Miami Marlins: Top 5 Free Agent Targets For 2017

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Watch out for this one, has real legs. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

Free Agent Target # 2: Aroldis Chapman, Closer/Better Shutdown Lefty Than Mike Dunn

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This will be both the hardest one to pull off and the first one the Marlins will attempt.

Aroldis Chapman is a force of nature. His career ERA is 2.08, and he’s a lefty. Perfectly built to shut down the Bryce Harpers and Nick Markakises of the world. He’s the game’s most dominant reliever. Every team in baseball could use him, and two of the top competitors for his services will be two of the richest teams in the game.

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But Miami can offer one thing neither the Cubs nor the Yankees can. And that’s the fact that Marlins Park sits squarely in Little Havana. The team has tried at least twice in the past to land him via trade. Chapman’s Cuban heritage would seem to be grounds for interest on both sides. He lives in South Florida during the offseason, and it’s a benefit for the front office when fans can make ties to players based on something other than prodigious talent alone.

At the end of the day though, it’s about improving the pitching depth. The bullpen is an overall strength as presently constructed, but why not just go for it and make it the best in the National League? A super pen can carry an average rotation, and would allow the Marlins to feel better about trusting in a Wei-Yin Chen bounceback and in Adam Conley taking the next step. Snag an average innings eater No. 5 starter with No. 4 upside- something there’s plenty of this free agency season- and call it an offseason.

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