Should the Miami Marlins sell at the trade deadline?

The Miami Marlins have an elite farm system. The Fish also have an elite pitching staff, that is in 7’th place in the Majors with a 3.38 team ERA. It’s also THIRD in the National League. The pitching is great and the farm system is elite, so what is the issue? Should the Miami Marlins sell or not at this season’s trade deadline?

The Miami Marlins have to decide to be either buyers or sellers this season.

The Miami Marlins are currently 9 games out of first place in the NL East with an 18-24 Win-Loss record. The Fish are also 5.5 games behind the final Wild Card spot. This is obviously not a good situation to be in, but also not a catastrophic one. You want to see a catastrophic situation? How about the Cincinnati Reds are 13-30 14.5 games out of first place in the NL Central and 11.5 games behind the final Wild Card spot.

Do the Miami Marlins have a chance to still make the playoffs? Of course!! The Atlanta Braves had a losing record at this time last season and ended up winning the World Series. The Washington Nationals started the season 19-31 and then won the World Series. Am I saying that the Miami Marlins are winning the World Series this season? No. I’m just saying that it’s too early to give up on the season.

Should The Fish buy or sell? It would be pretty crazy to suggest buying if the record stays around the same winning percentage. That said, long-term pieces to improve the lineup are good additions regardless of the team’s standings. What about selling? Well, selling who? None of the key players are free agents after the season. Avisaíl García might be a good player to move based on contract and production, but why would other teams want a struggling player locked up for a few years? Other than him, I don’t see any players worth trading.

The Miami Marlins need to look for long-term improvements to the lineup, and look past this season. that’s really the only logical thing to do. At this point “buying” isn’t an option and selling is pointless when there’s no upcoming free agents with value to really trade.