Will the Miami Marlins Deal Their Ace Jose Fernandez?
Rumors continue to swirl about the Miami Marlins and if they will part ways with their ace pitcher 23-year old Jose Fernandez. Most teams would not consider moving such a prized talent as Fernandez, but Miami has never been known to be normal about much of anything.
The Marlins say to this day that Fernandez will return in 2016 to play of the team, but Miami says many things that end up changing.
For Miami to be considering moving their ace the return they would have to receive would be incredible. Fernandez arguably is in the top 5 in baseball. He can be unhittable on the mound and at just 23 most believe his best days are still in front of him.
There are reasons for concern however and that perhaps is why Miami is willing to sell Fernandez at a very high price. The Marlins ace is returning from Tommy John surgery. That alone is a waving red flag, but he likely will return to his normal dominating self if not even better.
He pitched some last season and looked at times like the same pitcher, but Miami opted to lighten his innings.
The return the Marlins could receive for Fernandez would be huge and few teams have lots of young talent as well as prospects that are needed to make a deal like this take place.
Two that come to mind are the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers.
New York is always in the running for any big deal. The Yankees are in desperate need of an ace and Fernandez would fit nice in their rotation.
With money they have coming off their books the next few seasons, they could give him a great deal, if he were to pitch well in 2016. When he reaches free agency in three years, New York would have ample money to re-sign him.
There are prospects they could trade such as Aaron Judge, Jorge Mateo and Luis Severino.
Los Angeles would like to replace Zack Greinke with an ace to pitch alongside Clayton Kershaw. The Dodgers must add pitching to stay abreast of their rivals the San Francisco Giants as the Giants signed both Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto.
There are few pitchers with the dominance that Fernandez has, and his price tag will be huge.
The Dodgers talent is such they could pay for it with the likes of Joc Pederson, Julio Urias and possibly Corey Seager, even though the Dodgers would like to keep Seager.
Add in Jose DeLeon and Frankie Montas, and the Marlins would have a grab bag to choose from negotiating with the Dodgers.
Yasiel Puig might even be part of a package. The huge Cuban community in Miami would make him a huge draw for the Marlins.
