Marlins send Starling Marte to Athletics

MIAMI — The Oakland Athletics are in playoff contention, and Starling Marte is their midseason reward.

Oakland obtained the versatile but well-traveled outfielder Wednesday from the Miami Marlins for left-hander Jesús Luzardo.

“We felt like Starling was frankly the best position player that was out there on the market,” A’s general manager David Forst said before the team’s game in San Diego. “We’ve always said when the team performs and puts itself in a playoff position, it’s on us to do whatever we can to try and help them.”

The A’s, who began the day six games behind AL West leader Houston, also acquired left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin this week from the Cubs.

“We’ve added two really solid pieces to help this team over the next send two months,” Forst said.

Marte, 32, is batting .306 with an .859 OPS and 22 stolen bases in 25 attempts. The Marlins will cover nearly all of his remaining contract for 2021, and he becomes a free agent after this season.

It’s the third time in 18 months that Marte has been traded. He joins an outfield that also includes Ramón Laureano and Mark Canha.

The Marlins made the deal after they were unable to reach an agreement with Marte on a contract extension. They’re last in the NL East and expected to make more moves before the trade deadline Friday.

Luzardo is 2-4 with a 6.87 ERA in 13 games, including six starts. He was sidelined for four weeks in May after he broke the pinkie on his pitching hand when he thumped a table while playing a video game.