The Miami Marlins and Minnesota Twins just completed a blockbuster trade that sent reigning American League batting champion Luis Arraez to Miami in exchange for right-hander Pablo Lopez.
The Marlins are also sending two prospects to Minnesota.
And so, both teams addressed a glaring need in one fell swoop.
Miami traded from their surplus of starters to acquire some much-needed offense.
The Twins on the other hand, have added another starting pitcher to go along with Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, and Joe Ryan.
But the Marlins now have a very stacked infield.
They already had Jazz Chisholm Jr. Joey Wendle, Garrett Cooper, and Jon Berti, and had added Jean Segura.
Jon Heyman took note of this on Twitter.
Marlins now have 3 very good 2B. Jazz, their best player last year, likely will be the 2B with Segura at 3B. Arraez who’s versatile can play 1B. That would push Cooper to DH. Also have Wendle and Berti for infield.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 20, 2023
With Arraez now in the mix, the Marlins can slide Cooper to the designated hitter spot, or potentially use him in the outfield.
They can use Arraez at first base, keep Wendle at third, use Segura at the shortstop position and have Chisholm at second.
But there are a number of ways the Marlins can sort out their infield.
It’s a good problem to have.
Now, first-year manager Skip Schumaker has a little bit more to work with as he prepares for the 2023 season.
Miami had acquired former Gold-Glove catcher Jacob Stallings from the Pittsburgh Pirates last offseason.
But with this move, the Marlins have taken another step towards relevance.
Perhaps a few more moves could put them in position to take another step.
We could be seeing a team on the rise in the near future.
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