Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix spoke to reporters, together with Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, earlier at the moment to debate final night time’s blockbuster commerce of infielder Luis Arraez to the Padres and the Marlins’ outlook shifting ahead after the deal.
In his feedback, Bendix indicated that he and the remainder of the group is “very disenchanted” concerning the crew’s brutal 9-25 begin to the 2024 season and acknowledged that the crew is “unlikely” to make the playoffs this 12 months after doing so for the primary time in a full season since 2003 final 12 months.
“We’re very disenchanted,” Bendix stated, per McPherson. “I do know the gamers are very disenchanted. All people right here could be very disenchanted about that. However it is usually one thing that we will’t change proper now.”
In mild of the membership’s difficult path to the postseason, Bendix stated that he felt the deal provide by the Padres was “too good to stroll previous,” with Craig Mish of the Miami Herald including that Bendix famous he was involved that the deal might not have nonetheless been on the desk had the Marlins waited till later within the calendar to make the transfer. Bendix’s willingness to strike early on the commerce market extends again to 2021 throughout his time as GM of the Rays, when the membership traded shortstop Willy Adames to the Brewers as a part of the opposite Could blockbuster in latest reminiscence.
Bendix went on to reward the return the membership obtained for Arraez providers, which consists of 2023 first-rounder Dillon Head, Double-A outfielder Jakob Marsee, Double-A primary baseman Nathan Martorella, and reliever Woo-Suk Go. Each Head and Marsee rank within the high 10 on lists of high Padres prospects from each Baseball America and MLB.com, although Go is a longtime skilled on a two-year, $4.5MM cope with seven KBO seasons underneath his belt regardless of not but having made his massive league debut.
Given the truth that not one of the gamers becoming a member of the Marlins in return for Arraez have performed above the Double-A stage in stateside ball, it’s truthful to marvel what kind of timeline for competitiveness Miami brass envisions for the membership. Bendix prevented specifics throughout his dialog with reporters, nonetheless. Whereas he made clear all through his feedback that the membership’s long-term objective is to win “90-plus video games year-in and year-out”, he refused to label the membership’s present trajectory a “rebuild” whereas concurrently noting that there isn’t a “definitive timeline” for a return to competitiveness.
That foggy outlook seems to increase to the membership’s plans going ahead. Whereas Bendix made clear that the Arraez transfer was the primary in a “sequence of adverse selections” the membership could be making in service of a longer-term outlook, he didn’t get into specifics about what different gamers the membership might look to buy from the massive league roster. For his half, Bendix appears to haven’t any want to decide to retaining any of the massive league membership’s present gamers. The membership’s high baseball ops official indicated to Andy Slater of Fox Sports activities 640 that he “doesn’t know what to anticipate” when requested whether or not or not 2022 All Star Jazz Chisholm Jr. who’s simply 26 years previous and is underneath crew management by means of the top of the 2026 season, would stay within the group by means of the top of the season.
Pending free brokers akin to first baseman Josh Bell, shortstop Tim Anderson, and left-hander Tanner Scott all look like good bets to maneuver sooner or later this season given Bendix’s acknowledged plan to prioritize future worth over the present season, however Arraez’s departure and Bendix’s unwillingness to decide to Chisholm each point out that the membership just isn’t averse to dealing extra controllable gamers as properly. Wanting past Chisholm, the Marlins steadily flirted with dealing from their beginning rotation over the winter and it’s simple to think about any of Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, and Braxton Garrett being made out there this summer season ought to they be wholesome and efficient sufficient to command a major return. MLBTR’s Anthony Franco explored the membership’s commerce candidates intimately earlier this week, previous to the Arraez deal.
