The Marlins are looking to add to their corner outfield mix, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link). Ideally, that would take the form of a left-handed hitter capable of playing right field, per Heyman.
Miami hasn’t been tied to any specific outfielders this offseason, but a look at the free agent options offers a handful of speculative possibilities. Marcell Ozuna tops the market, but it’d be quite a surprise if the Marlins were willing to spend at the level it’d take to bring the slugger back. Michael Brantley and Joc Pederson would each be significant upgrades but themselves seem likely to land solid multi-year deals the Marlins may not want to match.
The third tier of the market offers plenty of potential low-cost corner outfield additions, a few of whom were non-tendered by their former clubs. Kyle Schwarber and Eddie Rosario are left-handed bats who have established themselves as above-average hitters in recent seasons. Both have much more experience in left field (so does Brantley, for that matter) but could theoretically be moved to right if the team were bullish enough on their offensive abilities. Josh Reddick remains a capable lefty hitter with plenty of right field experience. Nomar Mazara also fits the lefty-swinging right field profile and is still just 25. He’s never lived up to his former prospect hype, though, and is coming off a horrible season with the White Sox.
It’s worth noting that Brett Gardner is a free agent after his option was bought out by the Yankees. Garnder isn’t a right fielder, but he hits left-handed and has ties to a handful of Marlins’ executives (most obviously CEO Derek Jeter) from his time in the Bronx. Matt Joyce played for Miami this past season and is also available, although he might be looking at a minor-league deal after hitting .252/.351/.331.
As far as in-house options go, Miami has plenty of names but little certainty on the grass. The team seems set to give regular run to Corey Dickerson in one corner outfield spot (preferably left). Starling Marté is locked in as the everyday center fielder. Garrett Cooper has hit well and comes with a bit of corner outfield experience, but he was solely a first baseman in 2020 and has a rather lengthy injury history. Harold Ramírez missed almost all of last season due to injury. The 40-man roster is otherwise littered with current or former top prospects (Jesús Sánchez, Monte Harrison, Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra among them) with no track record of MLB production.
I think a trade for Castellanos would be interesting. Would the Reds be willing to eat some of his salary?
The Reds would be all over that without any concern about what would be coming back in the trade. Miami can dump one or two of those former top prospects to CIN, and they’d be fine.
With no DH, an outfield of Castellanos and Winker is a pitcher’s nightmare.
Are you on weed mate? Reds should eat big big chunk of his salary to even send him somewhere let alone getting anything back in return.
How about Teoscar Hernandez of the Jays?
Don’t tease me. I’d love the Jays to trade Teoscar and get some pitching in return.
I don’t think the Marlins and Blue Jays match up great for a Teoscar for pitching trade.
I’d go with Harold Ramirez. who had the RF job going into last season. He’s a mini-Ozuna. His o.5 WAR in 2019 was the best among the Marlins OF.
One would think that Bleday and Sanchez will be regulars within the next year or two at the most, so this would need to be a cheap and short term option. Given that, Reddick seems like the ideal fit.
i would temper expectations about Sanchez after his showing last year.
Mike Trout had an OPS of 89 in his first 135 ABs when be first debuted.
25 ABs is hardly enough to warrant any judgment good or bad about Sanchez.
Not saying he will be the next Mike Trout, but let’s give it a few years before we write players off.
Teoscar Hernandez was roughly a league average bat in his first 2 years in Toronto.
ive made my take on this very clear. i know players struggle off the start, but when guys struggle mightily in their first stints in the Majors, I get concerned. 1-25 isnt just bad – its horrific.
Trout was only 3-24 to start his career. Willie Mays had a 1-21 stretch in his rookie campagin and Cal Ripken had a 5-39 start. Like BTD said, Sanchez might not turn into a HOF level talent, but it wouldn’t be the first time a hitter had 5 or less starts in their first 20 or so at bats.
Robin Ventura had an 0-41 streak early in his rookie season. He turned out ok.
My issue with Jesus Sanchez isn’t that he struggled in his first taste of the show, but he doesn’t walk and Ks too much to not walk at all. He is also only has average power. That seems a lot more like a replacement level player than a future piece.
This “take” is woefully uninformed. You should look at the history of baseball.
And JJ Bleday based on his “vanilla” performance assessment to date. Based on what was shown at instructional camp and 2019 season, Griffin Conine and Peyton Burdick are the ascending corner outfielders.
Very poor analysis. JJ Bleday is the future Left-handed RF if not the player that could possibly take over in 2021.
Before he broke out as a slugger, Bleday first emerged as an advanced hitter with a sweet left-handed stroke and a disciplined, all-fields approach. His bat speed, strength and the leverage in his 6-foot-3 frame give him power to all parts of the ballpark. He walked more than he struck out in each of his three seasons at Vanderbilt and the only hole in his offensive game is that he’s a below-average runner who won’t do much on the bases.
Enough said!
Maybe not enough. Bleday was barely a league average hitter at Jupiter. His Fangraphs ZIP projection for 2021 is minus 0.9. Conine’s is +.02.
we have to chill on assuming every top prospect is coming up next year as if to assume the lost 2020 minor league season wolnt have an effect.
I haven’t followed Bleday much, but that assessment sounds an awful lot like Christian Yelich with a bit less speed. If that comp holds true, the Marlins will have a solid big-league OF on their hands.
While JJ scares me a bit (Jeremy Hermida) I have faith he will be useful.
Based on how baseball generally goes, someone “unnoticed” in a draft tends to rise to the top. So I really feel Peyton Burdick will be a big part of the future of this team.
Then Conine is a cool wildcard for me since they got him just for fun it seems. Villar was having an awful season. But it wouldn’t surprise me at all if JJ is a bench player and Burdick and Conine become the future
Trade for Kole Calhoun
This is no surprise as they were dead last in fWAR in RF last season and 27th in total outfield production.
Take Grichuk
out of any of them, the most consistent is Eddie Rosario.
If they really want a lefty bat who has been a regular starting RF, the free agent options are down to Reddick and Mazara. Of those two, assuming comparable one-year contracts, I think I’d be willing to take a chance on Mazara, despite his poor season last year.
Yeah Mazara seems like a good fit to me too. Whether or not the Marlins want to take a chance on him who knows, but Miami seems like a place where Mazara can go and get ample playing time and get a real chance to resurrect his career.
Gregory Polanco might be available, depending on how many more bones he’s fractured between last week and now. He can probably be had for a bag of Big League Chew.
Polanco just broke his wrist, I think.
I know, that’s why I was being sarcastic about how many more bones he might have broken. He’s been snake bitten with the injury bug lately. He’s supposed to be healthy in time for spring training so I guess he could hypothetically be traded now.
I was thinking the same, he would be a perfect fit if they wanted to take on his overpaid salary.
Christian yelich?
Mike stanton?( although a righty)
Marcel ozuna?
….
Schwarber would fit in that lineup nicely.
Joc Peterson.
Give me Schwarber on a one year deal. If he doesn’t fit in RF, move him to first to platoon with Aguilar and let Coop handle RF in a platoon with Sierra and/or Brinson/Harrison/Sanchez.
Where is his coming from? I keep seeing people suggest this, but I don’t believe Kyle Schwarber has ever played 1B… maybe 1 single time in a blow out? The guy is only an average at best LF, with a nice arm.
With framing about to disappear with robo umps, Schwarber can be revisited as a catcher.
When it does comes, shouldn’t getting reps with a simulated robo ump start at the minor league levels?
Schwarber is a fine LF, he doesn’t need to play anywhere else. Dickerson can move to RF instead if that’s the route they want to go.
You don’t want Dickerson in RF. That position requires throwing and Dickerson has the worst OF arm I’ve seen since Johnny Damon.
What about PUIG ?,so suspicious that no mention his name ???one of the best right field in the game
Marlins want a lefty bat, Puig’s a righty and also not one of the best RF’s in the game. He’ll probably get another chance with someone, though I would imagine he has to wait for some other FA dominoes to fall first.
Puig should play in Japan to get everyday ABs and be able to entertain the crowd without old men getting mad at him for having the audacity of having fun while playing a game.
My only beef with Puig is his bat-licking. Disgusting.
I agree that is NOT cool, especially in covid times.
Then you don’t really understand Japanese culture. There is having fun and there is doing something which will revolt the fans. I don’t say this as a knock on him but Puig (-being Puig) doesn’t strike me as someone who will exercise that learned discretion. As he’ll soon be on the wrong side of 30, this upcoming season’s performance is probably last chance for him to earn a big contract. Playing in Japan won’t achieve that.
Puig 277 average lifetime hitter and in playoffs 280 ave( with power) who is better than Puig ?
And WHY NOT CÉSPEDES???
Because he hasn’t been good in 3 years?
And he’s not left handed either. You can basically repeat my comment above about Puig and substitute Cespedes.
Kyle schwarber has established himself as above average hitter??????230 ave lifetime hitter ????
By the way :”Puig is very good vs rights “
Marlins have the prospect depth to acquire Joey Gallo if they feel like they can build on last year’s playoff run. Low average, but plenty of thump, solid baserunner, gold glove right fielder, and affordable over the next two years.
Orioles have a nice assortment of young outfielders with no real need for DJ Stewart. Can’t imagine it’d cost a lot to acquire him.
Take Grichuk!
Let’s see, who was recently released or is a free agent they can sign for less than a mill per?
Joc Pederson/Adam Duvall platoon?
Marlins are have so many outfielders that deserve to get a look at with consistent at bats. Already paying Dickerson in Left Field. Let Harold, Brinson, Monte, Sanchez, Sierra, Ramirez, and possibly Cooper battle it out in RF.
In the past, I agree, that makes sense, but if the people at the top are viewing the Marlins as a 2021 contender, then the rebuild goes out the window and its time to flip prospects and tweeners/need more seasoning-types into solid everyday regulars or all-stars.
Philly learned the hard way that you dont want to jump out of a rebuild too quickly. if these prospects are good enough, investing 2021 into continuing the rebuild will pay off down the line.
I just can’t get on board with that assessment. Every team in this division is competitive. Not to mention, they already have Dickerson and Marte, expensive veterans taking up 2/3 of the outfield spots. They definitely can afford to give Harold, Brinson, and Sierra the 3rd, 4th, and 5th outfield spots. Harold is good when healthy, Brinson really heated up in late august/September. Sierra is also good when healthy. I just don’t know how much better they can do by signing a free agent to take over For Harold or Brinson or whomever. Obviously if they sign Springer, but that’s not happening. How much better can they do given the financial status, and giving up on Harold, Brinson, Sierra?
It’s a very small sample size and all, but the Marlins wee on that roll of winning in the beginning and then hit that wall exactly when Sierra went down. That’s when Dickerson started leading off and things went down. He was fun to watch and not the same when he came back. If healthy I would like to see him more. The current lineup are all situational hitters to me. They need a real slugger and a lead off man. Sierra could be the leadoff man. For a slugger they have to hope BA continues forward and Aguilar gets back on track.
I still want to see Cooper play a full season but how often does that situation work out?
To the contrary, bringing back Ozuna seems like the move they would make after making the playoffs last year. Schwarber is like Ozuna-lite, so I could see him signed, as well as Gardner via Jeter’s connection.
The Marlins don’t spend money genius. Seriously, do you even follow baseball or do you just comment here for attention?
Glenallen Hill?
Beware of spiders, then.
Waiting on metsfan22 to hop on here to tell us how bad the Marlins are
Take ANY Cardinals outfielder not named Dylan Carlson. PLEASE. NOTHING needs to be sent in return.
Left-handed RF needed? This sounds exactly like JJ Bleday who is in the minors. Without a minor league season it is tough to tell if he’s ready for MLB but if he is ready, there is nothing else to do besides let him play. He will definitely be ready by 2022 at the very latest so they don’t need to look to far because the long term plan and possibly starting 2021 is already on the team!
The scouting report from instructional camp was that he had a professional attitude and work ethic and was working on his swing. The reports on Burdick and Conine were that they were crushing the ball off all levels of pitching. Whatever.
I didn’t see the negative things about JJ. Have been very impressed by Burdick though.
Since they have really groomed JJ to be “the future” I really hope it didn’t go to his head like Hanley.
Robbie Grossman
Luckily the Marlins have a ton of options on the open market, and pretty good ones at that. Brantley is the most appealing to me… although his defence is a bit suspect.
Would be a good signing if they allow the DH there.
Rosario would be a good fit. Can’t believe Minn let Rosario walk as he’s been an offensive force for them the last 4 years.
Agree, and this article has him as an obvious inferior choice than Joc Pederson. That blows my mind, and I’m a Dodger fan!
The Yankees would be glad to work something out to send Stanton back LOL! CHEAP Too!
Rosario and Schwarber would appear to be the obvious choices. Neither should require more than a one year commitment, both have plenty of history of hitting well; if Miami is actually in contention in July they hold him, if not there should be a contender willing to take either at least as a bench bat
Need Detroit to get in on Rosario. Stewart has had his chances. Time to move on.
And they missed out on Refsnyder…I know, I know, he bats RH but he’d probably hit the same LH…..
A’s have Seth brown, Dustin Fowler, and skye bolt blocked for spots. I wonder if a minor trade of Fowler to marlins is possible, considering some of the marlins front office has Yankees ties with Fowler being a former Yankees prospect
Joey Gallo
Given that Donnie is still managing the Marlins, I guess that’s one reason why Yasiel Puig wasn’t mentioned as being on their radar.
I don’t see the Marlins making a free agent signing for more than 2 million a year. Currently they don’t even have a TV contract for 2021 and who knows if ANY people will be in attendance at the ball parks.
Sorry for the duplicate post.
Of the mentions of the OF options, the one that makes sense for the Marlins current situation is Nomar Mazara. With his age and potential, he’s the right fit for the Marlins. He would be in to compete against Harold Ramirez, Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra, Monte Harrison, and Jesus Sanchez.
While the Marlins have Dickerson in LF and Marte in CF for now, come the deadline, if we’re not still in the playoff hunt, we would be moving those two to free up playing time for all of these OFs to battle more for the remainder of the season. Mazara also falls in line with that for the corners with Ramirez and Sanchez, while Brinson, Sierra and Harrison can move over to CF to battle while rotating at the corner spots.
The big question for now is what to do with Garrett Cooper and Jesus Aguilar if there is no DH. That will also impact the corner OF with Cooper. It will also affect later in the season when/if Lewin Diaz is ready to take 1B (whish we see he’s defensively better than both Aguilar and Cooper right now).
Two words – Gregory Polanco
More than two words. Pay most of his salary. Be willing to pay most of the remaining salary if the Marlins exercise the options. And make it worth taking him on with some good prospects.
The Marlins have too many OF options to block any of them with Polanco at his pay rate. Mazara is a more sensible deal, along with many other corner options that are free agents right now…who won’t cost the money or trade chips.
i know for a fact theres a Team on the North side of Chicago that has a Gold Glove RF if theyre desperate yet