Who would be the Marlins’ next closer with Tanner Scott likely on his way out?

With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, baseball aficionados are keeping all eyes and ears on South Florida. Several Marlins players will likely be sent out at the trade deadline, including all-star reliever Tanner Scott.

Scott’s time in South Florida has been the highlight of his career, as the 29-year old southpaw has developed into one of the best closers in baseball during the past two years.

Last season, Scott had a 2.31 ERA and he has improved on that rnumber this season, with a 1.30 ERA through the All-Star break. However, the team currently has the worst record in the National League, the Marlins are expected to be big sellers at the deadline. Scott is one of Miami’s best assets, and The New York Post’s Jon Heyman has reported that several teams were interested in obtaining the 29-year old pitcher at the trade deadline.

But if Scott departs Miami, who will step into the closer role?

It appears that the likely closer would be 25-year old left-handed pitcher Andrew Nardi. Nardi has been the primary setup man for the Marlins since the 2023 season. But despite a strong 2023 season where he posted a 2.67 ERA, Nardi has struggled so far this season, with his ERA rising to 5.30.

Nardi’s struggles were on display Friday after he gave up a two-run home run to Jeff McNeil in the top of the sixth inning. However, Nardi bounced back with a scoreless seventh inning in the Marlins’ 1-0 loss to the Mets.

“His fastball was really good at the top today,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “He’s been frustrated with his slider a bit this year and yesterday. I think his slider is good, it’s just at times he’s gotten beat by it.”

“Today during catch play I threw a lot of sliders,” Nardi said. “But Tanner Scott came up to me and helped me out. He told me to throw my sliders harder than my fastball. I just took that cue and [it] helped out.”

Another possibility at closer is 34-year old Huascar Brazoban. Brazoban pitched an inning in Saturday’s game against the Mets, giving up zero runs. Brazoban currently possesses a 3.60 ERA and has not given up an earned run in his last six outings.

“[Brazoban] hasn’t pitched in a few days so against a good lineup in the heart of the order, [he] did a really good job of navigating his way out of there,” Schumaker said.

Brazoban made his MLB debut with the Marlins in 2022. The right-handed pitcher missed the beginning of the season due to a visa issue preventing him from re-entering the United States. But after making his first appearance in June, Brazoban has been a steady presence in the Marlins bullpen and has tallied six multiple inning outings.

“He has so many different weapons that he can get you out on. [He has] kind of a funky violent delivery that’s an uncomfortable at-bat,” Schumaker said.

Last year’s closer, A.J. Puk had a rough start to the season in the starting rotation. Despite his season numbers (3-8, 4.61 ERA), he has pitched much better since returning to the bullpen. He is 3-1 with a 0.55 ERA with 22 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings in his past 15 appearances.

For many Marlins fans, relievers are a secondary concern. The Marlins are in desperate need of starting pitching after starters such as Sandy Alcantara, Braxton Garrett and Eury Perez have all found their way on the injury list.

However, Scott’s likely departure could force the team to reconfigure their bullpen in drastic ways, diminishing one of the stronger parts of the NL’s worst team.