If you would have told me at the start of the season there was a looming Miami Marlins fire sale, I would have laughed at your face, or patted you on the shoulder in a condescending way. If you would have told me this a few weeks ago, when the Marlins acquired Carlos Lee, I still would have done both of those things.
Well hypothetical, prophet man, I owe you an apology.
It looks like there could be an impending fire sale of the Miami Marlins.
Yesterday the Marlins traded Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante (a Mets killer) for Jacob Turner of the Tigers. There is rumors on MLB Trade Rumors that the Marlins are drawing interest for Carlos Lee, Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Hanley Ramirez, and Randy Choate. Also, they would to move Heath Bell.
I agree with the analysis of the situation that the Marlins want to keep Josh Johnson. He’s the type of player to build a team around.
A quick look at the standings shows that the experiment this year of spending a lot of money into the club house didn’t work. The Marlins solution is the same as the Florida Marlins. Trade the pieces, get new pieces and then wait a few years.
For the Mets, the only bad news here is players like Jacob Turner look to mature around the same time that the Mets talent looks to mature. For some reason, this Marlins strategy makes me more nervous than the one from last winter. I had no problem with the Marlins spending a lot of money on players that were supposed to contribute immediately and then diminish.
Personally, I don’t know if this is a good strategy or not, I’ll wait for it to play out. However if they trade Ramirez (because there is almost no chance at all that the Marlins can move Reyes), it is an interesting end to the Ramirez / Reyes journey.
