A Marlins Trade Proposal That Would Fill a Longstanding Need

If the Miami Marlins trade away a potential superstar, they'd better make it worth it.

Miami Marlins center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. would be a highly sought-after asset at the trade deadline, if the team chose to move on. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Marlins have begun selling pieces. 

Trading utilityman Jon Berti on the eve of spring training can be excused away - the 34-year-old was owed $3.6M in the final year of his deal and was redundant on the roster with the presence of both Nick Gordon and Vidál Bruján. But Luis Arraez being moved to the San Diego Padres last weekend was the confirmation that President of Baseball Operations Peter Bendix is actively looking to deconstruct the major league roster to fortify the farm system and build a “sustainable winner”. 

One of the most interesting names to float out as a potential trade option is centerfielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. 

The young superstar shouldn’t be moved, just to be clear.

But if he did get moved, the Marlins need to take advantage of his potential superstar-in-waiting status by solving some team needs. And one recent proposal does just that. 

Zachary Rymer, writing in Bleacher Report, proposed five potential trades for the young cost-controlled star, and one of them stood out as the answer to a longtime issue plaguing the franchise. 

Coming in as #4 on Rymer’s list is a potential trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He sees Jazz as either a fit in centerfield, where James Outman has been defensively sound in 2024 but struggled at the plate, or at second base, where Gavin Lux has been underwhelming both from an offensive and a defensive perspective.

Outman is batting .163/.260/.293 with nine strikeouts, ten RBIs, and 32 strikeouts, while Lux is at .191/.258/.247 with fourteen runs, seven RBIs, and 22 strikeouts. The duo’s combined for a .529 OPs and four homers in the bottom of the Dodgers lineup, with both being platooned more frequently of late. 

The proposal from Rymer: catcher Dalton Rushing and LHP Maddux Bruns. 

Getting a catcher would definitely answer a long-standing question for Miami, who has struggled to develop catchers since trading away J.T. Realmuto following the 2018 season. Rushing could potentially be a good one, too - he’s currently LA’s #1 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline. Rushing is batting .270/.389/.514 across his first 20 games in Double-A Tulsa.  

Bruns is listed as LA’s #14 prospect, currently stationed in High-A Great Lakes and with three potential plus pitches in his fastball (touching 98), a curveball, and a slider. He’s put up a 1.93 ERA across his first two starts. 

But should Miami make the deal? Chisholm has flashed legitimate superstar potential in the past - an All-Star in 2022, Chisholm has averaged 28 homers and 32 stolen bases per 162 games in his career. That proration is important, however, because he's only once played more than 100 games in a season due to a litany of injuries.

He's showing better health this season thanks to offseason changes to his diet that look like they could potentially unlock the health needed to reach his superstar ceiling. Jazz is also cheap, with his arbitration-awarded salary coming in at only $2.6M this season and with two additional years of team control before he reaches free agency after the 2026 season.

Miami shouldn't trade him...but if they do, they need to make it worth it.