Marlins Rumors: Cueto, Leake, Cespedes

In his Sunday column, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has a number of noteworthy Marlins items.  Here’s a look at some of the highlights..

• The Marlins like impending free agents Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake, but they’ll be out of Miami’s price range unless Jeffrey Loria is really willing to loosen the purse strings.  MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes recently dropped Cueto to eighth in his 2016 Free Agent Power Rankings.
• If the Marlins deal Marcell Ozuna – and owner Jeffrey Loria reportedly is open to doing that – they’ll need a replacement in center field.  The Marlins like Mets impending free agent Yoenis Cespedes, Jackson hears, but he’d probably be out of their price range.  Cespedes is reportedly seeking at least six years on his free agent deal.  The most recent version of Tim Dierkes’ 2016 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings has Cespedes as the No. 5 free agent on the market and Miami surely isn’t alone in its interest.
• There is “no thought” to the Marlins trading Christian Yelich, who has been tearing it up since the All-Star break.  Yelich inked a $49.75MM, seven-year deal with Miami back in March.  In April, MLBTR spoke with Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill and agent Joe Longo for an inside look at how the pact came together.
• Jackson hears that “there’s some internal sentiment” to trying to upgrade at closer, though that might not be realistic due to the team’s financial situation.  In that event, Miami would use closer A.J. Ramos and Carter Capps as set-up men.  Ramos, who has struggled with location issues at times this year, owns a 2.30 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 this season.
• Henderson Alvarez is expected to be tendered unless he has a setback in recovery before the early-December deadline, Jackson writes. That echoes a report from last month which indicated that Miami was leaning towards tendering an offer to the pitcher.  The 25-year-old underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a tear in his right shoulder in late July, ending his season prematurely.  He was Miami’s Opening Day starter, but wound up finishing the 2015 season with just 22 1/3 innings, four starts, and a dismal 6.45 ERA under his belt.