The Miami Marlins simultaneous have a losing record and are on the periphery of the playoff race with just over two months left in the regular season.
With that in mind, the Marlins — at least from general manager Kim Ng and manager Don Mattingly’s viewpoints — aren’t counting themselves out of the playoff race just yet with Major League Baseball’s trade deadline fast approaching.
“I’m not sure if we’re gonna be a clear buyer or a clear seller,” Ng, who noted she believes the Marlins have a “very outside shot” to make a playoff run, said Saturday. “It’s a little more complex than that.”
And they, in part, have an extra playoff spot to thank for that.
MLB expanding its playoff field this season from 10 total teams to 12 — each of the division champions and the next three teams with the best record in each league — has afforded more teams the opportunity to be in a competitive spot as the calendar turns to August and the regular season enters its final stretch.
The Marlins are among that group.
Even with a 47-54 record after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the New York Mets, the Marlins are seven games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for the National League’s third wild card spot. With the San Diego Padres two-and-a-half games ahead of the Phillies, that number would have been nine games a year ago when each league only had two teams advance as wild cards.
It’s for that reason that Ng said the Marlins are preparing for any situation possible ahead of the 6 p.m. Tuesday trade deadline.
“The trade deadline is always challenging,” Ng said, “because you’re always trying to improve the club in some way.”
Mattingly is hopeful that means improvement in the present. He said the wild card race is something he talks to the club about “a lot,” especially considering the Marlins are 15-and-a-half games behind the Mets for the NL East lead.
“It’s something that’s realistic,” Mattingly said. “You think about five or six [games], that’s doable. We’re going to be playing some of the teams in front of us. All that stuff’s doable for us.”
And the Marlins are still in contention — as loosely as one wants to use that term — despite fielding a roster that is a shell of the one it had planned to use at the start of the season.
Miami has 17 players on the injured list. Sandy Alcantara and Pablo Lopez are currently the only two healthy members from the Opening Day starting rotation, although Jesus Luzardo and Edward Cabrera are close to returning after being out since mid-May and mid-June, respectively. Regular position players Jazz Chisholm Jr., Brian Anderson, Garrett Cooper and Jorge Soler are sidelined, as are high-leverage relievers Cole Sulser and Anthony Bender. Ballyhooed rookie right-handed pitcher Max Meyer is also undergoing Tommy John surgery and likely won’t pitch again until the 2024 season.
Ng said the slew of injuries makes it “really complicated” when it comes to finalizing decisions at the deadline.
“As hard as we’ve been hit,” Ng said, “we’re in the middle of the pack [in the standings].”
So who’s available? Alcantara, who signed a five-year deal this offseason and is a legitimate contender for the NL Cy Young Award, is all but untouchable. Everyone else is fair game for the right price.
If the Marlins want to swing big, they will find a way to trade Lopez. Quality starting pitching is always in demand at the deadline and a bar was set Friday night when the Seattle Mariners sent three of their top five prospects to the Cincinnati Reds for Luis Castillo.
Lopez, who is scheduled to start Sunday’s series finale against the Mets, has already set single-season career highs in innings pitched (116) and strikeouts (118) while pitching to a 3.03 ERA over 20 starts but has a history of shoulder injuries.
Ng said she has not talked to Lopez about a potential trade and noted they are not openly shopping Lopez, who is under team control through the 2024 season. Lopez said Tuesday after his most recent start that he does not pay attention to trade rumors.
“With all our pitching, I think you have to be very careful,” Ng said, “and make sure you’re getting the value you want.”
Other players on the big-league roster likely to be in contention to be dealt are first basemen Jesus Aguilar and Garrett Cooper as well as relievers Dylan Floro, Steven Okert and Anthony Bass.
“We feel like we’re in the hunt and we’re within striking distance,” Mattingly said. “Still haven’t really gotten a real section of time where we’ve played really, really well. ... Our guys are hanging in there. I’ve been through enough of these that the best baseball you’re going to play is down the stretch. The games get hard to win for anybody ahead of you or for yourself. We’re in a good spot. I hope we add. Kim and the front office I’m sure are trying to make our club better. If that means tomorrow or a week from now or a year from now, I’m sure they’re doing what they think is best for the organization. But from the field level, we feel like we can compete with anybody, anywhere here.”
This story was originally published July 30, 2022 7:08 PM.
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