New ownership would obviously lead to many changes for the Marlins, though it’s too early to speculate on what a possible sale of the team would mean for Marcell Ozuna’s long-term future in Miami, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes as part of a reader mailbag. It seemed as if Ozuna had fallen out of favor with Jeffrey Loria two years ago, though Ozuna wasn’t dealt in the 2015-16 offseason after much speculation. Ozuna delivered a solid season in 2016 and is off to a great start this year, hitting .319/.380/.595 with nine homers in his first 129 PA. Since Ozuna isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2019 campaign, his future isn’t a pressing concern for whomever ends up running the Marlins, though an extension could be unlikely regardless since Ozuna is represented by Scott Boras. At the very least, the outfielder is lining himself up for a massive raise in his second year of arbitration eligibility after agreeing to a $3.5MM salary for 2017.
Here’s some more from around the big leagues…
- After two blown saves in as many days for Francisco Rodriguez, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alex Espinoza) that the team is “going to have to have a discussion” about the closer role. Rodriguez has blown four saves in 11 opportunities this season, and his ERA ballooned to 8.49 after today’s ugly performance. K-Rod has seen a marked increase in hard contact this season (36.8%, as opposed to 29.2% last year) and he has lost a mile off his fastball from last season, now averaging 88.2mph on his heater. With that being said, there may also be some bad luck involved in Rodriguez’s poor start, such as a .405 BABIP, 29.3% grounder rate and 21.1% fly ball rate that all seem destined to eventually normalize. Set-up man Justin Wilson is off a very good start and could seem like the logical candidate to take over as closer if Rodriguez is indeed demoted. Be sure to check out @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter feed) for all the latest updates on ninth-inning situations from around the majors.
- In other Tigers news, Ausmus told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press and other media that J.D. Martinez could make his season debut next weekend. The slugging outfielder has been on the DL since suffering a Lisfranc sprain in Spring Training, and the Tigers announced today that Martinez will take the next step his minor league rehab process by moving from Class-A to Triple-A on Monday.
- The Rangers dropped to 13-19 after today’s loss to the Mariners, and if Texas can’t turn things around, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron opines that Yu Darvish could be a major trade chip at the deadline. Darvish is only under contract through this season, though as Cameron notes, other rental starters dealt in recent years have still merited big returns, so the Rangers could look for something like the package the Tigers obtained from the Blue Jays for David Price in 2015. The Yankees and Cubs are best-equipped to afford this outlay of young talent (though it remains to be seen if Chicago will make another big deadline splash), with other teams like the Rockies, Astros and Red Sox also possible fits as trade partners.
K rod is an absolute joke… took Brad long enough to realize!
I would think that the Dodgers would be interested in Darvish as well, and they certainly have the necessary prospects to make something happen.
What would LA offer for Yu? Rangers would want pitching prospects. I’m assuming the rookie 1B/OF would something the rangers would love to get as well but unlikely.
Who really thinks JD would send You to Houston in a trade? Come on now.
Yu*
He should trade him to whomever will give him the best deal really.
If they’re not contending and the Astros offer the best haul for a soon to be free agent, they would be more than willing to send him there for half a season.
I agree with this. Your objective, if you’re the Rangers, is to better your team relative to all of the other 29 clubs, not to just compare how you might be helping ONE club achieve short-term success.
He very well could send him to Houston, but I’m sure he would make them pay a full premium to acquire Darvish.
Inter-division trades are more common than they used to be, or it seems like it these days, but typically it means the asking price goes up for any team within the division.
What would be pretty sneaky is if he traded Yu to Houston, only to resign him in the off-season…lol
One major factor that could impact the Rangers return for Yu might be Darvish’s willingness to sign an extension with his new team.
Obviously, teams would be much more willing to give up more for Yu, if he is willing to negotiate and sign an extension, before finalizing a potential trade.
He’s not signing an extension. He will test the market
rangers have a history of deals with oakland and seattle, dunno why houston would be different, esp in rental scenario
Because of our rivalry when do you see Boston and New York making huge trades? Stros fan base would be in uprise giving up big prospects for him.
The Rangers are a team that might seek ML ready or near ready prospects in a trade for Yu, since they want to remain fairly competitive.
With that being said, I’m curious if maybe the Mets could or would try to swing a deal for Yu Darvish along with maybe a piece from the Rangers bullpen.
Would a trade centered around Gsellman/Lugo, Bruce, and a couple of the Mets’ #3-#8 prospects get the trade done? Or do you guys think I’m just way off on my random speculation??
…I am not trying to be, nor do I want to be “that annoying guy” that throws out random, completely ridiculous trade proposals. I’m honestly and genuinely just curious if this trade, or one similar, might make sense for both teams??
Bruce adds no value to the deal for Texas imo
The Mets look dead in the water, even though I know they are only 2 games under .500 right now. Syndergaard is going to be out for a long time, and this just feels like a lost year to me. They will probably be selling, if I had to guess.
Ha this sounds horribly one sided.
Only way Rangers take on Bruce is if Mets give 3 or 4 of there top prospects instead of 1 or 2. Then rangers flip him later for something
Don’t really see how Texas finds that attractive. Darvish would bring back way more than that from 28 others teams.
if galsman if playing well maybe
It’s not just Darvish the Rangers would trade. Lucroy, Napoli, Gomez, Cashner, etc… would all likely be on the trading block. Darvish would obviously bring the biggest haul, but the Rangers could really shape the playoff race.
Hamels could be on the block with his 1.5 seasons left as well, plus Tyson Ross and possibly even Beltre.
Rangers could do a major rebuild quickly with some of these pieces.
Didn’t they change how pitch speeds are measured? Thus isn’t K-Rod’s 1 mph lost actually like 2-3 mph lost?
Source?
Here is one – chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/ct-mlb-baseball-radar-readings-spt-20170408-story.html
I speculated in the off season that the Rangers could trade Darvish for a package and then add a piece to said package to acquire Jose Quintana from the Sox.
The Hamels deal showed the Rangers will get a pitcher they “need” next year this year even if they don’t “need” him this year.
Unlikely Rangers flip Yu then go for Quintana. Farm system has good guys but low in the system.
It was make or break this year and next.
Sell and do a quick rebuild. Rangers have the assets to do this rebuild in 1 or 2 years not 3-5 like others.
Good one, you must have considered that response for a long time.
I don’t think Boston has enough left in the farm to get him as a rental, they kind of need their top prospects to replace underperformers
No doubt he’ll garner a lot of attention at the deadline from probably a dozen teams
The Dodgers is in your future Darvish
The Dodgers make a ton of sense. Big market, and Darvish would bring in fans. I think that is a feasible long-term landing spot for him.
I don’t think fans are even a remote issue for the Dodgers or even a consideration as to who they would target. The only thing about the Dodgers and Rangers is I don’t see them as a clean match. Darvish is still going to require premium MLB ready or close to MLB ready talent. I’m not sure Verdugo counts as premium headliner talent especially when you understand their reluctance to part with any of Buehler, White, and Alvarez.
All the Darvish looky looks smh. Take your team’s offer and double it. Teams with no farm systems of any value need not apply.
Alex verdugo and 2 low prospect is enough to have darvish in Dodgers blue. O 5 years 165 m.
Maybe Alvarez and 2 low-level prospects.
Yu should get similar or even more than Chapman. Yes chapman went multiple games in a series, but YU and another Ace gives you a real advantage.