Miami Marlins: What New Ownership May Mean for the Fish

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As reported for the past few days, the Miami Marlins are one step closer to being sold. What does that mean for the team and players’ future in Miami?

With the possibility of new ownership for the Miami Marlins, there are a few different routes that the organization can take. Obviously the ultimate goal of the ownership will be to bring another championship to Miami. But, how long will that take and how dedicated will they be?

As Marlins fans, we are used to being in the basement when it comes to player spending. We are also very familiar with what seems to be an annual fire sale of star players. These are things that we have come to expect with Jeffrey Loria at the helm.

Rebuild the system

If this sale is finalized, assuming new management takes over this year, they will be walking into a $120 million mess. Yes, you read that right, mess. Courtesy of spotrac, we can view what players will be earning this year as well as next.

The top three earners for the Marlins are Giancarlo Stanton at $14.5 million, Wei-Yin Chen at $11.6 million, and Martin Prado at $11.5 million. Just amongt those three you have a quarter of the Marlins payroll. Those numbers are set to increase substantially, thanks to back-loaded contracts.

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Trading Star Power

Stanton in 2018 is projected to make $25 million and Prado $13.5 million. Chen is on a player option for $12.6 million with an additional deferred $2.9 million. That is a lot of dough.

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Depending on what new management would be willing to spend, here is one possibility for the upcoming season. Hold on tight, you won’t like this section.

With Stanton set to make $25 million on his own, we may see our star slugger moved. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, considering what we could get in return.

Obviously the Fish would have to find a team with deep pockets and a win now attitude. But, they would need to combine that to find the unicorn that also has a very good farm system.

With all of that said, there would also be a need to find a team with either an aging outfield or an outfield that needs work in order to win. Normally we could say Yankees and close the book.

But, the Yankees have been on a kick of building their own farm system over the years and are, according to MLB pipeline, sitting with the second best farm system in the league.

I present to you, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers have the sixth best farm system in all of baseball, check that box. They also have the highest payroll in baseball, and are set to see that drop by almost half next season.

In the Dodgers’ system, out of their top 30 prospects 12 are pitchers. If there’s one place where the Marlins need help, it is pitching. But, what would the Fish do with a gaping hole in right?

There will be a few options hitting the 2018 free agent market that won’t command nearly the salary that Stanton does. Another possibility would be to include, I hate saying this, Yasiel Puig in the deal.

Puig is set to make half of what Stanton would next season. Given the Dodgers want to get rid of Puig, this may be a deal that could work as long as the Dodgers add in substantial minor league prospects.

Fun fact, I’m not a fan of this idea.

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Trade Overpaid Veterans

I am way more of a fan of this one. In order to rebuild the farm system we will have to see some of our veteran players leave us.

Miami Marlins

None have earned that more than Chen. With the possibility that Chen may take his player option for next year, he would be vastly overpaid for the performance he has shown.

Trading Chen would be no easy task. But, finding a buyer is definitely something that could be done. Chen presents an option, not necessarily for a win now team, but, a team looking for pitching.

Assuming the Seattle Mariners do not re-sign Yovani Gallardo, there could be a match there. According to Bleacher Report’s breakdown of minor league systems, the Mariners are ranked 24^th, just ahead of the Fish. Chen may be able to bring in a few prospects, low end of course.

Then there is Junichi Tazawa. We covered Tazawa recently in an article by our own Andrew Guthart. Tazawa would be tough to deal as he has been nothing short of horrid this season.

Though, recently Tazawa has shown improvement, I do not expect him to live up to the name he made for himself in Boston.

The Fish may be able to work a deal similar to what they did when they traded Steve Cishek to the Cardinals, which worked out well, receiving Kyle Barraclough in return.

While a trade may happen, the Marlins would likely be stuck with the majority of Tazawa’s contract. Another display of overpaying to have players come to Miami.

Trading Retainable Players

Another part that Marlins’ fans may not be in favor of. Trading some of our retainable talent for future talent. As I typed that last sentence, two names came to mind. Adeiny Hechavarria and Marcell Ozuna.

Both of these players were shopped in the winter meetings, though the Marlins’ asking price was astronomical compared to the, then, value of the players.

Ozuna has been phenomenal this year so far. Being that Ozuna’s agent, Scott Boras, is not exactly a fan of the Fish, I’m not sure that we will see Ozuna past arbitration.

Given Ozuna can keep consistent with his performance, he has the possibility to become one of the emerging power bats in the big leagues. As much as I would hate to see him go, the Marlins could still get quite a return for him.

Once again the Dodgers would be a possibility along with teams like the San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, or even the Houston Astros.

The fact that Ozuna still has arbitration left before hitting free agency helps the Marlins a bit when it comes to negotiations with other teams.

The same can be said in the case of Hechavarria. While the bat has not been there, the glove has. We have seen sure handed short stops with less than average bats get dealt in the past.

Anderlton Simmons comes to mind. While still having a better bat than Hech, Simmons was swinging rather light when the Braves dealt him to the Angels. I have long been a proponent of the Marlins dealing Hech while they still can.

With Miguel Rojas swinging the way he has been, there is little reason to continue paying Hechavarria a larger contract for subpar performance with the bat.

Build Around the Core

The final possibility would be to build around their central core of players. This will likely be the outcome, however, it will require an increase in spending from management.

With central players like Christian Yelich, Dee Gordon, Prado, Stanton, Ozuna, and J.T. Realmuto, the Fish have the base formed for a championship team. Their main hindrance is their starting pitching staff. While Tom Koehler and Adam Conley are a great three-four or four-five tandem, the top of the rotation needs work.

If the new management would be willing to increase the salary presence of the Marlins, I do not see why we couldn’t land a great starting pitcher in free agency. In this offseason alone, we may see a player like Jake Arrieta hit the market.

If free agency was not the route that they decided to go building around the core players, the potential management may have to get creative when it comes to adding starting pitching.

The Marlins do not have much to offer from the minors and their most appealing players are part of the core in which we are speaking.

Next: Buyer Found for the Marlins

Regardless what the potential ownership does, they will have many decisions to make moving forward when it comes to this franchise.

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What the Future May Hold for the Fish