The Miami Marlins have acquired OF Starling Marte from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for LHP Caleb Smith, RHP Humberto Mejia and LHP Julio Frias.
The Marlins are 14-15, but they are in second place in the NL East, so they will try to hold that spot and make the playoffs. Marte is an instant addition, although they gave up two starters in their rotation for him. Marte had at least 21 stolen bases in every season from 2013 to 2019, reaching 30 five times and 40 twice. He can also hit for average, with a .295 BA last year. The Diamondbacks acquired him in January for Brennan Malone and Liover Peguero, so this is a very good return. Smith is currently on the IL, but he can strike batters out and he isn\’t a free agent until 2024. On August 4th of last year, Smith had a 3.35 ERA, but he soon fell off. Mejia is a young pitcher from Panama that joined the rotation for three starts this year, although he was sent down. He was not a top-30 prospect in the Marlins system. Neither is Frias, who has never reached higher than Low-A.
Marte, 31, has two home runs with five stolen bases, a .311 average and an OPS of .827 in 138 Plate Appearances this year. In his MLB career for the Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates, Marte has 110 home runs with 244 stolen bases, a .288 average and an OPS of .794 in 4124 Plate Appearances.
Smith, 29, has a 3.00 ERA with three strikeouts in three innings in this year. In his MLB career with the Marlins and New York Yankees, Smith has a 4.64 ERA with 277 strikeouts and a 4.87 FIP in 252.1 innings.
Mejia, 23, has a 5.40 ERA with 11 strikeouts and a 6.93 FIP in 10 innings this year. He had a 2.09 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 90.1 innings in the minors last year, although he has never played in AA or AAA.
Frias, 22, had a 2.83 ERA with 73 strikeouts in 70 innings for Low-A Batavia last year. In his minor league career, Frias has a 4.28 ERA with 184 strikeouts in 195.1 innings.
CarterHud 