Free Agent Options: Top Three Names To Target

Target No. 2: Justin Morneau, NJB(Not Justin Bour)/1B 

Remember last season, when Justin Bour tweaked his ankle? The Miami Marlins did nothing to address this. Instead of missing just a week, he missed well over a month, and the Marlins went on to have a second-half collapse.

In case you couldn’t tell, I remember. Indeed, the failure to replace one Justin with another struck me as the biggest front office failure of the 2016 season.

Which is saying something, because you know, Andrew Cashner.

As early as last July, I openly advocated the Marlins actually trade for him. Justin Morneau made perfect sense then, and he makes even more sense now that he’s a free agent. Bour is struggling mightily, whiffing spectacularly even against righties.

Last season was one of the least productive of Morneau’s career, and even that level of production probably would have been worth a 2017 win when compared to the sub-Mendoza Line production Bour has provided so far.

At worst, it’s a low cost move that motivates Bour to snap out of it, and a valuable bench bat option. However, if Morneau were able to approach that career .281 BA. That could be game-changing for Miami’s offense. In a way that is far more valuable than the additional power Bour provides.