The Miami Marlins made two notable trades this offseason involving starting pitchers, but one’s already looking like a mistake they’d love to take back.
While Miami kept Sandy Alcantara and Eury Perez in the rotation, they dealt Edward Cabrera to the Cubs for a package headlined by Owen Caissie. That move’s worked out well so far.
The other trade? Not so much.
The Marlins sent Ryan Weathers to the New York Yankees for four prospects, and it’s starting to sting. Weathers is off to a 2.81 ERA start with New York, while Miami’s getting nothing immediate in return.
As Zachary Rotman of Fansided.com pointed out, the Marlins are “paying the price” for moving Weathers when they could’ve used his production.
“I understood the idea of trading Weathers, a pitcher who hadn’t quite put it all together at the big league level and had dealt with some injuries, but a Marlins team on the rise, trading him for only prospects, didn’t make much sense, and they’re paying the price for that, at least right now.”
The return package included Dylan Jasson, Brendan Jones, Dillon Lewis, and Juan Matheus. All four remain in the minors.
Meanwhile, Weathers has been solid for the Yankees through three starts and 16 innings, posting an impressive 146 ERA+ with 18 strikeouts. That’s exactly the type of production Miami could use right now.
Instead, they’re watching guys like Chris Paddack and Janson Junk struggle through mediocre starts while Weathers thrives in pinstripes.
The timing makes it worse. With the Marlins positioning themselves as a team on the rise, having Weathers anchor part of the rotation would’ve been a nice asset.
Now, it’s a waiting game to see if any of those four prospects pan out. The move could look better down the road if one or multiple prospects reach the majors and contribute, but right now it’s hard to see this as anything other than a swing and a miss.
