The Miami Marlins pulled off a trade on Wednesday, two days after the MLB Trade Deadline.
MLB reporter Isaac Azout revealed that the Marlins traded former sixth overall pick Jacob Berry to the Kansas City Royals.
Berry, the 6th overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft, slashed just .245/.325/.377 across 469 minor league games.
“News: The Marlins have traded Jacob Berry to the Kansas City Royals, sources tell Fish On First. Berry, the 6th overall pick in the 2022 MLB draft, slashed just .245/.325/.377 across 469 minor league games,” Azout wrote.
The Marlins selected Berry sixth overall in the 2022 MLB Draft, but he hasn’t panned out. The likes of Zach Neto, Spencer Jones, Cade Horton, Jett Williams, and Jace Jung were all selected in the first round after Miami picked Berry.
The outfielder was playing in Triple-A, which was his second full season in Triple-A. He had yet to make his MLB debut. This season, Berry was hitting .251 with 4 home runs and 34 RBIs.
Although the Marlins had high hopes for Berry, they traded him for cash considerations and gave the 25-year-old a fresh start with the Royals.
Berry was the Marlins’ second-ranked prospect in 2023. He continued to drop as he was ranked fifth in 2024 and wasn’t ranked in 2025 and 2026.
How Can Marlins Pull Off a Trade After the Deadline?
Although the MLB Trade Deadline was on Monday, MLB teams still can make trades after it.
The August 3 Trade Deadline was a true deadline for MLB players. But teams can still trade minor leaguers, which is what the Marlins and Royals did.
According to MLBTradeRumors, “players who’ve been playing the entire season on a minor league contract and haven’t at any point had that contract selected to the 40-man roster or been on the Major League injured list are still fair game to be traded.”
So, given Berry isn’t on the 40-man roster, the Marlins were able to trade him to the Royals, and he can play in the MLB this season.
Miami Was Sellers at Trade Deadline
The Marlins were sellers at the trade deadline and did well in adding to their prospect pool.
Miami’s biggest trades were dealing Liam Hicks to the Tampa Bay Rays for INF Brayden Taylor (TB No. 16 prospect), RHP Jacob Kisting (TB No. 26) and SS Adrian Santana (TB No. 27). The Marlins also traded Braxton Garrett to the Chicago Cubs for 1B/OF Jonathon Long (CHC No. 10) and RHP Jace Beck (CHC No. 28).
The Marlins did acquire right-handed pitcher Victor Vodnik from the Colorado Rockies and also dealt Lake Bachar to the Pittsburgh Pirates for RHP Brandan Bidois, INF Hyun Seung Lee, OF Brian Sanchez.
“I feel like we accomplished our goal of continuing to build towards a championship-level organization while fully understanding that this year’s team is good and we have a real shot at the playoffs. And we wanted to have that in mind as well,” said president of baseball operations Peter Bendix.
Miami did buy at the deadline by acquiring Vodnik, who the Marlins were high on.
“Victor was somebody we specifically targeted,” Bendix said. “We think that he’s somebody that we can help get a lot better, we think he’s somebody with really good stuff. … We think he has traits that you can’t teach.”
The Marlins are 58-56 and 2 games out of a Wild Card spot.
TRADE: Marlins Deal Former 6th Overall Pick to AL Club After MLB Trade Deadline