3 early-season trades Marlins must make

After already dealing Luis Arraez, the Marlins are surely keeping their eyes open for any other appealing trades.

There likely is not a single Miami Marlins fan on the face of this planet that’s excited about the prospect of another rebuild. It seems like this team has pretty much been in constant rebuild mode since 2003, save for the one offseason where Jeffrey Loria decided to change the team name and colors and trade for José Reyes and Mark Buehrle.

But alas, here we find ourselves yet again, seven months removed from a Marlins postseason berth, at the very beginning stages of a total teardown. Luis Arraez was the first casualty, but the work has only just begun for first-year president Peter Bendix. You only get so many shots at a rebuild as a baseball executive before the owner decides to give your job to someone else, so the returns for the trade chips the Fish are cashing in this season will be of vital importance.

That’s why we’re going to walk through ideal trade partners and returns for three of the most obvious trade pieces the Marlins have to offer. If the Marlins are going to have any prayer at contending for a title in the next two decades, it starts with finding some stars hiding in plain sight in other teams’ minor league systems. This is our best effort at conducting that search.

Trade CF Jazz Chisholm Jr. to Rangers

Jazz Chisholm Jr. is probably the closest thing the Marlins have to a face of the franchise right now and will be the most hotly debated player that Miami will have to decide whether or not to hang onto. He’s not a free agent until 2026, but that also means his value is at its highest with so much team control left. Plus, he’s been injured a lot, hasn’t hit up to his potential and likely won’t be under contract by the time the Marlins have any chance of being good again.

So having established Chisholm should be traded, where does he generate the best possible return? The Texas Rangers are a very intriguing option.

They aren’t getting much production from the center field spot, with Leody Taveras having a streaky season at the plate. Chisholm could almost certainly fill in at either of the corners as well, or even at second base if Marcus Semien ever suffers an unforeseen injury. And it would be nice for Texas to have more speed on the bases, as they’re currently tied for 25th as a team with just 18 swipes.