Miami Marlins fans react to team’s reported interest in trading pitching to improve lineup: "Seems like a bad approach" "Because they are cheap"

New York Mets v Miami Marlins
Pablo Lopez of the Miami Marlins throws a pitch.

The Miami Marlins have been known as a team that cycles out proven major league talent for prospects before they have to open the pocketbook to keep them. However, as MLB insider Craig Mish reported Thursday, the Marlins are looking to trade for at least one proven major league hitter this winter.

While the news that the Miami Marlins are interested in improving the team's 2023 hitting lineup seems like it would make most fans happy, many members of Marlins Nation are less than pleased about dealing away a strong core of starting pitching in order to do so. General manager Kim Ng is already drawing the ire of many Miami fans.

The report had sharks swimming in the water. Pablo Lopez, Miami's No. 2 starter, is a popular name among many MLB fanbases. While Lopez experienced some statistical regression in 2022, his first season with over 30 starts, the 26-year-old will be a hot commodity if offered up by the Marlins in trade talks.

Many baseball fans, in Miami and out, pointed out that trading big league pitching for big league hitting is not the easiest proposition. Different organizations value members of their rosters differently. Trading away pitching to shore up hitting often fills gaps in one spot, while opening up gaps in another. Hence, major league talent is often dealt for packages of prospects.

Fantasy baseball analyst Chris Towers is vehemently against dealing for a major league hitter. Towers is lobbying that any trades involving the team's starting staff bring back more prospects to build for the future since Miami's road to success this season faces roadblocks in arguably the toughest division in MLB: the National League East.

Should the Miami Marlins hang on to their pitching?

Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch.
Sandy Alcantara of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch.

The Miami Marlins find themselves in a quandry. Much of the key to major league success relies on a balance of good offense and good defense. While Miami has a decent amount of good pitching, the team's offense is abhorrent.

But, as the old adage goes, "It's hard to beat a team that you can't score against." Strong starting pitching makes it that much tougher to score against a team. It is also a widely-held belief that it is harder to develop big league pitching than it is big league hitting.

Could Miami's reported theory of wanting to trade a pitcher for a hitter merely lead the team to losing games by a score of 6-5 rather than 3-2? What do you think the Marlins should do?

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