Miami Marlins RTD: #BringHanleyHome; Ideal Off-Season for Marlins?

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Welcome to another Miami Marlins Round Table Discussion. On today’s agenda, we’ll be discussing #BringHomeHanley, thoughts on if the Marlins should extend Hech and Dee, as well what an ideal off-season would look like for the Miami Marlins.

1. Yay or Nay: #BringHanleyHome? Why or why not?

Ehsan Kassim: Yay. When he’s healthy, Hanley can still bat as well as anyone in the game. Move him to first base and easing the burden of defense, and he could do some great things. The Marlins should not give up a ton for him and the Sox would likely eat a good portion of salary. Why not bring back the greatest Marlin of all time?

Daniel Zylberkan: I feel like the Red Sox would be eager to part ways with Hanley, as he has proven to be a truly awful left fielder in arguably the easiest left field to play in all of baseball. The Marlins have a need for a solid corner infielder and Hanley Ramirez could fit that bill very well. Ultimately I just miss him and it would be great if he was back in a Marlins uniform.

Michael Sonbeek: Yay, because he’s the best Marlin ever and can still play at a high level.

Sean Millerick: Nay, without question. Hanley’s injury history has only become more storied since leaving Miami, and the Marlins have enough injury concerns with their current superstars; superstars who I thought had provided a fair amount of excitement-when healthy- in recent years. But more to the point, Hanley was approaching clubhouse cancer status during his last couple years with the club. Not sure his current talent level outweighs the negative impact he could have on morale. Finally, 2014 saw him pushed from the infield to the outfield. Who exactly in the Marlins current starting outfield would Hanley be a significant upgrade over? Spend the offensive FA bucks on an actual first or third baseman.

Christian La Fontaine: Yay, beyond a doubt, ownership needs to earn back some goodwill from the fanbase. He’s the greatest Marlin of all time. If not for injuries/make up might have been a top 5 middle infielder all time. In the present he’s a competent right-handed hitter who might be able to play some third base, or at least serve platoon time with Bour at first.

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Mark Laming: Hanley has burned his set of bridges in Boston in just one year. I would be on board for bringing him home to reignite the fanbase that has been void of true excitement since 2012. I’d only bring him back at a discount though. He’s not worth his huge paycheck I’m all aboard if we can get Boston to pay some of his contract at the very least.

Charlie Clarke: That would be interesting to say the least. The offense would be potent, but the injury bug could kill all hype. Plus, the combo between Hech and Dee worked well last year. I think he’d be too expensive, and I know the Marlins would too.

Next: Extensions for the Middle Infielders?

2. Would it be smarter for the Marlins to sign Dee Gordon and Adeiny Hechavarria to extensions or go year-to-year with them?

Ehsan Kassim: I’d go year-to-year with Dee Gordon. Yes, his 2015 season was great, but that was a career year. You don’t sign players after a career year. The team would then be paying for past value instead of future value. I’d go year-to-year with Hech as well, but that would depend on the team friendliness of an extension.

Daniel Zylberkan: There is no good reason for paying the ever-increasing arbitration money year-by-year. Sign both of them to nice team friendly deals that buy out their arbitration eligibility and maybe one or two free agent years. Something like a 4-year deal for $20 million contract.

Michael Sonbeek: I think year-to-year would be good for both, or maybe a 5-year $35 million type deal for Dee.

Sean Millerick: Long-term Hechavarria, short-term Gordon. While Gordon was the season’s success story and deserves full credit for his batting title, it is fair to ask him to do it again; Hech has put up multiple Gold Glove caliber seasons in the shadow of Atlanta’s Andrelton Simmons, and is worth extending on his glove alone. But then again, my issue with going long-term with Gordon is less about his having earned it, and more about wanting to see the Marlins ink an ace SP to a long-term contract. Long-term deals are precious in Miami.

Christian La Fontaine: Gordon should just go year-to-year, he runs a super-high BABIP and his only carrying tool (speed) has already started to diminish. When his speed goes completely, his value will vanish. It would be smart to lock Hech up, great defensive shortstops who aren’t automatic outs on offense, are hard to find these day.

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Mark Laming: Gordon has proved that he can be a productive player over more than one season, or at least be an above replacement level player. But, Hech has a bit left to prove that he can have sustained success over multiple seasons. Locking Gordon down and going year-to-year with Hech seems like the logical choice.

Charlie Clarke: This depends on the Hanley situation, but I think they should invest in short-term deals. Dee could easily fall back to Earth in 2016, and Hech may as well. I wouldn’t risk it.

Next: Unkind ESPN Ranking

3. Thoughts on the Marlins ranking in ESPN’s “Ultimate Standings?”

Ehsan Kassim: I don’t disagree with the ranking, but I also don’t quite understand how ESPN got there. I still need to read up on their process to fully understand all of this. But it does seem right.

Daniel Zylberkan: I think it isn’t at all surprising that the Marlins would land near the bottom in any ranking that takes an objective look at how a franchise does, outside of just raw on the field results. Much like their ranking on the analytics rankings, also done by ESPN earlier this year, they need a lot of work to be a top-tier organization.

Michael Sonbeek: They were higher than I expected, I thought they would be dead last.

Sean Millerick: Seems fair, although if you break it down specifically, I actually expected a slightly higher player ranking; Miami’s nucleus is amongst the best in the game. Of course that potential is factored into title track, along with past success. Since their inaugural season, only five teams in the game have won two or titles: the Marlins are one of them. But looking at the whole package? Of course the issues are legion, and the rank shows that.

Christian La Fontaine: Hey they’re not last! .

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Mark Laming: Fair enough, the Marlins are in a bad spot overall and this ranking reflects that in a fair way.

Charlie Clarke: I agree with it, the franchise is very poorly situated currently.

Next: Ideal off-season....

4. An ideal off-season for the Miami Marlins would be….

Ehsan Kassim: An idea off-season for the Miami Marlins would have kicked off with the team cleaning house, starting in the front office. The Marlins brass has been in place for a while, with only Larry Beinfest being a scapegoat, since Jeffrey Loria took over the Marlins franchise. For a team that’s had no stability in the clubhouse, the front office has seen almost no changes (in philosophy or leaders) during a bunch of turmoil the past decade plus. Beyond that, the team needs to add two top starters to go with Jose Fernandez at the top of the rotation, a reliable first baseman, and drastically rebuild their bench depth. Yes, the Marlins are close to contending with this core, but they are so far as well.

Daniel Zylberkan: The Marlins have three problems that are all related and it all comes from the top, both the front office and management. First, they need a philosophical change to actually become contenders in the medium to long-term. That would mean a complete change in how they draft and a new approach to dealing with international free agency. Second, they need to hire a manager and actually give him the freedom to do what he was hired to do. Jeffrey Loria and his style of management hurts the team and they need to step away from this. Third, the Marlins have a good core to build around in the short-term and they are a few solid free agent signings away from being a contending team.

Michael Sonbeek: Read my article from yesterday for my thoughts on this.

Sean Millerick: Sign a manager that is still the manager heading into the 2020 season, unless of course the manager in question retires after winning a championship. Could come up with a wish list of FA talent, but even landing Jordan Zimmerman and Yoenis Cespedes isn’t going to matter if there isn’t some semblance of organizational stability going forward. .

Christian La Fontaine: First change the entire front office and steal Friedman to be the new GM. Next kidnap Joe Maddon and force him to manage. Finally bring in David Price, Johnny Cueto, and Jason Heyward through free agency, and somehow trade for Mike Trout and Clayton Kershaw. That would be ideal.

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Mark Laming: Get a solid, stable, preferably sabermetrically inclined manager, if Jennings jumps ship, acquire an analytical based GM. Trade off some middling vets for some prospects. Sign some solid everyday MLB players and continue to rebuild.

Charlie Clarke: Determined during the 2016 regular season. They must make changes, but as we saw in 2015, acquisitions can go very poorly. April 1st will still be too early to judge.

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Next: Early Look at 2016

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