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Michael Hill

Hill Talks Trade Deadline, Rotation, Second Base

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The Marlins were tied for first place in the NL East on June 8, but have posted an 11-20 record since and have fallen to fourth place, 7.5 games behind the Braves and Nationals. Before losing their fourth in a row, Marlins President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill held court with reporters at Citi Field:

  • The Marlins are in the market for starting pitching, but want controllable arms. “A rental, it may help you in the short term,” Hill said (as quoted by MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro). “We want something we can move forward with. I think that will definitely influence the direction we go.“
  • Hill added (also quoted by Frisaro) putting a premium on team control is part of the franchise’s philosophy, “We’re never [shortsighted] with anything that we do. There is always an eye on the present. We never lose sight of the future and what we’re trying to build. We want to build sustained winning here. We do control all of our roster, for the most part.“
  • Failing to swing a trade, internal rotation options include Jacob Turner and Brad Penny, who was promoted recently to Triple-A after signing a minor league deal last month, reports the Miami Herald’s Manny Navarro.
  • The search for rotation reinforcements does not signal a lack of faith in the Marlins’ young arms, including Anthony DeSclafani and Andrew Heaney. “We have the people to do the job,” Hill explained (as quoted by Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel). “We’ve had varied success. Some of our young starters have shown their youth and we’ll always try to do what’s in the best interest of our players. If DeSclafani needs more seasoning we’re going to give him that. If the decision is Heaney needs more seasoning, we’re going to give him that, but we still have all the faith in the world in our young players.“
  • The Marlins are also looking to fill the void at second base created last month when Rafael Furcal landed on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. “We thought he would be that speed/leadoff player for us,” said Hill (also quoted by Rodriguez). “Injuries have prevented him from doing that. That’s still a part of our team that’s missing and we feel we would like to have, whatever form or shape that comes in.“
  • Hill expects to sign the two remaining holdouts among their top top ten picks (seventh-round shortstop Anfernee Seymour and 10th-round left-hander Dillon Peters) prior to Friday’s deadline, per Navarro.

East Notes: Red Sox, Marlins, De La Rosa, Ayala

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The injury bug has struck the Red Sox again. Mike Carp, who replaced the injured Mike Napoli at first base, under went a CT scan today and it revealed a broken foot, tweets Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. The injury will set off a series of roster moves with Stephen Drew ready to join the club in Cleveland tomorrow. MacPherson tweets the Red Sox will place Carp on the disabled list and and recall Daniel Nava. Garin Cecchini, who made his MLB debut today when Dustin Pedroia was ejected and went 1-for-2 with a RBI double, told reporters (including Jason Mastrodonato of MassLive.com) he will have dinner with his parents and then report to Triple-A Pawtucket. Prior to the announcement of Carp’s injury, the Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber outlined how the Red Sox could juggle playing time with the addition of Drew.

Elsewhere in baseball’s East divisions:

  • The Marlins acquired right-handed reliever Bryan Morris from the Pirates earlier in the day and the team is already being criticized for the move. Fangraph’s Dave Cameron opines Morris is a below replacement level pitcher and giving up the 39th pick in the draft for him (an asset worth several million dollars) is “beyond crazy” (Twitter links).
  • Jim Bowden of ESPN and MLB Network Radio agrees with Cameron tweeting Morris is not worth past number 39 picks like Lance Lynn (Cardinals), Anthony Ranaudo (Red Sox), and Joey Gallo (Rangers).
  • Marlins President of Baseball Operations Michael Hill defended the trade to reporters, including the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Juan C. Rodriguez. “We had a need,” Hill said. “It was in our bullpen. We were looking for the piece that was the right fit for us in terms of controlling, not just short-term, but long-term, and [Morris] had the stuff to help our club as well.“
  • Hill also said the trade “is the first piece” as he attempts to strengthen the second-place Marlins. “I don’t think we’re finished in trying to improve our club. We’re still trying to make as many improvements as we think we can to help this team.“
  • Alex Speier of WEEI.com chronicles the development of Red Sox right-hander Rubby De La Rosa from a prospect who had trouble harnessing his potential to the pitcher who tossed seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts Saturday night.
  • Right-hander Luis Ayala, who opted out of his minor league deal with the Orioles yesterday, will pitch in Mexico, tweets MASNsports.com’s Rock Kubatko.

Mets GM Rumors: Jennings, Hart, Hunsicker

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The Wilpons asked the Marlins for permission to speak to Marlins assistant GM Dan Jennings about their GM opening, tweets ESPN's Jerry Crasnick.  The Miami Herald's Clark Spencer says the Mets asked for permission to speak to Marlins executives Larry Beinfest and Mike Hill as well, but are likely to be denied the chance to speak to any of the three.  It would be odd for the Marlins to allow a division rival the opportunity to swipe a top executive.

According to Newsday's David Lennon on Twitter, former Rangers and Indians GM John Hart would be interested in the Mets' opening but could be expensive.  Hart remains with the Rangers as a senior advisor in baseball operations.  How about a reunion with Gerry Hunsicker, who currently serves as a senior VP with the Rays?  He told Mike Sielski of the Wall Street Journal Saturday that he did not have a burning passion to be a GM again and that "it would have to be a very special situation."

GM Trade Histories: NL East

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Brendan Bianowicz is back with a bunch of updates to the GM Trade History series.  The Excel spreadsheets linked below cover each GM's trades, free agent signings, and top draft picks via tabs along the bottom.  It's interesting to see each GM's most frequent trade partner – for example, Omar Minaya has matched up with Larry Beinfest and Mark Shapiro most often in his career.

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