Martin Prado

Marlins Notes: Bullpen, Shifts, Ozuna, Prado

By Steve Adams | April 17, 2017 at 2:33pm CDT

The Marlins are off to a strong 7-5 start to the season and are currently sporting the game’s fifth-best run differential (+12). Here’s the latest out of South Beach…

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports covers a couple of Marlins topics in his latest notes post. While the team is off to a good start to the year, Rosenthal points out that Miami has six relief pitchers on pace to throw more than 85 innings in 2017. Even though that’s deliberate in some ways, as the Marlins stocked up on ’pen depth when recognizing how difficult it’d be to beef up their rotation, Rosenthal suggests Marlins starters are going need to pitch deeper into games in order for the team’s run to be more sustainable. To add some further context to Rosenthal’s point, only two relievers in baseball reached 85 innings last year: Brad Hand and Erasmo Ramirez. While strategically stockpiling quality relievers certainly has some merit on paper, Marlins starters have thrown just 60 1/3 innings through 12 games. Asking any group of relievers to throw as many as three to four innings on a near-nightly basis seems unrealistic, even if the group is largely comprised of quality arms (as is the case in Miami).
Rosenthal also spoke to Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill about the team’s increased number of infield shifts in 2017. As Rosenthal points out, the Marlins have shifted nearly as many times in 12 games this year as they did in all of 2016 (per STATS, LLC). Hill explains to Rosenthal that the primary difference in 2017 is that the team is more aggressively shifting infielders to the opposite side of the second base bag. Moving defenders but keeping them on their designated side of the infield isn’t designated as a technical “shift” in STATS’ record-keeping. “We had numerous shifts (previously) where the shortstop/second baseman shaded up the middle, but didn’t cross the bag,” says Hill. “In an effort to be more thorough and get more outs, our data suggested we shade to the other side.”
Yahoo’s Jeff Passan observes that the Marlins could find themselves in position to cash in a huge return on outfielder Marcell Ozuna if they’re not contending this summer. The 26-year-old Ozuna is rocking a Herculean .404/.453/.745 batting line through his first 53 plate appearances, and while that’ll fall once his .438 BABIP corrects itself, Ozuna has seemingly taken a step forward in the power department. If the Marlins aren’t contending, they’ll have a decision to make on Ozuna, who would have two and a half years of team control remaining. Miami has virtually no chance of working out an extension with the Scott Boras client, in Passan’s estimation, so dealing him could be a means of injecting a much-needed wave of quality young talent into the team’s minor league ranks. Then again, if Miami is still flirting with the NL East lead and/or a Wild Card spot, it may be a moot point, as Ozuna would be considered a key contributor to a postseason pursuit.
The Marlins are expected to reinstate third baseman Martin Prado from the disabled list prior to tonight’s game against the Mariners, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The return of Prado will be a welcome addition for the Fish, as he’s fresh off a .305/.359/.417 batting line compiled over the life of 153 games last season. The 33-year-old suffered a strained hamstring while playing for Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic but recently wrapped up a four-game rehab stint with Miami’s Class-A Advanced affiliate in the Florida State League.

Heyman’s Latest: Quintana, Lindor, Rays, Rangers, Coghlan, Nathan

By Jeff Todd and Steve Adams | March 30, 2017 at 10:35pm CDT

The Cardinals have shown at least some interest in White Sox lefty Jose Quintana, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, though he makes clear there’s no indication that Chicago is likely to strike a deal for the lefty before the start of the season. It seems that the Cards’ interest is something worth bearing in mind as the season progresses and their rotation needs come into focus, though certainly other teams will also continually monitor the asking price for Quintana. St. Louis, of course has already lost young Alex Reyes for the year due to Tommy John surgery and will reportedly place Trevor Rosenthal on the disabled list to open the season.

Heyman also has new notes columns on both the American League and National League, and here are a few highlights from those pieces…

Extension talks between the Indians and star shortstop Francisco Lindor do not appear to have gained much traction, per Heyman. There’s just not enough incentive for him to take a deal, Heyman suggests, due at least in part to the fact that Lindor has landed a significant marketing contract with New Balance. It’s also perhaps worth noting that Lindor received a $2.9MM signing bonus when he was drafted eighth overall back in 2011.
The Rays are still on the hunt for outfield help, though the addition of Peter Bourjos to the organization gives them one potential fourth outfield option. Heyman lists free agent Angel Pagan and the Cubs’ Matt Szczur as speculative fits, though the out-of-options Szczur made Chicago’s Opening Day roster, which seemingly lessens the chance of a trade. Heyman also notes that the Rays “came close” to locking up right-hander Alex Cobb on an extension on multiple occasions in the past, but the deal was never quite completed. Given Cobb’s arm troubles over the past two years, perhaps that’s somewhat of a dodged bullet for the Rays (though the 29-year-old is certainly a candidate to bounce back).
Rougned Odor’s representatives were prepping a counter-offer to the Rangers’ six-year, $49.5MM extension proposal when they were informed, firmly, that the $49.5MM sum was the team’s best and final offer, according to Heyman. Ultimately, the 22-year-old and his reps at the Beverly Hills Sports Council elected to take the deal, locking in the powerful young second baseman’s first massive payday. While there have been talks with another promising young Rangers talent, Nomar Mazara, Heyman adds that there’s “nothing substantive” between the two sides to this point.
Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill suggested he has high hopes in comments to Heyman. He says he believes the team’s rotation is “solid” and that its pen “is the best in the league, collectively.” While some may raise an eyebrow at that statement, given the lack of name value in the Marlins’ relief corps, the Fish do have a rather deep collection of bullpen arms. As it stands, A.J. Ramos, Kyle Barraclough, Brad Ziegler, Junichi Tazawa and David Phelps make a formidable one through five in that ’pen. Also of note is the fact that the Marlins are hopeful that injured third baseman Martin Prado, who suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain in the World Baseball Classic, will be back at some point in April. The team plans to use Derek Dietrich, who hit .279/.374/.425 in 412 plate appearances last year, in Prado’s absence.
It seems the Phillies would have carried veteran Chris Coghlan, except that he declined to sign a 45-day advance consent form. While not an oft-discussed clause, the 45-day advance consent allows a team to cut or option a healthy veteran — the clauses can only be offered to players with five or more years of service — for any reason within the first 45 days of the season. Former MLBTR scribe Zach Links (now the editor of our sister site, Pro Football Rumors) took a much deeper look at advance consent clauses back in 2014 after veteran left-hander Randy Wolf somewhat surprisingly requested his release from the Mariners when asked to agree to such a condition.
Veteran righty Joe Nathan is still looking to latch on elsewhere after being released by the Nationals earlier this week. The former All-Star was appreciative that the Nationals allowed him to pitch once more in a game even after that decision was made, as it allowed scouts from other clubs to see him in a game setting. The 42-year-old Nathan logged a 3.86 ERA with 15 hits, three walks and nine strikeouts in 11 2/3 innings this spring. That showing comes on the heels of 6 1/3 shutout frames between the Cubs and Giants last year as well as a 2.35 ERA in 15 1/3 minor league innings. Despite his age, Nathan is attempting to reestablish himself after undergoing Tommy John surgery as a 40-year-old in 2015.

NL Notes: Cubs, Mets, Pirates, Marlins, Giants

By Connor Byrne | March 19, 2017 at 10:20am CDT

As of now, 38-year-old Cubs right-hander John Lackey doesn’t expect the 2017 season to be his last. “At this point, I think I’m more likely to pitch next year than not pitch,” Lackey told Patrick Mooney of CSN Chicago. “But we’ll see at the end of the season.” Lackey will be a free agent next winter, and while the Cubs unsurprisingly aren’t ready to commit to bringing him back as a 39-year-old, they’re keeping the door open. “It’s not a decision that you make right now,” said general manager Jed Hoyer. “But certainly we love having him. I think his edge, his swagger is fantastic for our team. And we’re certainly glad that we signed him last winter.” In 2016, the first season of a two-year, $32MM deal, Lackey recorded a 3.35 ERA, 8.6 K/9 and 2.53 BB/9 over 188 1/3 frames for the World Series champions.

The latest on four other National League teams:

All three of the Mets’ fifth starter candidates – Robert Gsellman, Zack Wheeler and Seth Lugo – have fared well this spring, leaving the team with “a pleasant puzzle to solve” by Opening Day, writes Mike Puma of the New York Post. “It’s a great problem to have,” manager Terry Collins said. “We came into this camp knowing we have depth in the rotation. We didn’t know where Zack was going to be, but we felt with the other four guys and Robert and Seth, we had some depth here. And they have stepped up and shown us we weren’t wrong.” Wheeler hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2014 because of March 2015 Tommy John surgery, but he ran his fastball up to 97 mph on Wednesday. That “certainly” got the Mets’ attention, Collins noted. It’s possible Wheeler will open the season in extended spring training or the bullpen, though, as the Mets try to limit his workload. Lugo, meanwhile, is “a strong candidate” to begin the year in the bullpen, sources told Puma.
Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang remains in South Korea, where’s waiting to obtain his United States visa, per Stephen J. Nesbitt of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Kang, who received an eight-month suspended prison sentence on March 3 stemming from an offseason DUI in South Korea, is working out on his own, but he hasn’t faced live pitching. “He’s going to need some work, some game at-bats,” GM Neal Huntington told Nesbitt. “We can set up some sim games, we can set up a lot of at-bats for him in a short period of time. But it’s hard to say until we get him here.” Because the Pirates placed Kang on the restricted list last week, he’s not currently occupying a roster spot; further, he won’t receive pay for any regular-season action he might miss.
Marlins third baseman Martin Prado suffered a Grade 1 hamstring strain during Venezuela’s loss to Team USA in the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday and is likely to miss some regular-season time, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. While that’s disappointing, Prado is relieved that he didn’t receive a far worse diagnosis. “I was not sleeping,” he informed Frisaro. “I was like, so worried about myself, worried about the team, worried about the future and everything. After I talked to the doctors, it was a big relief for me.” Until Prado comes back, Miami will turn to Derek Dietrich and Miguel Rojas at the hot corner.
The Giants entered the spring without a clear No. 1 option in left field, but Jarrett Parker has separated himself from Mac Williamson in the battle for the role, observes Andrew Baggarly of the Mercury News. “Coming into this spring, he knew what was at stake and he’s doing the job,” manager Bruce Bochy said of the 28-year-old Parker, who the skipper believes is “maturing as a hitter” and “playing well on defense, too.” Last season was Parker’s first extensive action in the majors, and he batted an above-average .236/.358/.394 in 151 plate appearances.

East Notes: Blue Jays, Mets, Marlins, Yankees

By Connor Byrne | March 18, 2017 at 8:57am CDT

Agent Scott Boras is unhappy with the Blue Jays for not awarding pre-arb right-hander Aaron Sanchez a higher salary for 2017, but the star hurler doesn’t seem fazed. Sanchez told Paul Hagen of MLB.com he “absolutely” believes Blue Jays management values him, adding: “We just had a disagreement, and I want to leave it at that. There are no hard feelings between [general manager Ross Atkins] and I, between me and this organization. It’s time to go play baseball, really. All that other stuff isn’t relevant to me.” With his first trip through arbitration a year away, Sanchez, 24, will try to build on a sterling 2016 campaign in which he posted a 3.00 ERA, 7.55 K/9, 2.95 BB/9 and 54.4 percent ground-ball rate over 192 innings.

NL East Notes: Prado, Harvey, Scherzer, Strasburg

By Jeff Todd | March 16, 2017 at 9:56am CDT

Marlins third baseman Martin Prado left last night’s WBC action clutching his hamstring, leading to fears that he may have suffered a reasonably significant injury. Early indications are that it’s minor, tweets MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, though a full diagnosis will not be available until Prado is evaluated by the organization’s medical staff. He’s heading back to the club’s spring facilities for just that purpose.

Here’s more from the NL East:

Mets starter Matt Harvey isn’t showing his typical velocity levels this spring, as James Wagner of the New York Times writes, but that the import of that fact remains open to interpretation. The star righty, who’s working back from thoracic outlet surgery, was somewhat philosophical. “It is what it is,” he said. “It’s going to be there or it’s not. I have to go out there and pitch … .” Skipper Terry Collins, meanwhile, said that he’s focused more on whether Harvey is commanding his pitches than how fast they’re coming in. And as John Harper of the New York Daily News notes, pitching coach Dan Warthen suggests that it’ll likely just take more time for the velo to return. As things stand, Harvey is sitting in the 92 to 93 mph range with his fastball, which is around two ticks slower than he worked last year.
The health and effectiveness of Nationals staff aces Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg will go a long way toward determining the team’s 2017 outlook. The former is building up today with a three-inning outing, as Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post reports (links to Twitter). He’ll be working on reintroducing his typical fastball grip to the mix after utilizing a three-finger approach for the bulk of the spring to protect the fractured finger that has held him back. Though manager Dusty Baker acknowledged it’s unlikely Scherzer will be able to take the ball on Opening Day, it also seems reasonable to hope he won’t need to open the year on the DL. As for Strasburg, the club thinks that it has identified and corrected a pitch-tipping issue with the help of pitching coach Mike Maddux, as Janes also writes.

East Notes: Bourn, Hellickson, Prado, Locke

By Jeff Todd | February 20, 2017 at 10:46pm CDT

Veteran outfielder Michael Bourn seems fairly likely to make the Orioles’ Opening Day roster, Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com writes. His chief attributes — speed and defense — are areas where the club is lacking, and Bourn could conceivably not only lead off against righties, but also spell Adam Jones in center from time to time. Of course, his presence makes it less likely both that last year’s Rule 5 pick, Joey Rickard, makes the MLB roster and that the team is able to keep this year’s Rule 5ers (outfielders Aneury Tavarez and Anthony Santander).

Here’s more from the game’s eastern divisions:

The Phillies seem inclined to hand the ball to righty Jeremy Hellickson when they start play this season, as Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. “He’s probably got the best chance to be our Opening Day starter,” said manager Pete Mackanin. Hellickson, who took the organization’s $17.2MM qualifying offer rather than testing the open market, will be aiming to replicate a solid 2016 season and then test free agency without being saddled with draft compensation. (Under the new CBA, he won’t be eligible to receive a second qualifying offer.)
Another player who steered clear of the open market, Marlins third baseman Martin Prado, discussed his decision to take an extension last fall. As Tim Healey of the Sun-Sentinel reports, Prado wasn’t sure he wanted to consider a new deal with just a few weeks left in the season. But the terms (three years and $40MM) were favorable enough for him to consider it, and he says he ended up preferring to stay in place after bouncing around a fair bit in prior seasons. As Healey writes, Prado had reasons both personal and professional for remaining in Miami. “I know I could probably get more money somewhere else if I go to a different team,” said Prado, “but I truly believe in this group of guys. They have fun. They play hard. I feel comfortable.”
Meanwhile, Marlins lefty Jeff Locke is dealing with biceps tendinitis, as Healey further reports in the above-linked post. A few days’ rest is all that’s required at present, with Locke calling the brief shut-down a matter of taking a precaution early in camp. The southpaw struggled to a cumulative 4.90 ERA over the past two seasons, allowing the Marlins to grab him for $3.025MM on a one-year deal. While it seems reasonable to hope that the ailment won’t limit Locke, he already faces something of an uphill battle to win a rotation spot; Jason Martinez of MLBTR and RosterResource.com currently projects Locke to end up in the Miami pen to start the year.

Marlins Exercise Ichiro Option, Announce Prado Extension

By Jeff Todd | October 5, 2016 at 10:11am CDT

The Marlins have officially announced that they have exercised the 2017 club option over outfielder Ichiro Suzuki and also added an additional $2MM option year to his deal. Miami also confirmed the previously-reported, three-year extension with third baseman Martin Prado.

It’ll cost the Fish just $2MM to bring back Ichiro, who topped 3,000 hits during his solid 2016 campaign. All told, he ran up a .288/.352/.374 batting line over 365 plate appearances. While nobody will mistake that for one of the Japanese star’s mid-prime seasons, it made him quite a useful fourth outfielder and represents remarkable productivity for a man of his age.

It remains to be seen whether the coming season will be the last for the all-time great performer. But it certainly appears that at least one more is under contemplation, given that the sides agreed to plug another option into his contract. With a starting outfield of Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, and Marcell Ozuna, the hope will be that Ichiro is deployed only sparingly, but he has been needed for rather extensive use in each of his two seasons in Miami.

As for the Prado contract, which was reported about a week ago, the Marlins will keep the versatile veteran from testing a market that likely would have valued him rather highly. Prado, meanwhile, avoids the risk of entering free agency after declining a qualifying offer, which would have held down his market by requiring other teams to sacrifice a draft choice to sign him.

With Prado locked in at third for the time being, the Marlins appear to have solidified their infield mix. Shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria did struggle quite a bit in 2016, but it’s unclear whether there’s any reasonable hope of upgrading. With Dee Gordon at second, J.T. Realmuto behind the plate, and Derek Dietrich available as a utility option, the only question may be what the team does to find a right-handed-hitting complement for Justin Bour at first base.

Jorge Ebro of El Nuevo Herald tweeted that the announcements were expected today. Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweeted on the additional option, while SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweeted its value.

Marlins To Extend Martin Prado

By Jeff Todd | September 27, 2016 at 11:12am CDT

The Marlins have agreed in principle to a three-year, $40MM extension with third baseman Martin Prado, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports. Assuming the deal goes through to completion, he’ll remain with Miami through 2019. Prado will earn annual salaries of $11.5MM, $13.5MM, and $15MM in sequence over the deal’s three seasons, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag reports (Twitter links), with a $1MM assignment bonus applying in the event of any trades.

While the Miami organization will obviously be glad to have retained a team leader, it’s hard to celebrate given that the team is still reeling from the death of star pitcher Jose Fernandez just days ago. Last night’s game was one of the most heart-wrenching experiences ever seen at a ballpark, with Prado among the Marlins players who took the field in extremely difficult circumstances. (You can find his emotional post-game interview here.)

Prado, 32, has long been respected as a hard-nosed, versatile performer. He joined the Marlins before the 2015 season in a trade that sent Nathan Eovaldi and Garrett Jones to the Yankees and also delivered breakout righty David Phelps to Miami.

Of course, Prado is also quite an accomplished hitter. Though he has never been an abundant source of home runs — even less so now than before — Prado continues to put up steadily above-average overall offensive production. This year, he owns a .305/.360/.415 batting line in 644 plate appearances over 149 games, which is just a shade better than his career mark of .293/.342/.423.

The strong 2016 season came at an opportune time for Prado, who hasn’t been quite as useful with the bat over the last several years as he was earlier in his career with the Braves. He ended up being dealt from Atlanta to the Diamodbacks and then on to the Yankees before moving back to the NL East.

Had he made it onto the open market, Prado figured to receive wide interest. That’s due not only to his sturdy bat and reputation as a leader, but also for the defensive flexibility he possesses. Prado has delivered well-regarded glovework at third for some time now, but also has shown himself plenty capable of playing second, first, the corner outfield, and even shortstop in a pinch.

The major question seemed to be whether the Marlins would issue Prado a $16.7MM qualifying offer. Instead, the sides obviated the need to consider that scenario. The club may have been a bit squeamish at the idea of paying such a large single-season salary to a good but not great player, while Prado himself would have been tempted by such an offer given the alternative of entering the free agent market with draft pick compensation tied to his signing.

This contract seems to serve purposes for both player and team, with the organization locking up the third base position for years to come and the latter limiting his risk while picking up a pretty nice payday. Prado will end up receiving a bit more than second baseman Daniel Murphy got last year from the Nationals in free agency, after he declined a QO. The new contract also dwarfs the $11MM guaranteed to David Freese by the Pirates to keep him from reaching the open market, while falling a fair sight shy of Chase Headley’s relatively recent four-year, $52MM pact.

If there’s a beneficiary here outside of the two parties involved directly, it’s the remainder of the free agent market. In particular, Justin Turner and especially Luis Valbuena now have much stronger market standing, especially since the Marlins might not have made a major signing had Prado left. Perhaps the same applies to Ian Desmond, who could receive interest from some of the same organizations that might have valued Prado for his versatility.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Marlins Want To Re-Sign Martin Prado

By Connor Byrne | September 11, 2016 at 10:01am CDT

The Marlins want to re-sign impending free agent Martin Prado and could offer the third baseman a two-year deal, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Prado, who will turn 33 in October, has long been a quality contributor and is amid yet another solid campaign. In 136 games and 590 plate appearances, Prado has slashed .309/.361/.418 while grading as a plus defender for the sixth straight year. Prado was also effective last season, his first in Miami, as he batted .288/.338/.394 and accounted for 3.2 fWAR in 551 trips to the plate.

Prado joined the Marlins in a December 2014 trade that has served Miami well. In addition to Prado, the Marlins acquired right-hander David Phelps from the Yankees for a package including righty Nathan Eovaldi and first baseman/outfielder Garrett Jones. Phelps has been terrific this season, while Eovaldi was inconsistent in his first year-plus as a Yankee before undergoing Tommy John surgery last month. Jones appeared in only 57 games with New York last year and is currently playing in Japan.

If Prado leaves Miami after the season, he’ll join his fifth major league team (he has also played for the Braves and Diamondbacks). That might mean landing with yet another NL East club, Philadelphia, which FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman reported Thursday could have interest in him. Prado is set to conclude the four-year, $40MM contract he signed with Arizona in 2013, and the career .293/.342/.424 hitter should be in line to match or surpass his current average annual value of $10MM during the offseason.

For the Marlins, losing Prado could lead to Derek Dietrich taking over at third base. Dietrich has mostly played in the infield, including logging time at third base, since making his major league debut in 2013. The 27-year-old has slashed .271/.364/.397 in 371 PAs this season.

Phillies Expected To Pursue Veteran Position Players In Free Agency

By Jeff Todd | September 8, 2016 at 6:00pm CDT

The Phillies are angling to make one or even two reasonably significant free agent position player additions, according to Jon Heyman of Fan Rag. Martin Prado of the Marlins and Ian Desmond of the Rangers are among the possible targets, per the report.

There’s an understandable balancing act at play for Philadelphia, which doesn’t necessarily appear to be readying for a push at the postseason in 2017 but wants to bolster its everyday lineup. Heyman says that the organization is mostly interested in finding quality hitters who deliver a good clubhouse presence and are perhaps young enough to represent a bridge to a new era of contention.

In that regard, there’s some logic to both Prado and Desmond. While the former is older (he’ll be 33 next year) than the latter (31), he’ll command a shorter deal for the same reason. Both offer positional versatility as well as reputations as leaders and grinders. Signing up a player who is capable of playing multiple positions (infield and outfield) would make for a more flexible investment as the Phils wait to see how their roster shakes out over the years to come.

Neither player figures to be cheap — they are both posting strong all-around seasons — but they also aren’t top-of-the-class earners. And salary (at least if it’s front-loaded) shouldn’t pose much of a limitation for an organization that has virtually nothing on the books despite its huge spending power. Both are qualifying offer candidates, though, with Desmond especially appearing to be a likely recipient. While the Phillies’ top pick will be protected, the club will surely be hesitant to part with any draft power.

Then, there’s the matter of convincing such players to sign in Philadelphia. Some veterans will surely prefer to go to an organization with greater near-term hopes of contending. But it is hardly unprecedented for a significant free agent to join a club that isn’t pushing the pedal to the floor for the season to come, with Jayson Werth’s pre-2011 signing with the Nationals representing one notable example.

It figures to be a similar sales job for Phillies GM Matt Klentak, who will be able to present any free agent targets with a vision that includes star treatment in a major media market and a rising, high-ceiling payroll to accommodate more additions down the line. Needless to say, it’ll be interesting to see how things proceed.

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