Marlins Seeking Left-Handed Reliever

The Marlins have long been known to be in the market for a starter to round out the back of their rotation, but MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that they’re also looking for left-handed bullpen help. Miami, in fact, was in on Mike Montgomery before the Mariners traded him to the Cubs in a four-player deal on Wednesday.

Miami currently has just one left-handed reliever, Mike Dunn, in its bullpen, and he spent the first two months of the season on the disabled list due to a strained left forearm. Dunn has a 3.24 ERA in 16 2/3 innings since returning, but he’s also seen significant declines in his strikeout rate and ground-ball rate this season in that small sample. (Then again, his velocity has been steadily ticking upward since his activation, so perhaps more effective days are on the horizon.)

Whatever the remainder of the season holds for Dunn, a second lefty would be a nice addition to provide first-year Marlins manager Don Mattingly with greater flexibility to play matchups late in the game. Miami has cycled through some options already this season, as it recently released veteran southpaw Craig Breslow and has fellow veterans Chris Narveson, Cory Luebke and Jo-Jo Reyes pitching in Triple-A. Cody Ege and Raudel Lazo represent healthy left-handed options that are currently pitching in the minors but are already on the 40-man roster.

The Marlins’ farm system is weak, but the club has already landed a right-handed setup option for closer A.J. Ramos by picking up Fernando Rodney in a deal with the Padres, and there figure to be plenty of left-handed relievers that could make a difference as well. Setting aside top-tier names like Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman, pitchers such as Fernando Abad, Boone Logan, Will Smith, Zach Duke, Ian Krol and Tony Cingrani stand out as lefty relief options on losing clubs that could potentially make sense to be dealt.