Here’s the latest from south Florida…
- The Marlins have some interest in veteran lefty C.J. Wilson, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Wilson “isn’t on the verge of making a decision” about his next team, though the southpaw does intend to play in 2017 after being sidelined since July 2015 due to elbow and shoulder injuries. Jackson notes that Miami had interest in Wilson the last time he was a free agent, prior to his signing a five-year, $77.5MM deal with the Angels following the 2011 season.
- In another item from Jackson, he wouldn’t be surprised if the Marlins pursue left-hander Jon Niese. Like Wilson, Niese is another veteran who’d be available at a relatively low price, which fits the Marlins’ plans of adding starting pitching without breaking the bank. Niese posted a 5.50 ERA over 121 innings with the Pirates and Mets last season, delivering his usual low-strikeout, high-grounder arsenal but allowing a whopping 22.1% home run rate. A move to Marlins Park would theoretically help Niese avoid the long ball, though PNC Park and Citi Field also aren’t generally homer-friendly stadiums. Niese is a free agent after the Mets declined his $10MM club option for 2017, instead paying the lefty a $500K buyout.
- Marcell Ozuna has often been cited as a potential trade chip for Miami, though MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro believes that dealing Ozuna and then spending big to sign another outfielder (i.e. Dexter Fowler) doesn’t make financial sense. Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich are both getting raises next year, so signing a player like Fowler would put the Fish in line for roughly $42MM in salary for just three outfielders. If Ozuna was to be dealt, the more likely scenario for a replacement is that the Marlins sign a short-term veteran to platoon with Ichiro Suzuki.
- Also as part of Frisaro’s mailbag piece, he looks at the Marlins’ need for pitching and opines that Doug Fister would be a good fit in Miami. If Frisaro was in charge, he would look to free agency rather than the trade market since he would “be really reluctant to deal any of the core position players off the big league roster” due to “a shortage of organizational depth.”
Fister? Niese? Wilson? Why bother? If you want to throw pitchers out there who allow 1.4+ WHIP, the Marlins might as well go with farmhands.
Unfortunately, there’s very little out there on the starting pitcher market, especially when you’re have a huge hole to fill in your rotation. Trade seems like the way to go, with Ozuna their biggest chip, and then replacing him on the free agent outfield market — not Fowler, though. The Marlins don’t have a protected pick and it doesn’t sound like their farm system is robust enough to withstand losing a first-rounder.
You really like that WHIP stat, huh? Did you just discover it?
Whip is the best stat out…especially for relievers but I guess that’s a little irrelevant here
This is absolutely, 100% false.
I really hope the Marlins sign Niese.
They should sign Fister and or Hill if they can. And if they can avoid trading Ozuna it would be great but if not they could go after a guy like Ben Revere.
Any way you look at it, you’re risking it by signing any of the pitchers on the market. Pretty much have to decide what the club values most…staying healthy, overall potential, acquiring a lefty, etc. Wilson is already 36 and has had injuries the past couple of years and walks a ton of batters. Though he has limited the damage over the years, he’s not trending upwards whatsoever. Fister has questionable durability. Niese seems to have forgotten how to pitch. Then you have a guy like Nova who is a bit of a wildcard and Travis Wood
Why isn’t Realmuto a trade chip? Sell high, my friends. He hit over .300.
Fact is, catcher is the only position where the Marlins have an excellent replacement. Telis is a switch hitter and was basically the best hitter in the entire Minor League system last season.
I’m sorry, but you honestly couldnt be more wrong if you tried. Realmuto is absolutely untouchable. Telis will never touch his potential, nor what JT can already do. Dont be fooled by numbers in the PCL. Telis is a prince fielder look a like the Marlins gave away an elite reliever for in Sam Dyson, that cant play defense, and though he can make contact, isnt all that good of a hitter either. He can potentially be a 3rd catcher in the system, or could possibly develop into a backup option, if he improves defensively. There is no way even the Marlins would be stupid enough to move Realmuto for him, after all the time they spent looking for a catcher over the years
Telis, like Realmuto, is a former shortstop. He certainly can’t run as fast, but is better than JT at blocking and framing pitches. He is likely an equally good or better hitter. Yes, Marlin fans like JT, but you have to give up something to land quality and affordable pitching.
I really wish I was as optimistic as you, but I don’t see any way that Telis approaches Realmuto. If he does, I’d obviously be extremely happy. There is still no way the marlins should trade realmuto right now
Give it a year or 2 and Angel fan will be wanting Wilson back too…..
No thanks
He’s better than chavez
At least Chavez can stay healthy
And Shane knows nothing about baseball
Wrongggggg…Chavez is not only solid but also had pitched the last 2 years
C.J. Has pitched within the last 2 seasons
And he walks way too many people
Nova a seems like he’s a great fit for Miami. Fairly young, pretty dependable, won’t cost a draft pick… Sign him and deal Ozuna for another solid starter with some control (Salazar was rumored last yr though perhaps less likely now). Sign a RHB platoon mate for Ichiro and call it good . Better yet open the wallets and sign Bautista lol
All of the Marlins rumors so far are a joke. Honestly, we might as well not even report to ST. They’re not even willing to spend a couple of mil on bargains, and we’re expected to believe they’ll spend $85+ million on a reliever, like Kenley Jansen, on top of giving up their draft pick? The luxury tax is going up too, so even more indication of the fact that teams are more than capable of spending a lot more than the Marlins do, including the Marlins….
Mike Napoli would be a really good fit, as I said last year, and I still think he can be had relatively cheaply, as evidence by Sean Rodriguez’s deal with the Braves.
I would like to see the Marlins go after Ivan Nova, as I did before the trade deadline. Doug Fister is another name that could be nice, assuming we also do something else in the rotation, though there are some similar options I would probably prefer at this point. I’m really worried about the rumors of the Marlins being interested in Travis Wood as a SP, considering his peripheral numbers, the reported interest in perennial injury Charlie Morton, and even the Edinson Volquez news is a little worrisome, considering his history of command issues and injuries, though the numbers suggest that he had some correctable issues last year, like his strand rate and BABIP. This makes me think they arent looking to do much, again.
There are also a few interesting relievers, both lefty and RH. I have an idea of the names I’d like to see the go after, although its somewhat difficult to predict a couple of those guys’ price points at this moment. Koji Uehara, Neftali Feliz, Brad Ziegler are a couple of the RH names I’m interested in, and then though Cecil signed with the Cardinals, there are still a few LH options available.
I’m also not happy with the report that the Marlins havent reached out to Jeff Mathis yet. Despite what some of you think, I want to see him back here for another season. He gives us an important veteran presence behind the plate, contrasting with JT, but also serving as a mentor for him, and the pitching staff, and then obviously, he is good defensively behind the plate
I would pay attention to Carlos Gomez’ market, in the event of an Ozuna trade. I personally believe that would be a good fit, and shouldnt be too costly in terms of years or dollars, though he did have a nice bounce back with the Rangers at the end of the season, which could influence someone to pay him
Finally, I dont know if anybody saw the trade that went down last night, and its hard to speculate what was going around the league, but where were the Marlins on something like that? Arizona trades an inconsistent middle infielder, Jean Segura, with 2 years of control left, a mediocre OF prospect, and a nothing minor league reliever, and they get 4 years of Taijuan Walker AND 5 years of a SS like Marte? Thats the exact type of thing the Marlins need right now; a controllable, cheap, young arm that can potentially pitch at, or near, the top of the rotation. The only thing I can see there is that Dipoto must have faith in Segura to sustain what he did last year, and/or he has no faith in Marte, at 23, and possibly, he doesnt feel Walker can stay healthy. Still, its a really risky deal for Seattle. I wonder if anyone thought Walker would even be available
You lost me on how a utility fielder and pinch hitter, Sean Rodriguez, signing for a hefty $5MM a year for two years indicates that a full time 1B, Mike Napoli, is going to sign on the cheap. That’s at least double his salary from 2016. Utility fielders seldom break $2MM a season, and almost never are given multi year contracts. The Tigers have Romine making $1MM and he just had one of his more productive seasons, playing all over the diamond. Rumors in Detroit are that he will be non-tendered, because THAT’S MORE THAN TEAMS WANT TO PAY THIER UTILITY PLAYER. Napoli just spent his season batting fourth on a WS team. If you think there is a comparison there, you go for it.
Napoli signed a 1 year/$7 million deal last year. He is a 1b only option that would primarily be used against LHPs, just as Sean Rodriguez would primarily play against LHPs, although he plays all over the diamond. Napoli posted about 1 WAR in his 645 PAs, while Rodriguez posted almost 2 WAR in 300 fewer PAs. 1 WAR seems to be going for about $8 million per this year on the free agent market. Sean Rodriguez was able to get 2 years. on his deal as a utility player that doesnt play full time. Napoli will make more money AAV, but I dont see it being all that much more, and thats cheap, in my view, but if your definition of cheap is different when considering today’s market, let me know.
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Trade Ozuna for Odorizzi. Sign Rajai
Short term veteran to platoon with ichiro? More like platoon with dietrich. Ichiro is strictly a bat off the bench nowadays. I say trade ozuna for wacha and prospect Harrison bader (guy is the real deal). And give Dietrich to take over left with a platoon right handed outfielder
Not sure how willing the Cardinals are to give up Bader right now.. that guy has done nothing but fly through the system. I do think though that Wacha and Garcia are available, obviously with Wacha possessing more value. Maybe Wacha, Magnerius Sierra, and another piece
You’re right, I’m sure the cardinals aren’t to willing to give up bader.. but look at the trade the diamondbacks and mariners just pulled.. bader and wacha for ozuna seems reasonable to me and if I’m the Marlins, I wouldn’t want anything less
Marlins should also look to trade hech for a possible SS prospect and sign jimmy Rollins for the year. Brings some balance to the lineup and Rollins as an 8th hitter ain’t too bad. I love hechs defense, can’t deny it but his bat was awful last year.
Ozuna for Stroman