MIAMI -- With Tuesday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline drawing closer, rumors continue to swirl. One of the latest involves the Marlins reportedly inquiring about starting pitching, including Tigers right-hander Michael Lorenzen.

Saturday’s 5-0 loss to the Tigers at loanDepot park in front of a Venezuelan Heritage Celebration crowd of 32,936 -- the largest attendance for a Marlins home game since April 2017 -- served as a reminder the ballclub could also use lineup help.

"I think these two trades [for David Robertson and Jorge López] help us to take a little bit of time to exhale and see how the other markets develop -- whether it's starting pitching, whether it's a bat,” general manager Kim Ng had said on Friday. “We're flexible on that front. I think it's really just about improving the club and making sure that whatever move we make makes sense for us now as well as for the future."

Right-hander Johnny Cueto was efficient for the second straight start, requiring just 83 pitches to complete six innings. He made two mistakes -- a hanging slider that Akil Baddoo sent over the left-center wall for a three-run homer in the second and an outside fastball that Riley Greene lined for a solo blast to left in the sixth. Both were opposite-field shots.

Cueto has looked like the veteran presence the Marlins signed to a one-year, $8.5 million contract with a team option for 2024 in January. He has a 3.00 ERA in three outings (two starts) since returning from the 60-day injured list on July 16.

“I'm doing well, feeling good being out there,” Cueto said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. “The whole team, we need to keep battling. We still have another two months ahead of us.”

When Ng was asked Friday what the value would be of adding a starting pitcher via trade considering members of the rotation are exceeding their career highs for innings, she voiced her confidence in the 37-year-old Cueto.

“Well, we did bring one starter in: His name is Johnny Cueto,” Ng said. “He was a nice addition and a very welcome addition for the staff. If anything, if you look over Johnny's career, you know he's always thrown a lot of innings per start. [He’s] an innings eater that will help I think stabilize the rotation some. We'd always like to improve and add more, but again, we'll just take it one day at a time.”

Miami’s rotation is as follows:
RHP Sandy Alcantara
LHP Jesús Luzardo
LHP Braxton Garrett
RHP Edward Cabrera
RHP Cueto

Swingman Bryan Hoeing was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville to make room on the active roster for the right-handed Robertson, while left-hander Trevor Rogers is still in no-throw status. Rookie Eury Pérez returned to game action on Wednesday with Double-A Pensacola, where he was optioned on July 7 to limit his workload.

“The plan was, obviously, always to get him into competition,” Ng said of Pérez. “We're creating a path for him to come back, and then we'll just take it day by day and see where the staff is, see where he is, and just make sure that we monitor this really closely.”

But Saturday was another reminder of Miami’s season-long shortcomings on offense. The Marlins were shut out for the seventh time, leaving nine on base. Since the second half began, Miami is averaging just 3.2 runs per game. The club has scored the fifth-fewest runs and hit the third-fewest homers in the Majors in 2023.

Outside of the trade market, where Ng covets “pure hitters with plate discipline,” reinforcements should be on the way soon. Jazz Chisholm Jr. (left oblique strain) is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Sunday with Single-A Jupiter, and he could be back as soon as Monday. Avisaíl García (left back stiffness) expects to be activated from the injured list for Sunday’s series finale.

“I'd love to break through on offense,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “I think that's always the goal is to score, have crooked numbers every inning. The reality is our pitching is really good. We feel like that keeps us in every game. The games that we're losing, we feel like they keep us in games to help us come back. I think it's more of a product of that.

"We don't score a ton of runs; there's no secret. But we score enough to keep us in the game and give us a chance to win late. I think it's more pitching and defense that we've been really good at, and the timely hits when we need it.”