Marlins acquire Cashner from Padres in 7-player trade
The pitching-starved Miami Marlins made a splash Friday ahead of next week's trade deadline, acquiring right-handers Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea from the San Diego Padres in a seven-player deal, the club announced.
In exchange for the two starters, the Padres will receive top Marlins prospects Josh Naylor and Luis Castillo, injured reliever Carter Capps, and right-hander Jarred Cosart. Naylor, the 12th pick in the 2015 draft, was the club's top-ranked position prospect, while Castillo, a hard-throwing right-hander, ranked sixth among Marlins prospects according to MLB Pipeline.
The Marlins will also acquire Tayron Guerrero, a 25-year-old minor-league pitcher, and cash considerations in the trade, which was first reported Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.
In recent days, the playoff-chasing Marlins were said to be desperate to add starting pitching behind ace Jose Fernandez and lefty Adam Conley. Miami's prized offseason pickup, Wei-Yin Chen, is currently sidelined with an elbow injury and has pitched poorly this year, while the club ranks just 21st in the majors in quality starts. Entering Friday, the Marlins were tied with St. Louis for the NL's second wild-card spot.
Cashner, a free agent at the end of the season, has performed to mixed results this year, pitching to a 4.76 ERA and 1.39 WHIP across 16 starts. He allowed a season-high eight runs in a start July 8, but owns a 2.55 ERA across his last three outings.
Rea, 26, owns a 4.98 ERA with 76 strikeouts over 99 1/3 innings. He won't be eligible for arbitration until 2019 and remains under club control through the 2021 season.
It's the latest move in a long list of trades made by the rebuilding Padres ahead of Monday's deadline. Since the beginning of June, the Padres have traded James Shields, James Loney, Fernando Rodney, Drew Pomeranz, and Melvin Upton in deals mostly netting the club prospects in return.
Earlier this season, Naylor found himself embroiled in controversy after injuring another Marlins top prospect, Stone Garrett, in an apparent knife prank. Naylor wasn't punished for his role in the incident, which led to Garrett undergoing surgery to repair damage to his thumb.
Naylor, a 19-year-old power-hitting first baseman, was slashing .269/.317/.430 with nine homers and 24 doubles in 89 games for Low-A Greensboro.
Meanwhile, the Padres also receive a promising young reliever in the form of Capps, a hard-throwing 25-year-old currently recovering from Tommy John surgery. The former third-round pick impressed in 30 appearances last season before his injury, pitching to a 1.16 ERA with 16.8 strikeouts per nine innings.