Miami Marlins Unwilling to Trade Former Cardinal

That's a pretty definitive statement coming from one of the few people that would have access to information on Stowers' availability.

Now, we're not going to sit here and say we're familiar with the ins and outs of the Marlins thought process or anything, but we do want to go over one simple question: Should the Marlins trade him? Given that he's a former Stanford Cardinal, we're interested in seeing how this all plays out.

The Miami offense as a whole holds a 97 wRC+, which is tied for 19th overall with the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Angels. This is the highest they have been ranked since the 2020 Covid season, but even then their offense came in with a 93 wRC+ (100 is league average).

So in terms of the actual offense, you'd have to go back a little further, to 2017, when they had a 101 and ranked ninth in baseball. They also had Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto on that club which helped the overall production, though the lineup was a little top-heavy.

The question of whether or not the Marlins should hold onto Stowers is more about the players around him and what the roster looks like moving forward, and they do appear to have a nice group of guys around him that are producing as well. Stowers is under team control through the 2029 campaign.

On the pitching side, the Marlins have been a little unlucky. They have a team ERA of 4.44 which ranks 24th, but their 4.07 FIP moves them up a few spots to 17th, which is roughly league average. It doesn't help that Sandy Alcantara has pitched to a 6.66 ERA, though he's looked better of late, and free agent signee (and former Cardinal) Cal Quantrill holds a 5.05 ERA (4.22 FIP).

While the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are running away atop the NL East, the Marlins sit in third place with a respectable 50-54 record. While they're 11 games back in the division, they're six back in the NL Wild Card race. It's unlikely that they'll make a charge towards the postseason, but with some adjustments to the roster ahead of 2026, they could be in a position to be buyers at this time next season.

In order for that to happen, Stowers should be on the team. He's still a pre-arb guy, so it's not even like the Marlins would be saving money by moving him. The only reason you'd trade him is because you're not sure if that'll be an option later, as in he may drop off in the coming years. If that's the case, trade him. But if you think he can do this again next year, then the Marlins have to hold onto him.

Miami shouldn't hold onto him solely for the sake of building out a competitive roster with a chance in 2026, but because Marlins fans deserve someone to root for that isn't traded immediately. If the franchise doesn't provide hope for the future at some point, then what's even the point of running the club?