The Miami Marlins have an issue in centerfield. The opening day starter Jesús Sanchez batted .282/.346/.493 during the month of May, and looked to be a building block for The Fish… he then finished his run in the Majors with a .206/.271/.387 batting line. I wrote quite a bit about him and his eventual demotion to the Minors this season. His replacement JJ Bleday is currently batting .198/.309/.396 and isn’t really looking like much of an upgrade. What should we do for next season?
What if the Miami Marlins gave Jesús Sánchez another chance next season?
It’s clear that JJ Bleday isn’t the answer, so maybe the Miami Marlins should look to the free agent market for an upgrade? Makes sense but centerfield is a premium position that is scarce and is increasingly in demand. The best option on the free agent market is going to be Brandon Nimmo of the New York Mets. However he’s batting .265/.357/.420 with a -0.1 dWAR. This means that he’s not even a good defender. There’s no logical reason to overpay for him.
An interesting option for the Miami Marlins could be on the trade market. What about Michael A. Taylor from the Kansas City Royals? Kansas City might be willing to trade the elite defender in centerfield on a $4.5 million salary for next season before his then looming free agency, He could likely be had for very little and he brings an elite1.7 dWAR along with him. The downside is his putrid .256/.322/.347 batting line.
There’s another option… why not just work with Jesús Sánchez and give him another chance? If he can keep up what he did early this season, he can be an actual building block player for the Miami Marlins. Is it really a bad idea to work on him making adjustments and giving him another chance?
The Miami Marlins can waste money on Brandon Nimmo, who isn’t good enough to even defensively play his position. We can also trade for a bad hitter who’s an elite defender, or maybe get Michael A. Taylor as insurance for Jesús Sánchez. I think the latter is the most logical solution.