Marlins trade deadline acquisition Victor Vodnik makes team debut in loss

The Miami Marlins made five total trades on Monday prior to the trade deadline. The one established major league player they acquired was right-hander Victor Vodnik from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for infielder Connor Norby and prospect Aiden May. Vodnik made his team debut in the Marlins' 4-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday.

The trade was an unexpected move for a Marlins team that spent more time listening on their own relievers than shopping for new ones. Even Vodnik was not expecting the move.

"I've been traded before, but this is different because," Vodnik told reporters pregame in Atlanta. "I debuted with the Rockies and now I got traded here and it's crazy, so I'll be good and settle in here during the next couple of days."

Atlanta is not strange place to Vodnik. He was selected by the Braves in the 14th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, but never made his debut with the team. He was traded to the Colorado Rockies during the 2023 season along with Tanner Gordon in exchange for Pierce Johnson.

"We think he's somebody with really good stuff," Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix told beat writers on a call Tuesday before the game. "We think he's going to benefit, as all pitchers do, from no longer pitching in Coors Field. We think he has traits that you can't teach. He's got stuff that touches 100, really, really good stuff. We think that our pitching group can really unlock new level of performance from him. He's somebody that we specifically set out to acquire and really glad that we were able to do so."

Vodnik made his Marlins debut at the ballpark of his original team in the bottom of the eighth inning, staring at a 3-0 deficit. The first hitter he had to face was Ronald Acuña Jr., surrendering a base hit on the fifth pitch of the at-bat. He then hit Matt Olson and walked Michael Harris Jr. to load the bases. A long chat with his new pitching coach Daniel Moskos helped him as he struck out Ozzie Albies swinging. The lone run he allowed was on a wild pitch, allowing Acuña to score. Maurico Dubon grounded out and Lane Thomas flew out for outs two and three of the inning.

In his lone inning of work Vodnik allowed one run on one hit, walked one and struck out one. He threw a total of 26 pitches. Known for his four-seam fastball velocity, it averaged 98.6 mph, topping out at 99.5 mph. His slider, considered his best pitch by run value (+2), generated a swinging strikeout.

"The guy was on a plane this morning changing teams, meeting new teammates and coaches," Marlins manager Clayton McCullough said postgame. "We've seen him before. The premium velocity and he has other weapons. Get his feet wet and credit to him for bowing his back there and being in a tight spot, but to only give up the one run, we're excited to have that type of arm in our organization."

 Truist Park has been known as a house of horrors for these Marlins. On Tuesday night, starting pitcher Ryan Gusto put his team in a position to win. In six innings of work, Gusto allowed one run on five hits (one home run), no walks and struck out five. Albies took Gusto deep in the bottom of the second inning, giving the Braves a 1-0 lead.

"The velo continue to be very impressive," McCullough said. "You can count on Ryan throwing a lot of strikes, and he did. The ability to move the ball around, his changeups gotten a lot better and using the the slider. I think it's as much now when he's throwing with that type of velocity, and now how much everything else ticks up, but outstanding outing from him."

Going into the ninth inning, the Marlins trailed 4-0. With closer Raisel Iglesias on the mound, the Marlins started a small rally, knocking in two runs on a Leo Jimenez RBI single.

With two outs in the top of the ninth and Javier Sanoja down to his final strike, the Marlins attempted a double steal. Lead runner Jakob Marsee got thrown out at third to end the game. Marsee has been caught stealing 12 times this season, which leads MLB.

"I'm glad he went," McCullough said of Marsee. "You're at that point where it's two outs and Sanoja up there. If he had gone a few pitches earlier, it's worth the gamble. If Javi bloops one in or gets a single—that's what he does more often than not, is just get base hits—now you got a chance to get the tying run into scoring position on the backside. We don't know what would have happened, but for me, that was worth the shot."

With the loss, the Marlins drop to 58-56, 2.5 games out of the third National League Wild Card spot. Eury Pérez takes the mound for game two of the series at 7:15 pm.