The Miami Marlins continue their push for a postseason berth by acquiring slugger Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox.
When it comes to surprising teams in MLB, the Miami Marlins fit the bill. They missed out on the postseason last year, brought in a new manager in Skip Schumaker, and traded for one of the best hitters in the game, Luis Arraez. Sure enough, the Marlins are 57-50 on the year entering Aug. 1 and are part of the crowded NL Wild Card field.
The Marlins have already made a move that showed they're going for it this season by getting relief pitcher David Robertson from the rival New York Mets. Now, they have added a position player to their roster. We should say, a slugging position player to the roster.
According to SportsGrid's Craig Mish, the Marlins have acquired third baseman Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox. In exchange, the White Sox will receive left-handed pitcher Jake Eder.
MLB trade grades: Who won the Marlins-White Sox trade for Jake Burger?
Miami Marlins trade grade: C
The Marlins are looking to add more power to their lineup. As of Aug. 1, they have a slugging percentage of .399, ranking 21st in the majors. How do they fix this? Why, by adding Burger, who has a .527 slugging percentage alone. That's good. OH, and the Marlins have 96 home runs, which is the third-fewest by a team this season. Burger has 25 this year so far.
While Burger does bring the homers that the Marlins need, he has a .214 batting average and a .279 on-base percentage. Oh, and has struck out 102 times in 294 at-bats. So nearly one-third of his at-bats result in a strikeout.
Burger is a home run-or-bust player. It's what the Marlins needed, but they gave up one of their top five prospects in exchange.
Chicago White Sox trade grade: B-
The White Sox needed to sell at this deadline desperately. After back-to-back postseason berths in 2020 and 2021, the team fell back down to Earth and further down the AL Central standings. The team already traded Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, Kendall Graveman, Lance Lynn, and Joe Kelly by this deadline, so they could stand to further bolster their farm system.
By trading Burger, they get Eder, who ranks No. 4 in Miami's farm system. Here is what MLB Pipeline had to say about the left-handed pitching prospect.
"Eder displayed a plus fastball and slider throughout the 2021 season before he got hurt, and a pro scout with another organization called him the best pitching prospect in baseball. His four-seamer sat at 93-96 mph and touched 98 with ride up in the zone, and he commanded it better than he ever had. He also tightened up his low-80s slider, generating more horizontal action and locating it with more precision than before.
"Eder also made strides with a low-80s changeup that offers some fade and tumble. Most importantly, he threw all three pitches for strikes after a history of inconsistent control and command. If his stuff returns after his elbow reconstruction and that polish is for real, he should become at least a No. 3 starter and perhaps more."
Last season, Eder was sidelined after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned for this season, splitting time between Single-A and Double-A. In nine appearances this season, Eder recorded a 4.12 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, 48 strikeouts, and 21 walks in 39.1 innings.
Eder has the upside that enticed the White Sox to trade Burger down to Miami.