Before the offseason even starts, we can all agree that the Fish are in need of reinforcements for next season, in case they want to be on the contention picture, or worse, if there is even a baseball season. I believe the three main areas of improvement are 3B, SP (probably two of them) and a closer, in that order.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Javier Sanoja. But again, the hot corner is a position where you expect high SLG. Javi is still better profiled as an all-around super utility, and there is nothing wrong with that given the amount of injuries every team experience throughout a full season.

Granted, we find us facing the eternal Marlins conundrum: where to get what it’s needed at the price they want to “afford”. Free Agency is certainly a no-go, and we all know why. In house options are unreliable or not MLB-ready. That leave us this FO’s favourite avenue to acquire players: trade. If they go this way, we need to be clear, the Fish would want young, controllable players, which probably means more than 1 year of control and a projected salary less than $5M.

That said, mlbtraderumors just posted a list  of projected arbitration salaries entering this offseason. That’s an attractive pool for Bendix & Co, so I dared to dig which players could be a good fit for a trade to the Marlins. Here’s my ranking:

1. Casey Schmitt, SF Giants: He had a career year hitting 21 HRs in a tough park for righties. In fact, his splits are a lot better on the road. He can be expendable for the Giants if they expect a healthy Chapman next season. He’s under control for another three seasons and is projected to make around $2,5M. That’s the price range Sherman loves.

2. Zack Gelof, Athletics: Also hit over 20 homers this season, but this one comes with a big caveat: most of that damage was at that launchpad they call home in Sacramento. It won’t be that easy in loanDepot Park. His projected salary next season is around $3M. Still affordable.

3. Jordan Westburg, BAL: My dream trade was crushed last offseason (Coby Mayo) and now should be even more difficult to get the youngster. Instead, the Marlins can roll the dice with Westburg, who missed the entire season due to injury. He’s showed power whenever healthy - which is not that often, though. The good news is that he might not have a place with the birds anymore, and should cost $1,5M.

Other meh options: Spencer Steer (CIN), Brett Baty (NYM). And I say meh because the Fish might well stick with Javi Sanoja.

One thing to think about: where is that area the fish can trade away players? OF? Bullpen arms? Prospects? Every other area looks pretty thin to me.