Marlins: Buyers Or Sellers?

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The trade deadline (July 31) is closing in fast and still, the Marlins haven’t expressed their intentions. They are eight games back in the division trailing the Braves, Mets, and Phillies and six games back in the wild-card race trailing seven teams.

They embody mediocrity. As of Sunday afternoon, they stand with a 49-49 record and have major league rankings of 12th in ERA and 20th in batting average.

They have had a surge of late, winning seven of their last ten with a walk-off win against the Braves this afternoon. So that begs the question, will they look to buy, sell, or sit tight in the next week?

Why Buy?

If they are serious about making a strong push toward a playoff spot , and don’t want fans to have any more strokes, they absolutely must acquire relief pitching. Headlines along the line of “Bullpen Crumbles” have seen the front page too many times this season. The routine story has been a starting pitcher pitches great, followed by a reliever’s collapse, concluding with a fight to to the finish to crank out a win. Unloading a prospect to benefit the team in the short-term would be new ground for this franchise.

Why Sell?

They still have plenty of ground to make up and they likely don’t have the pieces to make a pennant run. It would be wise to unload players like outfielder Cody Ross or third-baseman Jorge Cantu, since they probably aren’t going to be a part of the big picture anyway.

Do Nothing?

Ride it out with what you have and hope for the playoffs without sacrificing any prospects and not getting anything in return for the veterans in their last year with the team.

The Move : Get the fans excited for a Marlins regime that is about to undergo a major transformation next season when they get a new park. Acquire a couple of strong relievers. It would be nice to see what this team is made of if they were a more balanced unit.

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