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Cafardo’s Latest: Cole, Astros, Gordon, Peralta, Frazier

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The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo shares some hot stove rumblings and more in his latest notes column….

  • The Astros are “very interested” in Pirates righty Gerrit Cole.  Houston has been checking in on top-tier starters for months, so it makes sense that the team would have an eye on Cole’s availability.  Peter Gammons recently suggested that the Astros (and Yankees) may be the only contenders who could actually afford a Cole trade, given Houston’s deep farm system and the giant return that the Pirates will surely demand for their controllable young star if Cole is indeed shopped at the deadline.
  • “The Marlins would surely part with” Dee Gordon if they could find a trade partner at the deadline.  Miami was reportedly ready to deal Gordon for pitching help over the offseason, though no trade or even any significant rumors even materialized.  Gordon has hit just .263/.308/.326 over 522 PA since the start of the 2016 season, a year that saw the second baseman miss 80 games after testing positive for PEDs.  He is also owed $38MM from 2018-20 as per the terms of his five-year, $50MM extension signed in the 2015-16 offseason, further hampering the Marlins’ chances of finding a trade fit.
  • With Jhonny Peralta relegated to backup duty in St. Louis, Cafardo wonders if the Red Sox would considering acquiring Peralta to help their shaky third base situation.  Given Peralta’s recent injury problems and his .251/.299/.387 slash line (in 341 PA) since the start of the 2016 season, of course, there’s no guarantee that Peralta is necessarily an upgrade.  Peralta is also owed around $7.4MM for the remainder of the season, though Cafardo feels the Cardinals would cover “a great portion” of that salary.  Cafardo notes that Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski knows Peralta well, having traded for Peralta in 2010 back when Dombrowski was the Tigers GM.
  • The Red Sox have been scouting a veteran third baseman in Todd Frazier, and like in a hypothetical Peralta scenario, the White Sox would cover some salary in a trade (Frazier is owed a little under $9MM for the rest of 2017).  Also like Peralta, Frazier isn’t in good form, hitting just .191/.280/.357 in 132 PA this season.  Frazier has hit 75 homers over the last two years, however, and is a well-regarded clubhouse leader.

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 Reinstate Dee Gordon

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The Marlins announced today that they’ve activated Dee Gordon from the restricted list and designated infielder Don Kelly for assignment in order to clear a spot on the 25- and 40-man rosters.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

Gordon has been out since April due to an 80-game suspension that stemmed from a failed PED test. The 28-year-old batted .266/.289/.340 with six stolen bases through his first 21 games of the season before being hit with a suspension that comes on the heels of a five-year, $50MM contract extension this past offseason. He’ll presumably reclaim his spot at or near the top of the Miami lineup, and his return figures to cut into the playing time for Derek Dietrich, who has slashed .272/.363/.393 this season in Gordon’s stead while seeing the lion’s share of the playing time at second base. Gordon, of course, will serve as a major boost to manager Don Mattingly’s lineup if he can replicate his 2014-15 form, which saw him bat .311/.342/.398 with an MLB-leading 122 stolen bases in that time.

Via Uninterrupted, Gordon has issued a new video apology to his fans and to the Marlins organization for his suspension. “I made a mistake, man, but just like in this game you’ve got to learn, come back and be stronger and better,” said Gordon during his three-minute video. “…You’ve got to hold yourself accountable for your standards of living and training. I didn’t hold myself accountable for any of that. I thought I would never, being the smallest guy, I would never fail a drug test. I didn’t pay attention at all. I didn’t meet the standards. That’s my fault and no one else’s.”

Kelly, 36, batted .148/.200/.296 with a pair of triples in 30 plate appearances for the Marlins following his brief call-up earlier this month. He stepped into the big league picture when Justin Bour landed on the disabled list with an ankle sprain. Bour remains on the shelf for the time being, so it’s feasible that the left-handed-hitting Dietrich could slide over to first base and platoon there with Chris Johnson in place of Bour. He’ll move around the diamond a fair amount once Bour is healthy in an attempt to keep his bat in the lineup.

NL East Notes: Phillies, Gomez, Mets’ Bullpen, Prado

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The Phillies may not possess any top-flight trade deadline pieces, but the organization does have some worthwhile assets. As MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki writes, GM Matt Klentak says trade talks have been “very active” of late. The Phils have “more confidence” in moving veterans with several top minor leaguers seemingly ready for an opportunity, said Klentak, who nevertheless stressed that he doesn’t feel compelled to make any deals. Reports have recently indicated that if (or when) right-hander Jeremy Hellickson is moved, another promising right-hander, Jake Thompson, will get a look in the rotation. Thompson, acquired in last summer’s Cole Hamels blockbuster, has a 0.58 ERA in his past 62 1/3 innings at Triple-A. His 37-to-17 K/BB ratio in that time is a bit more pedestrian, and he’s been aided by a .233 BABIP over that stretch, but he certainly seems ready for a call-up after impressing for much of the season.

A bit more on the Phillies and their division…

  • Jeanmar Gomez has elevated his stock substantially in 2016, Zolecki writes, noting that he entered the season a a multi-inning middle reliever but has handled a move to the ninth inning with aplomb. Gomez isn’t a traditionally dominant power arm that is often associated with closing gigs, but he’s sporting a 2.76 ERA thanks in part to some of the strongest control and ground-ball rates he’s ever displayed. Gomez has averaged just 5.7 K/9 but is also yielding walks at a 2.2 per nine clip and has a 52.1 percent ground-ball rate in 45 2/3 innings. The Phillies have Hector Neris and Edubray Ramos serving as potential ninth-inning replacements in the event that Gomez is flipped.
  • The Mets are monitoring right-handed relievers Joe Smith of the Angels, Chris Withrow of the Braves and Jeremy Jeffress of the Brewers, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post. Despite Bartolo Colon’s recent struggles and uncertainty surrounding the bone spurs of both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz, the Mets’ front office isn’t sure there’s a rotation upgrade to be had that would be worth the asking price. Notably, Puma also writes that a reunion with Tyler Clippard, whom Arizona GM Dave Stewart has said is available in trades, doesn’t seem likely. Smith’s asking price would be the lowest of the bunch, in my estimation, as he’s a pure rental. Jeffress and Withrow both have three years of club control remaining beyond this one, and Jeffress has had a better season than Withrow while emerging as Milwaukee’s closer this season, so he’s probably the toughest of the bunch to pry loose. As Puma pointed out earlier this week (on Twitter), Jim Henderson won’t be an option in the near future, as a hamstring injury suffered in the minors has forced him to restart his rehab assignment.
  • The Marlins have yet to approach Martin Prado about a contract that would keep him in Miami beyond the 2016 season, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, though Jackson notes that he does fully expect Miami to attempt to re-sign the third baseman even if it waits until the offseason. A new deal for Prado would give the Marlins three players for second base and third base, leading Jackson to suggest that either Dee Gordon or Derek Dietrich could be moved for pitching this winter. Gordon’s 80-game PED suspension notwithstanding, it’s tough to imagine the Fish moving him this winter.

Quick Hits: Robinson, PEDs, Harvey

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Angels outfielder Shane Robinson has an upcoming opt-out, MLBTR has learned. On Monday, Robinson can request his release, and the Angels have to either promote to the big leagues or grant his request. Robinson was in camp this season with the Indians, but exercised an opt-out from his minor-league deal and signed with the Angels in late March. Since then, he’s hit .306/.348/.371 with Triple-A Salt Lake. The 31-year-old is a veteran of six big-league seasons, most recently hitting .250/.299/.322 while playing all three outfield positions for the Twins in 2015. Here’s more from around the league.

  • On FOX Sports today, Ken Rosenthal discussed players’ feelings on PEDs in the wake of the 80-game suspension to the Marlins’ Dee Gordon (video link). Rosenthal believes it is at least fairly likely that the next collective bargaining agreement will include stiffer PED penalties. He suggests, however, that it’s not likely those penalties will include voiding contracts, since the possibility of voided deals could raise suspicions about teams tampering with players who have albatross contracts — by, for example, putting something in a player’s drink to ensure he tests positive for PEDs.
  • 2013 Orioles first-round pick Hunter Harvey will see a specialist next week after having a setback in his recovery from a groin injury, according to reporters, including MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko. The injury isn’t healing as expected, and the team is concerned that there’s more going on than just groin discomfort — according to Dan Connolly of Baltimore Baseball, the specialist will try to determine whether Harvey actually has a sports hernia, in which case he will miss four to six weeks. Manager Buck Showalter does express optimism that Harvey will pitch this season. The 21-year-old Harvey hasn’t pitched since the middle of the 2014 campaign, when he was sidetracked by a strained flexor mass and then a fractured fibula. His pro career had previously been off to a terrific start, with a 2.87 ERA, 11.1 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 in his first 113 innings in the low minors.

Reactions To The Dee Gordon Suspension

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Here’s a roundup of reactions to Marlins star Dee Gordon’s shocking 80-game PED suspension.

  • That a speedy player like Gordon would get busted for PED use might seem surprising, but PED use isn’t just about power, it’s about endurance and maximizing small edges, ESPN’s Doug Glanville writes. Glanville relates that, as a former player, he felt exhausted at the end of a long season, and he adds that other players do as well. A fast singles hitter might feel the temptation to take PEDs in order to get through the grind, according to Glanville.
  • That written, some within the game were shocked by Gordon’s suspension, as Glanville’s colleague Jayson Stark notes. The news was particularly surprising given that Gordon had already signed a long-term deal. “This is the single most bizarre case I’ve ever come across, because he tested positive after signing a $50 million contract,” says one team exec. “He could have hit .220 and never stolen another base, and he still would have gotten paid for the next five years.” Stark further notes that the proliferation of PED busts so far this year — Chris Colabello, Abraham Almonte, Jenrry Mejia, and so on — shows that testing is improving.
  • Gordon isn’t to be pitied for his actions, but MLB’s culture is perhaps too forgiving of PED users, Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes. Gordon will still receive the bulk of the money his contract promises him. Other players accused of PED use, like Nelson Cruz, have received lengthy contracts later, while still others, like Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire, have returned as coaches. And — as Stark and Sherman both note — MLB’s brutal, travel-heavy schedules motivate players to take PEDs as well.
  • Members of the players union are considering increasing penalties for players who test positive for PEDs, writes John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Gordon and Colabello “are established guys,” says Athletics closer and player rep Sean Doolittle. “These aren’t guys fighting for a spot or going up and down. These are guys who are hitting over .300. We thought we ratcheted (the drug policy) up enough, and apparently we haven’t.” Doolittle adds that the players are considering ways to steepen the financial penalties for busted players — a player who tests positive might lose his salary for an entire year, for example. Doolittle notes, though, that voiding an entire contract might be problematic, in that such a steep penalty could suddenly give a player’s team an immense amount of money to spend, effectively hurting other teams competing for free agent talent.
  • MLB and the players union will have “no choice” but to increase PED penalties in the next collective bargaining agreement, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes. Perhaps the penalty for a first offense could increase to a full-season ban, with the second offense earning a lifetime ban, Nightengale suggests.

Dee Gordon Receives 80-Game PED Suspension

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10:39am: Gordon tested positive for the pair of substances in Spring Training, a league source tells ESPN’s Jayson Stark.

12:20am: In a stunning development, Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon has been hit with an eighty-game suspension for PEDs, according to a league announcement. He tested positive for the banned substances exogenous testosterone and clostebol.

Needless to say, the news represents a sudden turnaround for a player who had risen to become one of the game’s more celebrated personalities. Gordon, the 28-year-old son of longtime major leaguer Tom Gordon and brother of Twins’ prospect Nick Gordon, inked a five-year, $50MM extension with the Marlins over the winter after an excellent 2015 season.

Mar 18, 2016; Lake Buena Vista, FL, USA; Miami Marlins second baseman Dee Gordon (9) works out prior to the game against the Atlanta Braves at Champion Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Gordon will sacrifice about half of his $3MM salary for the present season under that contract. He’ll also obviously miss out on a chance to defend his National League batting and stolen base titles from a year ago. And if Miami manages to right the ship — an even taller order now with Gordon out — he won’t be eligible for postseason play.

It seems likely that the Fish will turn to Derek Dietrich to occupy at least a good portion of the time at the keystone. He has plenty of experience there, though he’s not much of a fielder. The left-handed-swinging 26-year-old is a promising hitter, though. Alternatively, the club could utilize Martin Prado at second while deploying Dietrich and/or Chris Johnson at third base.

Regardless, the overall mix is substantially weakened. Gordon was off to a slow start this year, but he doesn’t need to keep up quite his 2015 pace to be of value. He had already enjoyed a breakout in the season prior before being dealt by the Dodgers, but Gordon stepped up even further in his first year in Miami with a .333/.359/.418 slash, 58 stolen bases, and highly-regarded glovework.

To be sure, Gordon is not the lumbering slugger who is traditionally associated with performance enhancing drugs. But this represents the latest reminder that such substances aren’t reserved for bulking up; they can also improve athletic performance in other ways and, especially, aid in injury recovery.

Quite unlike the situation facing the Blue Jays with regard to Chris Colabello, who was also just suspended, the Marlins are committed to Gordon via the aforementioned contract. Miami will simply need to hope that he’s able to repair his image and maintain his performance on the field upon his return.

That’s the message given by club president David Samson, who said the organization was disappointed but would welcome Gordon back when his suspension ends. (Video via the Miami Herald.) The Marlins did not learn about the suspension until today, per Samson. Miami has obviously have placed high expectations on Gordon to “do whatever is necessary to make it up to our fans, to his teammates, and to this organization.”

Gordon apparently decided to drop his appeal at this time, making the suspension effective after tonight’s game, Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports tweets. (Notably, Gordon just finished helping the club to a four-game sweep of his former team.) It’s still not clear precisely when the positive test occurred, though it’s certainly possible that — as with Colabello — it took place at some point during Spring Training.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Reactions To And Effects Of Dee Gordon’s Suspension

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What was a rather quiet news Thursday in terms of baseball news culminated with a bombshell, as the league announced at 1:17am Friday morning that reigning NL batting champion and two-time All-Star Dee Gordon has been suspended 80 games for the use of banned substances exogenous testosterone and clostebol. The news was clearly difficult to swallow not only for Gordon’s Marlins but also for the Dodgers, who suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins due in no small part to Gordon’s game-tying hit in last night’s series finale. Gordon signed a five-year, $50MM contract extension this winter and is arguably the highest-profile player to be hit with a PED suspension since the 2013 Biogenesis scandal saw the likes of Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun serve penalties. This morning, Gordon issued the following statement, via press release:

“Though I did not do so knowingly, I have been informed that test results showed I ingested something that contained prohibited substances. The hardest part about this is feeling that I have let down my teammates, the organization, and the fans. I have been careful to avoid products that could contain something banned by MLB and the 20+ tests that I have taken and passed throughout my career prove this.  I made a mistake and I accept the consequences.”

Here are some early reactions from around the game (though there surely will be more to follow over the weekend)…

  • The Gordon suspension will fuel the fire for debates about greater penalties for first-time offenders, writes Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Rosenthal penned a column just a week ago in which players such as Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Matt Holliday and Clayton Kershaw all voiced an openness, if not a desire for stronger testing within the game. With the current collective bargaining agreement slated to expire on Dec. 1, the question will arise from recent suspensions of Gordon, Chris Colabello (and, last season, Ervin Santana) is whether there are enough players that have reached their breaking point on PED usage to push the MLBPA to concede to more extreme punishment. Holliday suggested to Rosenthal a two-year ban, though Rosenthal himself wonders if at a certain point the MLBPA will cave and allow some or all of a player’s long-term contract to be voided by PED usage. That, of course, would create plenty of other potential controversy, particularly if, for instance, a player on a decidedly poor contract (from the club’s vantage point) were to test positive for PEDs and then claim to have never taken a banned substance.
  • Asked about losing Gordon for 80 games following such a high point (sweeping the Dodgers in L.A.), manager Don Mattingly offered the following comments (video link via Andre Fernandez of the Miami Herald): “Obviously two different ends of the spectrum for us as a team. You would expect our guys to be in there, excited, and then we get this news, so not quite the feeling… but, from there, we’ll support Dee. These guys love Dee. I feel like he’s one of my kids, to be honest with you. I’ve known him for so long, and I love him, and we’re going to move forward. … Definitely shocked and surprised. From there, it just happened so fast, it’s one of those situations where you love your kids, and that’s Dee, for me. That’s one of mine. … As a ball club, it’s a different scene. The story is, we have to move forward. And that’s what happens in professional sports: stuff happens, and you move forward, and you’ve got to find a way to get around it.”
  • Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that Derek Dietrich is the most logical alternative for the Marlins with Gordon out for half the season. The club could consider moving Martin Prado back to second base and playing Chris Johnson (or Dietrich) at third base, and there’s an argument to go with the defensive-minded Miguel Rojas at second base as well. However, Dietrich has made nearly half of his Major League starts as a second baseman, and while he’s not a plus defender like Gordon or Rojas, he’s batted a very solid .263/.352/.471 in 321 plate appearances dating back to last season (albeit with the benefit of some fairly heavy platooning to shield him from left-handed pitching).
  • Gordon’s suspension is a reminder that there’s no way to reasonably predict who could be using performance enhancing drugs, writes Yahoo’s Jeff Passan, referencing Gordon’s 171-pound frame. Passan also notes that continued suspensions even in the face of increased testing and stronger penalties for first-time offenders lead to collateral damage like Stephen A. Smith’s recent, baseless comments on Jake Arrieta, which can blame the irresponsible speculation on the mere fact that others in the game continue to cheat the system (or at least attempt to do so). Passan opines that regardless of how much pressure is placed on the MLBPA to consider allowing teams to void multi-year deals for PED offenders, the Players Association “understands that’s the sort of Pandora’s Box nobody dare open.”
  • ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that Gordon’s suspension serves only as further proof that the potential reward for using PEDs far outweighs the risks. The Marlins don’t know if Gordon was using PEDs during his breakout 2014 with the Dodgers, nor do they know if banned substances contributed to Gordon’s brilliant followup in 2015, when he hit .333/.359/.418 to lead the league in hitting (and also led the NL with 58 steals). The team will owe Gordon roughly $48MM despite the suspension, which will cost him about $1.63MM worth of pay this season. The discrepancy between those two sums is only magnified when juxtaposed with Olney’s stories of his interactions with Gordon early in his career, when he was struggling simply to stay in the Major Leagues after being relegated to the bench and changing positions. That’s not to say that Gordon used PEDs during that time — we have no way of knowing that, and he’s passed dozens of tests prior to his recent transgression — but players in similar situations can certainly look to Gordon’s situation and see the temptation of banned substances.

Marlins Extend Dee Gordon

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The Marlins have officially announced the extension of second baseman Dee Gordon, meaning he’ll join the organization’s stable of talented, young players under team control for the foreseeable future. The reigning National League batting champion, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will receive five guaranteed years in a deal that comes with a sixth-year vesting option, per the announcement.

Gordon will take home a $50MM guarantee for his age 28 through 32 seasons, according to reports. That includes a $1.5MM signing bonus and yearly salaries of $3MM (2016), $7.5MM (2017), $10.5MM (2018), $13MM (2019) and $13.5MM (2020). Also, the sixth-year option contains a $1MM buyout. If it is triggered — by Gordon reaching 600 plate appearances in the prior season or 1,200 total over the preceding two years — then he’d stand to earn $14MM in 2021 to bring the total value of the contract to $63MM. The contract doesn’t contain a no-trade clause, although the Marlins generally don’t include such provisions as a general club policy.

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A former fourth-round pick of the Dodgers, Gordon rated as one of the game’s brightest prospects from 2010-11 but didn’t establish himself early on and soon dropped off of those same prospect rankings. After struggling greatly at the Major League level in both 2012 and 2013, Gordon cemented himself as a regular in 2014 at the age of 26, batting .289/.326/.378 and leading the National League in both triples (12) and stolen bases (64).

That breakout was enough to pique the Marlins’ trade interest, and Miami parted with highly touted left-handed pitching prospect Andrew Heaney as well as versatile utility man Enrique Hernandez, right-hander Chris Hatcher and catching prospect Austin Barnes to land Gordon, fellow infielder Miguel Rojas and Dan Haren from Los Angeles in a 2014 Winter Meetings blockbuster.

Gordon’s first season with Miami went better than perhaps anyone could have expected, as he captured the National League batting crown and posted an outstanding .333/.359/.418 batting line with four homers, 58 stolen bases and markedly improved defensive contributions according to metrics such as Defensive Runs Saved (+13) and Ultimate Zone Rating (+6.4). Gordon made his second consecutive All-Star team  in 2015 and also earned his first Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Awards in recognition of his brilliant season. Fangraphs rated his overall contributions at 4.6 wins above replacement and Baseball-Reference rated him at 4.9 WAR.

With this extension, the Marlins will buy out Gordon’s three remaining arbitration seasons as well as two free-agent years, with a vesting option that can extend the deal into what would have been his third free-agent year. That, perhaps, served as a compromise between the two sides, as the Marlins had reportedly been interested in a five-year term, whereas Gordon’s camp was said to be eyeing a seven-year deal. If the option is ultimately triggered, this contract will cover Gordon’s age-27 through age-32 seasons, allowing him to once again hit the open market at the age of 33.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz had pegged Gordon for a $5.9MM salary in 2016 — one year after he had earned $2.5MM as a Super Two player. Gordon would’ve been eligible for arbitration two more times after this season, so it’s probably reasonable to expect that his remaining three arbitration seasons could have been worth anywhere from $25-27MM. That would suggest a value somewhere in the range of about $12MM or so on each of his two free-agent seasons, with the third coming at a slightly higher price, dependent on Gordon’s own performance. While Gordon would certainly receive a larger annual sum were he on the open market this winter, concessions are always necessary on the player side of the equation in order to receive guarantees of this nature so far in advance.

The Marlins were well-positioned to add another long-term commitment to their ledgers. Giancarlo Stanton’s behemoth $325MM contract is, of course, the largest obligation on the books, but beyond that, Christian Yelich and the just-signed Wei-Yin Chen possess the only guaranteed contracts extending beyond the 2016 season.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the signing (Twitter link). Jon Heyman reported important financial details in a series of tweets: 1; 2; 3; 4.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

East Notes: Ozuna, Gordon, Francoeur, Mets, O’s, Castro

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Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna has enormous upside, assistant hitting coach Frank Menechino said in an interview today on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM (audio link). Menechino noted that Ozuna’s early success came despite the fact that he was quite raw, explaining that he’s had to learn on the fly — even as expectations, contract considerations, and other pressures were converging. Ozuna, of course, has long been seen as a trade chip, although momentum seems to be shifting away from that scenario.

More from Miami and some other news from the eastern divisions:

  • The Marlins ought to make a long-term deal with Dee Gordon a priority, argues Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. After all, he suggests, his agents at Beverly Hills Sports Council might well try to argue that Gordon’s marquee accomplishments — leading the league in batting average, hits, and stolen bases while picking up a Gold Glove — support an outside-the-box arbitration payday. While MLBTR projects a $5.9MM salary in his second of four turns through arbitration, Gordon and his reps could always file for more and take their chances. Of course, as MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz explained in a recent podcast appearance (at about the 20-minute mark), Gordon’s meager home run and RBI tallies limit his arb-earning upside despite his other big numbers.
  • While the Marlins have been fairly quiet this winter, they are still looking to add some players. Jon Heyman tweets that the club has its eye on some right-handed bats, with Jeff Francoeur among them.
  • Mets GM Sandy Alderson and the rest of the organization’s leadership have managed to upset a segment of the team’s fans despite last year’s World Series run, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Of course, as Davidoff explains, appeasing a “populist” sentiment in the fanbase (as Alderson put it) with a big signing would hardly guarantee on-field success.
  • Young Orioles righties Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy are participating in minicamp and appear to be in good health, Roch Kubtako of MASNsports.com reports. Both have had very tough runs of bad luck, and certainly the organization will be holding its collective breath to see how they feel as they ramp up this spring.
  • Orioles skipper Buck Showalter said today that he could imagine slugger Chris Davis waiting to sign until late in camp, Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun reports. “That’s not surprising at all the way that camp does business,” Showalter said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if it went to February. It wouldn’t surprise me if it goes to March.” It’s probably not worth reading too much into those comments, since Showalter is obviously not privy to the specific strategy of Davis and his agent, Scott Boras. But his words do seem to hint at some frustration in the organization at the inability to achieve resolution one way or the other.
  • If the Yankees need someone to step in at third base for Chase Headley, the club could well turn to Starlin Castro, GM Brian Cashman suggested today. As Chad Jennings of the LoHud Yankees Blog writes, the newly-acquired infielder is still likely to spend most of his time at second, but his experience on the left side of the infield (almost entirely at short) could increase the team’s roster flexibility. Meanwhile, Cashman emphasized that Alex Rodriguez will not see time in the field.
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