The Marlins are looking for a left-handed bat that can spell their outfielders and do some pinch hitting. Their search, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com, has now led to a couple of new names: Andy Dirks and Will Venable.
The Blue Jays non-tendered Dirks back in December instead of keeping him on board for a projected $1.6MM. The left fielder, who didn’t make a major league plate appearance in 2014, slashed .276/.332/.413 between 2011-2013 for the Tigers. He grades out as an excellent defender in left field, having compiled 16 Defensive Runs Saved and an UZR/150 mark of +5.1 in 1569 innings in left field.
Venable, 32, has come up quite a bit in trade rumors over the last month and change with the Orioles among the teams that have been linked to him. Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune recently said that it seems more and more likely that the Padres will hang on to him, but one has to wonder if the Marlins’ interest could change things. Venable is due to earn a reasonable $4.25MM in 2015.
The Marlins are also looking into Ichiro Suzuki and Nate Schierholtz as fourth outfielder options. When word of that came out last week, our own Steve Adams speculated that Dirks and Venable could be considerations for Miami.
