How Marlins parlayed 2 players out of baseball and 2 relievers into 3 of 4 best ’23 bats

While several Marlins free agent pickups haven’t paid dividends in recent years, a handful of savvy trades have helped catapult Miami into playoff contention.

Deals with St. Louis for Sandy Alcantara (part of a package for Marcell Ozuna) and with Arizona for Jazz Chisholm Jr. (in exchange for Zach Gallen) have been well-documented.

Here’s a look at three others deals, and how they have become big wins for the organization:

LUIS ARRAEZ

Acquired in January for Pablo Lopez and Jose Salas, Arraez has not only met but exceeded expectations, flirting with .400 through the first 67 games of the season. (He stood at .391 after Monday’s loss at Seattle).

To put in perspective what Arraez is doing, consider — as MLB Network’s Brian Kenny noted — that no player has even finished a season at .350 in the past decade.

Arraez’s. 326 batting average and .384 on-base percentage through 450 career games are better than Tony Gwynn’s through 450 games (.324, .375).

Several players have made a run at .400 through the years, but nobody has done it since Ted Williams in 1941.

Gwynn came the closest during the past 30 years — .394 in 1994 — but played only 110 games that year because of a work stoppage.

George Brett was hitting .400 on Sept. 19 in 1980 but closed at .390.

Hall of Famer and seven-time American League batting champion Rod Carew, who hit .388 in 1977, recently said on Twitter that what Arraez “is doing, whether he ends the season above .400 or not, is very impressive. The pressure to swing for the fences and not care about strikeouts is overwhelming. He is doing what he does best and at an ELITE level. Other players should take note.”

Lopez has been fine for the Twins — a 4.25 ERA in 13 starts — but Arraez’s impact on the Marlins lineup has spearheaded the team’s surprising 37-30 start.

Looking back even further, keep in mind that then-Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill acquired Lopez for journeyman relief pitcher David Phelps in 2017. Outfield prospect Brayan Hernandez was considered the best among four prospects acquired by the Marlins in that deal. Hernandez last played in the minors in 2019.

Phelps retired in January after a solid 10-year career. But by acquiring Lopez in the trade for Phelps, the Marlins essentially turned a retired relief pitcher into Arraez, who should be a perennial contender for the batting title, having already one won in Minnesota last year. Arraez is under team control through 2025.

BRYAN DE LA CRUZ

An organization that has struggled to develop outfielders through their farm system, in recent years, has smartly snagged two good, young ones in trades: De La Cruz and Jesus Sanchez.

De La Cruz was hitting well for the Astros’ Triple A affiliate in 2021 (.272 AB, 12 HR, 50 RBI, 324 on base) when the Marlins acquired him at the trade deadline for reliever Yimi Garcia.

Though some scouts projected him as a fourth or fifth outfielder, De La Cruz has proven to be more than that, hitting. 290 (.343 on base) with eight homers and 35 RBI through his first 63 games this season. Hitting coach Brant Brown has helped polish his approach at the plate.

Garcia struggled with the Astros, was dumped after that 2021 season and has a 5.53 ERA in Toronto’s bullpen this season.

That trade was an overwhelming win for Miami.

JESUS SANCHEZ

The Marlins essentially turned a player who is out of baseball (Brian Schales) and a journeyman starter-turned-reliever (Trevor Richards) into an outfielder (Sanchez) who has 33 homers in his first 214 big-league games and is much improved this season (.270 batting average, .352 on base through Monday).

Here’s how that happened:

In 2019, the Marlins flipped Schales — a light-hitting 2014 fourth-round pick — to Minnesota for relief pitcher Nick Anderson, whom the Twins were not interested in putting on their 40 man roster.

With Schales fizzled and never played again after 2019, Anderson became a revelation for the Marlins, striking out 69 in 43 innings for the Marlins in 2019.

With Tampa Bay in the hunt for a playoff berth and needing bullpen help, the Rays sent Sanchez, one of their better position prospects, and reliever Ryne Stanek to the Marlins for Anderson and Richards.

Anderson was very good for Tampa Bay before sustaining myriad arm injuries and is now pitching for Atlanta (3.20 ERA). Richards has a 3.30 ERA for Toronto this season. The Marlins released Stanek after 32 largely forgettable appearances (6.03 ERA) and he now pitches for Houston, with a 4.57 ERA in 2023.

But the deal has been a good one for Miami: Sanchez is enjoying the best stretch of his career, posting an OPS over .900, and has given Miami hope he can be a force against right-handed pitching moving forward.

There have been other recent trades that have yielded positive returns - Starling Marte (who likely would have been lost in free agency anyway) for Jesus Luzardo, among others.

But the aforementioned three stand out because ultimately Miami parlayed two players now out of baseball -- and two merely decent veteran relievers -- into three of their four best position players this season (Arraez, De La Cruz and Sanchez). Jorge Soler, signed as a free agent, has been the other top-four Marlins hitter this year.

PEREZ DECISION

The Marlins organization has been conflicted about whether to send rookie right-hander and top prospect Eury Perez to the minors when Trevor Rogers is ready to be activated off a rehab assignment in the next week or so.

There are mixed views internally on that issue. But all key Marlins officials are in agreement that Perez should not double his workload this season.

Perez pitched 78 minor-league innings as a rookie in 2021 and 77 in the minors last season.

He already has pitched 60 innings this season — 31 for Pensacola and 29 for the Marlins.

In six starts for each team this year, he has a lower ERA for the Marlins (2.17) than in Double A (2.32).

The Marlins are comfortable with allowing him to pitch 100 to 120 innings this season. But if he stays in the rotation in Miami and averages six innings per start, he might have only eight more starts before needing to be shut down for the year.

By sending Perez to the minors, they could start him once a week or 10 days and keep alive the option of promoting him to the big leagues later this summer if the Marlins remain in the playoff race and need him.

So even though the idea of sending down Perez after an exceptional debut might seem odd, there’s sound reasoning behind it – if the Marlins go in that direction.

The left-handed Rogers, who has been sidelined since April 20 with a biceps strain, did not make a scheduled rehab start for Jacksonville on Saturday because of an issue involving his right shoulder. He had an MRI on that non-throwing shoulder and will be further evaluated.

TRADE TALK

The Marlins — who entered the Seattle series tied for the third best record in the National League — expect to be buyers at the trade deadline, but it does not appear Royals catcher/designated hitter Salvador Perez will be a target.

Perez — who entered the week hitting .273 with 13 homers and 36 RBI — told the Miami Herald last week that he has no intention of leaving Kansas City. Perez has been in the big leagues 10 years, and five with the same team; that gives Perez the right to veto any trade.

Perez also reiterated to a group of reporters in San Diego that he had no interest in playing elsewhere. Unless something changes with Perez, or the Royals, he doesn’t appear to be a target for Miami behind the plate. The Marlins have monitored the catching market; Nick Fortes and Jacob Stallings have hit better recently but Miami remains open to an upgrade if a realistic one surfaces.

PROSPECT OUT

Marlins left-hander Dax Fulton — the team’s second-round pick in 2020 and the No. 4 prospect in the team’s system, per MLB.com --- will undergo UCL repair surgery on his left elbow and likely will miss the rest of the season, per a source.

UCL repair is not full reconstruction, like Tommy John surgery. So the Marlins are hopeful he will be ready for spring training next year.

Fulton underwent Tommy John surgery in 2019 while in high school in Mustang, Oklahoma.

Fulton has a 5.18 ERA in six appearances at Pensacola this season and 4.27 ERA over parts of three minor league seasons.

If Miami is interested in moving a minor-league arm at the trade deadline, they will likely need to dangle someone else.

One of those arms could be right-handed starter Evan Fitterer, the team’s fifth-round pick in 2019. Fitterer, 22, has a 3.50 ERA in 11 starts for High A Beloit and Pensacola.

Herald senior baseball correspondent Craig Mish hosts Newswire from 11 a.m. to noon weekdays on Sportsgrid. Follow him on Twitter at @CraigMish. Follow Barry Jackson at @flasportsbuzz