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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.

Marlins Notes: Starting Pitching, Dunn, Bonds

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Here’s the latest from south Florida…

  • “After the Marlins come to grips with the shock and grief of losing Jose Fernandez the man, they will confront the reality of something far less important but daunting: replacing Fernandez the pitcher,” the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson writes.  There is no easy way to fill the spot of perhaps the best pitcher in the sport, particularly since the Marlins were already going to be looking for rotation upgrades anyway.  This winter’s free agent pitching market is extremely thin, and the Marlins have generally been unwilling to pay big prices on the open market.  (It probably doesn’t help that Wei-Yin Chen, last year’s big signing, struggled in his first year in Miami.)  Jackson figures the “best case scenario” for the Marlins would be to sign one of Jeremy Hellickson, Rich Hill or Ivan Nova, and then make a trade for another starter.  He suggests Adeiny Hechavarria or Derek Dietrich as possible trade chips, and the Fish could even revisit last winter’s attempt to deal Marcell Ozuna for a higher-tier arm.
  • The Marlins have “expressed preliminary interest” in re-signing Mike Dunn, the left-hander tells Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.  Dunn told the club that he “would be more than willing to come back” but is excited to be testing the free agent market for the first time in his career.  Dunn and his family are “going to go where the opportunity is.  Where that is, we don’t know.  I haven’t ruled anybody out.”  The southpaw bounced back from a somewhat disappointing 2015 season to post solid numbers this year — a 3.40 ERA, 8.1 K/9 and 3.45 K/BB rate over 42 1/3 innings.  Dunn posted the lowest strikeout, grounder and walk rates of his eight-year career and his 93.6 mph average fastball velocity was his lowest since 2009.
  • Barry Bonds’ return as the club’s hitting coach in 2017 “is uncertain,” MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes.  This was the all-time home run leader’s first year on a coaching staff, and under Bonds’ tutelage, Marlins such as Christian Yelich and J.T. Realmuto had notable jumps in production.  Miami was a below-average offensive club overall, however, most notably in the power department (a likely product of their pitcher-friendly ballpark and an off year from Giancarlo Stanton).  Frisaro notes that some changes are expected to Don Mattingly’s coaching staff.
  • For more Miami baseball news, check out another batch of Marlins Notes from earlier today on MLBTR.

East Notes: Kelly, Ozuna, Harper, Inciarte, Sox

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Red Sox right-hander Joe Kelly left tonight’s start in the first inning after walking two of the first four men he faced. As Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald writes, Kelly has been diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement, though little else beyond that point is known. Boston has already been without left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, who had been expected to fill one of the spots at the back of the rotation but suffered a patellar subluxation during Spring Training. It remains to be seen if Kelly will require a DL stint, though it’s worth noting that Rodriguez is slated to throw 70 to 75 pitches in an extended Spring Training game this weekend, as Scott Lauber of ESPN Boston tweets, and he could progress to a rehab stint if all goes well in that outing.

More from Major League Baseball’s Eastern divisions…

  • Marlins center fielder Marcell Ozuna drew trade interest from the Reds, Indians, Mariners, Rangers and Orioles this offseason, reports Jim Bowden of ESPN in listing 10 players that stand out as change-of-scenery candidates. The Marlins sought big-league-ready starting pitching to insert into their rotation in any deal, though, and when no one offered up a pitcher that met their desires, the club instead turned to the free-agent market and signed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to a five-year deal (with an opt-out clause). Bowden also notes that both manager Don Mattingly and hitting coach Barry Bonds were interested in holding onto Ozuna, believing that they could help him rebound to his 2014 levels.
  • Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post opines that the time is now for the Lerner family, who own the Nationals, to step up and make a record-setting extension offer to Bryce Harper. Boswell notes that in addition to proving himself on the field with last season’s dominant MVP campaign, Harper has proven to have matured as well, taking the initiative to bury the hatchet with Jonathan Papelbon even after Papelbon took the blame for last season’s dugout altercation with Harper. Boswell acknowledges that Harper and agent Scott Boras, of course, may not be amenable to a long-term deal. However, a “career contract” that shatters Giancarlo Stanton’s record $325MM pact with the Marlins could potentially grab his attention. The Post scribe adds that the Nats right now have about as much leverage as they’ll ever have, as Harper’s current MLB earnings are still relatively minimal, the club is contending and he’s nearly three full seasons from free agency.
  • The Braves could be without center fielder Ender Inciarte for another two weeks, writes David O’Brien of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Manager Fredi Gonzalez tells O’Brien that an “optimistic” timeline for Inciarte would be late April or early May, though Gonzalez says he’s not certain how much the club will push its newly acquired center fielder and lineup catalyst. Rookie Mallex Smith and veteran Drew Stubbs have been patrolling center field in Inciarte’s absence, though neither has hit much.
  • WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford spoke to Red Sox manager John Farrell about his working relationship with new president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Farrell said that while he’s aware of some front offices that play a larger role in daily lineup decisions, Dombrowski isn’t involved at that level (nor did Alex Anthopoulos when Farrell managed in Toronto or Dombrowski’s predecessor, Ben Cherington, in Boston, he added). Farrell said that he doesn’t consider his relationship with Dombrowski to be drastically different than with his previous bosses, though he did note that his conversations with Dombrowski are in-person more often due to Dombrowski’s larger travel schedule.

NL East Notes: Jennings, Ozuna, Wright, Flores

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The Marlins have filed a grievance over the $100K salary that the Nationals are allegedly paying former Miami GM/manager Dan Jennings, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.  Jennings joined the Washington front office as a special assistant to GM Mike Rizzo in January after being fired by Miami after the season.  Jennings still had three years and $5.8MM remaining on his Marlins contract, including $1.5MM for 2016, and Miami owes Jennings the difference between that $1.5MM figure and his new salary for the 2016 season.  The Marlins aren’t pleased about still being on the hook for $1.4MM and they claim their NL East rival is paying Jennings “well below a salary commensurate with his responsibilities,” Jackson writes.

Here’s some more from around the NL East…

  • Marcell Ozuna is looking at 2016 as “a fresh start” and he’s happy to still be with the Marlins, the outfielder told Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald.  Ozuna was widely assumed to be on his way out of Miami after a tough season and a reported personality clash with owner Jeffrey Loria, though a trade never came to fruition and he’s still slated to be the Marlins’ regular center fielder.  Manager Don Mattingly noted that many players struggle to adjust in their second seasons in the bigs, and that “almost every club was calling us about [Ozuna]…because people see he’s that kind of talent.”
  • Almost all of Wilmer Flores’ spring action has come at third base, leading Newsday’s David Lennon to wonder if the Mets have even more concerns about David Wright’s health.  The veteran third baseman is scheduled to make his spring debut in a minor league game on Monday with an eye towards joining the Mets later in the week.  The club was originally planning to limit Wright to around 130 games in order to manage his spinal stenosis, though Wright said last month that “you can’t have a plan” given the condition’s unpredictability.  Flores has played only 27 games at third in the bigs and just one in the last two seasons, so the extra time could merely be the Mets’ way of getting him re-acclimated for an increased workload at the position.  If Flores ends up spending more time than expected at third, Lennon notes, that will leave New York thin on backup options around the infield.
  • In other NL East news from earlier today on MLBTR, the Mets are looking for a backup catcher and the Nationals have a June 15th deadline to decide on GM Mike Rizzo’s two-year contract option.

Marlins Made Marcell Ozuna Trade Offers To Rangers, Reds

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The Marlins made separate trade offers to the Rangers and Reds for Marcell Ozuna earlier this winter, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports.  The Fish wanted starting pitching back in both proposed deals, and it seems as if there was little-to-no room for further negotiations in these offers; Jackson writes that the Marlins “decided internally that they would trade [Ozuna] only if those teams met their exact asking price.”

It should be noted that these offers were both made before Miami signed Wei-Yin Chen, so the team’s need for rotation help is no longer quite as dire.  Still, as the Marlins feel “a team can never have enough pitching,” Jackson thinks the Fish would revisit trading Ozuna if Texas or Cincinnati agreed to their demands.

Ozuna has been mentioned in rumors for months as a major trade chip Miami could use to acquire at least one solid young rotation piece.  Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria reportedly had developed some bad blood with Ozuna and agent Scott Boras over Ozuna’s demotion to Triple-A (which Boras claimed was done to stall Ozuna’s service time and not for developmental reasons) so it was seen as just a matter of time before a trade was finalized.

While at least 10 teams showed interest and at least one deal (with the Mariners) was heavily discussed, however, the tide had seemingly turned towards Ozuna staying in Miami.  Personal issues aside, Loria and the front office were insisting on a very big return for Ozuna and weren’t willing to just give such a promising young outfielder away.  New manager Don Mattingly and new hitting coach Barry Bonds were also lobbying to keep Ozuna, which undoubtedly played a factor.  Since Chen is also a Boras client, it stands to reason that relations between Loria and the agent have also somewhat improved.

The Rangers have been connected to Ozuna in trade rumors for months, though it’s something of an imperfect fit since while Texas has some intriguing young arms (i.e. Chi Chi Gonzalez, Nick Martinez), they could use those reinforcements themselves in the Major League rotation.  Delino DeShields also emerged as a good center fielder for the Rangers in 2015 so they didn’t have a huge need at the position, though Ozuna would’ve been an upgrade.

This is the first time we’ve heard of the Reds attached to Ozuna, though their interest makes sense given their outfield needs.  Right fielder Jay Bruce is entering his last guaranteed year under contract and is available for trades, while the Reds are currently planning to use a platoon of unproven youngsters in left.  Of course, Billy Hamilton is already Cincinnati’s regular center fielder, and he’s shown such a spectacular glove that if Ozuna did join the Reds, he’d be the one moving to left.

While the Reds have been in rebuild mode by dealing Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Marlon Byrd, Aroldis Chapman and Todd Frazier in the last seven months, Ozuna (25) is young enough to fit Walt Jocketty’s plan to quickly reload and contend again by 2017.  Even moreso than Texas, however, Cincinnati is lacking in pitching depth — they were using an all-rookie rotation for much of last season after Cueto and Leake were dealt.  The Reds have righties Robert Stephenson and Keury Mella and southpaws Amir Garrett and Cody Reed among their top prospects, and the club may prefer to see if those young arms can develop into long-term pieces for their uncertain rotation rather than deal one or more of them for Ozuna.

NL East Notes: Fernandez, Yelich, Vizcaino, DePodesta

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With Dee Gordon now extended through the 2020 season (and possibly 2021 by way of vesting option), MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro gets the sense that the Marlins hope to hammer out a long-term deal for Jose Fernandez, possibly in advance of tomorrow’s exchange of arbitration figures (Twitter link). That’s an ambitious goal for a number of reasons — lack of time, Fernandez’s stock being low after an injury-shortened season, Scott Boras’ aversion to long-term deals, etc. — and Frisaro himself notes that he hasn’t confirmed long-term contract talks are taking place. Jon Heyman, meanwhile, tweets that there’s “no word” that the Marlins are hopeful of coming to terms on an extension with their young ace. With Fernandez already eligible for arbitration, the urgency to sign a deal isn’t as pressing, as he’ll begin earning notable salaries as soon as 2016, when MLBTR has him projected at $2.2MM. Given his excellence when healthy, that number should rise rapidly, as he’ll be arb-eligible three more times before qualifying for free agency.

Here’s more on the Marlins and the NL East…

  • Miami’s agreement with left-hander Wei-Yin Chen should put to rest the trade rumors swirling around Fernandez and Marcell Ozuna, writes Frisaro in a full column. By adding Chen (and extending Gordon), the Marlins sent the message that their goal is to contend in 2016. Adding Chen lessens the temptation to add a young arm by trading Ozuna, which would’ve simply created another hole in the outfield anyhow, Frisaro notes.
  • Within that piece, Frisaro reports that the Nationals made a run at Christian Yelich this offseason, floating a concept involving left-hander Gio Gonzalez going to the Marlins. He’s the second reporter to say as much, as Jon Heyman first mentioned the scenario about a month ago While I’d imagine that other pieces were involved in the Washington’s scenario, Frisaro hears that the inquiry “didn’t go anywhere,” which isn’t necessarily a surprise. The Marlins took Yelich 23rd overall back in 2010 and rewarded him with a hefty $49.75MM contract extension with a little more than one year of service time under his belt last offseason; the team is quite high on Yelich’s potential.
  • The Braves could end up going to an arbitration hearing with right-hander Arodys Vizcaino tomorrow, writes MLB.com’s Mark Bowman. Atlanta cemented itself as a “file-and-trial” team (one that does not negotiate one-year salaries after arbitration figures are exchanged) last season when it went to a hearing with left-hander Mike Minor. With figures set to be exchanged tomorrow at 1pm ET, there’s little time for the two sides to work out a deal, although GM John Coppolella voiced a desire to work something out. “Our hope is always to settle before numbers are filed, but we showed last year that we have no problem going to a hearing if we are unable to reach a number that works for our club,” Coppolella explained. Vizcaino is projected by MLBTR to make $1.1MM next season, although as a Super Two player, establishing a more significant base in his first trip through the process would make the right-hander exponentially more costly in his next three arbitration-eligible offseasons.
  • In a piece for Vice Sports, Mike Vorkunov spoke to former Mets vice president of player development/amateur scouting about his decision to jump ship to the NFL’s Cleveland Browns and the journey that brought him to baseball in the first place. DePodesta recalls some influential lessons he learned while interning for George H.W. Bush’s deputy assistant, Jim Pinkerton — an experience that changed the way he approached his understanding not only of baseball but life in general. Vorkunov spoke to DePodesta’s former colleague, Josh Byrnes (now a senior VP working under Andrew Friedman in L.A.) as well as former Harvard football teammates/coaches and current/former Browns employees. DePodesta explained to Vorkunov that he’s tried to learn about as many other industries as possible (healthcare, finance, etc.). “I’ll say this: the last 20 years in baseball, much what I’ve done is try to learn as much as I can about other industries, especially ones that I thought shared common characteristics to what we were doing in baseball,” said DePodesta. “Because I was always trying to learn how they dealt with similar interests to what we had.” Vorkunov’s lengthy piece gives an excellent look into DePodesta and what he and his unique background will bring to the NFL. To read more about DePodesta’s career change from a football perspective, check out MLBTR’s sister site, Pro Football Rumors.

Marlins Now Unlikely To Trade Marcell Ozuna

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After agreeing to terms with starter Wei-Yin Chen, the Marlins now seem rather unlikely to deal away young outfielder Marcell Ozuna, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter. Miami had reportedly been dangling Ozuna in hopes of landing a young rotation piece, but seemingly moved on to strike an agreement with Chen when it could not find a trade arrangement it liked.

Of course, much of the impetus for the apparent organizational inclination to trade Ozuna seemed to come from owner Jeffrey Loria. Though there had been discussions about an extension, things turned south after the Scott Boras-represented Ozuna declined to pursue a contract and then struggled to open the 2015 season.

When Jon Heyman asked Loria today whether Ozuna would be moved, he reportedly responded: “he’s here!” (Twitter link.) That line is hardly definitive, of course, but it certainly seems to suggest that it could stay that way in the context of the Chen agreement and the aforementioned report.

While the Marlins were said to be comfortable deploying Christian Yelich in center if a deal had come together involving Ozuna, it seems preferable to keep him and Giancarlo Stanton at the corners. Indeed, as I wrote in addressing the lynchpin decision on Ozuna in the Marlins’ offseason outlook, there is still tremendous appeal in keeping that trio together for the foreseeable future.

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.

Quick Hits: Rangers, Chi Chi, Upton, Gray, Span

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Rangers assistant GM Thad Levine and A’s executive Billy Beane appeared on the MLB Network Radio show with Jim Bowden to discuss offseason rumors (tweets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Levine spoke broadly about Texas’ approach in free agency, saying “we’ll stay in touch with all the agents for the existing free agents. If something does fall into our lap, we’ll be poised to strike.” Reports suggest the Rangers have some budgetary constraints in play, but the roster is already is decent shape.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • The Rangers have not offered pitching prospect Chi Chi Gonzalez to the Marlins for outfielder Marcell Ozuna. There is “no truth to the rumor,” per Levine, although he does confirm that the Rangers have talked shop with the Marlins and other clubs. Earlier today, we heard that Don Mattingly and Barry Bonds hoped to keep Ozuna with the Marlins.
  • Levine and associates are long time admirers of Justin Upton. The aforementioned budget constraints restrict the club from making a long term commitment. However, they’ll continue to monitor the status of his market.
  • The A’s have “resisted some pretty aggressive suitors” for starting pitcher Sonny Gray, per Beane. “We’ve been adamant with teams that we want to hang on to Gray.” He’s coming off arguably his best season in which he posted a 2.3 ERA, 7.31 K/9, 2.55 BB/9, and a 53 percent ground ball rate over 208 innings. Throughout his three season career, the 26-year-old has relied on inducing weak contact to keep runners off the bases. He’s under club control for four more seasons.
  • While outsiders often consider January to be a slow baseball month, Beane maintains that it can be very productive. The A’s are still trying to improve the club via trade. It’s also possible a free agent or two could slip through the cracks.
  • The Mets had interest in signing Denard Span before he agreed to terms with the Giants, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News. Per GM Sandy Alderson, payroll wasn’t a deterrent. “The biggest issue for us was the injury.” The Mets have not had a splashy offseason, but the additions of Neil Walker, Alejandro De Aza, and Asdrubal Cabrera feel similar to those of Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe during the season. While Johnson and Uribe were just role players, their arrival on the roster coincided with a surge in the standings. In particular, the addition of De Aza gives the club flexibility to take advantage of any free agents looking for a pillow contract with a contender – perhaps like crowd favorite Yoenis Cespedes.
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