3 early-season trades Marlins must make

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is probably the closest thing the Marlins have to a face of the franchise right now and will be the most hotly debated player that Miami will have to decide whether or not to hang onto. He’s not a free agent until 2026, but that also means his value is at its highest with so much team control left. Plus, he’s been injured a lot, hasn’t hit up to his potential and likely won’t be under contract by the time the Marlins have any chance of being good again.

So having established Chisholm should be traded, where does he generate the best possible return? The Texas Rangers are a very intriguing option.

They aren’t getting much production from the center field spot, with Leody Taveras having a streaky season at the plate. Chisholm could almost certainly fill in at either of the corners as well, or even at second base if Marcus Semien ever suffers an unforeseen injury. And it would be nice for Texas to have more speed on the bases, as they’re currently tied for 25th as a team with just 18 swipes.

If the Marlins want to take a shot at a pitching prospect, they can do so with Texas’ seventh-ranked farmhand, 6-foot-4 Brock Porter. But the highest-ranked piece they might reasonably request would be outfielder Anthony Gutierrez, a 19-year-old with the potential to be a four-tool talent once he matures at the plate. Either way, the Marlins would be getting younger and replenishing a farm system that doesn’t have much slam-dunk talent.

Trade RP Tanner Scott to Yankees

As an impending free agent with a 197 ERA+ the past two seasons, Tanner Scott would be a perfect fit on absolutely any contending team. The Marlins would be smart to start a bidding war and play on teams’ desperation for lefty relief innings and a potential closer. They need to grab at least a top-10 organizational prospect for Scott and the New York Yankees are just the team with the desperation to send them one.

As good as the Yankees’ bullpen has been this season, the one thing they don’t really have is a lefty setup man. Caleb Ferguson and Victor González can be serviceable pieces as the season rolls along, but somebody needs to be able to come in in the late innings and shut down a scoring threat. Scott would make manager Aaron Boone breathe a lot easier in those late-inning scenarios and also allow him to play righty-lefty matchups with Clay Holmes rather than always saving him for the ninth inning.

The Marlins need young position players in their system, so the best trade they could make would be to receive 2023 first-round pick George Lombard Jr., an 18-year-old shortstop and the Yankees’ sixth-ranked prospect. If they can’t pry away Lombard, Brando Mayea would be another great option, an 18-year-old outfielder with game-changing speed. And the Yankees should be the most desperate suitor for Scott as well, because of their need to win now and convince Juan Soto to sign long-term.

Trade 1B Josh Bell and cash considerations to Mariners

Every season, a team is looking for a Josh Bell at the trade deadline to help bolster their lineup. It happened in 2022 when Bell was having a great season with the Washington Nationals and it still happened in 2023 when he was doing very poorly for the Cleveland Guardians. So far, 2024 would have to be classified under the “very poorly” category as well, but he’s got a couple of months to boost his trade value and then it’s off to greener pastures.

And there is no more fitting trade partner for Bell than the Seattle Mariners, who love making trades, don’t love taking on big contracts and seem to always regenerate prospects despite never really having a top-ranked farm system. In this case, Bell is owed $16.5 million for the season, but if the Marlins are willing to eat most or all of that money, as they did with Arraez, they can likely get themselves a reasonably high-ranking prospect in return.

In an ideal scenario, the Marlins could get back Tai Peete, the Mariners’ seventh-ranked prospect and first round pick from a season ago. Peete is an 18-year-old big-bodied shortstop who would fit perfectly with the Marlins’ timeline. But if the Mariners won’t budge on Peete, Michael Arroyo would be another great get. He’s 19, only 5-foot-8 and 160 pounds, but can play anywhere on the infield and has a strong track record of producing in the low-level minors.