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Details On Mariners/Red Sox Trade Talks

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The Mariners and Red Sox have been linked together in trade rumors for the better part of a year, including reports from earlier this winter that Seattle turned down Boston’s offer of Triston Casas for either Bryan Woo or Bryce Miller.  Another intriguing deal involving Casas was at least discussed between the two sides, as MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reports that the Sox weren’t willing to agree to a deal that would’ve seen Casas swapped in exchange for Luis Castillo.  The Red Sox were only open to such a trade if Masataka Yoshida was included along with Casas.

Yoshida signed a five-year, $90MM deal with the Red Sox in December 2022, back when Chaim Bloom was still Boston’s chief baseball officer.  The contract greatly exceeded what Yoshida was expected to land in his entry into North American baseball, and once Craig Breslow took over Boston’s front office last winter, it didn’t take long before Yoshida’s name began to surface in trade rumors.  Yoshida is still owed $54MM over the final three seasons of that deal, plus he underwent shoulder surgery in October, though he is expected to be recovered in time for Opening Day.

Since Yoshida’s contract has become the central talking point of his MLB career, his salary tends to obscure the fact that he has posted decent numbers over his two seasons in the Show.  Yoshida has hit .285/.343/.433 and 25 home runs over 1001 plate appearances, translating to a 112 wRC+.  That production has ticked upwards against right-handed pitching, as the lefty-swinging Yoshida naturally has better splits against righties (.810 OPS in 749 PA) than lefties (252 PA).  Known for being a very disciplined hitter during his time in Japan, Yoshida has been one of baseball’s toughest batters to strike out during his time with the Red Sox.

For all of Yoshida’s contact, however, he hasn’t delivered much in the way of hard contact or power numbers.  He has also posted subpar walk rates, and public defensive metrics didn’t like his glovework over 713 1/3 innings as a left fielder in 2023.  The Red Sox responded to the fielding struggles by limiting Yoshida almost exclusively to DH duty in 2024, a decision that reportedly didn’t please the 31-year-old.

Since the Mariners could use a left-handed bat and basically hitting help of any kind, Yoshida might have some appeal on paper to Seattle.  That said, Randy Arozarena is set to play left field and Mitch Haniger is already slated to take on the bulk of DH at-bats, so Yoshida would again likely be limited to a platoon DH role in the Mariners’ lineup.  It is also easy to imagine what the M’s had little to no interest in taking Yoshida’s contract off Boston’s hands, as reports have indicated that the Mariners might only be open to moving Castillo in order to clear his salary from the books.

Castillo is owed $68.25MM in guaranteed money from 2025-27, plus a $25MM vesting option for 2028 that becomes guaranteed based on health, and if Castillo tosses at least 180 innings during the 2027 season.  Trading Castillo and taking back Yoshida would represent only $39.25MM of savings for the Mariners’ payroll, which the M’s probably didn’t view as worthwhile even with the bigger benefit of obtaining a controllable young slugger like Casas.  Seattle president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has publicly stated that trading from the rotation is a “Plan Z” option given how much the Mariners value their elite pitching staff, and if the M’s did budge on moving a starter, taking back an unwanted contract as salary offset is surely not on Dipoto’s radar.

It seems increasingly clear that the Sox are ready to move on from Yoshida, yet naturally it will be tricky in getting another team to absorb anything more than a fraction of his $54MM remaining salary.  Attaching Casas or another young player to Yoshida in a trade package would be a significant sweetener, even it could also be viewed as something of a waste of a trade asset to give up young talent as part of a salary dump.  While $54MM obviously isn’t a drop in the bucket, Yoshida’s contract isn’t all that onerous for a big-market club and a traditional big spender like the Red Sox, plus their estimated $212MM luxury tax number for 2025 is well under the $241MM tax threshold.

That said, the Red Sox have also exceeded the tax line just once in the last five years, as ownership has made a clear mandate to scale back the team’s spending.  This hasn’t stopped Breslow from making some significant moves, though Boston’s pitching acquisitions this winter (i.e. trading for Garrett Crochet and signing Walker Buehler and Patrick Sandoval) came with a pretty limited financial cost.  The Sox have also been linked to such major free agent names as Juan Soto, Max Fried, Corbin Burnes, Teoscar Hernandez, even if those players ultimately ended up signing elsewhere.

The Mariners and Red Sox have been seen as natural trade partners, as Seattle’s pitching depth and need for hitting dovetails with Boston’s rotation needs and surplus of position players.  Considering the quality of the Mariners’ arms, it is safe to guess the Sox would still be open to adding a Seattle starter if an acceptable deal could be lined up, but the two clubs have been unable to find a match after at least a year of on-and-off trade talks.

Padres Re-Sign Logan Gillaspie To Minors Deal

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The Padres signed right-hander Logan Gillaspie to a minor league contract earlier this month, as initially reported by the Mad Friars website.  The 27-year-old Gillaspie will return for his second season with the organization, after the Padres non-tendered him in November to create 40-man roster space.

Gillaspie had a 4.10 ERA over 26 1/3 innings and 28 appearances for the Orioles in 2022-23 before the Red Sox claimed him off waivers in September 2023.  This stint in Boston didn’t result in any big league playing time and didn’t last long in general, as San Diego picked him up in another waiver claim just two months later.  The Padres optioned Gillaspie back and forth from Triple-A the maximum five times, and the shuffle of assignments might have impacted his performance — Gillaspie had a 7.15 ERA in 11 1/3 innings over nine appearances with San Diego.

On the plus side, Gillaspie had a 3.77 ERA, 21.5% strikeout rate, and 9.7% walk rate across 45 1/3 innings with Triple-A El Paso.  These decent numbers look even better within the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, and they represent a step up from Gillaspie’s Triple-A performances in 2022-23.  That said, Gillaspie’s strikeout numbers have ticked downwards over the last two seasons while he has allowed a few more walks.

Gillaspie is out of minor league options, so if the Padres were to select his contract to the active roster next season, the team would have to try and sneak him through waivers in order to send him back to Triple-A.  This could leave Gillaspie in another form of roster limbo if his 2025 campaign ends up being a flurry of DFAs and outright assignments, but for now, he’ll continue to operate as minor league bullpen depth in the Padres’ system.

Third Base Rumors: Bregman, Arenado, Yankees, Tigers, Astros

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With the Yankees in need of infield help, both Alex Bregman and Nolan Arenado have been linked to the club this offseason, with the idea being that one would become New York’s new third baseman and Jazz Chisholm Jr. would become the full-time second baseman.  However, during an edition of the YES Network’s “Yankees Hot Stove” show earlier this week, Jack Curry said that the Bronx Bombers weren’t in on either Bregman or Arenado, and pushed back on the idea that the Yankees ever had interest in trading for Arenado.

This runs counter to last week’s report (from MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, John Denton, and Bryan Hoch) that the Yankees offered Marcus Stroman to the Cardinals as part of a trade package for Arenado, though St. Louis rejected the deal.  As always with seemingly contradictory offseason reports, the truth could lie somewhere in the middle.  Hypothetically, it could be that New York’s interest in Arenado was limited to this scenario that would’ve seen Stroman’s salary moved off the team’s books.

Whatever the depth of the Yankees’ interest in Arenado might be, it could be a moot point if Arenado himself isn’t interested in joining the team.  The Yankees aren’t one of the six clubs (the Angels, Dodgers, Padres, Phillies, Mets, Red Sox) Arenado is reportedly willing to waive his no-trade protection to join, and Arenado has already vetoed a proposed deal to the Astros.  There was speculation that New York’s deal with Paul Goldschmidt was made in part to entice Arenado to accept a trade to the Bronx to join his old teammate, yet Curry’s report seems to close the door on that possibility.

In addition to signing Goldschmidt and Max Fried, the Yankees have also traded for Cody Bellinger, Devin Williams, and Fernando Cruz, as GM Brian Cashman has aggressively reloaded the roster after Juan Soto left to sign with the Mets.  Even with some holes left to be addressed, New York is projected (by RosterResource) for a luxury tax number of $303.2MM, and thus the team is already over the maximum penalty threshold of $301MM.

The Yankees could reduce their tax bill by trying to move Stroman or another unfavorable contract, yet the payroll situation might hint at why Arenado or Bregman aren’t (or no longer are) on the radar.  Signing Bregman would require a far higher investment than taking most or all of Arenado’s contract in a trade, plus since Bregman rejected Houston’s qualifying offer, the Yankees would need to give up two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus pool money.  Since the Bombers already paid that extra penalty to sign another qualified free agent in Fried, the club would very likely prefer to avoid further depleting its draft pool and bonus pool by adding Bregman.

If the Yankees are indeed out on Bregman, that leaves the Phillies, Blue Jays, Red Sox, Mets, and Tigers as teams known to have some level of interest in Bregman’s services this winter.  Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press shed a little more light on the Tigers’ link in the latest edition of the Days of Roar podcast, noting that “there has been an increase in the Tigers’ prioritization of Bregman” as the offseason has developed, with “more dialogue, more conversation” between the club and Bregman’s camp.

Heading into the offseason, Detroit was viewed as a logical landing spot for Bregman for multiple reasons — his past history with manager A.J. Hinch, the lack of long-term money on the Tigers’ books, and the perception that the Tigers were going to be aggressive in the wake of their Cinderella run to the ALDS last season.  The latter point hasn’t played out to date, as Alex Cobb’s one-year, $15MM deal represents the Motown team’s only major investment of the winter.

Bregman’s reported asking price of at least $200MM appears to be the hold-up, as the Tigers aren’t willing to spend to that level.  What remains unclear is if Detroit is willing to at least approach Bregman’s demands, or if the team is aiming lower overall.  Most of the free agents or trade targets publicly linked to the Tigers in rumors this winter (i.e. Goldschmidt, Carlos Santana, Walker Buehler, Kirby Yates, Erick Fedde, Steven Matz, Andrew Heaney, Kyle Gibson) are either already under contract on short-term deals, or would likely require only one- or two-year investments.  Apart from Bregman, Jack Flaherty and Ha-Seong Kim are the other free agents on the Tigers’ list of targets that would require bigger contracts, and even Kim’s situation is fluid due to the lingering uncertainty surrounding his shoulder surgery.

Bregman already turned down a reported six-year, $156MM offer from the Astros earlier this winter, which was the first step towards what now looks like the end of a reunion possibility between the third baseman and his longtime team.  Acquiring corner infielder Isaac Paredes in the Kyle Tucker trade left open the possibility that Bregman could still be re-signed and Paredes could play first base in Houston, but the Astros’ three-year, $60MM deal with first baseman Christian Walker has now addressed the team’s needs in the corner infield.

While not officially stating that the Astros were now out on Bregman, GM Dana Brown left things pretty clear by stating “Paredes is going to play third and Walker is going to play first” when speaking with reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) earlier this week.  Brown felt “the negotiations stalled” with Bregman’s camp, leaving the Astros in search of an alternative.

“I thought we made a really competitive offer and showed that we wanted [Bregman] back,” Brown said.  “But we had to pursue other options, we couldn’t just sit there.  We locked in Paredes early in that trade knowing that he could play third or first. And then when the opportunity to add another bat [Walker] came up, we just jumped on it.”

Rockies Sign Diego Castillo To Minors Deal

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The Rockies have signed right-hander Diego Castillo to a minor league contract, according to Aram Leighton of Just Baseball Media.  The pact includes an invitation for Castillo (who turns 31 next month) to attend Colorado’s big league spring camp.

Castillo is best known for his five-year run as a workhorse in the Rays’ and Mariners’ bullpens from 2018-22, as the righty posted a 3.12 ERA, 28.1% strikeout rate, 50.7% grounder rate, and 8.9% walk rate over 259 2/3 innings and 250 appearances in that span.  Unfortunately, he got off to a very rough start in his first eight games (and 8 2/3 innings) in 2023, leading the Mariners to outright him off their 40-man roster at the start of May.  Castillo spent the remainder of the season at Triple-A, then elected free agency at season’s end.

The Rangers signed Castillo to a minor league deal last winter and released him near the end of Spring Training, with the Twins then quickly adding him on another minors contract.  Castillo’s season in Minnesota saw him twice designated for assignment and outrighted off the 40-man roster, and he re-signed another minor league deal with the Twins after opting for free agency after that initial outright at midseason.  All of this movement resulted in another season of pretty minimal MLB playing time, as Castillo appeared in 10 games with the Twins and posted a 2.70 ERA in 10 innings.

Control is the biggest issue behind Castillo’s decline, as his walk rate has shot up to 14.92% over 84 1/3 innings of Triple-A ball over the last two seasons, and 17.9% in his brief MLB sample size of 18 2/3 innings.  A velocity drop may have also been partially responsible for Castillo’s struggles in 2023 specifically, though his fastball ticked upwards from 93.8mph in 2023 to 95.9 mph in 2024.

Castillo’s prime years are recent enough that it makes sense that teams would still want to take a flier on the veteran righty.  For the Rockies in particular, his ability to keep the ball on the ground could be useful in the thin air of Coors Field, if Castillo can earn himself a shot on Colorado’s active roster.

Padres Sign Jose Espada To Minor League Contract

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The Padres signed right-hander Jose Espada to a minor league deal earlier this month, as first reported by the Mad Friars website.  It’s a reunion between the two sides, as the 27-year-old Espada pitched for San Diego during the 2022-23 seasons before joining the Yakult Swallows last offseason.

The move to Japan wasn’t as much of a showcase as Espada had hoped, as he posted a 5.00 ERA over 27 relief innings for the Swallows.  His strikeout rate plummeted to just 13.56%, in a rather stark dropoff from the 26.59K% he posted over 374 career innings in the minor leagues.  While his numbers with the Swallows’ minor league team were much better, Espada had already displayed plenty of quality in the affiliated minors, including a 2.79 ERA in 19 1/3 innings with the Padres’ Triple-A affiliate in 2023.

Impressive numbers at both the Double-A and Triple-A levels allowed Espada to make his MLB debut in 2023, in the form of a single cup-of-coffee outing.  Espada recorded two strikeouts and two walks in a scoreless inning of mop-up work in the Padres’ 12-2 rout of the Cardinals on September 24, 2023.  That brief outing was the high point of a pro career that began as a fifth-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2015 draft, and Espada also had stints in the Red Sox farm system and in independent ball as well as his time with the Padres and Swallows.

Espada has had issues with his control but has long been able to miss bats, making his diminished strikeout numbers in NPB all the more puzzling.  A return to the familiar environment of Triple-A El Paso might help him get back on track, while from the Padres’ perspective, they’ll add a known quantity to their list of bullpen depth arms.

CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys Sign Jonathan Bermudez

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The Rakuten Monkeys of the Chinese Professional Baseball League have signed left-hander Jonathan Bermudez, according to the CPBL Stats X account.  The 29-year-old Bermudez elected minor league free agency at the end of the 2024 season.

A 23rd-round pick for the Astros in the 2018 draft, Bermudez spent parts of his first four pro seasons in Houston’s farm system before the Giants claimed him off waivers in August 2022.  He was on Puerto Rico’s roster for the World Baseball Classic in March 2023, but that same month saw the Giants release the southpaw.  Bermudez caught on with the Marlins on a minors deal a few weeks later and had been with Miami until he chose free agency this past October.

This time with the Marlins resulted in Bermudez’s Major League debut, as he posted an 8.10 ERA over three appearances and 6 2/3 innings this season.  One of the many pitchers cycled on and off Miami’s active roster this season, Bermudez was twice designated for assignment and then outrighted off the Marlins’ 40-man in August and September.

The southpaw posted solid numbers throughout most of his minor-league career but seemed to hit a wall at Triple-A, posting a 7.01 ERA over 140 innings at the top farm level.  Bermudez’s walk and strikeout totals have trended in the wrong direction at Triple-A, and home runs were a particular issue for him during the 2022 season in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.

Bermudez has started 85 of his 122 career minor league games, and seems likely to assume a starting role in the Monkeys’ rotation.  Rather than battle for a minor league contract with North American moves, signing with the CPBL allows Bermudez to lock in some guaranteed money and perhaps provide a fresh start to his career.

Rangers Interested In Chris Martin

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As the Rangers continue to rebuild their bullpen, their list of targets includes a local product, as Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News writes that the team has interest in Arlington native Chris Martin.  The veteran reliever said in September that he is “95%” certain that 2025 will be his last season, and since Martin is thought to be prioritizing teams closer to his home in Texas, a return to the Rangers would make a lot of logical sense for both sides.

Though Martin turns 39 in June and is likely entering his farewell season, his recent results indicate that the right-hander has plenty left in the tank.  Martin posted a 3.45 ERA in 44 1/3 innings for the Red Sox last season, with a 2.43 SIERA that is more reflective his performance level.  His ability to generate grounders (46.3% groundball rate) was undermined by Boston’s poor infield defense, leading to a .353 BABIP that fueled Martin’s misleading ERA.

The rest of his metrics ranged from above-average to elite, including a 27.8% strikeout rate, strong soft-contact numbers, and Martin’s typically brilliant control.  Long one of baseball’s best control pitchers, Martin’s 1.7% walk rate in 2024 was the lowest of any hurler with at least 40 innings pitched.  Perhaps the only question mark clouding Martin last year was his health, as he had three different trips to the 15-day injured list due to anxiety, right elbow inflammation, and an issue with his left shoulder.

Martin is a late bloomer who didn’t make his MLB debut until age 28 when he was pitching for the Rockies in 2014.  After posting a 6.19 ERA in 36 1/3 innings with the Rockies and Yankees in 2014-15, he went to Japan and posted outstanding numbers over the next two seasons with the Nippon-Ham Fighters.

This success led to a two-year, $4MM deal with the Rangers during the 2016-17 offseason, as Martin made his return to North American baseball pitching for his hometown team.  The stint in Texas saw Martin show flashes of his future self, and his success early in the 2019 season led Atlanta to swing a deal for him at the 2019 trade deadline.  Over five years later, Martin could now be considering a return to Arlington with a World Series ring (with the 2021 Braves) and $34MM more in career earnings in tow, as well as an earned reputation as a steady high-leverage reliever.

Rangers president of baseball operations Chris Young told Grant and other reporters that “the bullpen is the primary focus” for the team in the remainder of the offseason and during the season, and Texas has gotten a start on that work already his winter.  Robert Garcia, Jacob Webb, Shawn Armstrong, and Hoby Milner have all been acquired to date, but a more proven late-innings reliever like Martin would greatly stabilize things.  Kirby Yates and A.J. Minter are two of the other still-unsigned relievers linked to the Rangers on the rumor mill this offseason.

Ehire Adrianza Announces Retirement

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Veteran utilityman Ehire Adrianza has decided to retire after 12 Major League seasons.  The 35-year-old Adrianza made the official announcement on his Instagram page, thanking the many people who contributed to his success.

“This journey has been incredibly challenging, filled with ups and downs, but every step along the way has been a blessing that I cherish immensely,” Adrianza said.  “Since my childhood, I dreamed of the possibility of winning a World Series, a goal that once seemed so distant and almost unattainable.  However, thanks to my effort, dedication, and the unwavering support of each one of you, that dream has become a reality.  I still find it hard to believe that I have had the honor of playing more than a decade in the Major Leagues.  I never imagined I would achieve so much, and it’s astonishing to reflect on this experience.”

Adrianza has been part of six different organizations over his career, and he saw big league action in the form of 624 games with the Giants, Twins, Nationals, Braves, and Angels from 2013-24.  His long career saw Adrianza play roles on World Series-winning teams in San Francisco (in 2014) and Atlanta (2021), with Adrianza getting 10 pinch-hit at-bats during the Braves’ postseason run.

Hitting .237/.307/.352 in 1578 career plate appearances, Adrianza was able to consistently latch onto MLB rosters due to his ability to play almost anywhere on the diamond.  He made at least 16 career starts at six different positions (all four infield positions plus the two corner outfield slots) while also making a few cameos as a center fielder and pitcher.  The Outs Above Average and UZR/150 metrics gave Adrianza plus grades over his career at shortstop and third base, his two most frequent positions.

Adrianza was usually a part-timer or bench player who was only pressed into more regular duty in the event of an injury, though this happened often enough that he was a useful player to have on hand.  His 114 games with Minnesota in 2018 was a career high, followed by his 109 games with the Braves in 2021.  In the latter season, his ability to come off the bench and make the odd spot start made him a valuable member of an Atlanta team that had to overcome some significant injuries on its way to the championship.

We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Adrianza on a fine career, and we wish him all the best in the next phase of his life.

Marlins Notes: Payroll, Alcantara

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The rebuilding Marlins have continued to subtract from their big league roster this winter, trading Jake Burger to the Rangers and Jesus Luzardo to the Phillies.  Since Burger wasn’t yet arbitration-eligible and Luzardo was projected for a modest $6MM in his second arb year, the trades were more about adding young talent than cutting payroll, yet losing even Luzardo’s estimated $6MM salary has an additional impact on a bigger-picture question facing Miami’s finances.

As observed by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (using estimates from RosterResource), the Marlins have a luxury tax number of roughly $82.8MM.  This leaves the Fish some ground to cover before they reach the $105MM threshold estimated as the figure representing 150 percent of the club’s reported $70MM or so in revenue-sharing funds.  As stipulated by the league’s collective bargaining agreement, teams who receive revenue-sharing funds must spend at least 150 percent of those funds on player payroll, at the risk of facing a grievance from the players’ union.

It wouldn’t be the first time that the Marlins faced this consequence, as the MLBPA filed a grievance against the Marlins, Rays, Pirates, and Athletics in February 2018 based on the union’s stance that the clubs were simply pocketing a good deal of their revenue-sharing money, rather than reinvesting those funds towards player payroll.  Rosenthal and his Athletic colleague Evan Drellich recently noted that that grievance was still pending in an adjusted form, though the most recent CBA saw the minimum spend rise from 125 percent to its current 150 percent figure.

The revenue-sharing minimum drew more of a spotlight this winter when the A’s started to increase their payroll, which was viewed as the team trying to hit that $105MM tax number and avoid any heat from the players’ union.  The Athletics’ situation is a little different since their revenue-sharing status was reduced in the earlier years of the CBA while the team was looking for a new ballpark, and they are now back to receiving a full-fledged share of revenue-sharing funds in 2025.

The Marlins have generally been among the lowest-spending teams in baseball for most of their history, and spanning multiple ownership groups.  Bruce Sherman’s purchase of the Marlins in 2017 was initially viewed as a possible light at the end of the payroll tunnel, though the sudden departure of CEO Derek Jeter prior to the 2022 season threw a wrench into that perception, especially since payroll expenditures were reportedly one of several sources of disagreement between Sherman and Jeter.

Miami did elevate spending a bit under GM Kim Ng and the team made the playoffs in 2023, but Sherman’s desire for a better farm system led to Ng’s departure after that season, and the hiring of Peter Bendix as the Marlins’ new president of baseball operations.  Taking a page from Bendix’s former team in Tampa Bay, the Marlins seem to be moving towards a Rays-esque model of relying on a strong minor league pipeline to build their rosters, while only modestly spending on payrolls.  Bendix’s arrival kickstarted yet another rebuild, as the Marlins have dealt several of their more experienced and higher-priced players over the last year.

As much as the Athletics’ winter moves were made with the revenue-sharing number in mind, acquiring Luis Severino, Jeffrey Springs, and Gio Urshela are also sensible from an on-field standpoint, given the club’s needs in the rotation and at third base.  Considering that the A’s played solid baseball over the last three months of the 2024 season, the West Sacramento team might even have some darkhorse potential as a wild card contender if everything breaks right and the Athletics get another breakout or two from younger players.

The Marlins are in a different situation.  While there is some interesting talent on the roster, it is very hard to imagine Miami contending in 2025, nor does contending seem to be in the front office’s plans within the near future as Bendix focused on overhauling the player development system.

Spending $22.2MM to get up to the $105MM threshold likely won’t translate, therefore, in any additions that will help Miami win ballgames in 2025.  The Marlins could add a couple of lower-cost veterans on one-year deals, with an eye towards potentially trading those players at the deadline once the majority of their salaries have been officially tallied onto the team’s tax bill.  With a nod towards the Marlins’ goal of restocking the farm system, Bendix could potentially look into trading for a bad contract or two from another team, with that other team adding some prospects as a sweetener to further entice Miami into absorbing most or all of the money owed.

Unsurprisingly, Bendix didn’t provide many details on the Marlins’ spending plans, telling the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and other reporters this week that “I’m not going to comment on what we might or might not do.  Bruce continues to give us all the resources we need to build this franchise for sustainable success.”

Bendix also didn’t entirely close the door on the possibility that Sandy Alcantara could be traded, saying that “We never rule out anything.  We listen to everything.”  That said, Alcantara was told back in August that he probably wasn’t getting dealt this offseason, and Bendix noted that “Sandy is a really important piece for our organization.  I’m really excited to see him pitch on Opening Day.”

Alcantara is the highest-paid player on Miami’s roster, as the 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner is owed $17MM in each of the next two seasons, plus there is a $21MM club option ($2MM buyout) on his services for 2027.  This salary has naturally made Alcantara the subject of continued trade rumors, even though Alcantara didn’t pitch in 2024 due to Tommy John surgery.

Obviously the Marlins wouldn’t be trading the right-hander for a maximum return in the wake of this injury, which is why a deal this winter remains unlikely.  If Bendix was to sell low on Alcantara now only to see him rebound to ace form in the early part of the 2025 season, that’ll count as a missed opportunity to gain the biggest possible trade package for the Marlins’ biggest remaining trade chip.  Miami’s payroll might also factor into the equation here, as Rosenthal notes that trading Alcantara would leave the Marlins even further away from the $105MM revenue-sharing threshold.

Just as Bendix isn’t likely to openly state that Alcantara is available in trade talks, the PBO also isn’t likely to entirely shut down any offers because of basic due diligence.  Bendix surely doesn’t want to limit options just in case a pitching-needy team actually is willing to part with a premium return for a pitcher coming off a lost season.

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