The tenures of Andrew Cashner and Colin Rea with the San Diego Padres have come to an end, as the pitchers were reportedly traded to the Miami Marlins on Friday.
ESPN's Buster Olney was the first to report the move, with Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports confirming the deal. Rosenthal reported that pitcher Tayron Guerrero was traded to Miami along with Cashner and Rea. In return, San Diego received Jarred Cosart, Josh Naylor, Luis Castillo and pitcher Carter Capps.
Miami entered play Friday five games out of first place in the National League East and in a tie with the St. Louis Cardinals for the second wild-card spot.
Acquiring Cashner and Rea gives the Marlins starting rotation depth behind ace Jose Fernandez, which is desperately needed in order to make a deep playoff run. Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that one reason for Miami's move for Cashner and Rea is because Fernandez's innings are "likely to be restricted."
This season continues the downward spiral for the Padres, though at least they have now taken steps toward rebuilding for the future by trading James Shields and Drew Pomeranz before shipping Cashner to the Marlins.
Cashner was one of the "old" veterans in San Diego, playing with the franchise since being acquired in a deal with the Chicago Cubs in January 2012. He has dealt with injuries and inconsistency throughout his career.
This season has been problematic for Cashner, who owns a 4-7 record with a 4.76 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 67 strikeouts in 79.1 innings.
He has shown signs of life recently, though, allowing one earned run in three of his past five starts.
Even so, there are glaring red flags that Cashner's new team has to consider. He's made more than 25 starts in a season only twice in his career and has never come close to hitting 200 innings.
Pitching primarily in Petco Park should have kept Cashner's ERA totals down, but he had an ERA over 4.00 in 2012 and is far beyond that number this season. He was excellent in 2013 and in 2014, however, with a combined 2.87 ERA in 50 games.
Rea is 26 years old and in the middle of his first full season as a starter at the major league level. He is 5-5 with a 4.98 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 76 strikeouts in 99.1 innings.
This is a classic buy-low trade for Miami that could look like a bargain at the end of this season. Cashner has his work cut out to reach his full potential, but the talent is there for him to be a good investment at a low cost.
He is set to hit free agency at the conclusion of the season, so this move looks to be a pure rental meant to push the Marlins over the top and into the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
While Cashner isn't having a great year by any means, Miami's starting rotation is likely its biggest weakness. Fernandez is unhittable at times, and Adam Conley has performed well behind him. But Tom Koehler and Jarred Cosart have struggled, while Wei-Yin Chen is on the disabled list.
The Marlins desperately need an arm capable of eating innings and keeping them in games. Rea provides some insurance in that regard, and if Cashner can stay healthy down the stretch and maintain his recent form, then he should at least give the team some solid outings at a reasonable price.
Stats via FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.
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