Clay Buchholz no longer an option for the Marlins

Clay Buchholz, who the Marlins reportedly considered trading for earlier this offseason, is no longer an option for Miami. The Phillies acquired Buchholz in exchange for a minor league prospect, FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman first reported Tuesday.

Even after adding Edinson Volquez and Jeff Locke, the Marlins have expressed interest in upgrading their starting rotation. Miami has added several top arms to its bullpen this offseason as a result of a comparably weak free agent starting pitching market.

Though the Marlins still want to add to their pitching staff, it’s unlikely Buchholz was the ideal candidate. He is only under contract for 2017 and is due $13.5 million. For that reason, he is a candidate to be traded in advance of the non-waiver trade deadline, as Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe first pointed out.

Buchholz, 32, struggled with the Red Sox last season, posting a 4.78 ERA and 5.06 FIP over 139.1 innings.

The Marlins weren’t willing to part with prospect Luis Castillo and the Red Sox weren’t interested in closer A.J. Ramos, according to Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. Once conversations stalled, the Marlins might have turned elsewhere to improve their pitching depth.

Doug Fister and Ivan Nova could be names to watch as the Marlins seek additional starting depth.