The Miami Marlins acquired a new closer so far, but lost out on other trade targets. Another trade target is now being pursued by another team. The Trade Deadline is today, so let's take a look at what is going on and how it affects The Fish going forward...
The Miami Marlins might still have a busy Trade Deadline.
Earlier today I talked about the Miami Marlins potentially pursuing Seattle Mariners RF Teoscar Hernandez. It appears that the Toronto Blue Jays are interested in a reunion. The Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants have interest as well. I'm especially concerned about Philly and San Francisco, as both are competing for NL Wild Card spots along with The Fish. I don't buy San Francisco's offense, and Teoscar would make a big difference.
The Toronto Blue Jays also reached out to the St. Louis Cardinals about SS Paul DeJong. I see DeJong as a pretty good fit for the Miami Marlins. DeJong is batting .233/.297/.412 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI, in 81 games and 279 AB. He's also providing solid defense, having a 0.6 dWAR. He's worth 0.9 WAR for the season overall. He's a free agent after the season, but there's a $12.5 million team option with a $2 million buyout on him for next season.
Paul DeJong would be a very solid power bat for the Miami Marlins to stick at SS in place of Joey Wendle. Wendle is currently hitting .245/.284/.343, with a home run and 12 RBI in 71 games and 204 AB. Wendle is worth 0.6 WAR and ironically enough 0.6 dWAR as well. DeJong would however be a pretty big offensive upgrade over him. The Fish definitely need another power bat at the moment.
The New York Mets are getting worse and are now potentially trading SP Justin Verlander. Verlander is targeted by the Baltimore Orioles apparently, which would be huge for them in a tight American League East race. The New York Mets getting worse of course helps The Fish going forward. The Miami Marlins do still have Philly to worry about in the NL East, with the Atlanta Braves already running away with the division.