There's been a trade involving one of the league's worst teams, the Miami Marlins, coming in at a hot 9-24 before Friday night's matchup with the Oakland Athletics and the San Diego Padres. The Marlins traded All-Star infielder Luis Arraez to the San Diego Padres for reliever Woo-suk Go and prospects Dillon Head, Nathan Martorella, and Jakob Marsee.
What to make of the deal is still to be seen, as the Padres have a gluttony of infielders, with Xander Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim, Jake Cronenworth, and Manny Machado occupying the starting five. Does Arraez move to a DH role? Does he start off at first, moving Cronenworth to third until Machado gets healthy? Or is this trade a sign that Machado is ready to resume his everyday role at third?
Regardless, the Padres added a nice, complimentary bat to possibly lead off if they want to push Jurickson Profar (who's had a fantastic start to the year himself, sporting a 178 wRC+ with some nice under-the-hood stats that say his return to Earth might not be as dramatic as expected) further down the order.
Arraez' lack of walks scares me into thinking the Padres might view him more as a 5-or-lower hitter to fill out what's become a surprisingly deep lineup despite moving Juan Soto, but regardless his contact and strikeout rates still speak to someone with otherworldly bat-to-ball skills.
Color me impressed from the Padres perspective, as GM A.J. Preller continues to make move after move, never satisfied with his roster.
But for the Marlins, I mean, do we even have to talk about them? While new GM Peter Bendix has caught a lot of heat for his cutt-throat, low-budget approach that made Tim Anderson their "highlight offseason acquisition," Marlins ownership has a clear vision of wanting to become another Florida team that does a lot with a little (because he's cheap as hell).
Is that going to work without Rays wizard Erik Neander? That remains to be seen, as it's an approach that takes time to implement, but I wouldn't bet on it. The Marlins' owner seems to lack the patience or vision to stick with something like this, and even if he does, I don't buy Bendix receiving the proper support needed to accomplish what the Rays do on a yearly basis.
Regardless, another tough blow to what was already a brutal team in Miami, and a fun addition to a hopefully competitive team in the NL West.
Main Image via the New York Times