The Miami Marlins reshaped their lineup with two last-minute deals prior to Tuesday's trade deadline. In separate trades, Miami added first baseman Josh Bell in a deal with the Cleveland Guardians, and shipped out incumbent first baseman Garrett Cooper in a trade with the San Diego Padres, per ESPN and the Miami Herald. Here are the full trades:
To Marlins: 1B Josh Bell
To Guardians: IF Jean Segura and IF Kahlil Watson
To Marlins: LHP Ryan Weathers
To Padres: 1B Garrett Cooper and two-way prospect Sean Reynolds
The Marlins also added third baseman Jake Burger in a trade with the Chicago White Sox earlier in the day. All told, Miami added Bell, Burger, Weathers, Jorge López, and David Robertson at the deadline. They remade their lineup and the back end of their bullpen.
Bell, 30, is hitting .233/.318/.383 with 11 home runs this season. That isn't great production for a first baseman, particularly one who is not an asset defensively, though it is a step up from the .248/.306/.376 line the Marlins have received from their first basemen (primarily Cooper) this year. Bell's contract includes a $16 million player option for 2023.
In Segura and Cooper, the Marlins part with two underperforming veterans and also shed some salary. Segura is hitting .219/.277/.279 this year and is owed $8.5 million next year. Cleveland took on that money to gain access to Watson, Miami's first-round pick in 2021. Baseball America ranked Watson the No. 3 prospect in Miami's system in a midseason update.
As for the Padres, Cooper figures to platoon with the recently acquired Ji-Man Choi at DH. San Diego has received a .208/.285/.360 batting line from the DH spot this year and that's just not going to cut it. Cooper is having a down season, though his underlying numbers (exit velocity, etc.) remain strong. He will be a free agent after the season.
The Marlins enter play Tuesday tied for the third NL wild-card spot with the Arizona Diamondbacks and Milwaukee Brewers. The Padres are five games out in the wild-card race and the Guardians are one game behind the Minnesota Twins in the AL Central.
