The trade deadline has come and gone, but the Florida Marlins still have a space that desperately needs to be filled to bolster their roster for the playoff run. As the deadline approached, the Marlins made inquiries for relief pitchers and catchers, but were only successful in acquiring a reliever.

The usual starting catcher Matt Treanor, who began a rehab assignment with A Jupiter on Thursday, is trying to return from a hip injury. MRI exams revealed that he has 3 muscle tears in his hip and pelvic regions. Treanor is determined to play through the pain and delay surgery until the post-season, but there is no guarantee he will be able to do so.

The Marlins do have John Baker, Mike Rabelo, and Paul Hoover available as catchers, unfortunately Baker boasts the best batting average, at .204. Rabelo and Hoover are batting .202 and .200 respectively. The Marlins’ targets before the deadline were Bengie Molina of the San Fransisco Giants, Gerald Laird of the Texas Rangers, and Ryan Doumit of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Molina was thought to be their first choice, but has a sizable contract. Laird and Doumit however both have reasonable contracts, and are putting up better numbers this season, batting .312 and .333 respectively. Doumit would likely be the best fit for the Marlins as he would bring a reliable bat to the bottom of the batting order and is also a dependable back up behind the plate.

At this point however, the Marlins have to hope one of the catchers they had their eye on is placed on waivers. At that point the Marlins could try and bid for that player. Assuming no other team bids for the same player, they have themselves a new catcher. If, however, another team bids things can get complicated in a hurry.