Marlins Extend Martin Prado, 3y/$40m

[dim]

I really can't think of a single FA pitcher who I've felt like "yeah, we should have matched/beaten that contract" about over the last 5 years. FA SP contracts are insane even if you're a big budget team. Would we have been happy with Greinke's contract even without payroll constraints?

We need to acquire and develop young pitching. This begins in the draft but it also extends to trading for young controllable pitchers where they're available, and buying out pitchers when the time is right.

THIS TIMES ONE MILLION.

People don't understand that the pitching rotation has looked poor for the last few years not because of our inability to sign players, but giving away the pitching talent we already had. Anthony Desclafani had a Mark Buerhle like season in Cincinnati. Andrew Heaney was the perfect #3 starter in LAA in 2015 (before injury). Francis Martes is one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. There's been guys we've traded who went on to have issues like Paddack, German, Eovaldi, etc..., but there's also been guys who have been given up in minor trades that people don't realize have backfired. Jim Benedict was the pitching coach acquired for Trevor Williams. Benedict's impact can't be quantified, but Williams is now a major league pitcher in Pittsburgh. The Hunter Cervenka trade this year, that has had basically no positive impact on our team this year, was done by giving away Michael Mader, who had a 2.40 ERA in AA during a short stint at 22 years old this year. He's probably a future major leaguer.

Brad Hand became a legit reliever in San Diego (similar to the Andrew Miller situation years ago). Sam Dyson became a 36 save closer in Texas this year.

We've had an incredible pitching staff and bullpen come and go within the last two years, from both our major league team and our farm system. But the problem was our coaching staff didn't help those players perform to their best abilities and our front office undervalued their true ceiling. That is the thing that has absolutely frustrated me for the longest time.

But I like the Prado signing. I'm not sure how to even consider going about making the rotation salvageable after this horrible tragedy that occurred.

[Namaste]

Pitching didn't keep the Marlins out of the Wild Card this year.

Slugging and Runs Scored did, boys.

* I realize that this weekends tragedy makes pitching an issue in the off season

[HUGG]

They don't have to. There are other options. One crazy option would be to remove themselves from perennial bottom 3 payroll dwellers to a top 15 payroll team.

let me rephrase

given the makeup of the current roster and minor league system and the fact that, even if they did want to spend money, the free agent class this year is fucking terrible, they pretty much have to trade Dietrich to fill other holes in the roster

[dgriot]

They could package Dietrich/Ozuna and buy low on whatever OF is left dangling after the first few waves of FA (Reddick, Jay, Stubbs with a lefty platoon partner, etc.).

(I like the operating like a real franchise idea better, but you know...)

[nny]

Pitching didn't keep the Marlins out of the Wild Card this year.

Slugging and Runs Scored did, boys.

* I realize that this weekends tragedy makes pitching an issue in the off season

Except those guys add value because of their defensive ability. Our starting pitching has added considerable less value than our hitters have. Now remove Jose and there's no comparison what-so-ever.

[tjfla]

Lourdes Gurriel is getting a private workout with us. We do this with every Cuban however this could do wonders for the team and city if we sign him

Sign him to a Moncada type deal 6yr 60 mil

23 yr old can play LF and 3B. Let him play LF and trade Ozuna then 3 years u have a 3B to replace Prado

I will cast a vote tho for operate like a real franchise!!! U know resign players,spend money and try to improve

[nny]

I didn't want a Prado extention before because at this point he's a slap hitter and once his basically career high BABIP comes down he's not going to be all too value.

But at this point who cares about that they are going to suck anyway and he's definitely a big part of the heart of the team. And 3/40 really aint bad.

[tjfla]

I didn't want a Prado extention before because at this point he's a slap hitter and once his basically career high BABIP comes down he's not going to be all too value.

But at this point who cares about that they are going to suck anyway and he's definitely a big part of the heart of the team. And 3/40 really aint bad.

Ya u can also add in they don't have a 3B close to being ready-Brian Anderson is the closest and at least 2 years away(Likely not even that great if he did make it).

[HUGG]

Marlins Extend Martin Prado, 3y/$40m

Gourriel isn't expected to be ready until 2018 at the earliest. He's also not considered a no brainer like a lot of these guys have been, lots of scouts not very high on him.

That's not me making a case that we shouldn't sign him, just adding some notes.

[HUGG]

The honest reality is we're not going to contend any time soon now that Jose's gone.

[emkayseven]

Was talking to mm21 separately about this but I'm not 100% convinced that's the case

The lineup is very good. We could use more power, but Giancarlo/Yelich/Dee/Prado/Bour/Realmuto are a very good top 6 hitters to have and all are controlled for several more years. That's not counting Ozuna. If you're able to flip Ozuna/Dietrich, or maybe even Hech, someplace for SP, you're in a decent position. Conley/SP acquired/Koehler/Chen/Urena isn't very good. It's probably about as good as the rotation the Royals won the WS with. But if you're able to acquire that SP, maybe even get a second somehow, the bullpen is (I think) in fine shape and the lineup is good enough to compete still.

If you trade Ozuna you can try and sign a guy like Reddick (who I really like but will probably end up getting a 4-5 year deal which I wouldn't want). Or you could try and grab a guy like Fowler and have a Pierre/Castillo thing going at the top of the lineup. Or you sign some shmuck we'll all bitch about because he's going to hit 6/7 anyway and who really cares.

[HUGG]

Marlins Extend Martin Prado, 3y/$40m

We had those top 6 hitters this year and are in the bottom 10 in offense. And were before Stanton and Bour got hurt too.

The best SP in that rotation is a #3 starter.

Of course, if our bullpen had been 25th instead of 29th in blown saves, we'd be in the playoffs. But, that's also with having one of the 3 best pitchers on the planet.

Replace Jose with a sp that we go .500 with on the mound and we're hanging out with the Phillies right now

[fauowls44]

Obviously, you can't replace Jose and the free agent market for starters is pretty thin (Hill, Hellickson, Sabathia, Fister, and Nova being the realistic targets). I wonder if they'd consider going after Chapman, combining him with Barraclough, Ramos, Wittgren, and Ellington, could allow them to get by with a bunch of #3 starters...or allow them to possibly trade a bullpen arm in a deal for rotation help.

[AdamRavs]

KC basically won with their Starter going between 4-6innings. Could always just beef up the pen more and see what happens. The trades we made this yr hurt us bad. Rodney and Cashner are awful.

[thatnewguy]

I'm not ready to say that this team can't contend without Fernandez, especially if that frees up $200m that the team was potentially budgeting for with Fernandez now gone. Obviously a huge loss both emotionally and on the field, but the fact is Jose's impact was still only every five-days and the product he brought can somewhat replaced easier than say if Giancarlo was in that spot.

The team is devoid of pitching right now but Conley is still on the rise, Chen should bounce-back in 2017, Phelps looked dominant as both a SP and RP and I would imagine he'd be a starter full time next year now.

I see a rotation looking like Chen-Conley-Phelps-Koehler-Urena/Nicolino and admittedly is not good enough, but with available SP like Doug Fister, or maybe trading the likes of Dietrich/Ozuna for an arm, the team more or less looks like it did in 2016. With a fully healthy, living Jose Fernandez, I would've expected the team to seriously compete next year but I don't think that his loss dooms the club to 90+ losses next year.