Marlins Could Flip Garrett For Rotation Depth in Trade Deadline

The Miami Marlins approach the final weeks of July in an interesting position. 

Their June surge thrust the Fightin’ Fish into playoff contention, and even with a five-game losing streak, the Marlins are still tied with the St. Cardinals for the third and final National League wild card spot. They got this far with a team filled with young and controllable players. Their only two veterans are Sandy Alcantara and Pete Fairbanks, who would’ve been the first arm out of Miami had Miami sunk into the cellar. 

The Marlins need to upgrade their team and patch up their weaknesses before the MLB Trade Deadline if they are to keep up with the other contenders. At the same time, the Marlins don’t want to have to send off their minor league talent for a two-month gamble. 

In the case of the Marlins, their most favorable trade chips may actually be the young, controllable players that they have given up on. One of them wasn’t acquired by the current front office, and they have already demonstrated how unattached they are to him. 

Braxton Garrett, who has been dominating the Triple-A circuit but struggled mightily in his only two starts with the Marlins in mid-May. In his return from elbow surgery, Garrett has a 1.54 ERA and 77 strikeouts through 71 innings over 14 appearances with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. 

Garrett will turn 29 in August, and even with a track record of success (4.16 career ERA) and postseason experience, he won't be a free agent until 2029. 

Considering how injuries have already impacted their rotation depth, the Marlins need to fortify their starting pitching at the trade deadline. Two of their starting pitchers, All-Star Max Meyer and Eury Pérez, are now stretching the extent of their workloads. The Marlins already saw what it was like to have to replace half of their rotation on the fly, and it has led to a weaker bullpen. 

Meyer is going through what is shaping up to be not only a career year but also his first full season as a big leaguer. He was given a 10-day rest period between his last two starts and did not pitch in the All-Star Game. That strategy backfired, as he only lasted three innings in an 8-6 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday. 

“I grinded through every single inning it felt like, put the 'pen in a tough spot, especially coming off a break like this,” Meyer told reporters. “Obviously, I wanted to go deeper. ‘Pen's got to pick up a lot of slack if I'm only going three innings and there's a one-run game. So, it was tough.”

Perez, who is slated to start on Sunday, already spent a short stint on the injured list this year and already lost a season to injury. He wasn’t even allowed to finish his attempt at a perfect game after seven innings for fear of overuse. Perez, 23, who has a 3.78 ERA entering Sunday, is 10 innings away from matching his big league high (95.1).

“We are in uncharted territory with this, but also, we don't have any concern as much as, we do the responsible thing is just to be aware and cognizant of we do have a young athlete that is and already has surpassed a number of career highs,” McCullough said.

There are plenty of rental options for the Marlins if they can offer Garrett in place of one of their prized prospects. The Marlins could also go all-in on trading for either LHP Tarik Skubal or RHP Casey Mize, both of whom are entering free agency after the season. 

The Marlins could probably put together a package consisting of Garrett, Norby, Graham Pauley and Agustin Ramirez — all of whom were sent down to Triple-A with little hope of returning — and it might not be enough for Skubal. It would cost one of their real prospects to bring in the two-time Cy Young winner as a likely rental, but Mize would be a bargain by comparison. 

The Baltimore Orioles (48-51) are in fourth place in the American League East but are two games out of the playoffs. Should they continue to slide out of the race, a reunion with Trevor Rogers could be a sound trade option. 

Rogers, 26, is signed for $6.2M this year and will be a free agent after the season. Sporting a 4.28 ERA in 18 starts, Rogers would pick up where he left off when he was traded from Miami to Baltimore in 2024 for Connor Norby and Kyle Stowers, the latter of whom made the trade worth it. 

The Marlins could also turn the tables on the New York Mets and take a rental from them rather than the other way around. The Mets traded for Freddy Peralta over the offseason with the expectation of him being their ace. 

The Mets are in last place, with Peralta surely going into free agency at the end of this season. A 4.66 ERA isn’t impressive, but he could provide the depth Miami needs going into the final two months of the regular season. 

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