Marlins Rumors

Marlins Notes: Avisail, Castellanos, Lopez, Hernandez, Blue Jays

By Mark Polishuk | November 11, 2021 at 1:19pm CDT

The Marlins are intent on adding offense, and are exploring both the free agent and trade routes to accomplish this goal. On the open market, the Marlins have shown interest in Avisail Garcia (as per The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson) and they have spoken with agent Scott Boras, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Boras represents any number of top hitters in this year’s free agent market, though Heyman observes that outfielder Nick Castellanos is from Miami, even if it’s “hard to see [the Marlins] affording him.”

Using MLBTR’s Top 50 Free Agents list as reference, we have Castellanos pegged for a five-year, $115MM deal, not to mention the additional draft pick compensation the Marlins would need to surrender since Castellanos has rejected the Reds’ qualifying offer. Garcia is projected for three years and $36MM, which much more realistic even for a Marlins team that has expressed a willingness to flex a bit more financial muscle this winter. As it happens, our Garcia estimate is pretty close to the three-year, $30MM extension offer the Marlins floated at Starling Marte last summer, so that could give some hint as to what the team is prepared to spend.

Garcia is less expensive and is a better defender than Castellanos, though Castellanos has a more consistent track record as a hitter. Garcia does happen to be coming off one of the best seasons of his career, after hitting .262/.330/.490 with a personal-best 29 homers in 515 PA with the Brewers. While Garcia alone wouldn’t elevate Miami’s lineup, Heyman believes the Marlins could “acquire multiple hitters that cost somewhat less” than one big splashy acquisition like Castellanos.

The opportunity also exists for the Marlins to trade from their pitching surplus, and MLB Network’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Blue Jays are one of the teams who have been in touch with Miami. Heyman identifies Pablo Lopez and Elieser Hernandez as the Marlins’ “most available arms,” likely in the context of Lopez and Hernandez being the type of big league-ready pitchers that would appeal to a win-now team like Toronto.

Since the Jays have a catching surplus and the Marlins have a need behind the plate, Alejandro Kirk seems like a logical trade possibility, Morosi opines. Kirk may have the most trade value of any Blue Jays catcher besides star prospect Gabriel Moreno, and Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith writes that Moreno “appears extremely unlikely” to be dealt anywhere. Toronto could also be a fit for the Marlins’ outfield needs, as Nicholson-Smith notes that the Jays have been getting a lot of interest in their catchers and outfielders at the GM Meetings.

Marlins Considering Trading From Rotation Surplus

By Anthony Franco | November 8, 2021 at 8:36pm CDT

The Marlins have one of the league’s most pitching-heavy rosters, with an established group of young starters and some more well-regarded prospects nearing big league readiness. With the team expected to look for upgrades both behind the plate and in the outfield this winter, the Fish have seemed speculative candidates to make one of their controllable arms available to bolster other areas on the roster.

Miami’s at least debating that possibility, as Jon Morosi of MLB.com reports (on Twitter) the team is considering whether to trade one of their arbitration-eligible hurlers this offseason. Sandy Alcantara, Pablo López and Elieser Hernández are each controllable through 2024 via arbitration, and Morosi suggests the Marlins could be open to moving someone from that group.

Alcantara would seemingly have the greatest appeal on the trade market, but it’s also possible Miami could make him off limits. There’s reportedly been optimism about their chances of working out an extension with the All-Star hurler, who was one of just four pitchers to eclipse 200 innings this past season. Alcantara, who is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $4.5MM arbitration salary, worked to a stellar 3.19 ERA despite that heavy workload, inducing grounders on over half the balls in play against him.

López has been one of the league’s steadier, more underrated hurlers over the past couple seasons. Going back to the start of 2020, the right-hander has a 3.26 ERA/3.21 FIP across 160 innings. Only projected for a $2.5MM salary, López’s resume should pique the interest of plenty of pitching-needy clubs. But his status could be complicated a rotator cuff strain in his throwing shoulder that cost him essentially the entire second half of 2021. López landed on the shelf in mid-July and didn’t return until the final day of the season, when he tossed 1 2/3 innings in a deliberately brief start.

Hernández is coming off an injury-impacted season of his own. The righty missed two months early in the year with biceps inflammation, then suffered a quad strain in his first start back that cost him another two months. He made eleven starts altogether, posting a 4.18 ERA with quality strikeout and walk numbers but an extremely high home run rate. He’s projected for a $1.4MM salary.

With all three pitchers likely to have bargain salaries in 2022, general manager Kim Ng and her staff needn’t feel any immediate financial pressure to move Alcantara, López or Hernández this winter. But it’s little surprise the Marlins are at least considering that course of action, since trading one of those starters looks to be the most straightforward way to acquire controllable position player talent. Even if Miami moved one of the aforementioned trio, they’d still have Trevor Rogers, Sixto Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett and Zach Thompson among their big league ready rotation options, with top prospect Max Meyer on the doorstep as well after a dominant season in Double-A.

Marlins Outright Magneuris Sierra

By Anthony Franco | November 3, 2021 at 2:37pm CDT

The Marlins have outrighted outfielder Magneuris Sierra, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). That suggests he’s already cleared waivers. As a player who has spent parts of seven seasons in the minor leagues, the 25-year-old Sierra will have the right to elect minor league free agency in the coming days.

The move could bring an end to Sierra’s four-season tenure in the organization. Originally a Cardinals’ prospect, he was traded to Miami alongside Sandy Alcantara, Zac Gallen and Daniel Castano as part of the December 2017 Marcell Ozuna deal. Sierra, who had briefly debuted with St. Louis the season before, was viewed as a potential everyday center fielder based on the strength of his speed, defense and bat-to-ball skills.

The left-handed hitting Sierra appeared in the majors in each of the past four seasons with Miami but never hit enough to live up to that everyday billing. He has yet to hit a home run in 540 MLB plate appearances, posting a .240/.287/.278 mark altogether. Sierra’s baserunning and defense have been strong as expected, but that lack of productivity at the plate eventually squeezed him out of a crowded if unsettled outfield mix. Miami still has Lewis Brinson, Brian Miller, Bryan De La Cruz and Monte Harrison as center field-capable players on the 40-man roster.

East Notes: Mancini, Rojas, Bendix

By Mark Polishuk | October 31, 2021 at 11:43am CDT

With Trey Mancini entering his final year of arbitration eligibility, there has been much discussion over whether the first baseman will remain with the Orioles or head elsewhere, either via trade or as a free agent next winter. It isn’t clear if the O’s are willing to sign any veteran player (even the beloved Mancini) to a long-term extension as they continue their rebuilding process, though MASNsports.com’s Steve Melewski suggests that the team could split the difference by pursuing a shorter-term extension with Mancini. Inking Mancini to a deal of two or three years would be especially beneficial if the Orioles became competitive earlier than expected, and an extension wouldn’t necessarily mean that the team couldn’t still trade Mancini down the road. Indeed, teams might be more interested in acquiring Mancini if they knew they’d have him for more than just the 2022 season.

Of course, it isn’t known if Mancini himself would be open to such a shorter-term arrangement, though he has often said that he loves playing in Baltimore. Mancini turns 30 years old in March, so in the event of a short-term extension, he would be delaying his free agency until at least the start of his age-32 season. While a short-term deal would lock in some more money immediately, Mancini might prefer to bet on himself in 2022 and wait for a more lucrative, longer-term contract next winter. Mancini has earned $4.75MM in each of the last two seasons and is projected to earn $7.9MM in his final arb year, so he already banked some financial security throughout his career.

Coaching/Scouting Notes: Stottlemyre, Kotsay, Hanrahan, Diversity Pipeline

By Anthony Franco | October 29, 2021 at 10:28pm CDT

Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. recently signed a contract extension to return in 2022, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. It’ll be his fourth season in that capacity, as Stottlemyre originally joined Miami over the 2018-19 offseason. The Marlins have brought up plenty of talented young pitchers over the past couple years, with Sandy Alcantara, Pablo López and Trevor Rogers already having proven themselves as quality starting pitchers and plenty more highly-touted arms either at or nearing the major league level. Marlins starters ranked 13th this past season in ERA (4.08) and 15th in SIERA (4.27).

On a personal note, Stottlemyre tells Mish he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in Spring Training. He coached in spite of the diagnosis all year and underwent surgery to have his prostate removed earlier this month. MLBTR sends our best wishes to the well-respected Stottlemyre.

The latest on a some other administrative situations around the league:

For the first time in a decade, the Athletics are on the hunt for a manager. After longtime skipper Bob Melvin surprisingly signed on to become Padres’ manager last night, Oakland joins the Mets as clubs searching for a new dugout leader. A’s third base coach Mark Kotsay is expected to garner some consideration for the role, reports Jon Heyman of the MLB Network (Twitter link). That’s not at all surprising, since Kotsay has been on Melvin’s staff in various capacities for the past six seasons. The former big league outfielder has long been viewed as a potential skipper, and he’s interviewed with the Astros (for the job that went to Dusty Baker), Red Sox (which went to Ron Roenicke) and Tigers (which went to A.J. Hinch) over the past two offseasons.
Former MLB closer Joel Hanrahan has spent the past five seasons coaching in the Pirates’ minor league system. The 40-year-old served as the pitching coach with Triple-A Indianapolis this year, and it’s expected he’ll return in that capacity in 2022. Hanrahan tells Rob Biertempfel of the Athletic he’s hoping that work on the farm will eventually land him a big league coaching job. “The goal is to get back to the majors (as a coach),” Hanrahan said. “It’s been a fun five years of getting guys to the big leagues, and now there are a lot of guys in Pittsburgh who would be fun to work with. You’ve just kind of gotta wait your turn and see what happens.” A two-time All-Star, Hanrahan pitched in the big leagues from 2007-13.
Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com recently spoke with attendees and instructors of MLB’s Diversity Pipeline Scout Development Program. Introduced this year and slated to continue annually, the program’s goal is to increase racial and gender diversity in front offices and scouting departments by fostering a pipeline of talent evaluators. The inaugural event was led by former Braves’ and Pirates’ executive Tyrone Brooks, who now serves as MLB’s senior director for front office and field staff for the Diversity Pipeline Program. Featuring instructors from the A’s, Marlins, D-Backs and other teams, the program included daily classroom instruction over the course of a week, as well as Arizona Fall League and amateur scouting experience for its 29 attendees.

Marlins Outright Jorge Guzman, Jeff Brigham

By Mark Polishuk | October 28, 2021 at 10:37am CDT

The Marlins have reinstated right-handers Jorge Guzman and Jeff Brigham from the 60-day injured list and outrighted both pitchers to Triple-A Jacksonville. Since the 60-day IL placements meant that Guzman and Brigham already weren’t on the 40-man roster, Miami’s 40-man remains at 36 players.

Guzman missed much of the season due to two separate visits to the 60-day IL due to elbow problems, and he appeared in only two games. The 25-year-old’s MLB career thus far consists only of three games and 2 2/3 innings over the last two seasons, with a garish 27.00 ERA over that very small sample size.

It wasn’t long ago that the hard-throwing Guzman was regarded as one of the Marlins’ better pitching prospects, which is particularly notable given the number of quality arms in the organization. However, many of those other pitchers are simply now a higher priority considering Guzman has barely pitched in two full seasons. Beyond his cups of coffee in the majors, Guzman also tossed only 15 1/3 innings at Triple-A in 2021.

Brigham has seen even less action over the last two seasons. The righty spent all of 2021 on the 60-day injured list due to an unspecified injury, and threw only one inning with the Marlins in 2020, as he was one of many players caught up in the team’s COVID-19 outbreak that summer.

Brigham saw more action with the Marlins in 2018-19, posting a 5.01 ERA over 54 2/3 innings of work. Originally a fourth-round pick for the Dodgers in the 2014 draft, Brigham has been with Miami since 2015, coming to the Fish as part of the whopping 13-player, three-team swap between the Marlins, Braves, and Dodgers at the 2015 trade deadline.

Marlins Extend Miguel Rojas Through 2023

By Steve Adams | October 28, 2021 at 9:26am CDT

TODAY: The Marlins officially announced Rojas’ extension.

OCTOBER 27: The Marlins are keeping their shortstop around for an extra season, agreeing to an extension with Miguel Rojas that’ll keep him under contract through 2023. Rojas, who had already locked in a $5.5MM salary for the 2022 season when he triggered a vesting option in September, is reportedly signing a two-year, $10MM deal.

It effectively amounts to the Marlins tacking on an additional year and $4.5MM for what will be Rojas’ age-34 season. The deal does not contain any option years. Rojas, who is represented by the Beverly Hills Sports Council, recently indicated in an appearance on Chris Rose’s podcast that an extension was in the works. He has previously voiced a desire to spend his entire career with the Marlins, and the front office has similarly expressed interest in keeping the clubhouse leader in Miami.

The 32-year-old Rojas saw his bat come back down closer to his career levels after a monster showing at the dish during the 2020 season. Typically a bit below-average with the bat but exceptional with the glove, Rojas erupted with a .304/.392/.496 showing last summer — albeit in a sample of just 143 plate appearances. That said, this year’s .265/.322/.392 showing in 539 trips to the plate was still a solid mark (97 wRC+), and if you take the last three seasons in the aggregate, Rojas has effectively been a league-average hitter.

League-average offense for a player of Rojas’ defensive aptitude is hardly anything to scoff at. Defensive Runs Saved pegged Rojas at plus-4 for the 2021 season and as a plus-20 defender in 4445 career innings at the position, while Rojas notched a 4.8 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2021 and carries a lifetime 28.5 mark in that regard. Statcast’s Outs Above Average is less bullish on his glovework but pegs him as at least an average defender over the past several seasons. Rojas also has ample experience at second base and third base in his career, so he could eventually slide into a utility role — although all current indications are that he’ll reprise his role as starting shortstop in 2022.

A Rojas extension gets some offseason business out of the way early for the Marlins and locks in a bargain source of cost certainty for the 2023 campaign. That’s likely quite notable for the Fish, who are angling to spend some money in free agency this winter but will surely be operating with some degree of financial constraints. CEO Derek Jeter has voiced an expectation that the Marlins will be “pretty active” for the first time under this ownership group.

Time will tell how that vague description from Jeter is defined relative to other “active” teams in free agency. The Marlins are expected to seek long-term options at catcher and in center field, and they could certainly be in the mix for a corner outfielder to pair with promising young Jesus Sanchez. At the moment, Rojas and right-hander Anthony Bass ($3MM) are the only players on guaranteed contracts in 2022. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects an arbitration class in the vicinity of $34.5MM, and Miami will still owe $3MM to the Yankees under the terms of the Giancarlo Stanton trade.

With a projected payroll in the $55-56MM range, there does appear to be room to add — the question is just how high the Jeter/Bruce Sherman ownership group is willing to push payroll. Presumably, they’ll look for a gradual year-over-year increase rather than soaring to their max budget right out of the gates. However they proceed, they can now do so with the certainty that their ostensible team captain is under control for an extra season.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported the Marlins and Rojas were in agreement on an extension. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported it was a two-year, $10MM deal. Joel Sherman of the New York Post added that the contract did not contain any options.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Coaching Notes: McLeod, Dozier, Hillman, Rodriguez

By Darragh McDonald | October 22, 2021 at 10:50pm CDT

Cubs senior vice president of player personnel Jason McLeod is departing the organization, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. Mooney says that McLeod, whose contract is up at the end of the month, “declined an offer to remain with the Cubs.” McLeod may not be a household name, but he’s been an instrumental part of baseball’s recent history. Theo Epstein was hired to be the Cubs’ president of baseball operations in October 2011, with McLeod and Jed Hoyer coming along two weeks later. The trio, who had all previously worked together in Boston, helped build the recent Cubs dynasty that broke the century-old curse with their 2016 World Series championship. The triumvirate was broken up with Epstein’s resignation a year ago. Hoyer was then promoted from general manager to take Epstein’s place as president. Although Hoyer delayed naming a replacement GM because of the pandemic, it was recently announced that it would be Carter Hawkins, who had previously been with Cleveland. In past years, McLeod has been frequently connected to other general manager positions in rumors but had stayed in his senior VP role with the Cubs until now.

Other coaching notes from around the league…

It was less than a year ago that Brian Dozier announced his retirement from playing, and now he wants to get right back into a dugout as a manager. In a conversation with Robert Murray of FanSided, Dozier discusses his ambitions and says, “Even though I don’t want to play anymore, I feel as if I have a lot more to give in the sense of managing. For me, I’ve always taken a lot of pride in being a leader on and off the field and learning from managers that I’ve had on things to do and not to do. I’ve always had a desire to manage.” Dozier goes on to discuss various topics related to managing, such as analytics and communication. He says that he has not yet talked to any teams about managing but wanted to put his intentions out in the open. Dozier is 34 years old, turning 35 in May, and would easily be the youngest manager in the league, if hired. (Rocco Baldelli and Luis Rojas were the youngest this year at 39.) However, there’s at least some recent precedent for a manager getting hired in his mid-30s. Baldelli was 37 when he was first hired. Kevin Cash was hired just before his 37th birthday. A.J. Hinch and Eric Wedge were both approaching their respective 35th birthdays when their hirings were first announced, Hinch with Arizona in 2009 and Wedge with Cleveland in 2002.
The Marlins are losing a couple members of their coaching staff, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Third base coach Trey Hillman and assistant hitting coach Robert Rodriguez are both leaving to pursue other opportunities. This concludes a three-year term in the organization for Hillman, who was hired before the 2019 campaign. He has some managerial experience, having been the bench boss for the Royals, as well as the NPB’s Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the SK Wyverns of the KBO. Rodriguez previously managed the Gulf Coast League Marlins and was promoted to the big league club prior to the 2020 season.

Marlins Outright Four Off 40-Man Roster

By Steve Adams and James Hicks | October 21, 2021 at 3:05pm CDT

The Marlins have outrighted infielders Eddy Alvarez and Deven Marrero and right-handers Preston Guilmet and Andrew Bellatti off their 40-man roster, tweets Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. The Fish now have 36 players on the 40-man roster, but with seven players on the 60-day injured list, they’ll still need to clear three more spots to reinstate all of their injured players between now and the conclusion of the postseason. All four players will be eligible for minor league free agency.

Of the two infielders, Alvarez saw significantly more action in 2021, compiling a .188/.297/.328 line across 74 plate appearances. He also made a few headlines in both 2020 and 2021: first when he became the first Winter Olympic medalist to appear in a Major League Game (he won a silver medal in speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Games), then again when he became the third American to medal in both the Summer and Winter Olympics (he was a member of the silver-winning USA baseball squad in this summer’s Tokyo Games).

Marrero, a first-round pick of the Red Sox in 2012, put together a similar .188/.316/.375 line across just 19 PAs. He’s seen big-league action in six seasons (three with Boston, one with Arizona, and two with Miami) but has never managed to put together an extended run of production. Across a career-high 188 PAs for the BoSox in 2017, he managed only a meager .211/.259/.333 triple-slash. He hasn’t managed much more in the minors (he has a .623 OPS across 490 games in Triple-A) but remains a plus defender and could get a chance to catch on elsewhere.

Like Marrero, neither Guilmet nor Bellatti saw much time on the field for the Marlins. Guilmet covered only two innings (4.50 ERA) in two appearances, while Bellatti was roughed up (13.50 ERA) in a tiny sample of 3 1/3 IP in three trips to the mound. Guilmet’s track record is much longer, appearing with seven clubs across five big-league seasons, but he’s never seen more innings than the 10 1/3 he covered for Baltimore in 2014.

Bellatti’s brief run in 2021 was his first in the bigs since he posted a strong 2.31 ERA (albeit with a 5.23 FIP) across 23 1/3 innings for the Rays in 2015 before injuries derailed his career. He was out of baseball entirely in 2017 and ’18 before latching on with the Yankees Double-A affiliate in 2019 (after a single outing with the Atlantic League’s Sugar Land Skeeters) and ultimately getting the call from the Marlins this year.

Looking For The Next Marlins Catcher

By Darragh McDonald | October 17, 2021 at 1:42pm CDT

In a recent post, I looked at some potential landing spots for Willson Contreras, should the Cubs decide to move him. A few commenters expressed surprise that the Marlins weren’t on the list. While it’s true that Miami could use a new backstop, and has been rumored to have interest in Contreras in the past, my logic for leaving them off the list was that I expect they will target a catcher with more control than Contreras, who would be a pure rental. While it’s possible they could trade for Contreras and then sign him to an extension, that wouldn’t be cheap, especially for a club that has been stripping payroll down in recent years. It seems more likely that they will target a catcher that matches their current core.

With Jazz Chisholm Jr., Bryan De La Cruz, Jesus Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo Lopez, Elieser Hernandez, Jesus Luzardo and others, the club has a solid core of players that are between the ages of 23 and 27, and all come with at least three years of control. They also have five prospects on both the MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs Top 100, as well as six on Baseball America’s list. The club has everything in place to open a competitive window soon, but after going 67-95 in 2021, it’s probably too soon to be going after a win-now piece like Contreras.

In the first few months of 2021, most of Miami’s playing time behind the plate went to Jorge Alfaro, Sandy Leon and Chad Wallach. With none of those three locking down the job, the club acquired a couple of catchers at the trade deadline, trading Adam Duvall to Atlanta for Alex Jackson as well as sending John Curtiss to Milwaukee for Payton Henry. Down the stretch, Jackson was given 30 starts as a catcher and Henry got five, but neither did enough to secure the position. Nick Fortes played better than both of them, but in a small sample of just 14 games that doesn’t align with his minor league track record. The position still seems to be wide open with the club looking for outside upgrades, as manager Don Mattingly admitted when discussing the situation a few weeks ago. But since there’s a weak free agent class and the Marlins have about a dozen viable starting pitchers, there should be plenty of avenues for trade discussions this winter. Let’s dig into some options.

Blue Jays: The Canadian birds are loaded with young, cheap, controllable catchers, with varying degrees of appeal. Danny Jansen is entering his age-27 season, which will be his first of three arbitration years. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz recently projected his salary will be a modest $1.5MM. He dealt with various injuries in 2021 and only got into 70 games, but hit 11 home runs in that time and slashed .223/299/.473, producing a wRC of 105 and 1.4 fWAR. Reese McGuire got a lot of playing time when Jansen was hurt, getting into 78 games and hitting .253/.310/.343, for a wRC+ of 78 and 1.3 fWAR. He’ll turn 27 in March, has just over two years of service time and is therefore one season away from arbitration and four away from free agency. Alejandro Kirk also spent some time on the IL and only got into 60 games. He hit .242/.328/.436 for a wRC+ of 106 and 0.7 fWAR. He’ll turn 23 in November and has five years of team control remaining. On top of those three MLB-ready options, the club also has one of the best catching prospects in the majors in Gabriel Moreno. Baseball America lists him as the 8th overall prospect and the second-highest catcher, behind only Adley Rutschman. MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs both have him as the 32nd overall prospect. Though he hasn’t reached the big leagues yet, he finished 2021 at Triple-A and will be appearing in this year’s Arizona Fall League. With the Blue Jays losing Robbie Ray and Steven Matz to free agency, they could perhaps part with one of these catchers in exchange for one of the dozen or so starting pitchers that the Marlins have to offer.

Atlanta: Travis d’Arnaud recently signed an extension, agreeing to stay in Atlanta through at least 2023, with a club option for 2024. With d’Arnaud seemingly lined up to be the go-to catcher for the next few years, that could put a squeeze on some of the other options in the organization. William Contreras is still a few months away from his 24th birthday but has gotten into 56 big-league games already. In that time, he’s hit .225/.308/.405, for a wRC+ of 89. He has six years of team control remaining. Waiver claim Chadwick Tromp is on hand as a depth option. And then there’s Shea Langeliers, the club’s best catching prospect. Baseball America ranks him the 68th best overall prospect in baseball, MLB Pipeline has him 69th, and FanGraphs ranks him 52nd. He played most of this season at Double-A and even got into five Triple-A games. Despite already trading Alex Jackson to Miami a few months ago, they might be able to do line up on another deal.

Tigers: Eric Haase had a breakout campaign in 2021, his age-28 season. In 98 games, he bopped 22 homers and produced an overall line of .231/.286/.429, wRC+ of 100 and 1.0 fWAR. He has five years of team control remaining. Jake Rogers was enjoying a nice breakout before an injury shut him down, eventually leading to Tommy John surgery, which will keep him out for at least part of the 2022 campaign. In 38 games in 2021 before the injury, he hit .239/.306/.496, wRC+ of 115 and 1.0 fWAR. He also has five years of team control remaining. The club also has Dustin Garneau and Grayson Greiner on hand, who both made decent contributions in their limited action in 2021. There’s also the Dillon Dingler factor, as the prospect finished the season at Double-A. FanGraphs lists him as the 73rd-best prospect in baseball. Given all these competent options, they could subtract someone and still feel good about their situation behind the plate. Perhaps Miami would be willing to take on Rogers and give Alex Jackson a chance to prove himself until Rogers is healthy. Although they’ve been in rebuild mode for a few years, it seems like the Tigers will attempt to return to contention in 2022. They have lots of intriguing young arms but lost Wily Peralta to free agency and may not get anything from Spencer Turnbull or Matthew Boyd next year because of injuries. One of those Miami arms would make a great fit in Detroit.

Padres: The Friars have a couple of adequate catchers in the majors, Victor Caratini and Austin Nola. Caratini had a down year in 2021 but still has passable numbers of the past few campaigns. From 2019 to 2021, his overall line is .244/.327/.368, wRC+ of 86. 2022 will be his second of three arbitration years, with MLBTR projecting a salary of $2.1MM for the 28-year-old. Nola, on the other hand, is still a year away from arbitration and has four years of team control remaining. In 183 games over the past three seasons, his slash line is .271/.345/.435, for a wRC+ of 114 and 4.2 fWAR. And the picture gets crowded when we consider Luis Campusano. He’s ranked as the 32nd prospect in baseball by Baseball America, 37th by MLB Pipeline and 15th by FanGraphs. The 23-year-old has already had a cup of coffee at the majors, getting into 12 games for San Diego. Since they are running franchise-record payrolls of late, trading a catcher could be a way to upgrade their roster without breaking the bank.

Twins: Even with a terrible showing in the shortened 2020 campaign, Mitch Garver is still on a solid four-year run for the Twins. From 2018-2021, his line is .259/.344/.501, wRC+ of 125 and 6.3 fWAR. He has two seasons of team control remaining and is projected by MLBTR to earn $3.1MM in arbitration next year. Ryan Jeffers had a solid debut in 2020, but took a bit of a step backward in 2021. However, he’s still only 24 years old and comes with five years of control. His overall slash line between 2020 and 2021 is .221/.285/.407, producing a wRC+ of 88 and 1.1 fWAR in 111 games. They also have Ben Rortvedt on hand, who made his debut in 2021. He didn’t show much with the bat, but it was a small sample size of 39 games, and he has much better offensive numbers in the minors. He just turned 24 and has six years of team control remaining. He’s also left-handed, with Garver and Jeffers both being righties. 2021 was an awful campaign for the Twins but all indicators suggest they’re hoping to immediately return to competing in 2022. The rotation lost Jose Berrios to trade, Michael Pineda to free agency and Kenta Maeda to injury, leaving plenty of room for a new acquisition.

Pirates: Pittsburgh hopes that its catcher of the future is Henry Davis, which is why they selected him first overall in the 2021 MLB draft. Baseball America ranks him as the 44th best prospect in baseball, MLB Pipeline 22nd and FanGraphs 27th. He’s likely still a few years away from reaching the big leagues, but the Pirates aren’t expected to compete in the interim. They could easily subtract someone like Jacob Stallings and sign a cheap veteran to take his place. Stallings turns 32 in December and has three years of club control remaining. As a Super Two player, he’s already gone through arbitration once, making $1.3MM in 2021. MLBTR projects he will double that to $2.6MM for 2022. He generally hits just below league average but adds value with his excellent defense. For instance, his 2021 slash line was .246/.335/.369, for a wRC+ of 95. But because of his defensive contributions, he was worth 2.6 fWAR on the year, which was double his previous best. One of the worst teams in baseball this season, the Pirates will be looking to stockpile as much young talent as they can in order to return to contention.

White Sox: Yasmani Grandal is entrenched as the primary catcher for the Pale Hose as he still has two years left on his contract. Yermin Mercedes had a tantalizing showing with the bat at the start of the season, but got squeezed out of playing time and eventually optioned down to the minors. Even when Grandal was on the injured list, the playing time went primarily to Seby Zavala and Zack Collins. In 68 games at the big-league level this year, Mercedes hit .271/.328/.404, for a wRC+ of 102. In 59 Triple-A games, the production was similar, as he slashed .275/.318/.464, wRC+ of 106. There was some scuttlebutt that Mercedes was unhappy with the organization, and he even briefly retired in July, only to quickly return. Perhaps a change of scenery would be beneficial to all parties. Mercedes will turn 29 in February but has six years of team control remaining. The White Sox have a solid rotation but will be losing Carlos Rodon to free agency.

Diamondbacks: Similar to the Pirates, the Diamondbacks are coming off a terrible year and probably considering any veteran-for-prospect arrangement they can find. Carson Kelly is coming off his first of four arbitration seasons as a Super Two player, just like the aforementioned Jacob Stallings. However, Kelly is much younger, as he just turned 27 in July. He made $1.7MM in 2021 and is projected by MLBTR to make $3MM in 2022, with two years of team control after that. Over his three seasons in the desert, he’s hit .239/.333/.435, for a wRC+ of 99 and 3.8 fWAR.

Mariners: The Mariners have a bit of a crowd behind the plate. Tom Murphy is the most experienced of the bunch, as he has just over four years’ service time. Luis Torrens had a nice season in 2021, his age-25 campaign. He hit 15 homers and slashed .243/.299/.431 for a wRC+ of 101. He has four years of team control remaining. Cal Raleigh made his MLB debut in 2021. Although he didn’t hit much, he’s only 24 years old and has a better offensive track record in the minors. He’ll turn 25 in November and has six years of team control remaining. They also have Jose Godoy on hand as a depth option. The rotation will be without Tyler Anderson next year, as he heads to free agency. There’s also the giant unanswered question of Yusei Kikuchi, who had a great first half but slumped bad enough in the second half to lose his rotation spot. With famously trade-happy president like Jerry Dipoto, perhaps a catching-for-pitching swap could be discussed here.

Giants: Not so long ago, it didn’t seem there was any chance of the Giants picking up their $22MM club option on Buster Posey for 2022. But then 2021 happened. After sitting out the 2020 season, Posey showed didn’t show any rust. In fact, it seemed to rejuvenate him. His slash line on the season was .304/.390/.499, producing a wRC+ of 140, his highest such mark since 2014. Now it seems almost impossible for the club to turn that option down. That means that prospect Joey Bart is blocked for another year. He’s already seen his name floated in trade rumors before, and there was even a false report that he was part of the Kris Bryant trade. But he’s still in the Giants organization for now. Baseball America ranks him the 39th best prospect in baseball, MLB Pipeline 16th and FanGraphs 55th. He’s already gotten a cup of coffee at the majors and comes with six years of club control. He turns 25 years old in December.

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