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Our Noticias, 7/26/19: Trade deadline forecast still uncertain

With less than a week until July 31, the Marlins are still listening to offers on a number of trade chips. Which players will ultimately be moved?

Miami Marlins v Chicago White Sox Photo by David Banks/Getty Images

The Search for an Impact Bat

Miami’s main goal approaching the trade deadline next week is clear: acquire impact bats which can lift the struggling offense before the end of the season, while not giving up too many long term pieces to do so. Achieving that goal will be no small feat, as typically the only players which net such major league ready pieces are controllable starting pitchers— someone like Caleb Smith—of which the Marlins have many, but would be wise to hold onto.

The Expendables

Much more likely to be dealt are the veterans on expiring contracts, namely

Neil Walker, Sergio Romo, and potentially the surging Starlin Castro. While a deal involving any of these players will not likely land the Marlins what they are primarily seeking, any value that the team can get for them is better than seeing them leave for nothing come the end of the season. After all, none of these players are part of the long-term rebuilding plan.

What Not to Do

Fringe contenders are well known for pulling off some questionable transactions in the dying minutes of the trade window as they go for bust in search of a playoff berth. There have been some notable howlers over the years, even for the Marlins, although you could easily argue that the franchise's worst deadline deal was a win-win for all involved.

Farm Recap

Outfielder Connor Scott is slashing .257/.314/.378 for Low-A Clinton in his first full professional season.

It was definitely a mixed bag for Miami's minor league affiliates yesterday. While Edward Cabrera had his least effective outing to date for the Jumbo Shrimp, allowing three runs on 79 pitches in four innings of work, Connor Scott extended his hitting streak to 15 games for the LumberKings. Nic Ready, a 23rd-round 2019 MLB Draft pick, hit yet another double for Batavia, his 21st in 35 professional games, while teammate J.D. Orr stole his 20th base and raised his on-base percentage to an astounding .508.

An upcoming guest on our Earning Their Stripes podcast show, Triple-A New Orleans right-hander Cody Poteet carried a shutout into the eighth inning. His final line: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. With New Orleans and Jacksonville combined, Poteet owns a stellar 2.66 earned run average in 18 starts this season.

All of the farm's stats for the day can be found here.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

It's time for the haters to admit it: Jeter and Co. are doing a great job of positioning the team for future success. Miami's farm system has climbed from dead last to 10th in baseball, according to Baseball America, in under two years. Couple that with the fact that almost all of the franchise's top 30 prospects have been acquired in that same timeframe by the new regime, and it really is a case of when the Marlins will be a sustainable contender, not if. And that “when” may be sooner than a lot of people think.

Danny Martinez attempts to put an end to all the Marlins misinformation being perpetuated by trolls and clickbait media.

Up Next

Fans will get a scintillating match-up for the first of three 1997 throwback uniform games at Marlins Park this weekend, as Sandy Alcantara (4-9, 4.25 ERA) will look to rebound against Zack Greinke (10-4, 2.93 ERA) and the Diamondbacks at 7:10 ET tonight.