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Miami Marlins' A.J. Ramos drawing interest

The 28-year old closer is drawing a notable amount of interest.

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A.J. Ramos has had success and opposing clubs are taking notice. Late inning relief help might be hard to find come the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and according to Peter Gammons of Gammons Daily, Ramos is the player on Miami's roster drawing the most interest.

Miami has made it clear it is not willing to sell core players and Ramos may be considered a long-term bullpen piece. While Giancarlo Stanton, Jose Fernandez, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, Marcell Ozuna, and Adeiny Hechavarria are all likely to remain with the club, the Marlins could move veteran pieces. Mat Latos, Dan Haren, Mike Dunn, and Martin Prado could all be dealt to contending teams as a result of their experience and veteran status. As Gammons notes, the Marlins view Ramos as a part of their future plans and ultimately do not want to deal him.

Since taking over as the Marlins' closer, Ramos has thrived. He has posted a 1.30 ERA and 1.89 FIP over 34.2 innings while saving ten contests. Miami has not had a lot of late leads and as a result, Manager Dan Jennings has been forced to find other ways to get Ramos work. Ramos has had trouble with command in the past although he is averaging 2.60 walks per nine innings and 11.42 strikeouts per nine frames to this point in 2015.

While the Marlins might not end up trading Ramos, they will likely listen to what other clubs are willing to offer. Ramos is a controllable right-handed arm who, if he is not closing games, can pitch in the seventh or eighth inning and should continue to have success. Miami would likely deal Steve Cishek before considering a Ramos trade, however Cishek's struggles likely make a trade unrealistic.

The Marlins will likely be open to adding pitching depth and a bat or two come the end of July. If a contending squad is willing to overpay, as Gammons suggests, Miami would possibly consider trading Ramos. But if the Marlins cannot find the right deal, Ramos will likely be closing games for the Marlins for the remainder of the season and beyond.