The Marlins were on the hunt for outfield upgrades all winter, eventually culminating in multi-year free agent deals with Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler. Neither player required parting with young talent, but the Fish looked into potential higher-impact acquisitions on the trade market.
Miami has long had interest in prying star center fielder Bryan Reynolds from Pittsburgh, and Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald shed some light on the teams’ discussions. The Bucs and Marlins discussed permutations that would’ve involved top shortstop prospect Kahlil Watson — Miami’s first-round pick last summer — headed back as part of a deal. However, Jackson and Mish write that the Marlins balked at including both Watson and 2020 #3 overall pick Max Meyer in a Reynolds trade.
Baseball America placed both Watson and Meyer among the back half of their Top 100 prospects this winter. Watson, a lefty-hitting shortstop with big bat speed and athleticism, fell to the Marlins at 16th in last year’s draft but signed for the 10th-highest bonus. That better reflected how evaluators viewed him as an amateur prospect, and he’s generally regarded as one of the highest-upside players in the minors. Meyer, meanwhile, has one of the minors’ best fastball-slider combinations and struck out 27.2% of Double-A hitters in his first full pro season. Prospect evaluators have raised some concerns about his size and command consistency, but he boasts a high-octane arsenal and isn’t that far from MLB readiness.
Parting with both Watson and Meyer would’ve been quite a blow to the Miami farm system, but it reflects the huge asking price the Pirates can justifiably set with four years of arbitration control over Reynolds. Reports going back to last summer’s trade deadline have suggested the Bucs preferred to build around him rather than move him. Reynolds told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) this afternoon the Pirates haven’t approached him about an extension this offseason, and they’re set to go to an arbitration hearing to determine his 2022 salary after not agreeing to terms yesterday. Still, the 27-year-old downplayed the notion that a hearing could affect his relationship with the organization. “I’m an adult,” he said. “I can handle it. I don’t care. I have a pretty good idea of what’ll be said and all that. We’ll prepare, and we’ll be fine.”
Jackson and Mish write the Marlins and Pirates may eventually revisit trade talks, although it’ll again be difficult to pry him out of Pittsburgh. The Herald reports the Marlins also had some pre-lockout discussions with the Blue Jays regarding corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández, but those conversations are no longer active. Soler’s signing to play right field would seem to close the door on the possibility of Miami making a run at another corner outfielder/DH option like Hernández.
Speaking with reporters (including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com) this afternoon, general manager Kim Ng expressed her confidence in the Miami outfield. She pointed to García and Bryan De La Cruz as options to see some time in center field, while Jackson and Mish write that Jesús Sánchez could get a look there as well. Ng didn’t expressly rule out the possibility of further moves on the position player side, but she suggested it was more likely they’d look to add another arm to the bullpen.
“As I mentioned, the bat was first and foremost, and making sure that we secured that and what the parameters of that looked like,” Ng said (via De Nicola). “And now we’re definitely focused on relievers. I will say that I’ve gotten some nice reports on some of the guys here, so we might be able to pull from within as well.”
Among those internal possibilities is right-hander Nick Neidert. A well-regarded starting pitching prospect early in his career, Neidert has yet to find success in 44 MLB innings. The Marlins are deep in rotation options, and manager Don Mattingly told reporters today that Neidert will transition to a bullpen role (De Nicola link). Despite his profile as a changeup specialist — which theoretically should aid him against opposite-handed batters — Neidert has been hit at a .314/.444/.500 clip by lefties in the majors. He was similarly ineffective against southpaws in Triple-A last season (.306/.393/.471), and the bullpen role may afford Mattingly the opportunity to deploy him more often with the platoon advantage.
At present, the Marlins look likely to open the year with a starting five of Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo López, Elieser Hernández and Jesús Luzardo. That’s a particularly strong top end, and Miami has high-upside young arms like Meyer, Edward Cabrera and Sixto Sánchez who could factor into the mix at some point.
Sánchez has already had some MLB success, but he missed the entire 2021 season due to injury and will also begin this year on the injured list as he recovers from last July’s shoulder surgery. De Nicola tweets that the fireballing 23-year-old is currently a third of the way through a six-week shutdown period. Given that he won’t even pick up a ball until at least a few weeks into the season, it seems likely he’ll spend a fairly significant amount of time on the IL to open the year.
Interesting. You’d almost have to assume any Jays-Marlins deal would’ve been centered around Hernandez for one of the Marlins big three pitchers. Would’ve been quite the deal for each team.
Toronto based rumours (how it’s spelt in English) say it was Brian Anderson and Pablo Lopez for Teoscar.
I’m just the messenger
No it’s not. That’s the Quebecois bleeding into our language.
It’s old English. Not French.
No wonder the marlins moved on in that case, pablo for hernandez straight up wouldnt even be worth it
If it is true, I can see it as a decent deal for both sides. The Jays have an excess of good bats while the Marlins have an excess of pitching.
Teo would of been a massive upgrade for the Marlins roster. Pablo is a good pitcher, but isn’t a top end pitcher.
I’m just glad that Teo is still on the Jays roster. The Marlins can enjoy getting less out of Avisail while paying more.
Not sure what your hang up is with the word “rumors”. Canadians have such a complex
Lol if I was to Stereotype , based on your comment I would say Americans have no sense of humour lol
Colour me unconcerned, regardless of how it’s spelled.
Lmao it’s “spelt” not “spelled “ 🙂 at least in my neighbour hood
Ed,
Crikey, guv! Don’t be such a plonker!
It’s how the rest of the world spells it….
We’ll drop it when you start using the metric system.
A uniquely Canadian argument for sure.
but how did you find this website spelling it that way!? lol
Ed,
Cor blimey, love the humour! (Or is that spelt humhour?)
2 top 100 prospects seems like a bargain. Odds are they never come close to Reynolds war. Guess they are fine fighting the Nats for 4th place.
Funny enough, this is the same team that turned down Austin Riley and Mike Soroka for JT Realmuto just a few years ago. Must suck for them that the shoe is on the other foot now.
They probably still think they’re smart for that
Kinda surprised the Marlins don’t have a clearer plan b for centerfield if they can’t get Reynolds. I would think rumors of going after Laureano or signing a no bat solid glove type minors signing at least but it seems like they truly are happy to roll with Garcia in center for the bulk of the summer.
Well, the Marlins actually did both. This article was based on a report from Barry Jackson from The Miami Herald where more details were revealed about the attempts to acquire Reynolds, Laureano and Hernández: miamiherald.com/sports/mlb/miami-marlins/article25…
They also signed two glove-first CFs to minor league deals in Delino DeShields and Roman Quinn, however, neither of them are expected to make the team barring injuries.
What is clear is that the Fish will use Soler as a LF and DH; both Jesús Sánchez and García will get reps in CF this Spring to see who might be better suited, sliding the other one to RF. On the bench, Brian De La Cruz and Jon Berti can cover CF (or any OF position) for a while. In the 40-man roster they also have Brian Miller, who can also play CF.
None of them are ideal options to play the 8, but the lineup has more firepower that last year’s so at least that problem was solved, hopefully.
Miami looking to bring Juan Pierre out of retirement to start the year in CF.
Finally, after 10+ years (over exaggerating) I have signed up for MLB Trade Rumors!! Haha. I always wanna respond to comments and I finally joined! Lol.
As a diehard Marlins fan I know the organization has made some really horrible trades in the past, but have they not learned from past mistakes?
I mean, am I alone in regards to the Marlins being absolutely insane for even contemplating Khalil Watson and Max Meyer for Bryan Reynolds? I mean is that insane? Khalil is going to be a Superstar and Meyer is going to be a frontline starter or a Elite reliever.
I’m just baffled at how the Pirates give players away (see Meadows, Baz, and Glasnow) for declining better and but they want the entire farm system from the Marlins for 1 guy. I mean we’re talking about Elite prospects here.
Reynolds is great, but isn’t that a bit excessive?
The Marlins are headed in the right direction, they’d be stupid to make this deal even though it’s obviously not happening.
Also, sometimes news slips by me but I had no clue they were offered Riley and Soroka for JT. Unreal. Absolutely unreal.
That archer trade, old regime. Trying to pry Reynolds, new regime. Any team can demand high for any player. Highest of demand, tells you they aren’t willing to sell him. It’s part of the business and Pirates aren’t the only team to ask for the farm on one single player.
I just don’t understand why you are thinking too much into this. It’s pointless to try and understand the logic here. When it’s pretty clear what the Pirates are doing. Even with the rebuild, they believe the insight is near and the rebuild will be over. Reynolds fits the window when they can be competitive again.
I think you’re looking too into what I said hence why I already regret joining lol. I was saying that, and maybe I should have made it clear, that I believe the Marlins get bullied because of their history, and they need to put their foot down and be tough.
Trading Chris Paddack for Fernando Rodney, trading a serviceable Trevor Williams for a staff member. Thanks simply brought up the Pirates because of the teams involved by I’m saying in general.
Meyers and Watson for Reyonlds — surprise, that trade strongly favors the Marlins. Meyers, Watson, Perez and Bleday for Reyonlds is still an underpayment for Reyonlds. These claims can be checked the MLB Trade Simulator website.
The Simulator needs to be able to include the Marlins also paying for all salaries of Meyers, Watson, Perez and Bleday as well as them sending all their international pool money every year until the current Pirates owner passes away or sells the team
Since that is not even remotely enough, he Simulator needs to have the flexibility to include that the fish will also be sending a top 5 prospect(of the Pirates choosing) within the farm for 10 consecutive years even after the passing of the owner or sale of the Pirates.
Even then it wouldn’t be enough for the greatest human being, let alone, ball player to ever exist in Reynolds.
Amiright, @szielinski?
I simply don’t believe that discussion for Reynolds were serious, and that the most noteworthy thing here is that once again, other teams have made inquiries
I mean, someone could look at my Ferrari ( if I had one), kick out an offer and I can half heartedly throw a number back
Agree. This new regime seems to have a blueprint rather than the scattershot dealings of a GM who surely had marching orders from above
I strongly believe, without an extension,Reynolds does NOT fit the window. They won’t be competitive in 2 years, MAYBE 3 years, more likely 4, and that’s IF certain players work out. It just doesn’t match up. Even an extension is ify considering he will be on the other end of 30.
He’s absolutely a trade.
And I don’t blame a team for what they ask In return.
If it was just Myer and Watson straight up for Reynolds, surely Marlins would do that? 4+ years of a solid genuine CF is worth that right?
I honestly don’t get it. Reynolds is young and has 2 all star caliber season in 3 years. So many “top prospects” turn into busts. At this point Reynolds is a career 10 WAR. Those 2 prospects might have high upside but it’s more than likely both never reach career 10 WAR individually. The average is that half of the first round picks never make it to the big leagues for more than a cup of coffee. If the Marlins want to win then make the trade. The Pirates asking price is not just smart…. It’s incredibly fair. If Reynolds has another good year, someone will be desperate at the trade deadline.
These guys were both top 5 prospects heading into the draft and have performed since going pro. Just not the move you make as a low payroll team imo. And the pirates can tell you how trading their top prospects for a proven player went down. If you are the yankees and the trade doesnt pan out its whatever bc you can buy free agent. Doesnt work for everyone like that
Exactly! How the heck can you blame the gm here.
The are doing the right thing by attempting to trade him. In 3 years IF the young players pan out, he’ll be 30 with one year of control. Timing just doesn’t work. Sure will miss him.
It seems like there has been a lot more smoke than fire surrounding the Marlins this offseason. There have been numerous articles detailing their interest in this player and that, but most of their moves have been low-key. I’m pretty disappointed and I’m not even a Marlins fan. I just thought it would have been fun to see a new contender emerge. That’s the trade off to this CBA in my opinion. Expanded playoffs and other measures might help discourage teams from tanking, but it also encourages teams to play it safe. The object is no longer to win as many games as you can, but rather try to avoid a number of losses that preclude you from “contention”.
As a Marlins fan I am not disappointed, but more could have been expected. The Marlins have one of the strongest farm systems to make any trade happen, but yet they came short when it comes to a CF. The added bats are nice, but not exciting. The bullpen hasn’t been solved yet (looks like it won’t) and we are still missing a closer.
All in all, the team will do better than last year, although probably not enough to contend. My expectations are between 75-85 wins.
The Jeter resignation may have thrown things off for the Marlins’ FO.
or may have freed them to better right the ship.
Yea I’m very disappointed as a marlins fan. Think garcia and soler signings were a mistake and not much an improvement over in house guys. Never figured out CF, no major additions to bullpen, couldn’t figure out how to use all this pitching to improve. Not sure how it could have been much worse.
Reynolds also has ZERO leverage in extension talks since he’s already 27 and is controlled for 4 years.
the first issue with the referenced story, the pirates are not early in their rebuild. they are getting ready to come out of it.
Ben’s ask of Watson and Mayer is expected. Mayer mostly fits the pirates time line. the ask of Watson might be a ‘big ask’ though.
IMO: for the pirates side Mayer is the required player. that would need to comeback. There would need to be other high quality and some lower prospects no doubt but Mayer is the key to any trade i would make.
I’m surprised the Marlins didn’t jump at this. Watson is years away and yeah Meyer is good but it’s the one position the Marlins have tons of young depth.
Just what the Pirates need: ANOTHER shortstop