The Miami Marlins had a chance to pick up an elite defensive OF in Harrison Bader. The Fish could've improved the bullpen with Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Matt Moore, and the rotation with their starting pitcher Lucas Giolito. There are other moves that the team could've done. Take a look at the waiver order...The Fish had waiver priority over the Cincinnati Reds, but not the Cleveland Guardians. Here's why that matters...
The Miami Marlins lost out on multiple players on the waiver wire.
The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Angels are not going to the playoffs. They waived their free agents to be to save some money. They basically let other teams have those players for free, in return for paying the rest of their season's salary. None of those players were likely being brought back by them anyway, so it made sense. The Cleveland Guardians claimed Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez. I don't understand why they did that, as their chances of making the playoffs are basically non-existent.
Cleveland waiving those players however gives the Miami Marlins an excuse. Cleveland was higher on the waiver priority list. What about Hunter Renfroe and Harrison Bader? The Fish had priority over Cincinnati, so why did Cincinnati claim them instead? Did Bruce Sherman tell Kim Ng not to add any more money to the books? Did Kim Ng decide that those moves wouldn't help the team?
Let's say that claiming the injury-prone and inconsistent Harrison Bader was not seen as a good way to spend money. I can accept that. What about Hunter Renfroe though? He is a power hitter who could help add some runs on the board in every game. Hitting for power has been an issue for The Fish all season, as was hitting in general. You'd think that claiming a power hitter would've been a no-brainer. What's the issue with having Renfroe come off the bench? He can play both OF corners and even some first base.
There is no excuse for this. The Miami Marlins had a chance to get a power bat for nothing in return, other than the rest of his $11.9 million salary this year. This shouldn't have been an issue after an active Trade Deadline.