Dan Haren Rumors: Marlins Finding No Takers

Dan Haren was in the Miami Marlins eyes a huge part of the trade with the Dodgers that brought over  second baseman Dee Gordon. Despite Haren’s preference to pitch on the west coast, near his family, the Marlins decided they wanted him in the trade anyways.

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Since the team acquired Dan Haren, they’ve tried lobbying for him to pitch for the team in Miami, pushing the team is much improved and could contend for a playoff spot next season. So far, that lobbying has been to no avail, as the Marlins have given into Haren’s request and shopped him around to the west coast, with little interest, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

At his request, the Marlins have been trying to trade pitcher Dan Haren to a team closer to his Southern California home but have found no takers. The Marlins have no intention of parting with the $10 million that the Dodgers are giving them to pay Haren’s salary or to keep if he retires.If Haren retires, the Marlins will allocate that money toward Mat Latos’ estimated $8.4 million salary.Haren’s agency said Tuesday he hasn’t decided whether to retire. He was 13-11 with a 4.02 ERA for the Dodgers last season.

If Haren does retire, the Marlins using the money allotted for Haren could presumably open the door for the Marlins to add one more starter, whether that be via free agency or the trade market. As the Marlins will certainly need Haren or another backend starter to fill the rotation out, until Jose Fernandez is able to comeback.

The fact that the team is finding no takers for Dan Haren should not come as any surprise. The Giants are still said to be in the market for James Shields and Max Scherzer, both are significantly better than Haren. The Angels and Padres both seem to have their starting rotations set for the coming season, making Haren useless to them. Earlier this week I suggested a C.J. Wilson for Dan Haren swap, but that’s obviously a no go.

Haren is coming off a three straight seasons with an ERA and FIP have been over 4.00, including and 4.02 and 4.09 marks the last two years. He hasn’t thrown over 200 innings in three straight seasons and has failed to crack a 2.0 fWAR those three seasons. At this point, Haren is done as an innings eating guy.

However, with the Marlins trading Nathan Eovaldi, Anthony DeSclafani, Andrew Heaney, and Brian Flynn this off-season, the team needs pitching depth more now than ever. So the team would probably benefit more if Haren were to return rather than handing the final spot to Brad Hand or David Phelps, since a significant upgrade is unlikely to come from outside of the organization.

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