The Blue Jays Should Call the Marlins on Two Top Trade Chips

The Toronto Blue Jays are having a very strong 2025 season thanks to some great performances from underrated players like Ernie Clement and Addison Barger, and it’s setting up to be a year of buying for the Jays come the trade deadline.

While the Miami Marlins don’t necessarily boast an excess of spoils in terms of superstar talent, they have a team full of young players who could certainly be of use to a playoff contender over the coming weeks and months. In recent seasons, the Marlins have sold off talent like Jazz Chisholm Jr., Pablo López, and Luis Arraez, so they could be a potential trade partner for a squad like the Jays.

Familiar Trade Partners

These two teams have a history of trades with one another over the past few years, and while both sides have benefited from these deals in certain ways, it seems to break dead even overall. Here is a quick, comprehensive background of these trades since 2020, with each traded player accompanied by his corresponding fWAR for that team, as well as the number MLB games they factored into for them:

• August 31, 2020: Blue Jays receive: INF Jonathan Villar (-0.7 fWAR, 22 games). Marlins receive: OF Griffin Conine (0.5 fWAR, 50 games).
• June 29, 2021: Blue Jays receive: OF Corey Dickerson (0.4 fWAR, 46 games), RHP Adam Cimber (0.9 fWAR, 138 games). Marlins receive: 2B Joe Panik (-1.1 fWAR, 53 games), RHP Andrew McInvale (0 MLB IP).
• August 2, 2022: Blue Jays receive: RHP Zach Pop (-0.8 fWAR, 90 games), RHP Anthony Bass (-0.1 fWAR, 50 games). Marlins receive: SS Jordan Groshans (-0.1 fWAR, 17 games).
• June 24, 2025: Blue Jays receive RHP Robinson Piña, Marlins receive RHP Colby Martin (underrated pitching prospect).

While none of these were earth-shattering deals, these two teams have clearly established a tendency to make trades with one another. This summer, there are two primary young talents that the Blue Jays could call the Marlins about that could lead to a realistic trade.

Stats updated prior to games on June 30.

Jesús Sánchez

Marlins outfielder Jesús Sánchez is a likely piece to be moved at some point this season, as his potential as a hitter and fielder is plain to see. He may just be slashing .243/.315/.396 in 2025, but he has a great skill set and can excel in almost every area of the game.

Let’s start with his best asset, which is his power at the plate. Sánchez can be a force to be reckoned with, and he’s posted an OPS+ of 100 or higher in four of the last five seasons. Since 2021, his 162-game average statistics are a slash line of .244/.312/.431 with 26 doubles, 21 home runs, 71 RBI, and nine stolen bases with a 1.6 fWAR.

In 2024, he ranked in the top 20% of the league in most offensive statistics, including Hard-Hit Percentage (51.3%), Average Exit Velocity (92.5 MPH), Barrel Rate (12.2%), and Expected Slugging Percentage (.468), just to name a few. This season, he’s posted similar marks in virtually all of these categories.

Sánchez likely wouldn’t hold a permanent spot in Toronto’s outfield, but he could absolutely serve as a bench bat or DH to provide some pop from the left side of the plate. He definitely plays better defense than Anthony Santander (and perhaps George Springer too), so a part-time position in the outfield could be up for grabs.

He’s got some speed to him as well, having swiped eight bags in nine attempts already this season. In 2024, he stole 16 bags and was only caught twice, so his efficiency on the basepaths is impressive for sure. Sánchez also has a strong 89.1 mph average arm strength from the outfield and has only a slightly-below-average -1 OAA on the season.

It wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Marlins deal him to a playoff contender and potentially to the Blue Jays. Sánchez is under team control for two more seasons after 2025, so it’s also important to consider that this would increase his value in a trade.

Edward Cabrera

Edward Cabrera is the definition of a fireballing starter with a combination of an electric arm and incredible movement. If there’s any young pitcher that Toronto could be targeting at this year’s deadline, Edward Cabrera could be near the top of that list.

The Toronto Blue Jays have the league’s fifth-worst ERA from their starting pitching thus far in 2025, sitting at a measly 4.62 mark. Cabrera is currently posting a 3.78 ERA across 64.1 innings with 69 strikeouts to 29 walks. While there are certainly some parts of Cabrera’s game that can be improved, these changes will likely come with time and experience, as he’s only pitched in 76 career games in the big leagues.

In his pitch arsenal, he boasts a wide variety of weapons: a changeup (93.7 MPH!), sinker (96.7 MPH), curveball (83.5 MPH), slider (88.5 MPH), and four-seam fastball (96.8 MPH). Upon a quick glance at this pitch mix, it’s easy to classify Cabrera as a very hard-throwing young pitcher. His changeup is the fourth-fastest in all of MLB this season, and it’s been his most-thrown pitch so far.

Across his two previous seasons, Cabrera combined for what would be a strong single-season sample of 196 innings. In those innings, he posted just a 4.59 ERA with a 5.3 BB/9, 10.3 K/9, and 7.3 H/9. While his WHIP may have been just a hair above 1.40, he has made adjustments this season that make him a much more competitive MLB-calibre starter.

Firstly, he dropped his arm angle, which had previously sat between 42 and 45 degrees, and lowered it to 36 degrees. This alteration allows for the perceived movement of his pitches to have a different profile from previous seasons, and it seems to be working.

Cabrera’s Baseball Savant page may not be the most impressive this year, as there are plenty of somewhat-blue bubbles at surface level, but he’s one of those pitchers that certainly passes the eye test.

Similar to Sánchez, Cabrera is under control for several more seasons (three) after 2025 and is making less than $2 million this year. He was a top prospect in the Marlins organization for quite some time, so they might not be willing to give him up unless the right return is on the table.

What Would Toronto Have To Give Up?

It’s a bit difficult to evaluate what Toronto would have to give up in order to bring both Sánchez and Cabrera north of the border, but judging by their past deals with Miami, the price might be a little steeper than some might imagine.

Even giving up minor league starter Colby Martin in the deal that netted the Jays Robinson Piña seemed in some ways to be a bit of an overpay. If Miami would ask for a similarly weighty return for these two players, it would be understandable.

Firstly, the Jays would have to part ways with one of their top prospects.

We’re not talking Arjun Nimmala, Trey Yesavage, Ricky Tiedemann, or Orelvis Martinez, but Toronto would definitely have to send one or two of their top 15 prospects. A young MLB-ready player with plenty of control could also be of interest to Miami as they look to establish a playoff window in the near future.

Here’s just a glimpse of what a potential trade package could look like for Jesús Sánchez and Edward Cabrera.

Blue Jays receive: OF Jesús Sánchez, RHP Edward Cabrera

Marlins receive: OF Joey Loperfido, SP Jake Bloss, OF Alan Roden

Toronto’s got plenty of young players to swap near the deadline this season, and Loperfido, Bloss, and Roden have a lot of years of control that the Marlins can use to make part of their new core. Two young outfielders to replace Jesús Sánchez and a young arm in Jake Bloss would be a good return for Miami.

The Blue Jays have an excess of young MLB-ready outfielders that could get starting jobs on rosters like Miami’s, and Bloss could get valuable experience as an MLB starter (once he returns from UCL surgery) and potentially grow into the top prospect arm he was scouted to be.

However, this deal could easily swing more to Miami’s side if they require more value from Toronto. Yet, what might seem like an overpay in terms of prospects in 2025 could turn into a great return for the Jays in the coming years. Just remember the José Berríos deal from 2021 and the backlash Toronto received for dumping top prospects Austin Martin and Simeon Woods-Richardson. This could be a good swap for both teams, and it could certainly become a reality.

Both of these current Miami Marlins will likely find themselves on a contending team at some point this season (and no, this doesn’t mean the Marlins will be a playoff team). Jesús Sánchez and Edward Cabrera could really improve a team like the Toronto Blue Jays, and the Jays would be smart to target them over the coming weeks.

As the All-Star break draws closer and closer, Toronto’s pitching desperately needs some improvement, and adding a young arm like Cabrera could be a similar move to their trade for Berríos a few seasons ago. Sánchez’s ridiculous raw power and great all-around skill set could earn him a role in Toronto’s outfield. These guys would look pretty good in Blue Jay blue, and they very well might sometime soon.