meantime, The Fish made a "change of sceney" type of trade with the Minnesota Twins. Two struggling righty relief pitchers were traded for each other. Dylan Floro is out and Jorge Lopez is in. Let's take a look at the trade...

The Miami Marlins swapped struggling relief pitchers with the Minnesota Twins.

This isn't the first time that the Miami Marlins and the Minnesota Twins came together on a trade. This time it wasn't as big, but will still affect the bullpens of both teams. Dylan Floro is a free agent at the end of the season, and it looks like The Fish wanted to move on from him early. The 32 year old burst onto the scene back in 2016 for the Tampa Bay Rays. He delivered a 4.20 ERA/2.28 FIP, with 8.4 K/9 and 3.0 BB/9 in 12 games and 15.0 innings pitched. He was waived after however, and was claimed by the Chicago Cubs.

Floro had a forgettable 3 game stint in Chicago, where he pitched to a 6.52 ERA/5.54 FIP, with 5.6 K/9 and 1.9 BB/9 in 3 games and 9.2 innings pitched. He split 2018 between the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers, continuing with the latter until 2020. He delivered a 3.00 ERA/3.17 FIP, with 7.9 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in those years. He was traded to the Miami Marlins prior to the 2021 season.

In 2021, he produced a 2.81 ERA/2.81 FIP, with 8.7 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9 in 68 games and 64.0 innings pitched. He added 15 saves as the team's closer. He followed that up in 2022, with a 3.02 ERA/3.13 FIP, with 8.0 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 56 games and 53.2 innings pitched. He also had 10 saves. This season has been a disaster however, as he has a 4.54 ERA/2.78 FIP, with 9.3 K/9 and 2.5 BB/9 in 43 games and 39.2 innings pitched. He's worth -0.3 WAR.

Jorge Lopez had a forgettable run from 2015 to 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals. He delivered a 5.89 ERA/5.10 FIP, with 7.5 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 59 games and 189.1 innings pitched as both a starter and a reliever. He split 2020 between Kansas City and the Baltimore Orioles, delivering a 6.69 ERA/5.24 FIP, with 6.5 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 10 games and 39.0 innings pitched.

In 2021 Baltimore mostly used him as a starter, and he punished them with a 6.07 ERA/5.20 FIP, with 8.3 K/9 and 4.1 BB/9 in 33 games and 121.2 innings pitched. Moved to relief in 2022, he became a revelation for Baltimore. Lopez pitched to a 1.68 ERA/2.99 FIP, with 10.1 K/9 and 3.2 BB/9 in 44 games and 48.1 innings pitched. He also had 19 saves as he took over their closing role. Traded mid-season to Minnesota, he suddenly fell apart. Lopez pitched to a 4.37 ERA/4.35 FIP, with 7.1 K/9 and 5.6 BB/9 in 23 games and 22.2 innings pitched. This season, he has a 5.09 ERA/5.94 FIP, with 6.9 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 in 37 games and 35.1 innings pitched.

The 30 year old is pitching on a $3.5 million arbitration salary and will be a free agent after next season. I don't know how Jorge Lopez is an upgrade over Dylan Floro, but I will give this a chance.