DALLAS -- Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix's messaging has been consistent since taking over in November 2023. In order to achieve sustainable success, the organization needed to add long-term value to the organization.
By dealing corner infielder Jake Burger to the Rangers for three players on Wednesday morning at the Winter Meetings, the Marlins believe they did just that.
Heading to Miami in the trade are Texas' No. 17 prospect Echedry Vargas, former top international prospect Max Acosta and lefty Brayan Mendoza. All three enter MLB Pipeline's Top 30 prospects list for Miami: Vargas (No. 16), Acosta (No. 17) and Mendoza (No. 29).
"We added a lot of talent to the organization," Bendix said. "We think really highly of the three players that we got in return. I think they're players that just add to the overall talent base. There's two really good shortstops. There's another pitcher. You can never have enough talent, and I think it just contributes to the vision of being as good as we can as soon as we can."
TRADE DETAILS
Marlins get: INF Echedry Vargas, INF Max Acosta, LHP Brayan Mendoza
Rangers get: 1B/3B Jake Burger
Vargas, who turns 20 in February, slashed .276/.321/.454 with 24 doubles, two triples and 48 RBIs in 97 games at the Single-A level in 2024. According to MLB Pipeline's scouting report, the right-handed hitter uses a big leg kick and aggressive hacks to hit the ball much harder than expected from a 5-foot-11, 170-pounder, giving him 20-homer upside.
Despite average-to-solid speed, Vargas has good instincts and is aggressive on the bases. While he recorded 29 steals, he was caught nine times. Vargas spent the majority of his time at shortstop (86 games), where he committed 27 errors, followed by second base (10 games) in 2024.
The Rangers added Acosta to their 40-man roster last month ahead of the deadline to protect prospects from Wednesday's Rule 5 Draft after slashing .288/.353/.425 with 23 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 58 RBIs over 104 games for Double-A Frisco. He started 65 games at shortstop, 36 at second base and two at designated hitter.
The recently turned 22-year-old also raked in the Arizona Fall League, earning an AFL Fall Stars Game nod for his .934 OPS. When Texas signed him out of Caracas, Venezuela, he was considered one of the best all-around players in the 2019 international class and ranked No. 17 overall.
Mendoza, from Isla de Margarita, Venezuela, turns 21 on Jan. 19. After posting a 2.18 ERA across 90 2/3 innings in 22 games (17 starts) at Single-A, he made two starts at High-A before season's end (3.48 ERA).
In Burger, Miami parts with a pre-arbitration middle-of-the-order bat who will enter his age-29 season. Not only did he finish one homer shy of 30 dingers for the second consecutive campaign but he also had become a leader in the clubhouse.
Acquired from the White Sox ahead of the 2023 Trade Deadline for prospect Jake Eder, Burger turned into a vital part of the Marlins’ surprise postseason berth. He reunites with former Marlins manager Skip Schumaker and bench coach Luis Urueta in Texas.
"It was a really difficult decision," Bendix said. "These always are. This was especially difficult with Jake, and ultimately we felt confident enough and strong enough in the return that we were getting for him that we thought it was the right thing to do right now."
With Burger gone, controllable corner-infield options on Miami’s 40-man roster include Jonah Bride (who broke out with an .818 OPS in 71 games), Connor Norby (.760 OPS after Trevor Rogers trade), No. 4 prospect Deyvison De Los Santos (Minor League home run champion) and No. 25 prospect Graham Pauley (Tanner Scott/Bryan Hoeing trade). Nathan Martorella (Luis Arraez trade) also is in the pipeline.
"I think we have a lot of options," Bendix said. "We still have a lot of talent on the Major League team, a lot of good hitters, guys that we started to see last year, guys that we might not have seen last year that we expect to see this year. It opens up additional playing time for guys that we think are really good."