There’s no logical reason for the Marlins to want to deal Jose Fernandez
The Miami Marlins are not a good team. This isn’t a profound statement, and shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who watched them play last season. In fact, for much of their existence, the Marlins haven’t been a good team.
When the Marlins have been competitive, it’s mostly been due to a strong rebuilding effort. Expensive veterans are shipped out for young, promising prospects. When those prospects have panned out, the Marlins have fielded competitive teams.
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The 2016 Marlins find themselves stuck in that same loop. The team will likely be bad, and there is probably some incentive to sell off older players in order to restock the farm system again.
If there’s a silver lining this time around, it’s that the team already features two of the best young players in the game: Jose Fernandez and Giancarlo Stanton. Add in Christian Yelich, and you have the makings of a strong core.
The Marlins, however, aren’t thinking the same way. Instead of building around Fernandez, it looks like they are about to do the most Marlins thing ever.
This is exactly as insane as it sounds. First off, Fernandez doesn’t fit the mold of the type of player the Marlins typically sell off. He’s both young and affordable. The 23-year-old made just $651,000 last season. He’ll make more during the arbitration process, but it’s not like Fernandez is suddenly going to turn into a financial albatross.
On top of that, he’s under team control through 2018. So, you have a young, relatively cheap pitcher under control for the next three seasons. Perhaps the Marlins have some concern about being able to keep Fernandez once he hits free agency, as his agent is Scott Boras, but that’s not going to happen for a number of years.
Oh, and he’s really good. Like, he’s possibly a generational talent. Fernandez’s career was slightly derailed due to Tommy John surgery, but there’s no doubting his ability when healthy. Over his career, he’s posted a 2.40 ERA in 289 innings. He’s done that while striking out more than a batter per inning. He’s 23.
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If the Marlins are serious about dealing Fernandez, it’s believed they would want prospects in return. While Fernandez would bring back quite the haul, are we really sure any team has what it takes to propose a fair offer? Many of the players that would be involved in deals for Fernandez would only be a year or two younger than him, and none of them will have experienced the success he’s already shown in the majors.
Jose Fernandez is the guy you hope and pray one of your prospects turns into … the Marlins literally already have that guy. Even if the Marlins acquire 3-4 decent prospects in return, it seems unlikely that those players will combine to be better than Fernandez.
Maybe that’s extreme. Maybe the Marlins see a guy who, though he’s been awesome, has already undergone a major surgery on his arm. Maybe they think he’s likely to need another surgery in the near future. Maybe they realize Fernandez is one of the best building blocks in the game, and think it’s foolish not to see what he might bring back in a trade. Maybe they think the team won’t be competitive while Fernandez is under contract, and want to get something back for him before he leaves?
All of those things are possible, and perhaps part of the reason the Marlins might entertain dealing the youngster. Even if some of those concerns are legitimate, trading Fernandez seems ridiculous.
Fernandez is exactly the type of player you build around. He’s a true face-of-the-franchise type guy. He’s awesome, he’s young and he’s got personality. Many franchises would kill for a guy like Jose Fernandez.
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The Marlins currently have that guy, and are reportedly thinking about trading him. That notion would seem absurd coming from any other franchise, but it seems fitting coming from the Marlins.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
