JAN. 21: In addition to the names mentioned yesterday, right-hander Kyle Lohse is also a consideration for the Marlins, Heyman tweets. The 37-year-old Lohse’s name has scarcely been mentioned this winter, as the veteran struggled through one of the worst seasons of his career in 2015, posting a 5.85 ERA in 152 1/3 innings. Lohse displayed solid (albeit somewhat diminished) control and didn’t see any sort of dip in velocity, but he was plagued by a decreased strand rate and spikes in his homer-to-flyball rate and BABIP.
JAN. 20: The Marlins still have interest in adding a veteran starter, as Jon Heyman notes on Twitter and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported this morning. Doug Fister and Alfredo Simon are possible names under consideration, as are rehabbing hurlers Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum.
Certainly, those pitchers represent two of the most accomplished veteran bounceback candidates who remain on the market. Fister and Mat Latos have long been considered the class of the rebound hopefuls, but it seems safe to say the latter won’t be coming back to Miami after his brief run there in 2015.
We haven’t heard much on Simon this winter, but Fister is said to be seeking a two-year deal in the $22MM range. Drawing either pitcher will likely require not only some guaranteed money, but also an appealing opportunity.
It’s not clear how far the Fish will extend themselves to bring in another option, and Jackson suggests that the ballclub is looking for a low-cost investment. If that doesn’t happen, he says, then the organization is prepared to move on with what it has.
That makes sense, as Miami has already added a veteran pitcher in Edwin Jackson who’s had success in the past but needed an opportunity in the present. Obviously, the signing of Wei-Yin Chen went a long way toward shoring up the top of the staff. And the team still has a solid inventory of internal depth options.
I suppose in a world where Ian Kennedy can get 5/70, Fister might manage 2/22, but, that’s a lot for someone who was neither good nor healthy last year.
Fun fact: Fister was better than Kennedy last year, despite being ‘neither good nor healthy’ (which I agree with). Better WAR, better FIP, better ERA+. Plus, he has a track record of being a much better pitcher. Just underscores how terrible the Kennedy deal is. I still cannot get over it.
can’t believe edwin jackson isn’t enough for them
haha
For the price they got him, he was a great acquisition.
Should have kept Henderson
You got that right! He was hurt a lot last year, and there is still concern over the durability of his shoulder………but the fact remains……..Fister is someone that I used to like, but he scares the Crap out of me. I do think that Latos is going to catch on somewhere, and probably be better than he has been for the last 2 years…..He has talent…..the Pirates need to grab him….they are good at fixing guys with issues!
Latos was actually pretty decent for the Marlins, except against the Braves, who he was terrible against. He was definitely having issues with his knee. His velocity started creeping up at one point. I think it’s about repeating his delivery.
Only time will tell us if the Marlins were right or wrong to let go off Alvarez
CJ Wilson for $10 Mil (assuming the Angels eat $10 mil) for Derek Dietrich
Who says no?
Make it happen Angels, younger and better bat option in LF than our current situation
Not to mention a back up in INF
Brewers will ship them Matt Garza for a slightly used bag of batting practice balls as long as they take on his entire salary.
I always love these ideas haha. Really though, it would make more sense for the Brewers to hang on to him and see if he can rebuild some value. No doubt he will probably never be who he was, but he might fetch a wild card prospect in return. Not like they need to dump him when their payroll is one of the lowest in MLB.
Depends on what they have planned for him. Not a lot of room in the rotation as they want to give the young guys a chance and if he’s just going to whine and sulk about being put in the bullpen again they may just need to take what they can get for him. Stupid to not give the kids any starting experience just on the hopes that maybe he’ll have some value at the deadline.
They let Alvarez go over $4 million, even though he will only miss the first month or 2. Regardless of that, they do still need a depth piece in the rotation. I would also say that they need someone that can get lefties out, out of the bullpen. That need is probably even bigger than the depth piece in the rotation, though they can definitely use both
its amazing how many people write off a guy after 1 bad year even though hes had many years of consistency before that. Guys like fister and latos. im not saying they will return to form but it not out of the question
A comeback by Fister,. Simon, Latos, etc is not out of the question and worth the risk for a minimum wage minor league deal.. Those guys want to be paid for what they showed in the past, however.
Any player is worth the risk for a minimum wage, minor league deal. But thats the difference between a guy who has established himself as a useful player (Fister, Latos) and a journeyman scrub who hasn’t scratched the MLB surface. The point of giving them a higher salary is to entice them to sign with you. A one year deal worth $5-$10 million plus incentives isn’t bad for Fister or Latos. If they play well, then you can trade them or try to resign them. If they struggle, then at the end of the year they are gone.
I wouldn’t touch Cliff Lee seems like a bad clubhouse guy and we don’t even know if he is healthy enough to fully help a team.
Hopefully the waterfowl will sign all four: Doug Fister,Alfredo Simon, Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum. These four have the potential of getting the Marlins to become so popular they will have to also play as the Havana Sugar Kings in Cuba because fan demand for tickets. It is a unique opportunity that must not go unabated.