Miami Marlins Takeaways: Sandy Alcantara for Cy Young Award
MIAMI — With the MLB Trade Deadline behind them, it’s time for the Miami Marlins to move forward and see what they’ve got.
Evaluating the roster, and figuring out which players fit long term, now becomes a priority these next two months.
The Marlins were relatively inactive at the deadline, swinging one mid-level trade. Relievers Anthony Bass and Zach Pop were dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays for infield prospect Jordan Groshans, who will start off at Triple-A Jacksonville.
Marlins draft:Marlins draft LSU's Jacob Berry in hunt for offensive impact: 'He's pretty close'
Take train to games:Brightline ride-share program will take you from station to Marlins Park or downtown Miami. How it works
As the Marlins look towards the future, The Palm Beach Post offers these five takeaways:
Sandy Alcantara building a Cy Young case
Since there’s been little to cheer about, let’s start with the biggest bright spot of the season. Sandy Alcantara is the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award.
Let the social media hype machine begin. The 26-year-old on Wednesday shut out the Cincinnati Reds, 3-0, at loanDepot park. The complete game was his MLB-leading third of the season.
The two-time All-Star also tops the National League in ERA (1.88) and is first in MLB in innings pitched (158 1/3). You get the picture; Alcantara (10-4) is having one of the greatest pitching seasons in franchise history.
The Marlins have never had a Cy Young Award winner, which is additional motivation for the hard-throwing Alcantara. Dontrelle Willis finished second to Chris Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals for the top pitching honor in 2005.
In an otherwise disappointing Marlins’ season, Alcantara remains a must-see performer every five days.
Give an extended look to first baseman Lewin Diaz
Now back to building for the future.
For a couple of years, the Marlins have split playing time at first base with Garrett Cooper and Jesus Aguilar. This year, with the universal designated hitter, the two veterans have swapped into that role as well. What this has meant is Lewin Diaz has been developing in the Minor Leagues.
A left-handed hitter and thrower, Diaz is now going to get plenty of chances to show he belongs. Defensively, the 25-year-old has the makings of playing Gold Glove-caliber defense.
The question is, will he be able to hit enough to be an everyday player? In limited time, he’s batting .184 in 38 at-bats, and in 199 career ABs, his average is .199.
At the Minor League levels, Diaz has a nice track record. This season, he’s hitting .252 with a .492 slugging percentage, including 19 home runs and 64 RBIs at Jacksonville. For his Minor League career, Diaz is a .263 hitter with a .322 on-base and .791 OPS in 614 games.
As for if he’s ready to perform at the big-league level, the jury is still out. For Diaz, these next two months are crucial to see if he has a future as a Marlins’ regular.
Pablo Lopez stays at trade deadline
According to general manager Kim Ng, the Marlins didn’t actively shop their second-best starting pitcher.
Still, right-hander Pablo Lopez attracted plenty of attention from clubs. The Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees were among the teams showing interest.
Ultimately, the Marlins didn’t find a match, and now the 26-year-old will play out the season in Miami. There’s no urgency to trade Lopez, who has two years left in arbitration, and he’s eligible for free agency in 2025.
But by holding onto the Venezuelan-native through the deadline was a missed opportunity to trade Lopez at his highest value. In trade talks, The Palm Beach Post has learned the Marlins sought shortstop prospect Oswald Peraza from the Yankees. But New York was reluctant to include Peraza in a deal for Lopez.
The Marlins still could seek to sign Lopez (making $2.45 million this year) to a contract extension, or they can pursue a trade in the offseason. For now, Ng downplayed that as a possibility.
“On something like that, we’ll wait a bit,” she said.
Jesus Sanchez long-term status unclear
The decision to call up Peyton Burdick was expected at some point this month. The Marlins decided to make the move now, promoting the outfielder from Triple-A to play in the weekend series against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.
Miami's third-round pick in 2019, Burdick hit .229 with 14 homers and 51 RBIs this season at Jacksonville.
On the flip side, the decision to send outfielder Jesus Sanchez down at this point also raises questions about the 24-year-old's long-term future with the organization. Sanchez was Miami's Opening Day center fielder. But he's struggled at the plate and in the field, and is hitting .205 with 12 home runs and 33 RBIs.
At stake here is this: if Sanchez spends more than 20 days in the minors, he will exhaust his final option year. Each player has three option years. So this means Sanchez will be out of options in 2023.
That puts the club in position to have to carry him on the active roster all of next year. The other alternative is he would be designated for assignment.
The timing of sending Sanchez down now also is curious, because it comes shortly after Tuesday's trade deadline. If Sanchez doesn't fit into Miami's long-range plans, the club could have sought trading him before Tuesday.
Now, it is unclear what the team intends to do with the left-handed hitting outfielder. Yes, he could be dealt in the offseason. But if he is out of options, his trade value decreases.
Anthony Bender back from the injured list
The Marlins felt comfortable trading Bass and Pop partly because Anthony Bender was ready to be reinstated from the injured list.
Bender opened the season as the closer, but he struggled in the role early. In May, the right-hander went on the injured list with back stiffness. In terms of pure stuff, Bender has closer potential. The 27-year-old has 15 strikeouts in 15 innings this season.
The second half will give him a chance to show if he has a high-leverage role in the future.
Joe Frisaro covered the Marlins from 2002 to 2020 for mlb.com. He is the founder of ManOn2nd Baseball. Follow him @ManOn2nd and his podcast on the Five Reasons Sports YouTube Channel.