"Marlins will make a significant trade before Opening Day" - MLB insider expects a big move from Marlins before the start of the season
With Spring Training quickly approaching, one team that has not done much this winter is the Miami Marlins. The only moves they have made so far have been through arbitration, and they have spent the least amount of money in the league.
The Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies have outspent Miami this offseason, which is a head-scratcher. But Miami could consider bringing in some players through a trade ahead of Opening Day.
MLB insider Jon Morosi could see the team making a big-time trade within the next few weeks. He believes that the president of baseball operations, Peter Bendix, could look at shaking things up after a quiet offseason:
"My bold prediction is that the Marlins will make a significant trade before Opening Day. Peter Bendix has had a quiet offseason with the team, meaning this camp in Jupiter Fla., is a crucial evaluation period for him."
Morosi anticipates Bendix to evaluate his team when they fully meet during camp. He could be enticed into trading one of the team's young arms for a package of young position players:
"After seeing his personnel up close, perhaps he'll be more comfortable moving one of his young starting pitchers for a position player-focused package of young talent," Morosi said.
Bendix has a handful of young starters at his disposal. Edward Cabrera, Eury Perez, Jesus Luzardo and Ryan Weathers could be players Bendix looks to move.
Marlins need to do something ahead of Opening Day
For a team that plays in a division as tough as the National League East is, they cannot go all offseason without bringing in talent to help the club. At the end of the 2023 season, slugger Jorge Soler opted out of his contract, making him a free agent.
Soler played in 137 games last season, hitting .250/.341/.512 with 36 home runs and 75 RBIs. That is quite a lot of runs coming off the board for the upcoming season. Recently, the slugger has been in talks with the San Francisco Giants on a possible contract.
The Atlanta Braves won the division last season and got better this winter. They added a handful of guys to their roster, including Chris Sale, Reynaldo Lopez, Aaron Bummer and Jared Kelenic, to name a few.
The Marlins could be left in the dust if they do not address the holes they have ahead of Opening Day.