Marlins trade for David Robertson

[Guest Bodkin]

Mets declaring themselves as sellers is certainly a choice. .

[Guest Souldrummer]

Glad to see the Marlins jumping in. When was the last time the Marlins were buyers at the deadline? Doesn't look like they gave up much that will hurt them with prospects this far away.

[Ely Sussman]

First time buying at the deadline since 2020, but first time in a "normal" full-length season since 2016.

[Ely Sussman]

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[Guest Hans Herrera]

This move is what many of us were expecting, a proven bullpen arm with closing experience. Going back to that podcast where Mr. Mish mentioned the usage of Puk in consecutive days, I think the management will still use A.J. as a main closer, and Robertson whenever consecutive close-game situations arrive, or a right-hand advantage.

 

I am still not sure about the López trade, though. He does have more "pure stuff" than Floro, but his results have not been nearly good except for that 1st half last year. I guess Mel will try to use his magic on him. So far, it is a Robertson plus some depth for Floro, and that is an upgrade.

 

I do not think more bullpen additions are coming since Nardi is close to returning and Soriano is doing extremely well. As a matter of fact, Soriano should probably be stretched as a full starter if Cueto/Garrett are struggling, all while Eury finishes his "pause period".

 

That said, it is necessary to pursue a bat. I know some of us fans feel like we need an SP, and you guys are right, but another bat is much more urgent. Segura, both catchers have underperformed. Cooper is doing below his standards. Have a look at the regular roster by wRC+ (Fangraphs):

1. Arráez 2B 147

2. Soler DH 125

3. Sánchez RF 116

4. DLC LF 103

5. Jazz CF 103

Berti, Cooper, Hampson, and Gurriel follow, with wRC+ between 95 and 98, which is close to the league average. Everyone else is below 90, with the bottom 4: Stallings 59, García 58, Segura 54, and Fortes 52. With a lineup with only 3 batters above average, this team needs 1 more at the very minimum, but ideally two.

 

When García and Jazz join the team, Hampson and Myers will be sent down. That is an improvement mostly because when Jazz is healthy he provides both power and speed, but also lots of strikeouts. Stallings, Fortes, Cooper, Gurriel, Arráez, Segura, Wendle, Berti, DLC, Jazz, Sánchez, Soler, and García is how the lineup is going to look like.

 

So the OF and bench players are covered, but Kim can get creative with the infield. Segura is an obvious bench candidate, same for both catchers. In fact, anyone but Arráez is subject to an upgrade in the infield. Any solid bat that plays any infield position including C should be a trade target. Candelario, Donovan, Morel, Yan Gomes, and Ha-Seong Kim, all make sense at the moment.

[Guest OneRegend]

Now this was the trade I was hoping to see yesterday. A RHP bullpen arm with plenty of high-leverage experience, with bonus postseason experience! And we didn't really give up much, all things considered. Marco Vargas might be a name we will have to look out for in our games against the Mets if he continues developing, but overall I like this trade. Some far off pieces for a rental. If there's a time to go for a push, now is the time. Phillies, Reds, and Brewers haven't really caught fire yet, The Mets are a trainwreck, and the Giants and Dbacks have slown down a bit.

 

Now we have to see if we can snag a 3B. Berti is doing fine at 2B, and Jazz doesn't look horrible in CF... Assuming he can stay healthy when he returns, at least. But we can't call ourselves a playoff contender, and continue trotting out a guy with -1.1 fWAR.

 

Starting Pitcher might also be a concern, too. Trevor Rogers is done for the year, even though our beat writers and Marlins brass won't admit it. Edward Cabrera is looking less and less appealing as a starting pitcher because of his constant blister problems. And I'm not buying Johnny Cueto's last start as legitimate. They've been rolling with bullpen games and a cooked 37 year old as their 4th and 5th options, while Eury Perez is down in AA conserving his workload. They need some backbone to that rotation. Being without one has hurt them significantly.