The Miami Marlins are no strangers to trading their best players when they are approaching free agency.
That’s because they are a small-market team that runs low payrolls year in and year out, hoping to have some prospects hit around the same time to maximize that contention window.
The 2010s, especially the second half, saw the franchise trade lots of stars: Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna, and many more.
One of the highest-profile trades was the Yelich one, with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Miami acquired outfielders Lewis Brinson and Monte Harrison, infielder Isan Diaz, and pitcher Jordan Yamamoto in exchange for Yelich, who went to Milwaukee.
The trade can now be declared, officially, a mess for the Marlins.
The Marlins Got Virtually Nothing For Yelich
“In 2018, the Marlins acquired Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison and Jordan Yamamoto from the Brewers for Christian Yelich. All four players are no longer with the Marlins,” FanSided’s Robert Murray reported on Tuesday.
In 2018, the Marlins acquired Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison and Jordan Yamamoto from the Brewers for Christian Yelich.
All four players are no longer with the Marlins.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) March 22, 2022
Diaz was designated for assignment in the last few hours, and Harrison had a similar fate recently.
Brinson, in particular, was always a highly-touted prospect, but just couldn’t develop offensively, much like Diaz and Harrison.
Yamamoto is currently trying to make the New York Mets’ roster as a fifth starter or reliever.
Yelich has had a rough couple of years recently, in 2020 and 2021, but at least gave the Brewers two MVP-caliber seasons in 2018 and 2019.
He actually won the award in 2018, and could have taken it home in 2019 if he hadn’t gotten injured late in the season.
Chronic back issues have affected him in the last year or so, but he remains a very talented player.
The same can’t be said about the Marlins’ “haul”.
NEXT: Marlins Reportedly Still Targeting A Top Free Agent