Distrust, can you blame us

 

From the Luis Arraez Trade on May 03rd, having Tim Anderson become the only Free Agent signing during an entire Off-Season, igniting the Franchise into yet another Fire Sale. There's a reason, or 2, or 3 Marlins President Peter Bendix has earned much distrust within the Fish fanbase. Not even mentioning the man/circumstances whom brought the P.O.B.O to Miami was Owner Bruce Sherman and his handling of former Marlins G.M Kim Ng.

So when Bendix strikes a move during the Winter Meetings, dealing Marlins Home Run Leader Jake Burger to Texas for 3 Prospects, it's no surprise fans show so much displeasure. Especially when you come to find out the move wasn't even money related for the low revenue Marlins, as Burger will not be Arbitration Eligible until 2026, meaning his '25 Salary will be closer to the Major League minimum.

So why deal Burger if you're Bendix & the Fish? You've heard a lot about the move potentially clearing up space at positions like 1B/DH for Prospects Deyvison De Los Santos & Augustin Ramirez, and while there may be a little truth to that, even someone like Bendix knows there's no such thing as a sure thing in the prospect world. Neither Prospect has ever taken an At Bat in the Big Leagues. Furthermore don't think for one second Bendix/Sherman are unaware of the significance of such Prospects spending an extra month or so in the Minors to start a Season as opposed to the Majors, and what that potentially could mean in Service Time/Arbitration Dollars in the future.

No no, I personally think this goes back to Bendix's ex Employer. Yes, the "Rays way" of doing business. The 'sale when a player is at his highest' model of trades. I do surmise Bendix & Co. believe Burger (second in all of Baseball in HR's with 19 during 2nd Half), is unlikely to repeat such performance, thus value will never be higher, etc, etc. That could very well be there opinion (right or wrong).

Bryan De La Cruz certainly fell off in Pittsburgh after being Traded by Bendix & the Marlins on July 30th (18 Homers/51 RBI's prior to Trade, 3 HR's/17 RBI's after), and has since been released by the Pirates. That's also not mentioning what the return was for De La Cruz and how that's shaped out 🤢, nor saying that D.L.C wouldn't have continued to produce in Florida. A gamble is a gamble.

Bendix will have his time to see if he truly can become a successful baseball ops president or not (with many a doubter now). This frankly also goes back to Sherman, who after 7 years of ownership of the Franchise continues to trend downward. Speaking of Selling 🤔?! A fan can only wish.