Miami Marlins have an OF option on the waiver wire
Is it time to give Jesus Sanchez some more competition?
Finally there's wins coming the Miami Marlins way! Sadly, there's still issues in the lineup. One of them being RF Jesus Sanchez. Sanchez has been a disaster this season, batting .225/.279/.295, with 2 home runs and 18 RBI in 42 games and 129 AB. He's been worth an astonishingly bad -0.8 WAR for the season. With the opposing farm systems getting better and trades being floated around, improvements have to be made as soon as possible.
Could the Miami Marlins pick up an OF on waivers?
It's pretty clear that The Fish need an upgrade over Jesus Sanchez in RF. One internal option is of course Dane Myers. Myers is currently batting .269/.387/.462, with a home run and 7 RBI in 13 games and 26 AB. It's unclear why Dane isn't starting regularly already, or why he's only up in the Majors when there's an injury.
There's a new option on the waiver wire however...the Cleveland Guardians have designated RF Ramon Laureano for assignment. Laureano has been dreadful this year, batting .143/.265/.229, with a home run and 4 RBI in 31 games and 70 AB. An .086 BABIP is the likely culprit for such poor production. His 89.9 EV is actually better than last year's 87.5 mark.
In his prime back in 2019, Ramon Laureano batted .288/.340/.521, with 24 home runs and 67 RBI, in 123 games and 434 AB. That production is of course a while ago and he did do this in the infamous juiced ball season. That said, could a change of scenery turn his career around? Considering he's still only 29 and has an improved EV, he might at the very least give Jesus Sanchez some competition. He's paid $5.15 million this year, but perhaps Cleveland could cover that mark or most of it?
Even if Cleveland just covers $4 million, that gives them savings. At the moment, as Cleveland has designated Laureano for assignment, he can either be demoted to the Minors or reject that and hit free agency. He's highly unlikely to prefer either option. Of course, I'm probably just too optimistic about Ramon Laureano and it's best to let someone else deal with him.