Miami Marlins trade scenario that would Supercharge the lineup

The Miami Marlins are again without Jazz Chisholm and so therefore are again without any really threatening part of the lineup. We are more than halfway through the season and if you double each players total for the second half of the season only Jorge Soler will have a significant amount of home runs and they will have no single player with over 100 RBI.  

That can all change if they made a move that could be enticing with the currently visiting St. Louis Cardinals, who need to rebalance their roster.   The Cardinals have an abundance of young hitters and position players, yet they lack consistent pitching.  The Cardinals could either do a simple trade with the Marlins or a multiplayer trade if the terms are amenable.  The other wildcard when it comes to a potential trade with the Cardinals is Skip Schumacher knows the players and team and if he really goes for someone and encourages Kim Ng to make a trade for one or two players, then his advice should be taken. If he encourages and Kim Ng can't get the deal done and the players go somewhere else and shine, who do you blame?

1B Paul Goldschmidt Cardinals

One trade scenario the Miami Marlins could look into is a simple swap of first basemen and the Marlins add in a pitching prospect like Jake Eder.  I think either way if the Marlins can acquire Paul Goldschmidt, that is who I would target.   

Goldschmidt has the senior leadership and playoff experience which is invaluable and he would be a solid cleanup hitter for the lineup.  The real issue comes with the price of Goldschmidt, who is arguably their best player along with Arenado.  The price will be steep and I don’t know if that simple of a trade package would do it but we can hope they value Garrett Cooper highly but this is all an ideal scenario. 

Would the Cardinals accept a trade with the Marlins that would be Garrett Cooper and Jake Eder for Paul Goldschmidt?   I’m not sure, I think it depends on what they believe Eder’s timeline is for big league competition.  If he is closer they might, as Goldschmidt is 35 and helps the Marlins for the next few years at least, while Eder is a future play.  

An Alternative to the Cardinals

The St. Louis Cardinals might have a bigger ask than the Miami Marlins are able to accomplish for multiple player and with the injury plagued year Jazz Chisholm has had the Marlins need to invest in two bats to help them through the tough parts of their schedule. There are a few different hitters who could become available via trade, both the Washington Nationals and San Diego Padres should be sellers. How big of sellers might be a question but the Nationals have a solid outfielder that would make a big impact on the roster.

As we have looked at previously, Lane Thomas would be a stellar option for the heart of the Marlins lineup and would potentially be a more affordable option with a rebuilding Nationals team. Thomas is currently hitting .301 with 14 home runs, both of which would be huge adds for the Marlins lineup. Thomas has also driven in 45 so he would be one of the team leaders in home runs and RBI if acquired. I would go all in on getting Thomas and seeing if you can peel away an infielder from the Cardinals on top of it. Thomas can play right and DH, trading places with Soler on occasion.

The Padres might not sell much but they could trade starting pitcher Blake Snell. The Miami Marlins could use starting pitching depth with Eury Perez being limited for the rest of the season. Snell would add veteran presence and the pitching arm needed to help anchor the starting rotation. The Padres have said they will listen to offers for Snell. Marlins fans would cheer the move if Kim Ng can somehow acquire both Lane Thomas and Blake Snell. Time will tell but this option also knocks it out of the park.