The Marlins are telling teams that they are prepared to field offers for a variety of short-term assets, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Specifically, Miami is prepared to find deals for pitchers Mat Latos, Dan Haren, and Brad Hand as well as utilityman Jeff Baker.
Each of the players listed above, with the exception of Hand, is set to hit the open market after the season. With the Marlins sitting behind every team in baseball except for the woeful Phillies, Spencer says the organization has “reached the jumping-off point” for acting as a seller.
Latos and Haren obviously have the most potential appeal of the players listed. The starters have had rather different seasons thus far, Latos underperforming generally promising peripherals (4.90 ERA, 3.84 SIERA) and Haren doing just the opposite (3.34 ERA, 4.11 SIERA). The 27-year-old Latos is said to have shown a promising velocity uptick in recent starts, though he’s owed the balance of a $9.4 salary this year and has an unsettling injury history. Haren, 34, continues to see his average fastball drop towards the mid-80s and has benefited from a low BABIP and high strand rate, but he still doesn’t walk anyone and the Dodgers are on the hook for all of his salary.
While Miami might hope to achieve some real value for those pitchers, it is not clear that there’s much to get back for Hand or Baker. Working mostly as a reliever, the out-of-options Hand has scuffled to a 5.80 ERA over 40 1/3 innings, though he has suffered from the exact opposite BABIP/LOB rates that have aided Haren. As for Baker, the 34-year-old rates at or below replacement level for the last several years. He’s not very highly regarded for his glove, and is mostly useful against lefties, but has not really even hit them all that well this year.
One other player that Spencer notes could be moved is former closer Steve Cishek. He’s been much better since returning to the big leagues, but still looks like a non-tender candidate after the season and is hardly the most certain relief asset a contender could find on the market. Cishek is playing on a $6.65MM salary this year, so Miami will likely need to pay a good chunk of that to find a taker.
Baez and Vogelbach for Latos? Would it take more? Gives Cubbies a solid middle of the rotation guy. That can spell their need to trade for a pitcher (no need to overpay for a guy like Hamels) and try to sign a Price/Zimmerman/Cueto/Greinke type next year. Plug one of those guys in with Lester, Arrieta, Hammells, and Latos, you got yourself a good rotation. Thoughts anyone?
That seems like enough to me. Vogelbach can be ready after Morse departs (though they do have Bour as well), and Baez is a lottery-ticket type that could end up being their 3rd basemen of the future. Makes sense to me.
I would accept that as the Marlins. Definitely a package the Cubs could part with, but it almost seems like an overpay.
I could also see Latos being an option for the Dodgers. They have Kershaw and Greinke, so Latos would fill in nicely behind them.
I definitely thought of an overpay after I sent it. I don’t know a ton about Vogelbach but have heard he projects as a pretty good DH. Now that I look as well, I thought Latos had another year. He is only signed through this year so that is a for sure overpay. Maybe one or the other gets it done, and they hope to sign him to anchor their rotation (again, hoping they can sign one ace next off-season).
Definitely an overpay. I think a team w. more $ restrictions might go after him since LAD is on the hook for the $.
The package was for Latos
Ok. So for Latos…still an overpay. Baez’s value is down, but I don’t think it plummeted that far.
I’d take that, and throw in Koehler or Hand, both of whom has loads of team control left.
that would be an overpay no questions about it
WTF? thats a joke right? First of all no real fan calls them the cubbies. 2nd Baez needs to be untouchable. Personally I’d rather take Hamels and then sign Zimmerman
Hard to see Marlins getting much value from Cishek. Another in a long line of setup guys/closers they have burned out from severe over use, such as Ryan Webb, Mike Dunn. They just never look for any BP help, other than 1-2 and then abuse those couple every year.
The Orioles should take a gander at Latos because we are not getting Cueto.
As much as I like Cueto, I am not giving up what the Reds would want for him.
No way, not in this lifetime.
I would also make a gamble for Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.
It is hard to envision a team trading the farm for Cueto and two months of control. He has already made it public knowledge that he wants 8 years and 30 million to sign and I can see him finishing the year in Cincinnati, with them extending a qualifying offer at the end of the year to get back the draft pick. If they expect a team to give them 3 top ten prospects for him, Cincy will be waiting a long time. Latos might help teams, but I doubt if anyone of importance would be traded for him. Haren loves the warmth of the west coast and Miami fit that mold. I could see Houston or Texas showing interest.
Cueto will get moved for sure. Its a given they will recieve more value back in the salary relief plus prospects vs a draft pick next season
Didn’t Haren have an issue this offseason where he said he wouldn’t play for MIA after being dealt from LAD due to his preference to play in Southern California? I would think that might be an issue again if he gets moved.
Cardinals should grab one of these guys. Although I think Haren might be bitter since we traded him
Haren has had a fantastic career, why would he care that the Cardinals traded him?
Especially when he is going to a team like the Cardinals who are always in the playoffs
This is exactly what the Jays need to do. Add 2 decent starting pitching, with that offense they don’t need to give up hoffman, stroman or norris for a rental ace.
Add Latos and Haren, for a package of prospects, maybe Alford, Boyd +
then put Sanchez (or Hutch?) in the pen to help settle things in the back end so you don’t need to pay for a reliever.
Latos can not help anybody. Stick a fork in him.
If a team is a buyer, that means to me they want to get better now. How can these retreads help anyone?
Since Latos has come off the dl he has been solid.. As usual, you are an idiot..
Is Prado available? the angels could use his bat