One area the Miami Marlins don’t have to worry about addressing is their starting rotation.
With a plethora of high-caliber arms already on their roster, more coming up the pipeline and others returning from the injured list, that gives the front office an opportunity to focus on more pressing needs like in their bullpen.
Marlins relievers ranked No. 22 this past season with a cumulative ERA of 4.28. While that was better than what their starters did — ranked No. 26 with a 4.84 ERA — there is more room for optimism with their starting group compared to what they have in the bullpen.
That’s why plenty of notable names have been floated as possible targets of Miami. However, if they aren’t able to land any of the big fish, then Sean McCormack of Fish on First thinks going after flamethrowing reliever Michael Kopech could be an option.
“If they luck into a healthy season from him and are able to get him to command his fastball and offspeed, the upside is tremendous for the right-handed flamethrower,” he wrote.
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Like McCormack pointed out, the only way this would work for the Marlins is if Kopech stayed healthy. But if they are able to get that year out of him, then they would be adding an elite reliever to their bullpen who could take over their closer role.
Since converting into a relief role ahead of the 2024 season, he has posted a 3.89 ERA across 136 2/3 innings pitched. His K/9 ratio is also a ridiculous 12.12 while his strikeout rate is 31.5% after fanning 184 batters. He has put up Stuff+ figures that are above the league average every year except for 2023, which highlights how good the right-hander’s arsenal can be.
Simply put, Kopech would be a major weapon for Miami if he was able to stay healthy. And if his market is going to be a short-term, prove-it type of deal, then the Marlins should roll the dice and bring him in.
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Of course, the other emd of things is the injury history Kopech has run into recently. Towards the end of the 2023 season, he underwent surgery to removed a cyst from his right knee. Then, after he enjoyed a healthy campaign in 2024, things went off the rails this year.
Kopech dealt with inflamation in his shoulder this past offseason. That caused the Los Angeles Dodgers to put him on the 15-day injured list. Eventually, he was transferred to the 60-day IL before returning. But 21 days after he made it back, he was placed on the injured list due to right knee inflammation. That flared up again before the playoffs, and it caused him to have only 14 outings this year.
Beyond that concerning stretch of injuries, the other red flag about Kopech is his lack of accuracy. He’s walked 70 batters since becoming a reliever. His walk rate is at 12% and his BB/9 ratio is 4.61. And when looking at his Location+ metric, he is well below average with a career mark of 89.
Still, the Marlins should be looking for difference makers in their bullpen this winter. And if they can take an affordable flyer on Kopech, then the upside outweighs the downside.