Athletics to acquire Starling Marte from the Marlins, per report
The Athletics got some outfield help as they look to lock down a playoff spot.
One of the worst kept secrets here at the 2021 trade deadline is that Starling Marte was going to get moved by the Marlins. After Marte turned down what was frankly a poor offer for an extension with the team, it was clear that Miami was looking to move him to another team and Marte seemed more than happy to move on.
There were a number of teams in contention that could have used a bat of Marte’s caliber and it seemed like the cost of acquiring his services from Miami was among the more reasonable ones among the available bats. Ultimately, it was Oakland that was able to land him.
Marlins are close to trading OF Starling Marte to the Oakland Athletics per sources.
— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) July 28, 2021
Source confirms: Marlins getting LHP Jesús Luzardo from A’s for Starling Marte, source tells @TheAthletic. Big haul for a rental. First: @JonHeyman.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 28, 2021
Now, there are plenty of folks already saying that Oakland overpaid for essentially two months of Starling Marte in their lineup, but it is worth noting here that we don’t know all of the details of the trade and it is also being reported that Miami is sending a nice chunk of change to Oakland as well in order to land Luzardo in the deal. The numbers here matter, but Miami has to be pleased to get a young pitcher as talented as Jesus Luzardo in a deal for a rental.
In 274 plate appearances for the Marlins this season, Marte has slashed .306/.407/.453 and has posted 2.9 rWAR. Conversely, Luzardo has had a tough run in the majors this year with a 6.87 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 38 innings.