Inside The Padres

Padres Linked to Marlins Starting Pitcher in Potential Trade Deadline Move

Jason Fray|
Miami Marlins SP Edward Cabrera
Miami Marlins SP Edward Cabrera | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

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San Diego Padres

It's no secret the San Diego Padres and AJ Preller would love to add some pitching before the trade deadline.

While landing an outfielder via a trade also could be in the works, there's an obvious need for a starting pitcher that can help eat innings as the Friars navigate multiple injuries to their rotation.

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The Miami Marlins once again find themselves on the outside of the playoff race. Sandy Alcantara has been the hot name mentioned in rampant trade rumors. Another arm in the form of Edward Cabrera also could be in play.

RJ Anderson of CBS Sports mentions that the Padres — along with the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins — could be good fits for the 6-foot-5 right-handed starting pitcher.

"Cabrera is a good example of how the league has changed. Fifteen years ago, he would’ve chucked his mid-90s fastball 60% of the time. In 2025? He’s throwing his two heaters less than 40% of the time, instead favoring his changeup and pair of breaking balls (including a new curveball that he’s added drop and sweep to year to year). His command isn’t great and he’s never even thrown 100 innings in a big-league season (he finished an out short a few years back), but I think there’s enough intrigue here for the Marlins to fetch a quality return if they pursue a trade."

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The 27-year-old is 3-3 with a 3.33 ERA on the year. Those numbers don't fly off the screen on the surface. However, when doing a deeper dive into Cabrera's performance, there are some aspects that could play up hugely on a contending team with consistent run support.

Cabrera operates with high-end velocity. He averages 96.6 miles-per-hour on his heater. Cabrera ranks in the 75th percentile in ground ball percentage. Most impressively, Cabrera sits in the 91st percentile in breaking run value.

A five-pitch repertoire includes a changeup, slider, sinker, curveball, and four-seam fastball. Despite possessing above-average velocity, it's the pitch Cabrera uses the least of the five (13.9 percent). He sits mostly with a changeup-sinker-curveball rotation — sprinkling in the slider and fastball.

Given San Diego's injury woes in the rotation, Cabrera would appear to be a very nice fit within the framework of the team as it chases the Los Angeles Dodgers in the uber-competitive NL West. Cabrera has three years of arbitration control remaining before becoming a free agent in 2029.

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For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.

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Jason Fray
JASON FRAY

Jason Fray is a proud native of Los Angeles. After graduating from UCLA in 2011, he's written for a number of publications -- including Bleacher Report, FOX Sports, Saturday Down South, and New Arena. In his downtime, he enjoys writing scripts, going to shows, weekly pub trivia with the boys, trying the best hole-in-the-wall food spots around town, and traveling (22 countries & counting). 

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