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Wei-Yin Chen, Dan Straily Nearing Return To Marlins’ Rotation

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The Marlins could soon be installing a pair of veteran arms into their struggling young rotation. Craig Mish of SiriusXM reports that lefty Wei-Yin Chen will be activated to start Saturday’s game against the Rockies (Twitter link), and it seems that right-hander Dan Straily won’t be far behind (link via Doug Padilla at MLB.com). Straily tossed 88 pitches in yesterday’s rehab assignment and, so long as his arm feels good today, his next outing will likely be at the big league level.

Late last season, the Marlins organization expressed uncertainty as to whether Chen, who had a minor tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow, would be able to pitch at all in 2018. However, he’s made multiple rehab starts in extended spring camp and Class-A Advanced and is now set for his 2018 debut. MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro tweets that a scout who was at Chen’s most recent start felt he looked ready to return to the big leagues. Chen allowed one run on five hits and a walk with 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings in his two Class-A rehab appearances.

A healthy Chen would have to be considered a huge bonus for the Marlins, who have routinely trotted out a collection of inexperienced arms thus far in the season. Jose Urena is the most seasoned arm in the Marlins’ rotation at present, with rookies Caleb Smith, Trevor Richards and Dillon Peters following him up. Lefty Jarlin Garcia technically isn’t a rookie, but this is his first big league season as a starter and just his second year in the Majors overall.

The 32-year-old Chen, unsurprisingly, forwent the opt-out clause in his five-year, $80MM contract this offseason, as opting out would’ve meant leaving $52MM on the table. That enormous financial commitment remains immovable for a Miami team that tore down the vast majority of its roster this offseason, and that’s highly unlikely to change regardless of how Chen performs. If Chen rounds into form, though, perhaps we’ll see Miami offer to eat a notable chunk of the remaining salary on his contract this July in an effort to at least partially unburden themselves — though a lot will need to go their way for that to even be possible.

Miami inked Chen prior to the 2016 season in large part due to the durability he displayed with the Orioles. While he never cleared the 200-inning mark in the regular season, Chen averaged 29 starts per year (30 if you count his postseason work). Since signing in Miami, however, he’s pitched a total of just 156 1/3 innings over two seasons combined, due to the previously mentioned elbow issues.

Straily, on the disabled list for the first time in his big league career, has also been working his way back via minor league rehab appearances after his 2018 debut was delayed by a forearm injury. Unlike Chen, he’ll immediately become a relatively desirable trade asset, assuming good health. Controlled for two seasons beyond 2018 and earning a modest $3.375MM this season, Straily has made 64 starts and pitched to a combined 4.01 ERA over the past two seasons combined. Straily drew plenty of interest on the trade market last summer, and it stands to reason that he’ll be in demand again as one of the few controllable starters available in trade.

Marlins Place J.T. Realmuto, Dan Straily, J.T. Riddle On Disabled List

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TUESDAY: Realmuto and Riddle have indeed been placed on the DL, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports (Twitter links).  Realmuto has a bone bruise, though the problem doesn’t sound too serious, as Frisaro said he is just “not being rushed” to be ready for Opening Day.

SATURDAY: The Marlins have placed right-handed starter Dan Straily on the 10-day disabled list, according to a report from Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald. In a separate tweet, Spencer notes that catcher J.T. Realmuto and shortstop J.T. Riddle are also likely to begin the season on the DL.

Straily was recently diagnosed with a “slight elbow strain” after experiencing some elbow inflammation.While Straily has told reporters that he doesn’t feel any pain (h/t Joe Frisaro of MLB.com), he’ll reportedly refrain from throwing for the time being. His early-season absence is terrible news for an already-thin Marlins rotation that’s now projected to feature Jose Urena as its opening day starter. Roster Resource assumes that non-roster invite Jacob Turner and Rule 5 pick Elieser Hernandez will be forced into rotation roles at the season’s outset. The Marlins recently optioned offseason acquisition Sandy Alcantara to Triple-A, but it’s fair to think he could be next in line if any of the club’s starting five struggle out of the gates or suffer an injury.

Beyond rotation implications, Straily’s elbow troubles are of serious concern to a Marlins club that held onto him amidst an offseason fire sale of its top players. With Miami clearly beginning a full-scale rebuild, Straily was considered one of the club’s top remaining trade assets. Whether or not the club had any thoughts about trading him prior to this year’s deadline, a serious injury to his elbow would figure to take that option off the table.

Speaking of injured trade candidates, Realmuto hasn’t played since suffering a back contusion on March 11th. The Marlins catcher collided with Gleyber Torres on a pickoff play in the fourth inning of a Grapefruit League game. The injury hasn’t been described as serious in any outlets, so it’s certainly feasible that the club might simply be taking a cautious path with their most valuable asset. Still, a report that he’s likely to go on the DL means that any remaining chance him being traded prior to the season has reduced to near zero.

If Realmuto does end up going on the DL, non-roster invite Bryan Holaday could be called upon to fill in alongside usual backup Tomas Telis. Chad Wallach is already on the 40-man roster after being claimed from the Reds in November, so he presents another option for the Fish.

As for Riddle, he’s yet to play in a game this spring. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com recently reported that he was “a little sore” after ramping up throwing activity. Riddle underwent season-ending surgery last August after suffering a slap-tear in his left shoulder, but figured to be a part of the Marlins’ opening day roster. The odds of that are beginning to look grim. Reserve infield options for the club are few and far between, with non-roster invite Peter Mooney presenting the best option at present.

 

NL Notes: Grandal, Mets, Leiter, Straily

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While it seemed at one point he profiled as a trade candidate, Yasmani Grandal will enter the season expected to receive the bulk of the playing time behind the dish for the Dodgers, skipper Dave Roberts tells reporters including Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times (via Twitter). Grandal, 29, had been bypassed late last year by Austin Barnes, who turned in a breakout campaign in his first season of significant MLB action. Grandal still put up a quality overall season with the bat and has raked this spring, while Barnes has struggled at the plate in Cactus League action. Regardless, the organization seems to have an excellent tandem to work with.

Here’s more from the National League:

  • Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription link) examines the Mets’ pitching plans, focusing on the multi-inning capabilities of anticipated relievers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman. Skipper Mickey Callaway explains that “to put a [starter] in the bullpen and all of a sudden start using him like a traditional reliever would be a mistake,” so there are elements of both need and opportunity in the approach that the organization seems to be lining up. The practicalities will also impact the precise way the staff is deployed, as Britton explores in detail, with Callaway emphasizing that it’ll ultimately be a process that unfolds as the season goes on with “constant communication” between coaches and pitchers.
  • We’re still awaiting further word on the health of Phillies hurler Mark Leiter. As Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com was among those to tweet yesterday, the 27-year-old has experienced forearm tightness, which can be a symptom of a worrying elbow issue. Leiter, who turned in 90 2/3 innings of 4.96 ERA ball in his debut season of 2017, is all the more important to the Philadelphia staff with Jerad Eickhoff sidelined to open the year.
  • The Marlins are taking a look at a notable arm of their own, as Craig Mish of Sirius XM tweets that righty Dan Straily has been diagnosed with a “slight elbow strain.” In a subsequent announcement, the team called it “mild right forearm inflammation” and said Straily won’t throw for five or six days. (H/t MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, via Twitter.) That said, Straily — who the Marlins held onto despite moving other veteran assets over the winter — may not be ready to open the season, which would leave a big hole in an already-patchworked Miami rotation. The Fish also announced today that young righty Sandy Alcantara has been optioned, so he’s evidently not in the plans for the early-season rotation. Roster Resource now predicts that Jacob Turner will claim a roster spot out of camp.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Neshek, Marlins, Garcia, Straily

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The Phillies remain interested in adding to their rotation before the season starts, though they’re not going to make any lengthy commitments, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com writes. Both general manager Matt Klentak and president Andy MacPhail (via Matt Breen of Philly.com) have indicated this week that the Phillies aren’t going to splurge on a long-term starter, in large part because they aren’t quite ready to push for a playoff spot, Zolecki notes. The team would be willing to pay more on a shorter contract, Zolecki relays, and Klentak revealed that doing so “is something we talk about frequently.” But if the Phillies aren’t able to land another starter in the coming weeks, Klentak insists they’ll be content to turn to in-house options.

  • Reliever Pat Neshek returned to the Phillies in free agency over the winter, agreeing to a two-year, $16.25MM pact. It turns out that the 37-year-old could have made more money elsewhere. “We didn’t really wait for other teams,” Neshek said this week (via Zolecki). “I probably left a little bit more on the table from other teams. Well, I know I did because a team called me after I agreed [with the Phillies]. Their first offer was better, but it was a comfort thing. I was really happy with the offer. I didn’t want to wait and see anything else.” Neshek was only in Philadelphia for a few months last year before the team traded him to the Rockies in July, but it’s clear both he and the Phillies enjoyed their first go-round.
  • Although left-hander Jarlin Garcia led Marlins relievers with 68 appearances as a rookie in 2017, the club plans to deploy him as a starter this season, manager Don Mattingly told Joe Frisaro of MLB.com and other reporters. “Jarlin will be a starter this year,” said Mattingly, who believes that moving the 25-year-old to the rotation is “probably the best for his development.” Assuming Miami sticks to that plan, Garcia will be part of a rotation that currently features just two locks (Dan Straily and Jose Urena).
  • Straily is one of the best players left on a rebuilding Miami team that has jettisoned several household names (Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and Dee Gordon) since last season and could still deal catcher J.T. Realmuto. But unlike Realmuto, who’d prefer to play elsewhere, Straily’s fine with the franchise’s direction. Straily said this week that he’s “glad” certain players who didn’t want to continue as Marlins are gone, likely referring to Stanton and Yelich, per Frisaro. Regarding the Marlins’ high-profile trades, Straily added: “I really, I guess, kind of agree with what happened. All the moves they’ve made. I really feel the pieces they’ve brought in, this might flip around a little quicker.”

Marlins Win Arbitration Hearing Over Dan Straily

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The Marlins won their arbitration hearing over right-hander Dan Straily, tweets FanRag’s Jon Heyman. He’ll earn the $3.375MM sum submitted by the team rather than the $3.55MM salary that he and his agents at Sosnick, Cobbe & Karon filed (as can be seen in MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker). Straily will still earn the first seven-figure salary of his career with today’s ruling, though, as he earned $552K last year in his final pre-arbitration season. Straily is under team control through the 2020 season.

Straily, 29, started 33 games for the Marlins in 2017, working to a 4.26 ERA with 8.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9, 1.54 HR/9 and a 34.2 percent ground-ball rate in 181 2/3 innings. Straily found himself at the center of plenty of trade rumors last summer as the Marlins underperformed, and again this offseason, but for the time being it looks like he’ll return to Miami for a second season there. (The Marlins young righty Luis Castillo to Cincinnati to acquire him last offseason in a swap that now looks regrettable, even with Straily’s solid ’17 showing.)

As it stands, Straily will return to Miami as the top starter in a largely unsettled group. Right-hander Jose Urena will join him in the rotation, and the Marlins are reportedly planning to stretch out lefty Jarlin Garcia as a starter this year as well. Other rotation options include Adam Conley, Odrisamer Despaigne, Justin Nicolino, Caleb Smith, Dillon Peters and Sandy Alcantara.

Even if the Fish hang onto Straily through the entirety of Spring Training, his name figures to once again surface in trade talks this summer; the Marlins aren’t going to compete for a division title or a Wild Card spot in 2018, barring something miraculous, and a healthy Straily will garner robust levels of interest from contending clubs that are searching for a stabilizing presence in the middle of their rotations.

NL East Notes: Norris, Lagares, Stewart, Prado, Chen, Straily, Quinn

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The latest from around the NL East…

  • The Mets had Bud Norris “on their board” before the veteran right-hander signed with the Cardinals, The Athletic’s Marc Carig reports (Twitter link).  Norris’ versatility as both a reliever and a potential swingman or spot starter intrigued the Mets, who may or may not be still looking for rotation depth.
  • Juan Lagares’ name has surfaced in some trade rumors over the offseason, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo (Twitter link) doubts the Mets would part with the defensively-gifted outfielder.  The team is thin on outfield depth as it is, and Lagares is penciled in as the starting center fielder until Michael Conforto is healthy.  Dealing Lagares (who is owed $15.5MM over the next two seasons) would free up some payroll space for the Mets, and he hasn’t hit much over the last three years, with injuries playing a role in his struggles at the plate.  Nevertheless, DiComo writes that “the Mets are super bullish on” Lagares and even plan to use him against both left-handed and right-handed pitching.
  • Braves GM Alex Anthopoulos discussed his team’s signing of Chris Stewart with reporters (including David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution), admitting that Stewart’s addition is “not a clean fit right now” since the team is set behind the plate with Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki.  The hope is that Stewart will accept an assignment to Triple-A at the end of Spring Training to provide additional depth at catcher behind the MLB duo.  The Braves would’ve preferred to sign Stewart to a minor league deal, though Stewart was insistent on receiving a Major League contract, even if his deal isn’t guaranteed.
  • The idea of players asking for trades is “a little radical” for Martin Prado, the veteran infielder told reporters, including Clark Spencer and Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald.  Unlike several Marlins teammates who are still with the team (J.T. Realmuto, Starlin Castro) or have since been dealt (Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich), Prado said he would never request a trade, though he “respected” those players’ decisions.  While Prado may have not have asked for a deal, Miami reportedly looked into trading the infielder and $28.5MM remaining on his salary as part of the team’s latest payroll slash.
  • Wei-Yin Chen won’t be ready to be on the Marlins’ Opening Day roster, manager Don Mattingly told media, including Spencer and Fernandez.  Chen is beginning a throwing program during Spring Training as he continues to recover from the elbow problems that limited him to only 33 innings in 2017.  Mattingly didn’t put a timetable on when Chen is expected to be ready, other than to say that he expects the southpaw to be in the rotation at some point.
  • Also from the Spencer/Fernandez piece, Dan Straily’s arbitration hearing with the Marlins will take place tomorrow.  The two sides will face the arb panel despite a rather small difference in submitted figures; Straily is asking for a $3.55MM salary in 2018, while the Fish countered with an offer of $3.37MM.  Miami has already gone to arbitration hearings twice this winter, winning one (against Realmuto) and losing the other (to Justin Bour).
  • With the Phillies stressing defensive versatility, the team will work Roman Quinn out at shortstop this spring, Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Daily News writes.  Manager Gabe Kapler said the team won’t try Quinn at shortstop in an actual game before they see how he handles infield drills, though Kapler noted that “we’d be foolish not to look under that stone” given Quinn’s athleticism.  Quinn was originally drafted as a shortstop the Phillies took him in the second round in 2011, but was shifted to the outfield after some early-career defensive struggles.  Quinn can already play all three outfield spots, though adding shortstop to his defensive repertoire would only help his chances of winning a spot on what could be a short Phillies bench.

Unresolved 2018 Arbitration Cases

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We’ve covered a whole lot of arbitration deals today, many of them reached before today’s deadline to exchange filing figures. Some other agreements have come together after team and player submitted their numbers. It’s still possible, of course, that these situations will be resolved before an arbitration hearing becomes necessary. (At this point, we seem to lack full clarity on teams’ approaches to negotiations after the filing deadline. And most organizations make exceptions for multi-year deals even if they have a file-and-trial stance.)

Some situations could even be dealt with in short order. As things stand, though, these unresolved arbitration cases could turn into significant hearings. (As always, MLBTR’s 2018 arbitration projections can be found here; you will also want to reference MLBTR’s 2018 arbitration tracker.)

Taking Inventory: Miami Marlins

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In an effort to cut payroll, the new Marlins ownership group (headlined by Derek Jeter) has already kicked off a fire sale of major league assets. They’ve traded three significant players so far in Giancarlo Stanton, Dee Gordon and Marcell Ozuna, and only the latter of the three netted any significant prospect haul. Miami has succeeded in getting big salaries off the books, but their farm system still looks bleak and lacks top-rated prospects (though some pitchers in their system have upside).

So while the team has already completed its stated salary-slashing objective, the moves made so far have put the franchise in an in-between kind of state. Miami finished last season with a 77-85 record, and then traded away three players who were worth a combined 15 fWAR. The only major league asset who came back in return was Starlin Castro, who was worth about 2 fWAR in 2017. All told, the Marlins’ roster looks about 13 wins worse than last season, which in theory would make them about as good as last year’s Tigers club.

Of course, it doesn’t exactly work that way, but the writing on the wall here is that the Marlins aren’t going to do a whole lot of winning next season. They’d face enormous odds in challenging the Nationals for the NL East crown. Aside from that, their farm system is dwarfed by those of the division-rival Braves and Phillies, both of whom are on the rise. Clearly the club isn’t planning on improving the team through free agency, as that would counteract the enormous effort the team made to reduce payroll. As such, there appears to be no reason to stop selling now. There are a few players on the roster who could help the Fish add significant prospects to their minor league ranks and improve the organization’s future outlook…

Two Years of Control

Starlin Castro, 2B ($22MM owed through 2019, including $1MM buyout of $16MM option for 2020): When Castro came to Miami in the Stanton deal, trade speculation began immediately. There’s probably some surplus value to be had in the 27-year-old’s contract considering his reasonable salary and the fact that he’s still in his prime. With the Marlins having already met their payroll-related goals, they probably even have the flexibility to pay some of his salary in order to get better prospects in exchange. Castro is coming off a .300/.338/.454 season, but poor defensive play at second limits his value to an extent.

Longer-Term Assets

J.T. Realmuto, C ($4.2MM projected arb salary for 2018): MLBTR has already talked about Realmuto’s trade candidacy at length this month (including an in-depth piece on his market), so I’ll keep this short. Realmuto has already requested a trade, and although he doesn’t have any real leverage in the matter, he seems a likely candidate to be wearing another uniform even before he hits free agency following the 2020 season. The Marlins catcher was worth at least 3.5 fWAR in each of the past two seasons, and plenty of contenders and up-and-comers would love to have that kind of value coming from a premium position on the diamond. It would, however, take a reportedly “huge overpay” to pry him out of Miami’s hands.

"<strongChristian Yelich, OF ($44.5MM owed through 2021, including $1.25MM buyout of $15MM option for 2022): Yelich has also been one of the more common names to pop up in trade rumors this offseason. He’s easily the Marlins’ most valuable asset; the former first round pick has been worth about 16 fWAR across the past four seasons combined. With five more years of team control, however, there’s at least a chance he could be part of the next winning Marlins club at a very reasonable price, so there’s less of a reason for the team to move him there is to move other assets. Among the plusses for Yelich are good defense in the outfield, a 10.7% career walk rate and improved baserunning ability.

Dan Straily, RHP ($4.6MM projected arbitration salary for 2018): While Straily isn’t as talented (or receiving as much trade attention) as elite options like Michael Fulmer, Chris Archer and Gerrit Cole, he’s a league-average MLB talent who could be made available in a thin and expensive market for pitching. Straily posted a 4.26 ERA in 2017 along with a 2.83 K/BB ratio and comes with three years of team control.

Justin Bour, 1B ($3.5MM projected arbitration salary for 2018): Amidst Marlins rumors, it’s somewhat of a surprise to me that Bour’s name hasn’t been mentioned more often. Miami’s left-handed-hitting first baseman enjoyed a breakout season in 2017 prior to an oblique injury. Upon his return in early September, he picked up right where he left off, and ultimately finished the season with an outstanding .289/.366/.536 slash line to go with 25 home runs across just 429 plate appearances. With the Rockies, Angels and Mariners still looking for first base help, it wouldn’t be a shock to see the market for Bour heat up at some point. He wouldn’t come cheap, though, as he’s cost-effective and controllable through arbitration from 2018-2020.

Kyle Barraclough, RHRP (League minimum salary for 2018): Barraclough has a sky-high career strikeout rate 12.05 K/9), but carries the downside of an equally absurd walk rate (5.52 BB/9). The net result is a sort of effectively-wild performance that’s led to fantastic career run-prevention numbers, headlined by a 2.87 ERA. With elite relievers becoming more and more in demand, it’s conceivable Barraclough could net a hefty return.

Derek Dietrich, INF ($3.2MM projected arbitration salary for 2018): Though he’s not a full-time player, Dietrich has managed to accrue at least 1.5 fWAR in each of the past two seasons, and can play both second and third base. He’d be a cheap utility infield option on a contending team, and comes with three years of team control. He hit .249/.334/.424 in 2017 with 13 homers, making him a nearly average offensive player at 99 wRC+.

Salary Dump Candidates

Wei-Yin Chen, LHP ($60MM owed through 2020, with a $16MM vesting option for 2021): Simply put, this offseason would be the worst possible time to trade Chen. After missing most of the season due to elbow issues, Chen returned to make just four appearances out of the bullpen in September prior to being shut down. While he was generally good when on the field (3.82 ERA, 3.73 FIP), the Marlins would have an incredibly difficult time trying to move any of his salary until he can settle concerns about his elbow.

Martin Prado, 3B ($28.5MM owed through 2019): Prado is coming off a dreadful 2017 season in which he was able to muster just 147 plate appearances due to multiple injuries. He posted just a 67 wRC+ across that time, and will enter the 2018 season at 34 years of age. There have been reports that the Marlins might try to attach Prado to a trade of a more valuable asset in order to clear his salary, but like Chen, it might be the wrong time to trade him. After all, he averaged 3 WAR from 2014-2016 thanks to a .295/.341/.407 slash line and elite defense at the hot corner.

Brad Ziegler, RHRP ($9MM salary for 2018): The issue with Ziegler is his recent inability to miss bats. The righty struck out fewer than five batters per nine innings in 2018 and experienced a steep drop in velocity on his sinker. All told, Ziegler was tagged for 25 earned runs in 47 innings. Perhaps he’s another candidate to re-established value prior to the trade deadline, but he’s also 38 years old; it’s also possible the Marlins could be better served simply trying to find a taker for as much of his salary as possible.

Junichi Tazawa, RHRP ($7MM salary for 2018): See Ziegler. Okay, not exactly, but Tazawa’s outlook isn’t much more promising other than the fact that he’s seven years younger. The righty is two years removed from his last respectable season. Last year was his worst performance yet: he was valued below replacement level thanks to a 5.69 ERA and 4.96 FIP. Miami’s best chance to move his salary would be to try to include him in a trade along with Realmuto, Yelich or another contract with significant excess value.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Machado, Adonis Garcia, Marlins, Braves

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The Orioles “continue to hear from multiple teams interested in trading for Manny Machado,” tweets Jon Morosi of MLB Network, who doesn’t believe the club has a firm deadline on trade talks for their star infielder.  As Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com wrote six days ago, “These incremental updates are white noise.”  Unfortunately, that’s all we’ve got right now!  Connolly’s best guess at that time: Machado will be traded before Opening Day.  For now, we’ll continue to wait for the hot stove to light.

Marlins Notes: Yelich, Starlin, Smith, Rotation

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The White Sox are among the clubs that have spoken to the Marlins about Christian Yelich, reports ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick (via Twitter), though he adds that those talks never gained much traction. Per Crasnick, talks never advanced beyond “routine dialogue.” Certainly, though, if the Marlins elected to shop Yelich to other clubs, there’d be a fit between the two sides. Chicago has one of the game’s top farm systems, and the 26-year-old Yelich would align nicely with the rebuilding White Sox’s projected timeline for contending. Yelich is owed $44.5MM over the next four seasons — a sum that includes the buyout on a $15MM option for a fifth season. All told, Yelich can be controlled for five years and $58.25MM — a relative bargain for a player that has batted .293/.371/.447 with outstanding left field defense over the past three seasons. Yelich showed in 2017, too, that he can handle center field if needed, though defensive metrics are much more bullish on his corner work. For now, however, Crasnick notes that execs with other clubs believe the Marlins will hang onto Yelich.

A bit more on the Marlins…

  • Marlins vice president of player development Gary Denbo tells reporters that he expects Starlin Castro to be a part of the club in 2018 as well (link via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald). Denbo spoke highly of Castro, praising his ability to hit for power relative to other second basemen. Castro, acquired in the blockbuster that sent Giancarlo Stanton to New York, is owed $22MM over the next two seasons and has a $16MM option for a third year. There’s been plenty of speculation that the Marlins, looking to further trim their payroll, could flip Castro to a club in need of a second baseman. Marlins fans will want to check out Jackson’s piece for Denbo’s evaluations of prospects Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers — the other two players in the Stanton deal.
  • Jackson’s column and this column from MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro both contain a number of quotes from Denbo on the young pitchers the Marlins have acquired this offseason. Denbo suggests that lefty Caleb Smith (another pickup from his former organization, the Yankees) will compete for a rotation spot in 2018. Smith, 26, was hit hard in a tiny sample of 18 1/3 innings with the Yankees last year, but he turned in an outstanding 2.39 ERA with 8.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9 and a 41.1 percent ground-ball rate in 98 Triple-A innings in the Yankees organization. Smith averaged 94 mph on his heater with the Yanks last year, though he did so primarily as a reliever, so that velocity will likely take a step back when working as a starter. Denbo also weighs in on first baseman Garrett Cooper, who could potentially serve as a right-handed complement to Justin Bour.
  • In his latest Marlins Inbox, Frisaro breaks down the Marlins’ potential rotation, noting that he’s not convinced Dan Straily will be traded (thus positioning him to be the team’s Opening Day starter). Jose Urena should be in the mix as well, with Adam Conley, Justin Nicolino, Odrisamer Despaigne, Dillon Peters and (as Denbo suggested) Smith all in the mix as well. Wei-Yin Chen, of course, will start if he can return to health, though his status remains up in the air. Frisaro tackles a number of other roster-related issues, including the outfield alignment, the timeline of some pitching prospects to the Majors and Derek Dietrich’s role with the club.

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