Milwaukee Brewers Should Trade Jonathan Broxton to the Marlins

There have been talks that the Milwaukee Brewers are going to start trading away their veterans in order to rebuild for the future.  They have been playing better lately and are awaiting the return of Jonathan Lucroy from the disabled list with a broken toe, with the hopes that the team will rebound from this bad start.  Whether the team begins the rebuild process or not, I believe the Brewers should trade Jonathan Broxton to the Miami Marlins.

Broxton has not been pitching well this season and it may stem back to the signing of Francisco Rodriguez in spring training.  Before the Rodriguez signing, Broxton was slated to be the Brewers closer, a position that he excelled at with the Dodgers, becoming a 2-time All-Star closer.  Maybe the excitement of being the closer again, and then the subsequent disappointment of being moved to the setup man has negatively impacted Broxton’s performance up to this point.

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Broxton possesses a 3.18 career ERA and a 1.226 career WHIP.  He has surrendered less than a hit per inning and less than a home run per 9 innings on average, over the course of his career.  So what has gone wrong this year?  In 14 games this year, Broxton holds a 7.82 ERA (with a better looking FIP of 4.00) and a WHIP of 1.737.  He has already given up 3 long balls, in just 12 2/3 innings.  As the Brewers begin to play better ball, Broxton is actually getting worse.  In 5 appearances this month, he has been hit around, surrendering 10 hits and 5 earned runs in just 4 innings of work.  These numbers clearly don’t add up to the amount that the Brewers are paying him.

Broxton is making $9 million this season and has a mutual option of $9 million next season, with a $2 million buyout.  I don’t see the Brewers paying him that kind of money next year, so the next logical option is to get some players in return for him.  The team that best makes sense for a trade is the Miami Marlins.

The Marlins were in pursuit of Francisco Rodriguez in the off season, before Rodriguez eventually signed on to be the Brewers closer.  So, the closing job was handed over to Steve Cishek, who has struggled mightily in his new role, and has recently been removed as the Marlins closer.  In 7 save opportunities this season, Cishek has only managed to save 3 of them, while seeing his ERA balloon to 10.32.  In back to back games against the Giants and Dodgers on May 10-11, Cishek blew saves, surrendering a combined 5 earned runs in just an inning of work; he hasn’t pitched in a game since.

Broxton to the Marlins could be exactly what Broxton needs, a new start with a new team, and the chance to be a closer again.  In return the Brewers could target Marlin prospects such as 21 year-old 2B/3B Brian Anderson, 21 year-old OF Austin Dean, or 22 year old LHP Jarlin Garcia.

The Milwaukee Brewers have been playing better lately and have put off discussions of a complete rebuild, at least for the time being.  While the chances of having a successful season are slipping away, the chance of getting a prospect in return for a struggling player is something that should be taken advantage of.