East Notes: Marlins, Matz, Blue Jays

The Marlins are looking hard at the upcoming pitching market, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Miami has already penciled in three names to its 2016 staff — Jose Fernandez, Tom Koehler, and Jarred Cosart — but feels like it needs two additional arms. While the club is said to have some interest in Johnny Cueto, it’s far from clear as yet whether he’ll actually be a reasonable target. As Jackson notes, though, it’s shaping up to be a deep market.

• Jackson also addresses the Marlins’ managerial situation, noting that the team will likely look to add an experienced skipper if Dan Jennings moves back to the front office as now seems to be expected. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro also hears that experience will be a key desire, with a “no-nonsense” personality such as Jim Riggleman possibly making sense.
• The Mets are hopeful that lefty Steven Matz can work back to the major league rotation by the start of September, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets. Matz impressed in his first two starts before going down with a partial lat tear, but could begin a rehab assignment this weekend. His return is particularly important for the streaking Mets, as they’ll need to manage innings for several starters down the stretch.
• While they’ve done plenty of roster maneuvering in recent weeks, the Blue Jays are still looking at outfield and starting pitching additions in the August market, GM Alex Anthopoulos told Sportsnet 590 The FAN (via Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca). The Toronto GM said that he sees an outfield acquisition as the far likelier outcome of his search. “We have had some discussions, taking a look at fourth outfielder candidates,” Anthopoulos said. “That’s something that we’re currently working on right now and if we can upgrade in the rotation, we’d like to do that as well. But this time of year … very few guys clear [trade waivers] and the ones that do probably have massive contracts which pose their own problems.”