Reds should take advantage of Marlins' selloff before it's too late

The Miami Marlins’ fire sale is well underway with Jesús Luzardo, Jake Burger, and Vidal Bruján being traded over the past month. Luckily for the Cincinnati Reds, there are still some gems available in Miami. Most notably, outfielder Jesús Sánchez could be available to fill Cincinnati’s most pressing need.

Sánchez was once one of the most promising prospects in baseball, cracking the Top 50 in Baseball America, MLB.com, and Baseball Prospectus’ rankings. That potential hasn’t quite materialized, but he is still a capable fielder who can absolutely crush the ball, which is more than can be said for many of the Reds’ current outfield options.

With the Marlins open for business, the Reds should trade for outfielder Jesús Sánchez

Sánchez has steadily improved over his first four pro seasons, particularly where bat speed and contact are concerned. He now ranks in the 86th percentile in expected slugging and the 95th percentile in hard-hit rate. That produces some serious pop. In fact, Sánchez slugged the longest homer in the majors in 2024. He could probably hit the ball all the way to Kentucky if he played for the Reds.

Thanks to his strong arm, Sánchez makes an ideal right fielder. Unfortunately, he is also a lefty and struggles significantly against left-handed pitching. In other words, he would be a Jake Fraley replacement, and the Reds would still need to platoon.

In actuality, Sánchez is the anti-Fraley, who ranked in the bottom 1% in exit velocity for the past two seasons. While their batting lines seem remarkably similar, Fraley has been lucky while Sánchez has been hit by hard times. In 2024, Fraley’s wOBA was 29 points higher than expected based on his contact, whereas Sánchez’s wOBA was 26 points lower. The same holds true for expected slugging and batting average.

If the Reds trade for Sánchez, it will at least provide a minor upgrade with the possibility of a huge breakout. He would provide some power to a club that ranked below average in homers despite playing in a hitter’s paradise. Sure, he’s not going to club 50 dingers like Anthony Santander would, but he could easily put up 20.

The price for Sánchez would probably also be relatively cheap. The Texas Rangers obtained Burger for three prospects, only one of whom ranked in Texas’s stacked system. The Marlins would likely be as happy to unload Sánchez to make way for their own outfield prospects Victor Mesa Jr. and Jakob Marsee, who will likely make the big leagues this year.

This is the kind of small deal that can pump a little energy into a team, which is desperately needed as the spring nears.

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