Marlins stock up on young talent in flurry of Deadline deals

ST. PETERSBURG -- The Marlins hoped to run it back in 2024 as contenders, but the combination of starting-pitching injuries, key player departures and offensive underperformance led Miami to being a seller ahead of Tuesday night’s Trade Deadline and a 9-3 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field.

In what proved to be a fruitful market, the Marlins executed six trades on Tuesday alone that brought in 11 prospects, including five of whom now rank in the club’s Top 30 list, according to MLB Pipeline. It completely made over the organization's farm system. Some pundits went on to call Miami’s Deadline haul one of the best.

• Marlins get Norby, Stowers from O's for Rogers

"After a busy Trade Deadline with many tough decisions, we’re excited about the layers of talent joining our organization,” president of baseball operations Peter Bendix wrote in a statement. “Our goal is to be a consistently competitive team. With the talented and promising players we’ve acquired, we’re confident that we’re moving in the right direction and building a deeper and stronger organization.

“We thank our fans for their continued support and share their goal of being a contending team that they can be proud of.”

Here’s a breakdown of who joined and left the organization within the past week.

Additions (nine prospects ranked in Miami's Top 30): LHP Robby Snelling, RHP Adam Mazur, 2B/OF Connor Norby, C/1B Agustin Ramirez, 1B/3B Deyvison De Los Santos, RHP Jun-Seok Shim, INF Garret Forrester, SS/2B Jared Serna, INF Graham Pauley, INF Wilfredo Lara, OF Andrew Pintar, OF Kyle Stowers, INF Abrahan Ramirez, RHP Will Schomberg, INF Jay Beshears, PTBN or cash

Subtractions: CL Tanner Scott, CF/2B Jazz Chisholm Jr., 1B/DH Josh Bell, OF Bryan De La Cruz, LHP Trevor Rogers, LHP A.J. Puk, RHP Huascar Brazoban, RHP JT Chargois, RHP Bryan Hoeing

While losing key contributors from last year’s surprising postseason run is tough, Scott and Bell had expiring contracts. Chisholm, De La Cruz and Puk were arbitration-eligible this coming offseason, with the former losing an arb hearing in February. Rogers, who was limited to four starts last season, held down the fort in 2024, but he isn’t the same pitcher that finished runner-up for the National League Rookie of the Year Award in ‘21.

• Marlins add 3 of Padres' top 5 prospects in deal for closer Scott

Manager Skip Schumaker, who spoke to media before any moves had been made official, wasn’t sure whether certain acquisitions or internal players might immediately join the big league club. Regardless, the tone for the rest of the season shifts.

“Once that happens, it's up to the coaching staff to get them comfortable as quick as they can so they can produce and help try to win games up here,” Schumaker said. “But I think it's going to be a lot of developing, for sure, initially [for] the guys that we get up, because it seems like a lot of young guys that we're getting back, which is exciting for a coach, because you get to teach.”

• Marlins add RHP prospect in Chargois trade with M's

The departures of De La Cruz and Bell, along with Chisholm over the weekend, will open up regular playing time for a lineup among the least productive in MLB. The organization lacked upper-level impact bats, but Bendix addressed that with the additions of Norby, Stowers, Ramirez and De Los Santos.

• Marlins acquire talented group of prospects in latest trades

Norby and Stowers, who came over in a trade with the O’s for Rogers, could arrive sooner rather than later. They have already made their MLB debuts, along with Pauley and Mazur. Norby, in fact, went deep on July 25 in Miami during a cup of coffee.

“He's a tough kid, the makeup, the IQ,” Schumaker said of Norby. “All of that stuff is what we want, what our clubhouse needs. We need tough players that know how to play the game right, that take quality at-bats, that are versatile players as well, and Norby is that guy. He can really play second base. He could probably play other positions. Haven't dove in a ton yet, but I do know that the bat is real. He impacts the baseball, and I’m excited to put him whenever he gets here in our lineup.”

Should Miami keep its rotation intact and healthy, options would include 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara, Eury Pérez, Jesús Luzardo, Ryan Weathers, Braxton Garrett, prospect Max Meyer and Edward Cabrera. That’s an enviable group.

Bendix would then need to address the bullpen, which saw five pieces -- back-end relievers Scott and Puk as well as innings eaters Hoeing, Brazoban and Chargois -- move on to replenish the system. Over the offseason, the organization was able to do so by picking up Declan Cronin and Calvin Faucher in under-the-radar moves.