The Wei-Yin Chen elbow injury only further cements the Marlins' need for a starter
The need for a starting pitcher has become amplified for Miami
By
Matt Snyder
•
1 min read
The Miami Marlins are holding down one of the NL wild card spots right now, so they are absolutely a contender and should be labeled as a buyer in front of the Aug. 1 trade deadline. Reports on Sunday have connected them to starting pitchers Matt Moore (Rays) and Andrew Cashner (Padres).
While they already could have used additional help in the rotation, now that only becomes amplified. Starter Wei-Yin Chen has been placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Thursday, but he's got an elbow sprain and there's obviously no telling how troublesome that might be moving forward.
By no means is Chen irreplaceable in the rotation. He is 5-4 with a 4.99 ERA (79 ERA+) and 1.30 WHIP this season, but he does have a good track record. Jarred Cosart was recalled as a corresponding move and he's been pretty bad when given a chance in the past two seasons.
Plus, the Marlins likely needed help in their rotation anyway, so this injury only further cements that point. The problem there is the market is pretty barren outside of a possible Chris Sale blockbuster. Pitchers like the aforementioned Cashner, Moore and maybe Jeremy Hellickson are the best ones that seem to be available without mortgaging the farm.
Meantime, maybe the Marlins land someone and Chen comes back and looks more like he did in his Orioles days. Then a rotation of something like Jose Fernandez, Chen, Adam Conley, Moore and Tom Koehler looks reasonable as the Marlins look to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2003.
