Marlins Reportedly Acquire Depth Pitcher in Surprising Trade with Rockies
In this story:
According to a report from ESPN MLB Insider Jeff Passan, the Miami Marlins have made a trade to bolster their organizational pitching depth with the Colorado Rockies.
This offseason, the Marlins have made two major trades that saw them move out reliable, talented arms, leaving the team in need of pitchers who could come in and cover some of those innings.
Ryan Weathers was recently sent to the New York Yankees for a package centered around four former Yankee prospects headlined by outfielder Dillon Lewis.
Prior to that, Miami shipped star pitcher Edward Cabrera to the Chicago Cubs to land prized outfield prospect Owen Caissie. Now, another shoe has seemingly fallen to add an arm to carry some of the available workload.
Marlins Reportedly Land Pitcher Bradley Blalock in Trade with Rockies
According to Passan's report, pitcher Bradley Blalock is on his way to Miami in a deal that will send a minor league pitcher back to Colorado. That player has yet to be named.
Blalock, a 25-year-old who hails from Georgia, made his MLB debut during the 2024 season as a member of the Milwaukee Brewers before later joining the Rockies organization. That year, he finished with a 6.07 ERA in his six starts with the Rockies while striking out 20 opposing hitters in 29.2 innings of work.
Blalock did not earn a full-time role on Colorado's 26-man roster in the 2025 season, but he did get plenty of work in at the MLB level, making 14 appearances including 12 starts. Blalock largely struggled again, as he posted a 9.36 ERA in 58.2 innings that saw him record 27 strikeouts.
Like with most pitchers who spend time with Colorado, things went much worse for him in the hitter-friendly confines of Coors Field than they did on the road. Away from home, he had a 6.44 ERA compared to a 12.27 mark in Denver.
While Blalock's numbers don't suggest much in the way of upside to be an impactful pitcher at the MLB level, by acquiring him, the Marlins are betting that they can have him perform more like the road version of 2025 Blalock than the one plagued by the altitude at Coors.
According to Fangraphs, Miami's projected starting rotation for 2026 currently consists of Sandy Alcantara, Eury Perez, Max Meyer, Braxton Garrett and Janson Junk. Given the youth and injury struggles of some of those players, it's quite likely that Blalock will be pressed into action in the rotation at some point this upcoming season.
