The increasingly odd saga about the Marlins maybe trading Jose Fernandez
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — If you were going to make a list of young MLB players who seem least likely to be traded, Jose Fernandez would rank, say, at least in the top 10.
He’s everything that years of drooling over prospects has taught us to chase — he’s a young pitcher with the make up an ace, he’s got filthy stuff, he’s got personality, he’s marketable and he plays in a city that fawns all over you when you’re a superstar.
[Related: 12 MLB players who could get traded this winter]
Yet, for some reason, we’ve been riding a roller coaster the past few weeks about whether the Miami Marlins would trade their 23-year-old star, whose only blemish is Tommy John surgery. And right now, we find ourselves stuck in a corkscrew.
There were oddly leaked tales that made Fernandez sound like a troublemaker in the clubhouse, then various anonymous reports that said the Marlins were either entertaining offers for Fernandez or not at all interested in dealing him. “Why would the Marlins trade Jose Fernandez? It doesn’t make any sense.” This is baseball in December, so it’s always pretty weird, but the Fernandez saga is weird even by those standards.
Here we are, at the Winter Meetings, where the first day of deals and gossip has been peppered by very different Fernandez rumors. Here, from the Miami Herald’s Clark Spencer on Monday night, is what seems like a definitive declaration from the team:
That’s the president of baseball operations, on the record, so that sounds quite legit. But as we know, baseball execs often say one thing publicly and another in private. Like the college football coach who says he’s not entertaining job offers and bolts a week later.
So here’s ESPN’s Buster Olney not even an hour earlier:
And CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman a couple hours before that:
And then ESPN’s Jayson Stark who said this after Michael Hill’s declaration:
Are you confused yet? That’s baseball news in 2015, where it seems every whisper turns into a tweet, which turns into news, which sometimes turns into a fan freak out and the whole thing getting labeled a “saga.”
[Elsewhere: Jeff Passan’s ranks and tracks every MLB free agent]
The fact of the matter is, though, the Marlins can absolutely listen to team’s requests and proposals with zero obligation to do anything, and if someone wows them with a trade proposal that’s beyond their wildest dreams … hey, pull the trigger. It seems, at least, like that’s their actual game plan here. They’re in a position of power here, might as well soak it in.
Take for instance, the asking price reported by our own Jeff Passan on Monday morning:
So maybe the Marlins are just seeing what lavish gifts could be tossed their way in the name of Jose Fernandez.
Will a trade ever come true? Maybe. Maybe not. We know it’s captivating baseball theater, though. And it’s what makes baseball’s Hot Stove season both a fantastic spectator sport and a frustrating calendar of ridiculousness.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
