Miami Marlins: Top 5 Free Agent Targets For 2017

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Willing to grant he might not be as overrated as I think he is at this point. Mandatory Credit: Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports /

Free Agent Target No. 1: Yoenis Cespedes, Outfielder

Circumstance: Marcell Ozuna or Christian Yelich Traded

If the Marlins trade Yelich for something not named Chris Sale, I’m probably quitting and looking for a job with The Rat Trick or PhinPhanatic. But the man featured above wouldn’t be a bad consolation prize, would he?

Marcell Ozuna is a solid player, perhaps even an above average one. But Christian Yelich is starting to look like he has Top 10 potential at his position. If he’s the regular Michael Hill deals for rotation help, the Marlins are going to have to really swing for the fences with his replacement.

Meet Yoenis Cespedes, former Home Run Derby champion.

Discussing his value on the field is pointless. It’s been covered at length, and we’ve spent the past two seasons watching it first hand.

He’ll be looking for a monster contract. It’s the least likely move of the five. Just as is the case with Chapman though, there’s added reason here for the Marlins to break the bank.

Jose Fernandez cannot be replaced. I want to make that crystal clear. And in what has been a pleasant departure from the club’s past level of out of touchness, that seems to be abundantly recognized by the organization.

However, that’s not to say that you shouldn’t look for the club to try. At least in the sense of making one bold, splashy move to reenergize a fan base that just had their hearts ripped out. Furthermore, it would make even more sense if the team tried to do so by adding a player that could also resonate with the part of the fanbase that had the deepest connection with Fernandez: Miami’s Cuban community.

Next: Ichiro Will Return

On the field, this move is about pummeling the opposition and weakening a major division rival. Even with the one good arm moving one of Miami’s two moveable outfielders would net leading things off at the top of the order, the rotation will still be average overall. Cespedes would give the Marlins a fearsome 1-2 power punch, and project to seriously ramp up the offense for a team that nearly bottomed out in scoring.

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