Marlins ‘Willing to Add' For a Playoff Run

Beinfest says Marlins to be buyers before trade deadline

It is no big secret that the Florida Marlins are always willing to make a trade, but occasionally they like to mix things up and buy instead of sell.

On Thursday, Marlins general manager Larry Beinfest said the team will look to add pieces via a trade should they continue to stay in playoff contention.

Beinfest told the Miami Herald the Marlins have reached the point at which "clubs have played enough games to kind of figure out where they’re at and what they want to do." What the Marlins want to do is make a trade to upgrade any weak links for a playoff run.

"We’ve started talking about it," he told the Herald. Though Beinfest added that he hadn't spoken to team owner Jeffrey Loria about making any trades, he said "he's always been willing to add. He's always stepped up for us."

The Marlins are 31-23 through the first third of the season, only two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League East.

Who would the Marlins try to acquire? It's still too early to tell which teams will be sellers ahead of the July 31 trade deadline, but the Marlins' biggest needs might be a pitcher to bolster the rotation or a third baseman should current starter Greg Dobbs begin to falter.

Though shortstop Hanley Ramirez and catcher John Buck have struggled so far in 2011, the Marlins are unlikely to replace either via trade. “I think John Buck is going to hit better," he said, adding of Ramirez, "I just believe he’s going to come out of" his slump.

Not that the Marlins would bench either of their two highest paid position players, anyway.


David Hill is a Miami native and the cofounder of Marlins Diehards, the only blog with perspective on the eccentricities of Marlins fandom.

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