The Marlins are said to be looking to boost their lineup this winter after finishing 29th in runs scored in 2021. They’ve begun the process by signing Avisail Garcia, but Garcia doesn’t so much fill a void as add to an arsenal of right-handed power bats. Among the players whose playing time is made complicated by the addition of Garcia is the oft-injured Garrett Cooper.
Cooper recently posted video of himself on Twitter taking batting practice for the first time in four months. Cooper spent the final 77 days of the regular season on the injured list because of an elbow sprain. A back strain landed him on the injured list for 17 days prior to that. The Marlins maintain two years of team control over Cooper, who turns 31 on Christmas.
The Marlins missed his bat in the lineup, as the 30-year-old slashed a robust .284/.380/.465 in 250 plate appearances when he was healthy. That kind of production is exactly what the Marlins need, especially at the minor cost of $3MM, his projected arbitration salary for 2022.
Cooper is one of many options the Marlins have for first base, the outfield corners, and designated hitter, should there be one in the National League. Cooper has slashed .279/.355/.451 in 842 plate appearances over four years with the Marlins, providing production 19 percent better than average – but struggling to stay healthy.
Finding regular playing time shouldn’t be a problem, but Cooper doesn’t run particularly well, and because he’s right-handed, he doesn’t necessarily platoon all that well with Brian Anderson, Jesus Aguilar, or Garcia. He could, however, serve as the short-side platoon partner for Jesus Sanchez in left field, should the Marlins decide to give the lefty regular run opposite Garcia.
The job isn’t Sanchez’s yet, however, as there are still a number of free agent options on the market, including Kyle Schwarber, whom the Marlins explored a deal with before the lockout. The Marlins have also talked to the Diamondbacks about acquiring Ketel Marte, though that would require quite the prospect haul.
Cooper could ultimately be used as trade bait given his duplicative skill set in Miami. His age and injury history would limit any potential return, but if he’s healthy now, he could absolutely be of interest to someone in need of a right-handed bat. Cooper’s versatility, two years of control, and productivity at the plate make him a relatively valuable resource for a contender on a tight budget.
Still, for now it would have to be considered counterproductive for the Marlins to move one of their more potent bats unless they can fill a hole elsewhere in the lineup with part of the return. If not, there are still plenty of at-bats to go around in Miami, so long as Cooper can stay healthy.
You guys should do more of these types of articles during the lockout!
Sounds like somebody the Brewers would be looking into to pair with Rowdy at first and maybe a little action in the outfield corners. They drafted him in ’14 I believe. Can’t imagine Stearns getting a pure DH if it comes to the NL but Cooper could cycle through that spot. Although if the DH is in the NL the Marlins should just keep him and hope he stays healthy with less time on the field.
I agree Steve. Could be a decent fit if price is right.
That makes sense to me. Sort of a swap of Garcia and Cooper. Coopers nothing special for a 31 year old outfielder and his injuries are a concern but $3 million for an OPS over .800 is a steal. He’s definitely worth starting when healthy and he’s not a hole in the lineup. I wonder what it would take to pry him away from the Marlins. Since he’s only $3 million he’s great injury insurance and the Marlins are under no pressure to trade him unless they get something of MLB caliber value I’m return. It wouldn’t have to be a player who is already MLB ready but it would have to be one who will be and can really help the team win. I don’t think they would pull the trigger for a fringe prospect with upside who may or may not become a good major league player.
I think Marlins should keep Cooper even if he is their backup 1B and backup LF and backup DH. He is the type of cheap hitter that the Marlins desire. If they are overwhelmed by an offer mid-season they can always make a move at that time.
Cheap pitching is harder to find than cheap backup bats. Brewers have arms that are blocked who are pre arby and cheaper than Cooper. I think Marlins should explore dealing him.
Fits on a Milwaukee team needing a first base platoon partner, though the backup outfield there is pretty well set with Renfroe trade
Good call — could be a nice fit in Milwaukee. But like you said, if the DH is in fact implemented, it’d make little sense for the Marlins to deal him, unless of course they’re able to lure another bat to Miami.
I think Miami will definitely sign another bat. They were trying too hard before the lockout.
I have been saying this for the past 3 weeks on all of the Brewer sites. That the Brewers should make a trade for Cooper. Some people agree with me, but there are others that think they know what they are talking about, but don’t really look at the stats. Coopers stats with the bat are just as good as Kolten Wong. I will take that any day. If he could stay healthy a full season, he will also hit between 20-25 homeruns. With a batting average of .280, and a very good on base percentage, I will take that any day. A great duel with Telez, and can play the corner outfield spots. Get it done Sterns!
Actually something worth reading! Thanks. Getting a bit tired of minor league signings and so and so heads to somewhere in Asia.
Imagine a transactional website having limited new content during a league wide transactional freeze…
Schwarber in Miami? Sounds like an excellent fit!
Bring Ozuna back
Yes please.
I assume that the Atlanta ball club gave Marcell his World Series Champion ring and that they will find no takers for him. Starting outfield of Acuna, Ozuna and Duvall. If Waters or Apache get called up, then Ozuna can DH.
I agree. I don’t think the Braves can trade Ozuna in a deal that makes sense. I’m hearing that whoever takes him would only be willing to eat less than half the remaining contract and would want multiple prospects attached in the deal too. That just sounds bad for the Braves. Why give up prospects to get rid of Ozuna when you still have to pay most of his contract anyway? The Braves need outfielders right now and if Ozuna is okay to play on another MLB team then it’s just as okay for him to play for the Braves. The only deal that could make sense to me is if the Braves and Dodgers swap their problem children and the Braves take Bauer. Bauer is more expensive than Ozuna the first year but he’s also a much better player. Then Bauer will slightly cheaper the 2nd year and the Braves get to walk away from both of them a year earlier since they will be getting rid of Ozuna’s last guaranteed year. It works for the Dodgers because they save about $27 million the first year and they get to walk away from Bauer. $27 million is a lot to knock off the luxury tax line. The Braves pay that the first year but get out of the situation a year earlier by acquiring a player on a shorter contract. If a deal like that doesn’t get worked out the Braves might as well just play Ozuna since they have to pay him anyway. There is no reason the Braves should be scrutinized for playing him if it’s okay for another team to trade for him and play him when they don’t even have to. At least the Braves picked him up before everything happened. Now they are locked into his contract and have to pay him anyway. They don’t have a choice. There’s no need to make the team worse to the benefit of some other organization just to make a statement.
Pache autocorrect is a nuisance. Especially if you want the d in deGrom to be lower case.
That is shameful.
I’m curious if they would be able to package Cooper with a pitcher and/or additional pieces for an upgraded offensive producer. The Reds come to mind considering their budgetary constraints. Could something be worked out for Winker?
The Rays are always intrigued by team control. Could a package of Cooper plus pitching prospects land Lowe? Or Meadows plus another piece? Choi would be a great player to platoon, as he is horrendous against LHP, whereas Cooper historically mashes them.
I don’t think either scenario is likely, but I always find these types of trades fascinating so it’s interesting to consider… at least for me.
Not enough for Winker. He is an elite hitter so if there is a DH he would be worth Meyer and Sanchez.
Well that would be where the “and/or additional pieces” enter the equation. I certainly don’t think Cooper and one pitcher could get Winker. Speculating on who would be involved is typically a pointless exercise but I’ll give it a shot here.
Marlins receive: Jesse Winker, Leonardo Rivas
Reds receive: Garrett Cooper, Sixto Sanchez, Max Meyer, Peyton Burdick, and Osiris Johnson
Marlins get Winker and a lottery ticket toolsy AA shortstop; Reds get two of the Marlins top 5 organizational prospects in Meyer and Sanchez, a solid yet limited bat in Cooper who doesn’t have to be platooned, a potential starting OF who is not far off from the majors, and a high-upside/low-floor IF in Osiris Johnson, who if unlocked correctly could be a masher at 2B.
With the Reds wanting to compete still and build a cost-controllable team, this would give them some building blocks.
@myaccount2 so Marlins give up 3 of their top 10 prospects plus Osiris for a younger version of Cooper and a “lottery ticket”?
Unless the Marlins also pay for all of Meyers/Sixto/Coopers/burdicks arb years and give up their competitive balance picks for the next 5 years. I don’t see the Reds doing this deal.
I would argue Burdick is not one of their top 10 prospects, but would also be willing to concede that the price tag might be a bit hefty upon second look. Perhaps subtracting one of Sixto or Meyer would be fair. I don’t think I agree with the assessment that Winker is a “younger version of Cooper,” though. Cooper has 3.2 WAR, 119 WRC+, and 115 OPS+ over 239 games. Winker has 6.9 WAR, 132 WRC+, and 128 OPS+ in 413 games. Winker has more than double Cooper’s WAR in much less than double the amount of time and that’s with his below-average defense. When the DH is implemented into the NL, he would be a much more valuable bat than Cooper.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Cooper is a great player to have, but Winker is an upgrade, especially if we believe last season’s results in which Winker slugged .556 to Cooper’s .465, something that would be huge for Miami’s limited offense.
I agree with @Mjm117 PLUS probably the Marlins would also have to pay the rest of Votto’s contract and half of whatever contract Castellanos ended up signing.
Each of Max Meyer and Sixto Sánchez alone have more trade value than Winker. Good luck with Winker. Sometimes the trade proposals I see here are simply disrespectful; I am glad @Mjm117 is always here to make them closer to fair.
More likely, Reds pay half or more of salary for Suarez or Moose and attach Sonny Gray as the bait to make a trade for a lesser prospect and salary relief. Maybe they could work a three way deal where Suarez goes to Marlins, Gray goes to Dodgers, and Dodgers send a prospect to both Reds and Marlins. Reds would have to pay a large part of Suarez’s salary to make that happen. Or maybe Sonny Gray and Moose to Angels or Mariners.
I think that would almost certainly have to be a 3-team deal where another team takes on Moose or Suarez. It doesn’t seem logical for a team like the Marlins to spend a bunch of payroll (even half of those players’ salaries can be prohibitive) on a bad player just to get a good one when they could simply add a bat in free agency on terms they like instead.
As a Mariners fan, I hope we would not be willing to take on Moose, but I’m all for adding Sonny Gray.
You are probably right that even if the Reds ate seventy percent of the salary the balance would be too much for the fish.
Mariners have multiple outfield prospects that they could trade to Reds for Sonny Gray including Taylor Trammell who started with Reds. Maybe even Kelenic.
For Trammell, Mariners would need to pay Sonny Gray’s salary as a one year rental, but it still might be an ok swap for both teams. I think Seattle would readily part with Kelenic, but they would want more than a one year rental in return, even if the Reds paid part of the salary.
I don’t think there is a snowballs chance in hell that Seattle trades Kelenic he hit much better in the last month of the season and they would be selling low no chance they would trade him for anything short of a Kings ransom.
Kelenic and more would be gone in a heartbeat if the return is Luis Castillo.
Not a chance we do that. Dipoto already inquired on Castillo and every report said they asked him to part with one of the org’s top young players, which was a no. Dipoto has also gone on the record saying that all of the young players are off-limits.
Kelenic was our best hitter in September. There’s absolutely no reason to move him unless it’s for one of the best players in the game with team control.
If Cincy would move Sonny Gray and his salary straight up for Trammell, I would hope Dipoto does that. I love Trammell as a person, I just don’t have faith his tools ever translate to results. I don’t think Cincy would make this move, however, and Kelenic, Rodriguez, Marte, Kirby, Hancock, Brash, and Raleigh are all likely untouchable. Williamson might be, too, considering Dipoto is on-record saying he won’t move the top young players.
I was noticing Winker’s never had a full season of AB’s. That usually indicates either an injury history or a platoon. At least last year he had a MASSIVE platoon split;
right- OPS 1.070
Left- OPS .570
Platoons or injury prone players, which ever he is, don’t command an elite return in trades.
You do realize “readily part” and “for Luis Castillo” are two very different bars, right?
Manny you are probably right if the Mariners wanted Castillo it would take more then Kelenic but not much more. I wouldn’t trade Kelenic if I was Seattle he is going to be a special hitter.
McCourt:
Readily part with – yes
Cheaply part with – no
They would expect to get a high quality pitcher with multiple years of control.
Doubt they trade kelenic for anyone on the reds.
Maybe it is just a difference in opinion on meaning, but to me, a team being “readily willing to part with” any player means I can identify at least 10-15 trades that seem reasonable that the team would make and the other side would offer. I would strongly disagree that Kelenic fits that criteria or anything close to it
Would
^ love to see copper or Aguilar back in a platoon in Mke
An easy way to identify any potential trading chips on the Marlins is to just look at every single player making more than league minimum.
I hear ya
I’m a fan of all 30 teams but’s it’s getting tough with the Marlins after the Marte debacle mid season last year. I feel for their fans
Cooper could fill a Steve Pearce type roll on some team
He’d be a very good fit for the Dodgers.
They did have interest in him last winter. Could be they still do
I would really like a trade with the Dodgers involving Edwin Rios. He injures a lot (like Cooper) but I’ll take a chance.
I think the guy can smash the ball, play decent 3B and is blocked by Turner. Also has lots of years of control, is from Miami, bats left handed… very interesting for the Fish.
So does jesus not have his spot locked? I thought he looked ok
I’m surprised that this discussion about Cooper and the Marlins is going on, there is no mention of Lewin Diaz, who had a solid end of the season with his power stroke.
I’m not sure how anyone can really think that Jesus Sanchez doesn’t have one of the corner OF spots about 99% secured for himself after his run. He won the job and got Dickerson traded before they approached the deadline.
Marlins need a closer and perhaps a CF (if they aren’t sold on De La Cruz).