Miami Marlins lose relief pitcher for the season

The Miami Marlins got a haul in the latest draft, and now the main thing left to do is to make a splash at the trade deadline. A playoff run however will have to be without Matt Barnes. What's going on with the relief pitcher? Did The Fish lose the trade that brought him to the team in the first place?

The Miami Marlins lost Matt Barnes for the season.

Back in January I suggested that the Miami Marlins acquire Matt Barnes, so imagine my surprise when The Fish did just that. The Fish shipped fellow relief pitcher Richard Bleier to the Boston Red Sox in return. You might be wondering how did Bleier do for Boston this season? He has a 5.85 ERA/5.43 FIP, with 5.4 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 19 games and 20.0 innings pitched. He's been worth -0.3 WAR.

Let's just say The Fish are not missing Richard Bleier at all. Matt Barnes pitched for Boston from 2014 to 2022. He produced an unimpressive 4.07 ERA/3.60 FIP, with 11.6 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9 in 429 games and 431.2 innings pitched. The most notable aspect of Barnes's career has been his elite strikeout rate, combined with his below average control. This led to some impressive FIP's. In 2019 for example, he had a 3.78 ERA/3.28 FIP with 15.4 K/9 and 5.3 BB/9. It was easy to dream about the possibility of him improving his control and lowering his walks. The Miami Marlins were banking on Matt Barnes doing just that.

The Miami Marlins acquired the relief pitcher with the hope that he could live up to all of that hope. He ended up producing a 5.48 ERA/4.17 FIP, with 8.4 K/9 and 4.2 BB/9. He's been worth -0.2 WAR. He is now getting femoral acetabular impingement surgery on his left hip in late July. This means that he's out for the season. What's next? Matt Barnes is a free agent after the season, and there's an $8 million team option with a $2.25 million buyout. It's a lock that he'll be bought out at this point.