2016 Marlins Season Review: Andrew Cashner

The Marlins were in playoff contention when the trade deadline was about to pass, and they thought it was necessary to bolster their starting rotation for a potential playoff run. With this in mind, they went out and got right-hander Andrew Cashner from the San Diego Padres. Miami had to give up highly-touted prospect Josh Naylor and reliever Carter Capps in order to acquire Cashner.

Miami was hoping Cashner would give Miami’s rotation a boost, especially considering the players they gave up to get him. Before being traded, Cashner compiled a 4.76 ERA with 67 strikeouts and a 1.39 WHIP with the Padres. His first start with Miami came against the St. Louis Cardinals, where he allowed one run and four hits in six innings pitched.

Miami was hopeful that Cashner would produce similar results for the rest of the season, but that wasn’t the case for the most part. He struggled mightily in the next two months, which wouldn’t help an already thin Marlins rotation. He would post an ERA of 5.48 in August, and he had a woeful ERA of 7.46 in September. The 30-year-old finished the season 5-11 with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.

Cashner’s K/9 went down from 8.04 to 7.64 in 2016. In another stat that showed he declined last year, his BB/9 increased from 3.22 to 4.09. Despite spending half the season at pitcher-friendly Marlins Park, Cashner’s HR/9 went up from 0.93 to 1.30. His GB% did decrease slightly, as it went from 47.4% in 2015 to 46.5% last season. His WAR was at 2.3 in 2015, but it took a steep drop to 0.4 in 2016.

Cashner was largely unproductive for the Marlins in his brief stint with the team. Considering some of the players they gave up to get him, the Marlins were certainly hoping for Cashner to be beneficial for the team. Miami swung for the fences, and missed, which is a large part of trying to contend in baseball. Cashner’s tenure with the Marlins officially ended when he signed a 1-year, $10 million deal with the Texas Rangers.