It’s possible the Blue Jays could weigh a run at star free agent outfielder J.D. Martinez, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag writes. At the moment, that seems like a fairly tenuous connection; Heyman explains that the team has “at least considered” Martinez but may also be hesitant to participate in a bidding war to get him. But that’s more than we’ve heard of at least some other conceivable landing spots for the best hitter on this year’s open market; the Cardinals, for instance, are said not to have much inclination to pursue him.
Here’s more from the eastern divisions:
- The Orioles nearly swung a trade last night with the Rockies, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports. The organizations were discussing a deal in which Baltimore would pick up righty Konner Wade in exchange for international pool funds. Though nothing ended up getting done, Kubatko suggests it could still be a possibility. He also goes on to discuss the O’s decisions on protecting players from the Rule 5 draft, including a few names that could be targeted by other organizations.
- Tim Healey of the Sun Sentinel takes an interesting look at Marlins CEO Derek Jeter’s crash course in running a baseball front office. Jeter has called the move “overwhelming” in the same way it was to finally reach the majors as a player, acknowledging he’ll have to “learn on the job” to a large extent. President of baseball ops Michael Hill suggests the two have established a good working relationship out of the gates. As ever, the proof will be in the doing; the Marlins made a small swap yesterday, but have much bigger fish to fry this winter.
- While the Nationals front office has long been helmed by Mike Rizzo, his future with the organization is not assured at present. Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post writes that Rizzo and ownership have yet to discuss a new deal. And the veteran executive says he isn’t going to be the one to kick off talks, saying he’ll “allow [ownership] to talk to me if they choose to” and noting that he’s comfortable entering the offseason without a long-term contract. Janes tackles some of the many facets to the situation in the post, which is worth a full read.
I appreciate Derek Jeter’s humble honesty in his new career. It’s refreshing to see someone not let their ego take over. Most baseball executives act like poker players most of the time and refuse to be transparent with their fan base. I think this will help endear Jeter to Marlins fans quicker.
As for his minor trade yesterday, I noticed he sent bonus pool money to the Yankees. I find it kind of interesting that the Marlins aren’t one of the teams in on Otani.. He will initially be very affordable, a center piece to build around, and with Ichiro in the organization, a mentor to help him transition better.
Ichiro is a free agent now, but I agree with you on Ohtani. He would make a lot of sense for the Marlins.
I remember seeing somewhere Ichiro saying he wanted to play next year and the Marlins were willing to bring him back at some point. If not as a player then as a coach or something. I could be mistaken, honestly I havent followed the Ichiro situation very closely. I would think Jeter would want him around being ex teammates. If I were the Marlins I would hire him as the hitting coach!
He wants to still play and the Marlins choose not to pick up his option
I thought Ichiro was let go by Marlins.
Ohtani would want to go to a contender.
Did he whisper that in your ear last night? Or are you using your crystal ball again?
Problem is, Jeter is already kinda blowing it. Hasn’t spoken to or reached out to Stanton (NTC) at all. Fired former HOF Marlins. And the bigger problem is he has to put a good spin on trading away the MVP on a team that could compete for a WC with some pitching.
Former stars usually don’t make great managers/execs because they spent their entire life trying to be the best athlete they could. Now in their 40s they are competing against really smart dudes/insane workaholics who’ve often worked their way up for 20+ years and understand the nuts and bolts of the entire scope of the project.
It’s kinda like hiring a racehorse to run a race track.
> a team that could compete for a WC with some pitching
water closet?
What are you talking about? MLBTR posted an article about the new ownership setting up a meeting with Stanton awhile ago.
I kinda want toronto to sign Cargo from the Rockies, but hes older (32) than i thought.. I dont want money to be tied up to a guy on other side of 30 who has questionable defense. Cant see the Bluejays signing him. Perhaps we can trade for a corner outfielder.
The Marlins have “much bigger fish to fry”? Jeff plz
Perhaps this isn’t a fair gripe, but when Heyman (who is otherwise a good reporter) talks about interest in a Boras client, I always feel like we need to take it with a grain of salt because we don’t know whether the source is someone in the Toronto organization (or a local journalist) or Boras himself.
Free agent prediction contest?
Not this year. Too complicated to code.
Would be great to see the Jays add a few pieces to remain competitive in what is becoming a two-horse race in the AL East. Toronto is a fantastic city, more players should be open to such a venture.
Michael Hill. Still working for the Marlins. Someone, anyone, explain.
I could point a middle finger in so many directions, but I’ll point at one alone..
Martin Prado. Hill signed him for 3 years and FORTY MILLION dollars after the 2016 season. Never mind that for consecutive years, Prado had a lower OPS than his backup, Derek Dietrich. Forget the fact that no interest from any other team was reported, suggested, or remotely imagined. That signing alone should have meant the end of Hill’s career.