The Miami Marlins have made it clear that they are cleaning shop. The latest rumors have the Marlins interested in trading Ricky Nolasco as he has posted decent numbers through the first two months of baseball in 2013. As the Marlins are looking to improve their farm system, they are looking for a suitor and the Baltimore Orioles are a team that immediately comes to mind.
The Orioles are looking for pitching, that is as evident as the Marlins plan to ship anybody worth a solid prospect. The Orioles' 4.56 ERA is the fourth worst in baseball, they are eighth in strikeouts with 408 while opponents are hitting .261 off their pitching. Their hitting has been absolutely great through the first two months. They have the perfect balance of power and discipline as they lead the Majors in home runs, are second in hits, second in batting average and have the third lowest strikeout total.
Getting a starting pitcher like Nolasco would be the perfect fit in Baltimore. He's an inning eater and never mind the 3-6 record, he has a 3.61 ERA with 67 strikeouts in 82.1 innings pitched. He has given up eight home runs and has only lost when giving up a home run. However, Nolasco has not received run support as all of his six losses came when the Marlins scored between 0-2 runs. That shouldn't be a problem for the Orioles who are averaging just over five runs per game.
The Orioles have been rumored to having slight interest in guys like Chien-Ming Wang and have had their names mentioned in trade talks, though they have lacked interest in a lot of the guys available. Cliff Lee's name even came up, but the Orioles aren't trying to shell out over $25 million a year for one player. Matt Garza has also been a name passed around, but they are also not interested in his services.
The Marlins want a middle-tier prospect for Nolasco, which plays well with the Orioles since they have had a very fruitful farm system with guys like Matt Wieters and their most recent product, Manny Machado, come up through their ranks and succeed in the majors.
The trade deadline isn't until late July, but let the rumors begin!
