The Marlins Magic

Twins fans spent the first half of the season looking closely at the Miami Marlins, wondering what might have been. Obviously, this was because the Twins and Marlins made a major trade over the offseason. Luis Arraez came out at the beginning of the year to a ton of attention, while Pablo Lopez's results weren't yet matching his metrics. It didn't help that the Twins were inconsistent, and the Marlins seemed to do no wrong.

Now that the Twins are getting more proficient on offense, people around here haven't really focused on the Marlins or the trade for a while. Arraez also hasn't been as otherworldly as he was to start the season. He's still been the best player for the Marlins by a pretty wide margin, especially on the offensive side of the ball. 

Arraez is the top player by WAR for the Marlins this year, and the next 5 players on the list are in the starting rotation. One might suspect that this is because the rotation is very good, which it is, but also, the Marlins offense is very bad. The Twins offense has been moribund this season, but still, there are SEVEN position players for the Twins that would be better than the 2nd best Marlins position player this season, including Jorge Polanco and Edouard Julien, the replacements for Arraez at 2nd this year. 

If the Twins had attained the results they expected from their two highest end position players, I think we would more clearly recognize Minnesota for the well rounded team they are. There is plenty of offensive talent on the Twins roster, and last season, the Twins learned the value of pitching depth. It's easy for me, because of the logic fand because of how often we reflected on this move earlier in the year, to see the logic and the benefit of the move for the Twins.

What I don't think enough people understand, though, is how utterly lost the Marlins would be without Arraez. The Twins added another weapon to a rotation that needed health to really thrive. The addition of Arraez gave Miami a decent player. The third highest WAR among Marlins position players is utility guy John Berti. The Marlins, thanks to their rotation and Arraez, are still somehow in the playoff hunt.

The Marlins are clearly able to develop pitchers -- they had one to spare in Lopez, and still are riding their arms this season. Their offensive ineptitude makes me think it was lucky they grabbed Arraez in this trade rather than any sort of real prescience. 

A simple look under the hood for the Marlins should show the team that they need to work on their offense this offseason. With a weak free agent class this off season, maybe they can try to work a little magic on the trade market. It worked once.