Miami Marlins Make Trade For Chicago White Sox Slugger Jake Burger Ahead of Trade Deadline

The Miami Marlins, seeking the organization's first playoff appearance since 2020, have upgraded in the power department by trading for Chicago White Sox slugger Jake Burger.

The Miami Marlins, seeking the organization's first playoff appearance since 2020, have upgraded in the power department by trading for Chicago White Sox slugger Jake Burger.

Craig Mish of the Miami Herald first had the news on social media:

The Miami Marlins are acquiring Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox per sources.

The Miami Marlins are acquiring Jake Burger from the Chicago White Sox per sources.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) August 1, 2023

Mish also tweeted out the return:

The White Sox will receive Marlins pitching prospect Jake Eder in the deal per sources.

The deal is a surprise one for Chicago, who has shipped out a lot of veteran players on expiring deals thus far. Burger is under team control through 2028 and is just 27-years-old but the team elected to move him anyways.

Per this article from MLBTradeRumors on Burger...

He is batting .214/.279/.527. He’s already slugged a whopping 25 home runs on the season but also has the fifth-worst on-base percentage and sixth-highest strikeout rate (31.6%) of any player in the Majors (min. 300 plate appearances). The Marlins, with MLB’s third-fewest home runs (96 total), seemingly view those as acceptable trade-offs to add some pop to lineup that’s heavily reliant on stringing hits together.

Eder is the Marlins No. 4 prospect, per MLB.com. Here's a portion of his prospect profile:

Eder displayed a plus fastball and slider throughout the 2021 season before he got hurt, and a pro scout with another organization called him the best pitching prospect in baseball. His four-seamer sat at 93-96 mph and touched 98 with ride up in the zone, and he commanded it better than he ever had. He also tightened up his low-80s slider, generating more horizontal action and locating it with more precision than before.

Eder also made strides with a low-80s changeup that offers some fade and tumble. Most importantly, he threw all three pitches for strikes after a history of inconsistent control and command.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by LIKING us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.You can also subscribe to "The Payoff Pitch" podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.