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Forbes
6 minutes ago
- Forbes
The Miami Marlins Need To Be Buyers And Sellers Simultaneously
Miami Marlins' Agustin Ramirez, left, celebrates in the dugout with Eury Perez, right, after hitting ... More a two-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, July 3, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) Most MLB teams fall into one of two categories at the trade deadline—the good teams are buyers and the bad teams are sellers. For the Miami Marlins, the line is blurred. They aren't contenders this year, but their up-and-coming young talent could put them in that category in the near future. The Marlins are 48-53 this year, sitting in third place in the National League East. They're six games out of the final playoff spot and would need to leapfrog five teams to get there, so a big push down the stretch isn't likely. However, they've been red hot lately, winning 23 of their last 35 since June 13, so it's not impossible either. The average age of their hitters is 26.0, which is the youngest in MLB. Their pitchers have an average age of 27.5, which is the third-youngest. This is a club that appears to be on the verge of making noise as soon as next season, and the moves they make this week could be focused on propping open their window. Marlins Hitters Miami made a few trades at last year's deadline that netted them a pair of building blocks for their lineup. They dealt Trevor Rogers to the Baltimore Orioles for Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby, and they shipped Jazz Chisholm Jr. to the New York Yankees for Agustín Ramírez and two minor leaguers. While Rogers has pitched well for Baltimore this year after a disastrous second half last season, Stowers has blossomed into one of the best hitters in baseball. He made his first All-Star appearance this season, and he's hitting .295/.373/.566 with 22 home runs and a 156 OPS+, indicating his offense has been 56% above the league average. His 3.0 WAR (Baseball-Reference version) leads all Marlins players. Ramírez made his MLB debut earlier this season, and while he doesn't have Chisholm's track record of success, he's under club control for a lot longer. He can also absolutely smoke the ball, posting consistently excellent exit velocity metrics with a manageable 19.3% strikeout rate, and his average swing speed of 74.9 mph is in the 89th percentile. He's rough around the edges as a catcher, but his power bat will work at designated hitter if necessary. A handful of their existing players in their mid-20s look like everyday contributors too. Middle infielders Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez combine roughly average offense with exceptional defense. Liam Hicks is hitting .276/.367/.403 as a catcher and first baseman, and right fielder Jesús Sánchez has an .817 OPS against right-handed pitching. The Marlins picked seventh overall in the MLB draft this year, and they selected Oregon State infielder Aiva Arquette, making him the first collegiate hitter chosen. He's an athletic 6-foot-5 shortstop with power, who could fill an obvious hole for the club by moving to third base. That underscores their need for hitting, as well as the fact that they expect to compete in the near future. Miami's lineup is still incomplete. They could use another impact bat or two, especially at the corner infield spots, but they have several key players already in place. Marlins Pitchers Starting pitching has been a strength of the Marlins for the last several years, even when the overall ballclub wasn't performing well. They may even have the best young pitcher in baseball. Eury Pérez was on a rocket to stardom two years ago. Prior to the 2023 season, he was named one of the top pitching prospects in the game by every scout and prospect-ranking outlet—and he wouldn't even turn 20 until April of that year. He debuted in May and compiled a 3.15 ERA over 19 starts, but ruptured his elbow ligament in the spring of 2024 and underwent Tommy John surgery. He returned to Miami this past June, and was shaky in his first four starts back, as can often happen when coming off of that kind of injury. In his four starts in July, he has allowed just three runs on 11 hits in 23 innings. He has Cy Young-caliber stuff, and appears to have resumed his development where he left off—and he's still just 22 years old. Their best starter all year long has been Edward Cabrera, who has a 3.48 ERA in 17 starts. Even though he has appeared for the Marlins every year since 2021, he has three more seasons of arbitration eligibility remaining. Like Pérez, former Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara also returned to action after missing the entire 2024 campaign due to an elbow injury, but he has struggled mightily. He has a 6.66 ERA in 20 starts and his 77 earned runs allowed are the most in MLB. Still, he allowed just one unearned run over seven innings in his last start, and he's under contract for at least one more season with a club option for 2027. Max Meyer is a former top prospect who looked great early in the season, but is out for the rest of the year with a torn labrum. He had a 2.10 ERA after his April 21 outing in which he struck out 14 batters in six innings, but went downhill thereafter, likely due in some measure to his injury. With a normal recovery, he should be healthy at the beginning of next season. Marlins On The Move Miami should be dealing away players with limited team control remaining and acquiring talent that can help them next year. However, they're short on expendable guys who other clubs would want. The Marlins only have one player with an expiring contract. Cal Quantrill has been a below-average innings eater for them this season, posting a 5.24 ERA over 19 starts and 87 2/3 innings. He's on a reasonable one-year, $3.5 million deal, so a team that's hard-up for cheap starting pitching could take a shot on him. The fact that every other player on the Marlins roster is under club control next year speaks to the youth and future of the organization, but makes this trade deadline complicated. They need to thread the needle of trading away expendable resources while improving next year's club, setting themselves up for success in 2026.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Plaschke: At sagging USC, Lincoln Riley should be on the hottest of hot seats
As the fabled fight song heats up and the legendary gesture wags anew, let's get one thing straight about what was once the Los Angeles sports landscape's shining monument. USC football has become a mirage. The greatness is gone. The new tradition is mediocrity. The new heritage is irrelevance. 'Fight on' has become 'Paddle on,' with each ensuing season an exasperating exercise in keeping that Trojan helmet afloat. This is not opinion. This is not hyperbole. This is fact. In the last 16 seasons USC has recorded double-digit victories five times. During that same time span, Alabama has recorded double-digit victories 15 times. Read more: Lincoln Riley 'absolutely' wants to keep USC-Notre Dame game on schedule In the last 16 seasons, USC has had one major bowl victory. During that same span, Ohio State has 10 major bowl victories. Since the departure of Pete Carroll after the 2009 season, the Trojan football program has been rocked by NCAA punishment, roiled by a litany of ill-fitting coaches, betrayed by a string of embarrassing losses, and generally kneecapped by its own hubris. This was once the greatest dynasty in college football history. I know, I was there, and rarely has one team energized and inspired this entire city like Uncle Pete's champions. But watching video from those days is like watching an alien football team on Mars. The current product, with all its failures and excuses, is almost completely unrecognizable. In the past 16 years, the program has dissolved into the equivalent of a mediocre wannabe that no longer competes with the likes of Ohio State, Michigan, Texas, Georgia and Clemson. USC has basically become the other USC — a South Carolina-type program filled with big aspirations but average results. The Athletic recently ranked college football programs in terms of value. Despite playing in the country's entertainment capital alongside the country's most valuable professional basketball and baseball teams, the Trojans ranked only eighth. They were estimated as being worth nearly $1 billion less than top-ranked Texas, a school that plays in a much smaller market with eight fewer national titles. Which brings us to the doorstep of another seemingly nondescript season, but one framed in a bold-faced question. Lincoln Riley has to be better, right? He has to win double-digit games for only the second time in his four seasons, right? He has to lead the 2025 squad to a bowl game that isn't played in San Diego or Las Vegas, right? Most folks think Riley is not on a hot seat because of the untenable cost of his buyout, reportedly in the neighborhood of $80 million. That better be wrong. If USC wants to return to its former glory, Trojan administrators must hold Riley accountable for further tarnishing that shine. In a billion-dollar industry, with a $200-million football facility currently under construction, USC cannot view its coach through a financial lens, only a football lens. They must insist that he win football games at a rate higher than, say, the guy he replaced. Through 40 games, Riley is 26-14. Through 40 games, Clay Helton was 28-12 as a head coach. Helton was publicly torn from limb to limb, yet Riley gets a pass? Riley is 7-6 without Caleb Williams. He is 3-9 against ranked opponents. He has lost virtually every big game and blown almost every big moment. If he doesn't change the narrative this season, USC needs to change the coach. Read more: Q&A: Why extra-soft toilet paper is part of Chad Bowden's USC football front office strategy The Trojans have stabilized their front office with sharp athletic director Jen Cohen and highly regarded general manager Chad Bowden. They've made huge monetary investments in infrastructure and recruiting. Now it's on Riley. And he needs to get it done now. If Texas A&M can pony up $77.5 million to buy out Jimbo Fisher, USC can find the money to replace Riley. The cost is unimaginable, but the price of falling further behind in an evolving sport where at least a dozen programs have already left them in the dust is even higher. 'I give a lot of credit to our administration … because it's very apparent that USC is extremely serious about making this football program and returning it back to being one of the greats in college football,' Riley said to reporters Thursday at Big Ten media day in Las Vegas. He's right. Everything is there for him to succeed. Read more: USC athletics eliminates a dozen jobs as it manages new revenue sharing expenses Take the 2025 schedule. It's the lightest in years. The Trojans don't play Ohio State. They don't play Penn State. They don't play Indiana. They play Michigan at the Coliseum. Their only tough nonconference game is at Notre Dame. Their only serious hurdle on the road is at Oregon. USC should hold Riley to a standard of 10 wins, which should make the Trojans competitive for one of the 12 playoff spots. Certainly, that's a lot of mandated wins. But at some point, the Trojan administration has to start demanding that they become the Trojans again, and that time is now. They certainly cannot give Riley a grace period because he has the nation's top recruiting class due to arrive in 2026. Riley has been here four years, the talent should be here by now, and he should not be allowed to hold the program hostage until his best class shows up. You want to judge Riley by impactful players? Judge him by this year's quarterback, Jayden Maiava. He is Riley's personal project, having been anointed the starter without offseason competition from the portal. Maiava was both raw and brilliant last year after replacing Miller Moss, going 3-1 as a starter capped by a 17-point comeback in a Las Vegas Bowl victory over Texas A&M. He completed less than 60% of his passes in three of the four starts, and threw six interceptions to offset his 11 touchdown passes, but his athleticism is impressive and his arm is amazing. It says here the new kid has a chance to be great. Riley can remind Trojan fans of his best asset if he can lead the new kid to that greatness. 'His arm talent, the decisiveness in which he plays and how he sees things is really unique and has a chance to be really special,' Riley said, later repeating, 'He has a chance to be a really, really special player.' And USC has a chance to have a really special season. For sure. For real. For the second time in 17 years. Sign up for more USC news with Times of Troy. In your inbox every Monday morning. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
USA Today
35 minutes ago
- USA Today
Wisconsin football legend to throw out first pitch at Friday's Brewers game
An exciting addition to the festivities at American Family Field tomorrow before Brewers/Marlins👇@JJWatt will be throwing out the first pitch. Wisconsin football legend J.J. Watt is set to throw the first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers game on Friday. Watt, a future first-ballot NFL Hall of Fame inductee, will toss the ceremonial pitch for the Brewers' contest against the Miami Marlins at Milwaukee's American Family Field at 3:10 p.m. CT. Fans can also enjoy a celebration of the stadium's 25th anniversary on Friday, equipped with appearances from some of the franchise's most commemorated alumni, including Ryan Braun, Prince Fielder and Carlos Gómez. After the game, ten former Brewers athletes will also participate in an alumni home run derby. Watt, who represented the Badgers from 2008-10, has already participated in quite the hectic summer slate. He recently met with Luke Fickell's program ahead of the 2025 regular season and celebrated his younger brother T.J.'s historic contract extension with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native is also set to don the color commentator hat in CBS' No. 2 NFL broadcast crew alongside Ian Eagle for the 2025 season. On the gridiron, the Watt earned three NFL Defensive Player of the Year Awards across 12 years as a professional. As a member of the Houston Texans and the Arizona Cardinals, he tallied 586 total tackles, 195 for loss, 317 quarterback hits, 27 forced fumbles, 70 pass deflections, two interceptions, three defensive touchdowns and three receiving touchdowns. In addition to the DPOY nods, the Hall of Fame-level output netted him five Pro-Bowl selections, five First-Team All-Pro honors and one MVP runner-up (2014). He registered at least 10 sacks in six separate seasons, including a pair of 20.5-sack campaigns in 2012 and 2014. Watt will now look to put on an All-Pro level performance on the bump for the Brewers, who own the best record in the MLB. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
