The Marlins could add a veteran outfielder within the next week or so, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, who names free agents Melky Cabrera, Jon Jay and Jose Bautista as possibilities (though Jay isn’t atop their list, Frisaro notes). Miami is indeed “exploring” signing someone to a major league contract, according to president Michael Hill. Doing so would put the Marlins over the 40-man roster limit, but they’re “prepared to” jettison a player if necessary, per Hill. Notably, all of Cabrera, Jay and Bautista either have ties to Marlins decision-makers or Florida. Cabrera played with Marlins part-owner Derek Jeter with the Yankees from 2006-09, and manager Don Mattingly was on New York’s coaching staff during a portion of that stretch. Jay is a Miami native, meanwhile, and Bautista resides in the state. Any of the three would immediately become the most established outfielder on a rebuilding Marlins team that has traded Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna in separate deals this winter.
More from the NL:
- While reports earlier this offseason painted the Brewers as aggressive Yu Darvish suitors, that wasn’t really the case, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Darvish, who agreed to join the NL Central rival Cubs on Saturday, “was never going to wear a Brewers uniform,” Haudricourt writes. With Darvish off the board, starter-needy Milwaukee could perhaps turn its focus to former Cub Jake Arrieta – who’s now the top pitcher available – but Haudricourt suggests it’s unlikely he’ll end up a Brewer.
- The right shoulder issues that Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter played through last season are no longer hampering him, he tells Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s not in the back of mind, like it was, not at all,” he said. “It’s not limiting me in any way. I can go out and do whatever. It is as if everything is normal.” Carpenter’s shoulder made it a challenge for him to swing a bat in 2017, yet he still managed to amass 622 plate appearances and slash a terrific .241/.384/.451. Although, Carpenter’s production did drop off from 2015-16, a 1,231-PA run in which he batted .271/.372/.505.
- Injuries have beset promising Mets starters Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz during their careers, but they’re both optimistic heading into the new season, Kevin Kernan of the New York Post details in a pair of articles. Wheeler missed all of 2015-16 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and then threw just 86 1/3 innings of 5.21 ERA ball in his return last year. His season ended in July on account of a stress reaction in his right arm, but he now “feels great.” Wheeler explained his recovery process to Kernan, saying: “It needed two full months of rest. I got that, and then I’ve been taking these shots every day for the past six months. The medicine is called Forteo and it is supposed to strengthen your bones, so hopefully that helps.” The left-handed Matz logged a mere 66 2/3 frames of 6.08 ERA pitching in 2017, which concluded for him in August when he underwent surgery to reposition the ulnar nerve in his elbow.“They moved the nerve over, they take it out of the groove and they sew it down, basically they moved it out of the way,” Matz said of the procedure. “I feel really good this season,” he added.
If I’m a player left on the market, I think you’d have to seriously consider signing a one year deal with the Marlins. It almost guarantees you’ll eventually be playing for a contender, since they’ll be sellers at the deadline
Yea if your market is dead and the marlins make you a short term offer you take it
Some guys may like the appeal of being “The Guy” for a little while. Then down the stretch you go play for a title. Or at least a contender. While living in Miami? There are worse things.
Except the Marlins say they do not have the money! If they are still trying to cut cost, how can they afford any of these guys?
They should have plenty of money, they shed a ton of payroll this winter
Wrong. According to Operation Wolverine, Jeter’s plan was to reduce to $85M. They’re just over $87M right now. The Marlins probably have to trade Realmuto to get where they wanted to be.
signing a 1 year deal with Miami is probably the best way to have a shot at the playoffs because if you have a great year you will be traded at the deadline
Exactly. Wouldn’t be surprised if they got a higher profile player than expected via this exact reasoning.
Or if you are taking a one year contract why not just sign with a contender now instead of Miami and hoping to be traded??
You might end up like melancon who signed with the Giants
or end up like Carlos Beltran and get a ring
Or end up like a pro baseball player and get paid millions regardless of what team you’re on.
don’t want Arrieta brewers should go all in on Alex Cobb to 4years and 55-60 million
Agreed, Cobb had proven success in the hitter heavy AL east and is a year and a half younger than Arietta. I think it will take more like 4/164 to sign him, but Brewers need to take that risk
Lance Lynn would be a good choice as well
I have to disagree. Cobb is way too injury prone for that kind of money.
41 million per year ?
I’m assuming you meant 4/64 since 4/164 would be a record deal
What is $100 million amongst friends?
Alex Cobb is not going to get more money than Yu Darvish Alex Cobb and lance lynn are more around the brewers price range and they are not going to get anything close to 4years 164 I would be ok with Lyne but prefer Cobb
I think he meant 4/64M. So 16M per. That sounds about right to me. If the Brewers go after Cobb I would love to see a 4/60M with 1M per year in incentives for games started/innings pitched.
4 for 164 means that man would make 41 mil a year Stanton doesn’t even make close to that much!
Are you high?
DId u just say 4/164?
He clearly means 4/64, which I think is fair, if not a little short on years for his market. I think 5/80 is a little high for the crew, but I think he’d have to consider the offer and it could help them a lot.
Agree on Arietta. His horrible mechanics are catching up to him. He’ll either have a major injury, continue regressing, or both.
Why would Milwaukee want Cobb or Lynn? Those guys are No. 4s on their best days. Then again, when the rest of the rotation is garbage perhaps that’s why.
What do you mean why would they want them? Even if you want to call them #4s (which their numbers would suggest they’re both closer to solid #3s) if they are better than your current #4 or even #5 then they improve your team and isn’t that the entire point? And neither one of them is gonna break the bank.
Interesting about Jake. I thought he would be gone before Yu. The Cubs are out, so that leaves Brewers, Cards or maybe Philly or the Nats. As a Mets fan, you’d hate to see the latter.
Marlins, resign Ichiro please!!
Why don’t the Cubs they could certainly use him…..
to do what?
Play defense….
He is not better than Heyward defensively
Obviously wasn’t referring to Heyward..LF…
That’s obvious since he has logged the majority of his innings in the MLB in right field
He’s played all three outfield positions and still at his age is far superior to Schwarber or Happ. But hey go with those two as players will certainly be scorching balls out there and turning singles into doubles and triples late in games…
How many times will that happen? They already have two strong defenders in the outfield, so having a weak fielder in left isn’t that bad. A lot of teams bury a guy there
i wish major league umpires would do a poll. matt carpenter would easily finish in the top five of cry babies.
If you look at the numbers, Matt Carpenter gets more strikes called on him out of the zone of any left handed player in MLB !
good call brucewayne. I vote for electronic strike zone.
MLB almost went that route a few years ago and the umpires union shot it down.
Lol brucewayne I was about to respond with the same thing….take a poll and Slide makes the dumbest comments on Mlb rumors
thank you, very very much
if you could look at all my previous comments, i’ve never stooped to name calling or insulting the intelligence of other commenters, like some people.
bruce proved my point, most strikes call out of the zone=biggest cry baby.
Dustin Pedroia holds that distinction.
Dusty holds another distinction. Awarded most creative user for Apple Watch, he has demonstrated uses for this device that improve team spirit and camaraderie.
No, Joey Votto.
I feel like the Mets rotation is synonymous with the 94 Expos just in the fact that you KNOW they’re good, you’re just never going to completely see how it could pan out. If they get 20 starts from each one of those guys they could be a real threat
Or even the Mets of the early 90s that never really worked out there
Generation K, Isringhausen, Wilson, and Pulsipher
No kidding you’re totally right
Why go back so far?
Or even the Mets rotation of 2016 and 2017.
Just sayin…history has a way of repeating.
That’s what he is talking about smart one.
Cabrera should be the top priority but Bautista would be a decent fit also.
Why shouldn’t the marlins just sign both.
I’d also add Carlos Gonzalez to that list too.
Cargo would be too expensive. Baltimore could use him on a 1yr.
Joeybats was a great mentor to the younger guys here at Toronto. From what our commentators Buck and Pat have said repeatedly. A recent article highlights how during Marcus Stroman’s first game, Jose tells him in the dugout before he takes the field that pitchers who disrupt his timing affect him the most. Stroman was kinda of freaked out to implement a delay in his windup during his 1st mlb game lol. google it.
#19 and Chris Archer have hung out before and attended community events together. Would like to see Jose bounce back this year, Miami would be a great place.
Sign a free agent outfielder? I can think of zero reasons to do that. You let Brinson, Sierra and B.Lee play out there because you are afforded that luxury (no one’s thinking pennant). Defensively, they are all better than most veterans. Fans will actually come to watch new faces – not tired old ones with no future on the team.
Young players are well served through veteran mentors so it’s good to have a few. In this case the Marlins need that in the outfield.
A veteran will sign within a role framework – whether full, part time, bench.
Can’t see either Wheeler or Matz pitching a full season in the rotation this year, nor should they coming off injuries and with the innings they pitched last year. The Mets will need at least 2 other starters like Lugo picking up some starts. They also could use another starter.
The only problem is that Joey bats has lost speed through the strike zone so he is not likely to bounce back. More likely he will bounce around teams if he chooses to hang around. However he IS temperamental.
Joey Bats to Miami is my prediction. One year with a small guarantee and an incentive laden deal. If he shows any sign of his former self some team will trade for him at the deadline.
I don’t want any pitcher for more then 3 years. We have 4 or 5 great ace quality starting pitching prospects(brewers). Let’s take a page from the sixers with jj redick and overpay a starter like Lynn for a year or two. 3years 55 million frontloaded with a team friendly option on the 3rd year. We don’t need a leader we need insurance.
I am a brewer fan, but I see maybe 1 current ace quality pitcher in our farm and thats Burnes, and he’s really more projected as a 2/3 than an ace. You can never have too much pitching
man we’ve had a Lance Lynn for like the past 14 years. suppan, wolf, lohse, Garza. all first good year and completely terrible the last two. Lance Lynn is the last person I want the crew to sign
The Marlins trading JT then Bauer then signing Soto, Chris Carter, Jay and Cargo to 1yr deals seems like a way to go.
Okay I can see that but why Chris Carter? They already have Garrett Cooper at 1B. And why bring in Cargo and Jay? Why not just one. Let’s say they sign Jay. And they got room for one more outfielder, and a guy to spell Cooper occasionally. Bautista is the way to go.
Carter has decent power and he would be some protection in the lineup. Jay is still a serviceable in any of the OF positions. Here is my fantasy GM
1 Jay LF
2. Castro 2b
3.Cargo RF
4. Carter 1B
5.Sierra CF
6 Prado 3b
7. Soda C
8. Riddle ss
9 Pitcher
Carter has decent power and he would be some protection in the lineup. Jay is still a serviceable in any of the OF positions. Here is my fantasy GM
1 Jay LF
2. Castro 2b
3.Cargo RF
4. Carter 1B
5.Sierra CF
6 Prado 3b
7. Soto C
8. Riddle ss
9 Pitcher