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NL East Notes: Marlins, Mets, Ramirez, Fedde

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Though a potential ownership change has many Marlins fans hoping for an increased payroll, FOX’s Ken Rosenthal argues that any new owners should operate in familiar fashion and tear down the organization with an aggressive rebuild. Miami’s farm system is barren, and the team already has as much as $95MM committed to players in 2018. Rosenthal suggests that the Marlins should prepare to deal some relief pitching and market breakout outfielder Marcell Ozuna — while perhaps also beginning to think about what to do with the massive contract of Giancarlo Stanton.

  • Plenty of other National League East competitors are struggling as well, with the Mets in particular playing well shy of expectations. As John Harper of the New York Daily News writes, there’s no easy solution for an organization that has been beset with injuries. The club’s short-term veteran assets are all fairly expensive, and all but Jay Bruce have had their own issues with injury and/or performance downturns. Having dealt from the farm in recent years, the upper ranks are somewhat depleted; and with needs set to arise in the near future, dealing from what’s left (particularly given the poor start) may not be advisable.
  • New Mets reliever Neil Ramirez discussed his recent signing with reporters including MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, who tweets a video of the righty’s comments. Ramirez says he feels he was throwing well with the Giants despite some poor earned-run results. When the Blue Jays claimed and then outrighted him, he elected to test the market in search of “an opportunity to stick” with another team. His deal with the Mets came together in very short order.
  • With the Nationals still struggling to find reliable relief arms, the team has moved top pitching prospect Erick Fedde into a bullpen role, Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post tweets. While it seems likely that the organization still views Fedde as a starter in the long run, the consensus top-100 prospect may be of greater use in the near term out of the pen. He has impressed thus far at Double-A, throwing 42 2/3 innings of 3.16 ERA ball with 7.4 K/9 against 3.0 BB/9, and could conceivably function as a multi-inning option in the majors. While a deadline deal or two remains all but inevitable for the division-leading Nats, utilizing Fedde in that manner might provide a boost while limiting the need to part with young talent later this summer. Of course, the team tried something similar last year with Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez with less-than-ideal results, though both were still able to return a big piece in Adam Eaton over the winter.

Quick Hits: Ozuna, K-Rod, JD Martinez, Darvish

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New ownership would obviously lead to many changes for the Marlins, though it’s too early to speculate on what a possible sale of the team would mean for Marcell Ozuna’s long-term future in Miami, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes as part of a reader mailbag.  It seemed as if Ozuna had fallen out of favor with Jeffrey Loria two years ago, though Ozuna wasn’t dealt in the 2015-16 offseason after much speculation.  Ozuna delivered a solid season in 2016 and is off to a great start this year, hitting .319/.380/.595 with nine homers in his first 129 PA.  Since Ozuna isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2019 campaign, his future isn’t a pressing concern for whomever ends up running the Marlins, though an extension could be unlikely regardless since Ozuna is represented by Scott Boras.  At the very least, the outfielder is lining himself up for a massive raise in his second year of arbitration eligibility after agreeing to a $3.5MM salary for 2017.

Here’s some more from around the big leagues…

  • After two blown saves in as many days for Francisco Rodriguez, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alex Espinoza) that the team is “going to have to have a discussion” about the closer role.  Rodriguez has blown four saves in 11 opportunities this season, and his ERA ballooned to 8.49 after today’s ugly performance.  K-Rod has seen a marked increase in hard contact this season (36.8%, as opposed to 29.2% last year) and he has lost a mile off his fastball from last season, now averaging 88.2mph on his heater.  With that being said, there may also be some bad luck involved in Rodriguez’s poor start, such as a .405 BABIP, 29.3% grounder rate and 21.1% fly ball rate that all seem destined to eventually normalize.  Set-up man Justin Wilson is off a very good start and could seem like the logical candidate to take over as closer if Rodriguez is indeed demoted.  Be sure to check out @CloserNews (MLBTR’s affiliate Twitter feed) for all the latest updates on ninth-inning situations from around the majors.
  • In other Tigers news, Ausmus told Anthony Fenech of the Detroit Free Press and other media that J.D. Martinez could make his season debut next weekend.  The slugging outfielder has been on the DL since suffering a Lisfranc sprain in Spring Training, and the Tigers announced today that Martinez will take the next step his minor league rehab process by moving from Class-A to Triple-A on Monday.
  • The Rangers dropped to 13-19 after today’s loss to the Mariners, and if Texas can’t turn things around, Fangraphs’ Dave Cameron opines that Yu Darvish could be a major trade chip at the deadline.  Darvish is only under contract through this season, though as Cameron notes, other rental starters dealt in recent years have still merited big returns, so the Rangers could look for something like the package the Tigers obtained from the Blue Jays for David Price in 2015.  The Yankees and Cubs are best-equipped to afford this outlay of young talent (though it remains to be seen if Chicago will make another big deadline splash), with other teams like the Rockies, Astros and Red Sox also possible fits as trade partners.

Marlins Notes: Bullpen, Shifts, Ozuna, Prado

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The Marlins are off to a strong 7-5 start to the season and are currently sporting the game’s fifth-best run differential (+12). Here’s the latest out of South Beach…

  • Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports covers a couple of Marlins topics in his latest notes post. While the team is off to a good start to the year, Rosenthal points out that Miami has six relief pitchers on pace to throw more than 85 innings in 2017. Even though that’s deliberate in some ways, as the Marlins stocked up on ’pen depth when recognizing how difficult it’d be to beef up their rotation, Rosenthal suggests Marlins starters are going need to pitch deeper into games in order for the team’s run to be more sustainable. To add some further context to Rosenthal’s point, only two relievers in baseball reached 85 innings last year: Brad Hand and Erasmo Ramirez. While strategically stockpiling quality relievers certainly has some merit on paper, Marlins starters have thrown just 60 1/3 innings through 12 games. Asking any group of relievers to throw as many as three to four innings on a near-nightly basis seems unrealistic, even if the group is largely comprised of quality arms (as is the case in Miami).
  • Rosenthal also spoke to Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill about the team’s increased number of infield shifts in 2017. As Rosenthal points out, the Marlins have shifted nearly as many times in 12 games this year as they did in all of 2016 (per STATS, LLC). Hill explains to Rosenthal that the primary difference in 2017 is that the team is more aggressively shifting infielders to the opposite side of the second base bag. Moving defenders but keeping them on their designated side of the infield isn’t designated as a technical “shift” in STATS’ record-keeping. “We had numerous shifts (previously) where the shortstop/second baseman shaded up the middle, but didn’t cross the bag,” says Hill. “In an effort to be more thorough and get more outs, our data suggested we shade to the other side.”
  • Yahoo’s Jeff Passan observes that the Marlins could find themselves in position to cash in a huge return on outfielder Marcell Ozuna if they’re not contending this summer. The 26-year-old Ozuna is rocking a Herculean .404/.453/.745 batting line through his first 53 plate appearances, and while that’ll fall once his .438 BABIP corrects itself, Ozuna has seemingly taken a step forward in the power department. If the Marlins aren’t contending, they’ll have a decision to make on Ozuna, who would have two and a half years of team control remaining. Miami has virtually no chance of working out an extension with the Scott Boras client, in Passan’s estimation, so dealing him could be a means of injecting a much-needed wave of quality young talent into the team’s minor league ranks. Then again, if Miami is still flirting with the NL East lead and/or a Wild Card spot, it may be a moot point, as Ozuna would be considered a key contributor to a postseason pursuit.
  • The Marlins are expected to reinstate third baseman Martin Prado from the disabled list prior to tonight’s game against the Mariners, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. The return of Prado will be a welcome addition for the Fish, as he’s fresh off a .305/.359/.417 batting line compiled over the life of 153 games last season. The 33-year-old suffered a strained hamstring while playing for Venezuela during the World Baseball Classic but recently wrapped up a four-game rehab stint with Miami’s Class-A Advanced affiliate in the Florida State League.

Players Avoiding Arbitration: National League

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Quite frankly, there were too many arbitration agreements today to reasonably stuff into one post. So here’s a rundown of the National League players that have avoided arbitration on smaller deals (American League deals here). You can see all of the arbitration “action” thus far in a sortable, filterable format by checking out MLBTR’s 2017 Arbitration Tracker. All projections referenced in this post are courtesy of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz:

  • Wily Peralta and Carlos Torres have agreed to one-year deals, according to the team’s Twitter account. Peralta will earn $4.275MM (compared to $4.4MM projection), per Heyman. Torres was projected to make $2MM, but will get slightly more at $2.175MM, per Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (via Twitter).
  • Reliever George Kontos gets $1.75MM from the Giants, Heyman tweets. He had projected at $1.7MM.
  • The Diamondbacks also reached agreement with lefty Patrick Corbin, righty Randall Delgado, and catcher Chris Herrmann, per Jack Magruder of Fan Rag (links to Twitter). Delgado gets $1.775MM and Herrmann receives $937,500. As for Corbin, he’ll take home $3.95MM, per Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter), which falls a bit shy of his $4.2MM projection.
  • Infielder Eduardo Nunez will receive $4.2MM from the Giants, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). San Francisco has also reached agreement with lefty Will Smith, per Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’ll receive $2.5MM, just over his $2.3MM projection, Heyman tweets.
  • The Phillies settled at $4.2MM with righty Jeanmar Gomez, per Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). He falls just a big shy of his $4.6MM projection.
  • The Cardinals have announced arb deals with Trevor Rosenthal and Kevin Siegrist. Rosenthal receives $6.4MM, per Heyman (via Twitter), which is just $100K over his projection. Siegrist projected at $1.9MM, but his salary has yet to be reported.
  • Matt Harvey and Jacob deGrom have each avoided arbitration with the Mets. Harvey gets $5.125MM in his second arb year, per James Wagner of the New York Times (via Twitter). Meanwhile, deGrom will receive $4.05MM in his first trip through the arb process, per ESPNNewYork.com’s Adam Rubin (via Twitter). New York has also agreed with lefty Josh Edgin, Rubin tweets, though terms remain unreported.

Earlier Updates

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Marlins Rumors: Ramos, Ozuna, Fister, Phelps, Gee

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The Marlins have “signaled that they might be willing to trade” closer A.J. Ramos, reports ESPN’s Jayson Stark (via Twitter). On the one hand, the news isn’t all that surprising, as Ramos projects to earn a relatively hefty $6.8MM in 2017 and is only controllable for another two seasons, so Miami could market him as it looks to add more stability to its rotation. On the other hand, there have been reports that the Marlins are weighing a run at right-hander Kenley Jansen to beef up the bullpen and shorten the game for their starters due to the lack of available rotation help. Moving Ramos would go against the stated goal of deepening the relief corps with high-end talent, although perhaps the team could look to add some rotation help by moving Ramos and replace him with a free-agent arm. Ramos, 30, posted a terrific 2.81 ERA with 10.3 K/9 but also averaged 4.9 BB/9 and posted a career-worst 36.4 percent ground-ball rate in 64 innings with Miami last year.

A few more notes on the Fish…

  • There’s been “little to no dialogue” between the Marlins and other teams about outfielder Marcell Ozuna, reports MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro. Many clubs are taking a patient approach to see how the pitching market develops before they determine whether they can part with an arm in a trade to address the outfield, Frisaro writes, and there isn’t much internal traction regarding the idea of dealing Ozuna. With Edinson Volquez on board, the Marlins may look further to the free-agent market rather than seeking trades to bolster the staff.
  • Also from Frisaro, the Marlins have had internal discussions regarding Doug Fister, C.J. Wilson and Jon Niese. Previous reports have linked Miami to the latter two names, but this appears to be the first definitive link between the Marlins and Fister, who posted a 4.64 ERA with 5.7 K/9, 3.1 BB/9 and a 45.3 percent ground-ball rate in 180 1/3 innings for the Astros last season. That marked a second consecutive weak showing for Fister, who was previously one of the more underrated starters in baseball while pitching for the Tigers. Fister’s strikeout rate has plummeted in recent years, though, and while he’s never thrown hard, his once 89-90 mph fastball is now more in the 86-87 mph range. David Phelps is also a candidate to step into the rotation, but the Marlins prefer that he remains at the back of the bullpen, Frisaro adds.
  • Also of note from Frisaro’s piece on the team’s free-agent hunt, he lists Jansen and Aroldis Chapman as assets that are probably too expensive for the Marlins but lists right-handers Mark Melancon and Daniel Hudson as more affordable options that could be realistic targets.
  • Meanwhile, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Marlins have reached out to the representatives for right-hander Dillon Gee, who became a free agent when he was cut loose by the Royals after the season. Gee is no stranger to the NL East, having spent the bulk of his career with the Mets, and he delivered 125 innings with a 4.68 ERA, 6.4 K/9, 2.7 BB/9 and a 41 percent ground-ball rate for Kansas City last year. However, Gee’s season came to an end when he required surgery to alleviate thoracic outlet syndrome. He’s expected to be ready for Spring Training, though, and would give the Marlins a veteran arm who could function in a swingman capacity, making some starts as needed but also providing a relief arm capable of throwing multiple innings.

Marlins Notes: Wilson, Niese, Ozuna, Trades

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Here’s the latest from south Florida…

  • The Marlins have some interest in veteran lefty C.J. Wilson, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.  Wilson “isn’t on the verge of making a decision” about his next team, though the southpaw does intend to play in 2017 after being sidelined since July 2015 due to elbow and shoulder injuries.  Jackson notes that Miami had interest in Wilson the last time he was a free agent, prior to his signing a five-year, $77.5MM deal with the Angels following the 2011 season.
  • In another item from Jackson, he wouldn’t be surprised if the Marlins pursue left-hander Jon Niese.  Like Wilson, Niese is another veteran who’d be available at a relatively low price, which fits the Marlins’ plans of adding starting pitching without breaking the bank.  Niese posted a 5.50 ERA over 121 innings with the Pirates and Mets last season, delivering his usual low-strikeout, high-grounder arsenal but allowing a whopping 22.1% home run rate.  A move to Marlins Park would theoretically help Niese avoid the long ball, though PNC Park and Citi Field also aren’t generally homer-friendly stadiums.  Niese is a free agent after the Mets declined his $10MM club option for 2017, instead paying the lefty a $500K buyout.
  • Marcell Ozuna has often been cited as a potential trade chip for Miami, though MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro believes that dealing Ozuna and then spending big to sign another outfielder (i.e. Dexter Fowler) doesn’t make financial sense.  Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich are both getting raises next year, so signing a player like Fowler would put the Fish in line for roughly $42MM in salary for just three outfielders.  If Ozuna was to be dealt, the more likely scenario for a replacement is that the Marlins sign a short-term veteran to platoon with Ichiro Suzuki.
  • Also as part of Frisaro’s mailbag piece, he looks at the Marlins’ need for pitching and opines that Doug Fister would be a good fit in Miami.  If Frisaro was in charge, he would look to free agency rather than the trade market since he would “be really reluctant to deal any of the core position players off the big league roster” due to “a shortage of organizational depth.”

Cardinals Notes: Cecil Signing, Ozuna, Backup Catcher

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GM John Mozeliak spoke with the press about the team’s decision to sign southpaw Brett Cecil to a four-year deal, as the Associated Press reports (via the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). That article also provides a breakdown of the contract, which provides Cecil a $1MM signing bonus along with three years of $7.5MM salaries and a $7MM payout for the 2020 campaign.

  • Cecil’s contract was a fair bit larger than most were expecting, but Mozeliak explained that the market dictated the deal. “Brett was the one person we thought if we were going to make a splash in the bullpen, he was the one we identified,” the veteran executive said. “There was a lot of demand for him and it was moving.” As ever, the presence of multiple bidders is a recipe for success in free agency.
  • Clearly, there was plenty of interest, and more than one team that believed the 30-year-old was in an upper tier of relief pitchers. As Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs explains, the $30.5MM guarantee really shouldn’t be seen as much of a surprise. (Mea culpa: we at MLBTR predicted a three-year, $18MM deal.) Cecil has been rather dominant when healthy, with the peripherals to match. And he is not only reasonably youthful, but has the kind of arsenal that gives reason to think he can keep it up. Sullivan argues that the pact fits comfortably in with precedential contracts such as Darren O’Day’s four-year, $31MM payday last winter.
  • One of the major reasons that Cecil’s contract rated as a surprise is the fact that he registered only a 3.93 ERA and managed just 36 2/3 innings in his platform season. St. Louis (and others) were willing to look past that, and Cecil suggested in his comments that he was already rounding back into form late in the year (as his strong late-season performance suggests). His torn lat muscle plagued him in the middle of 2016, as he balanced the need for healing with the urge to get back to the mound. “We tried to rest, tried to let it heal. It wasn’t working,” Cecil explained. “I was sidelined for six weeks. I almost had to start spring training over again in the middle of the season. It took me a little bit to get going, and there in August and toward the end of the season and in the playoffs, I was beginning to feel like my old self again.”
  • Shoring up the bullpen was a major need for the Cards, especially once Zach Duke was lost for the year due to Tommy John surgery. But perhaps the single greatest opening for the organization is in the outfield, with the team giving indications that it prefers to add a center fielder — preferably, one with defensive chops. Still, there’s also a need to replace some of the pop that the club has lost with Brandon Moss and Matt Holliday heading to free agency, Mark Saxon of ESPN.com notes. He suggests that Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna is a “name to keep an eye on” for the Cardinals. Ozuna has rated well with the glove in the past, though his metrics dipped last year, but he also brings a power bat. (In 2016, Ozuna hit 23 home runs for the second time in his career while posting a personal-best .187 isolated slugging mark.) Of course, he’s also going to cost quite a bit in trade value since he’s only projected to earn $4.5MM in his first of three seasons of arbitration eligibility. That being said, the Cardinals look to be a strong possible match with the Marlins, at least on paper, given their relative abundance of MLB-level starting pitching — a major focus of Miami’s offseason.
  • After designating catcher Brayan Pena for assignment today, the Cardinals seem like a possible suitor for a backup catcher to spell Yadier Molina. As their updated depth chart shows, the club’s top in-house options (assuming Pena takes free agency) are youngsters Carson Kelly and Jesse Jenner along with journeyman Alberto Rosario. It may be the right time for the organization to give Kelly an extended look, as Molina is only controlled through 2018 (via club option) and is already 34 years of age — though the lauded veteran proved again in 2016 that he’s still capable not only of carrying the bulk of the load, but playing at a high level. At the very least, though, it seems reasonable to expect St. Louis to make a depth addition. While the free agent crop of catchers may not quite be up to the demand for everyday pieces, it does have quite a few experienced backstops who’d make for solid reserve options.

Trade Chatter: Cabrera, Longoria, McCann, Kendrick, Ozuna, Espinosa

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With money to spend, the Astros are expected to pursue a big-ticket bat, per Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter links). There has long been at least some reason to believe the ’Stros would be in on free agent Edwin Encarnacion, and that’s a possibility per the report. More intriguingly, though, Morosi suggests that Houston will look into dealing for Tigers superstar Miguel Cabrera. There are a number of barriers to that kind of move, of course. While Morosi posits that fellow Venezuelan Jose Altuve could be part of a sales pitch to get Cabrera to waive his no-trade protection, that’s but one element. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said yesterday that he prefers not to part with young assets to make a deal, and surely Detroit will want something back for a player who is still producing premium offensive numbers at 33 years of age. But he’s getting up in years, is limited to first base or DH, and is still owed $220MM over the next seven seasons.

  • Speaking of blockbusters, Morosi also suggests on Twitter that the Rays will be open to scenarios involving star third baseman Evan Longoria. The Dodgers could be one possibility, he posits, at least assuming they don’t land Justin Turner in free agency. Again, it seems there’s reason to avoid running away with expectations. Longoria is fresh off of a strong campaign and is only beginning a reasonable, but hardly cheap $100MM contract extension that was struck way back in 2012. Though Tampa Bay is always a candidate to move salary, and the connection to Rays-turned-Dodgers exec Andrew Friedman is interesting, Los Angeles has proven hesitant to deal away top-quality young assets under his watch. And that’s surely what the Rays would request.
  • The Yankees are readying for a possible deal involving catcher/DH Brian McCann, as Ken Davidoff and Joel Sherman of the New York Post report. Although that is hardly a forgone conclusion, it certainly seems as if a trade is a legitimate possibility. New York GM Brian Cashman has chatted with McCann’s agent about the possibility of a trade — the veteran has full no-trade protection — and Cashman acknowledges that there is a lot of interest with a lot of rivals seeking to improve behind the dish. Meanwhile, the long-time Yankees GM noted that he doesn’t foresee striking a major deal for an ace-level starting pitcher, explaining that such a move would be more appropriate if the club were to “feel like you’re one player away.”
  • We heard yesterday that the Dodgers will consider dealing veteran infielder (and, more recently, outfielder) Howie Kendrick, with a reunion with the Angels cited as a possibility. But that’s not a very realistic scenario, in the estimation of Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register (Twitter links). Though he only requires a one-year commitment, Kendrick also isn’t terribly cheap with $10MM owed for 2017. He’s also a right-handed bat, which wouldn’t be preferred, and has shown signs of decline in the field and at the plate. The Halos are likely “aiming higher,” per Fletcher, who recently broke down some options for the club. Los Angeles isn’t interested in moving Yunel Escobar to second, he notes, but will be pursuing outside additions. Fletcher cites Cesar Hernandez of the Phillies as a trade possibility, with Derek Dietrich of the Marlins and Scooter Gennett of the Brewers also representing possible trade candidates (though both would arguably best be paired with a platoon mate).
  • Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna has long been a popular name in trade chatter, though he remains in Miami after a strong 2016 season. As MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports, the Marlins aren’t desperate to move him — though they are putting a priority on adding quality starting pitching, and may find that necessary. President of baseball operations Michel Hill explained that the team will continue to put a high price on Ozuna. “We’re not going to sell him on the low, or trade him 20 cents on the dollar, because this is a premium position player with power and athleticism,” said Hill. “I think he showed this year, this is who he is.”
  • As the Nationals evaluate their options up the middle with a bit of roster flexibility, the team is amenable to consider moving veteran shortstop Danny Espinosa, GM Mike Rizzo suggested to reporters including Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. Though Rizzo said he’d still be “comfortable” utilizing Espinosa at short, he noted that there a variety of other possibilities. “I could see him as utility player. I could see him as a player you could utilize in a trade context to get another piece that you need,” Rizzo said. “There’s a lot of moving parts we can go, and a lot of different avenues we can attack.” While Espinosa doesn’t have immense trade value — he’s limited offensively and projects to earn $5.3MM in his final season of arbitration eligibility — it’s certainly possible to imagine him being swapped out for another short-term veteran at another area of need (the bullpen, perhaps).

Marlins Looking To Acquire Starting Pitching

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The Marlins’ main objective is to upgrade their rotation during the offseason, but their limited budget will likely prevent them from chasing either of the best impending free agent starters, Rich Hill or Jeremy Hellickson, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

The upcoming free agent market is largely devoid of quality starters, which means the Marlins could go the trade route to bolster their rotation. The team doesn’t plan to shop its two best outfielders – Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich – or catcher J.T. Realmuto in an attempt to acquire pitching, though it’s willing to listen to potential offers for outfielder Marcell Ozuna, second baseman Dee Gordon, shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria and utilityman Derek Dietrich, Jackson reports.

In the wake of former ace Jose Fernandez’s tragic death last month, the Marlins are down to Adam Conley, Wei-Yin Chen and Tom Koehler as their top starters heading into the winter. That’s an uninspiring trio on paper, but president of baseball operations Michael Hill believes Conley possesses “top of the rotation talent.” Since debuting in 2015, the 26-year-old has posted a 3.82 ERA, 8.22 K/9 and 3.73 BB/9 in 200 1/3 innings. The Marlins are also optimistic about Chen, who was a letdown this season after signing a five-year, $80MM deal with them last winter. Chen recorded the best K-BB percentage of his career (14.6), but he logged a bloated 4.96 ERA – up from a personal-best 3.34 with Baltimore in 2015. The 31-year-old also totaled just 123 1/3 innings because of an elbow injury that kept him out from late July until the end of September.

Three of the Marlins’ four potential trade chips (Ozuna, Hechavarria and Dietrich) are on track to receive raises via arbitration during the winter, while Gordon is controllable through 2021 on the five-year, $50MM extension he signed last January. The speedy Gordon inked that deal off two straight terrific seasons, but his value has since taken hits from an 80-game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs and a stark decline in offensive production in the 79 contests he played this year.

Ozuna, who MLBTR projects will net $4.5MM in his first of three potential arbitration trips, was also on the block last offseason. The Mariners, Rangers and Reds were among the teams in on Ozuna, who was coming off a subpar season that included a demotion to Triple-A New Orleans. That 33-game minor league stint drew the ire of both Ozuna and agent Scott Boras, but in spite of the bad blood between them and the Marlins, no trade materialized. Ozuna then slashed .266/.321/.452 with 23 home runs in 608 plate appearances in a bounce-back 2016, which could put the soon-to-be 26-year-old on the radar of outfielder-needy teams. Ozuna has typically fared better in right field than center, where he ranked toward the bottom of the majors in Defensive Runs Saved and Ultimate Zone Rating this year.

While Hechavarria has been among the league’s premier defensive shortstops since last season, his below-average offense cratered this year (.238/.283/.311 in 547 PAs) and somewhat cancelled out his fielding prowess. MLBTR’s arbitration forecast for Hechavarria calls for a $3.7MM salary in 2017, which will be his penultimate year of club control. The fact that there are no starting-caliber shortstops set to hit the free agent market could help the Marlins’ cause if they shop him, though it’s certainly poor timing for them that Hechavarria had such a dreadful season at the plate.

Dietrich is in his first of four arbitration years, and he should make in the eminently affordable $1.8MM neighborhood in 2017. The 27-year-old spent time at first, second and third base this season, with the vast majority of his work coming at the keystone as a result of Gordon’s suspension. Dietrich also has experience in left field, but unless the Marlins deal Ozuna or Gordon, playing time could be difficult to come by for him in Miami. In addition to Gordon at second, the Marlins already have Justin Bour and Martin Prado locked in as their starting first and third basemen, thus limiting Dietrich to a bench role if the team’s lineup remains intact. Nevertheless, the Marlins regard Dietrich as someone who’s capable of starting, Jackson writes, and he made his case this season with a .279/.374/.425 line in 412 trips to the plate.

If the Marlins aren’t able to pick up a pair of starting pitchers from outside the organization during the offseason, swingman David Phelps could end up in the rotation next season, Hill told Jackson. Phelps, who was outstanding as both a reliever and starter this year, has made 64 starts with the Yankees and Marlins since cracking the major leagues in 2012. The Marlins also have Justin Nicolino and Jose Urena on hand as somewhat experienced options, but neither has been effective in the big leagues.

Marlins Rumors: Rodney, Payroll, Dunn, Rotation

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Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has a host of Marlins info in his latest column, including notes on Fernando Rodney, the team’s search for rotation upgrades, and the payroll.

The Marlins “have no plans” to exercise their club option on Rodney following the right-hander’s struggles in Miami, according to Jackson. As such, the 39-year-old appears set to receive a $400K buyout and enter the free-agent market in search of his eighth big league team. Rodney inked a one-year, $2MM contract with the Padres this past offseason and pitched brilliantly in San Diego, logging a 0.31 ERA in 28 2/3 innings with the Friars. That performance prompted the Marlins to part with a fairly well-regarded pitching prospect, right-hander Chris Paddack, in order to add Rodney to their bullpen. (Paddack has since undergone Tommy John surgery.) However, Rodney’s arrow-shooting opportunities in Miami were limited, as he regressed to a 3.95 ERA over his first two months with the Fish before turning in a dismal 11.57 ERA over the season’s final month (12 earned runs, 16 hits, eight walks, 10 strikeouts in 9 1/3 innings).

On top of Rodney’s struggles in Miami, the financial component of his option undoubtedly plays a role in Miami’s reported inclination to pass on a reunion. The base salary on Rodney’s option, like his 2016 salary, was $2MM. However, the option was structured so that the price would increase to match any performance incentives he earned in 2016. Rodney finished 41 games between San Diego and Miami this season, earning him $2.5MM worth of incentives and subsequently boosting the price of his option to $4.5MM. As such, the Marlins effectively had a $4.1MM decision on their hands — exercise the option at $4.5MM or pay Rodney a $400K buyout — and elected not to pay a fairly notable rate for Rodney’s age-40 season.

In addition to Rodney’s overall performance, the Fish may simply not with to allocate that level of funds to a reliever when their payroll is already inflating in other areas. Miami’s payroll will go up in 2017, according to Jackson, but a large portion of those increases will come in the form of built-in raises to players like Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon and Wei-Yin Chen (plus arbitration raises for A.J. Ramos, Marcell Ozuna and others). With their guaranteed contracts and a number of arb-eligible players, the Marlins already figure to see their payroll pushed up into the upper-$60MM range, if not the low-$70MM vicinity. That’s a pittance for most teams, but the Marlins have only topped a $100MM payroll once (2012), and they look to be on track for their second-highest team payroll in history, even if that checks in somewhere around a modest $80-90MM.

One asset to which the team could dedicate some payroll is free-agent lefty Mike Dunn, with whom Jackson says the Marlins are interested in a reunion. Dunn’s 371 games with Miami are the most by any pitcher in franchise history, and he’s been a mainstay in the Miami ’pen since coming over in the 2011 trade that sent Dan Uggla to the division-rival Braves. Dunn missed time with a forearm strain this season but returned to ultimately log 42 1/3 innings of 3.40 ERA ball with 8.1 K/9 against 2.3 BB/9. Dating back to the 2013 season, he has a 3.38 ERA in 221 innings of relief with 242 strikeouts. Miami is also open to re-signing Bryan Morris, who was designated for assignment and outrighted after missing the majority of the season due to back surgery. Morris, of course, won’t be anywhere near as costly as Dunn, who figures to have a case for a multi-year pact in free agency.

Of course, the bullpen is hardly the only area of the pitching staff that needs to be addressed in Miami. The tragic death of Jose Fernandez is still difficult to process, but his absence leaves a glaring void in the starting rotation. The Marlins were always likely to pursue some degree of rotation help, but president of baseball ops Michael Hill said today: “Everything changed when we got that call about Jose.” The Marlins will be in the market for two starting pitchers, Jackson writes, and more importantly they’ll be willing to deal a position player in order to add some help to the rotation. Jackson lists defensive wizard Adeiny Hechavarria and the versatile Derek Dietrich as options, also adding that Ozuna could spend another offseason seeing his name in trade rumors if he can return a strong enough rotation arm.

Ozuna, of course, was the subject of many trade rumors last season and has only boosted his value after a terrific season in which he batted .266/.321/.452 with 23 homers in 608 plate appearances. That’s a near-mirror image of his breakout campaign as a sophomore in 2014 (.269/.317/.455, 23 homers, 612 PAs). Teams in need of outfield help — the A’s, White Sox, Blue Jays, Rays and Cardinals are some purely speculative possibilities on my end — figure to show plenty of interest in Ozuna if is indeed made available, but clubs willing to part with pitching talent will hold the leverage in trade talks this winter, given the paucity of available rotation options.

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