Jake Burger was traded from the Marlins to the Rangers for prospects Maximo Acosta, Echedry Vargas and Brayan Mendoza earlier this week.
Here, I’m going to talk about what this trade means for Burger’s fantasy value, why it’s a great move for the Rangers, which prospects they sent back to the Marlins, and do my best to figure out what the Marlins were thinking when they made this move.
Jake Burger Fantasy Value
Burger instantly becomes a much more interesting player with this move to Texas. loanDepot Park in Miami is one of the hardest in the league to homer in and plays even worse for right-handed hitters, according to Statcast’s Park Factors.
On the other hand, Globe Life Field is the fourth-best for a righty to homer at and 11th best overall. This is incredible news for a pull-heave right-handed power bat like Burger.
Moreover, the Marlins’ lineup pales in comparison to the Rangers’. Projections pegged Burger as the Marlins’ best hitter this upcoming season. He would’ve been flanked by Jesús Sánchez, Xavier Edwards, and Jonah Bride as their only other regulars who’re projected to be above league average according to Steamer.
The Rangers had nine such regulars before Burger including Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Wyatt Langford. With him, they could have a better-than-average regular at every position besides catcher on Opening Day.
Despite that current depth, the Rangers had practically no production from their designated hitters last season. League wide, they were second-worst with a 65 wRC+ with an appalling .205/.261/.323 slash line. Travis Jankowski and Robbie Grossman were tied for most games player at DH in Texas and shockingly, that duo didn’t exactly light the world on fire
So, his situation has significantly improved and he will almost definitely have a full-time starters’ share of at-bats to start the season.
Who Are the Prospects?
Industry reactions on the Marlins’ return for Burger were light.
The key player they got back was Maximo Acosta, a 22-year-old middle infielder who had a 119 wRC+ at AA last season. Acosta was a highly regarded international signee in 2019; ranked as the no. 17 player in his IFA class and signed for $1.65 million.
Yet, he lost his 2020 season to Covid and then missed most of 2021 with thoracic outlet syndrome. That injury has zapped his arm strength and will likely relegate him to second base in the big leagues.
He has some wheels though – 96 stolen bases in 321 games since 2022 – and will need his hit tool to carry him forward. Imagine that, a hit tool forward, speedy second baseman on the Marlins. Some teams really do have a type.
Already on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, Acosta is the most fantasy relevant player in this trade with his stolen base upside and proximity to the big leagues. But only in the deepest dynasty leagues.
Then there’s Echedry Vargas who’s a speedy, free-swinging 19-year-old that puts the ball in play incessantly. He’s shown an above average ability to pull the ball in the air and might have a modicum of potential if he can ever reign in his aggressiveness.
And guess what? He’s also tracking towards second base with 27 errors in 86 games at shortstop last season
Lastly is Brayan Mendoza, a soon-to-be 21-year-old lefty whose calling card is plus command to go with a plus changeup. He pitched well at low-A last season with a 25.7 K%, 6.4 BB%, and 2.18 ERA. Lefties with good command and good changeups will never go out of style.
Still, this return feels light for a 30 home run bat who’s still arbitration eligible.
Why the Marlins Made this Trade
Maybe the Marlins thought to themselves, “here we have a power hitter who can’t play defense, barely gets on base at a .300 clip, and looked like a future non-tender candidate through the first eight weeks of last season. Our team stinks so let’s just trade him now for whatever we can.”
Maybe, maybe they thought that. Maybe they were happy to take three tries at the mystery box with two athletic middle infielders and a pitcher who could have a somewhat high floor.
Also, it must be painful to have your team think this way if you’re a fan or worse, a fellow player. Burger had four years of team control and one would hope any organization would find themselves on at least a four year timeline to being competitive. With this move, the Marlins unsurprisingly said they’re not.
Why the Rangers Made this Trade
Like I said before, they had the second-worst production in all of baseball from their DH spot last season. Burger, for that package and with his inexpensive contract, is an easy fit.
Also, the Rangers suffered from a multitude of injuries last season. Notably, another mostly lost season from third baseman Josh Jung who’s begun to garner the ‘injury-prone’ tag.
Burger offers valuable insurance for Jung at third and Nate Lowe, who has just two more years of team control, at first base.
I’m sure it also helped that Skip Schumaker, Burger’s former manager with the Marlins, was hired by the Rangers as a senior advisor last month. He certainly vouched for Burger’s makeup and will help ease this transition.
Bottom line, he’s a 28-year-old with four years of team control, is practically a shoe-in for 30 home runs, and they didn’t have to trade any near-premium prospects to acquire him. That’s the definition of a no-brainer.
