If one thing has been made abundantly clear this offseason, it’s that the Miami Marlins are not content with being viewed as a fledgling in the National League East.
The team signed franchise icon Giancarlo Stanton to a record-breaking 13-year, $325 million deal, traded for former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Dee Gordon and also acquired Cincinnati Reds right-hander Mat Latos. Now, the team is reportedly interested in free agent right-hander James Shields – although the asking price is supposedly a bit high for the Marlins’ taste.
But what if the front office went out and signed the former Kansas City Royals ace? What if the Miami brass delivered the supporting cast that was promised to Stanton ahead of him signing his extension to stay in South Florida?
Shields, who led the Royals to an American League pennant in 2014 by going 14-8 with a 3.21 earned run average in 34 starts, would join a rotation that is already arguably one of the best in the division – if not the league.
Even with budding superstar ace Jose Fernandez out for the first half of the year while he recovers from Tommy John surgery, the Fish have Latos, Henderson Alvarez, Jarred Cosart and Tom Koehler already in the ranks. Adding James Shields would instantly change how this team is viewed heading into the 2015 campaign.
Fernandez is due back somewhere in the neighborhood of the mid-season point and once he arrives, he will give the club a weapon that is near-unrivaled. At just 20 years old in 2013, the Cuban right-hander finished third in the National League Cy Young voting, while winning the league’s Rookie of the Year honors after going 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA in 28 starts for Miami. Last year, he was on track to repeat his performance from the year prior, but an arm injury ultimately ended his season after just eight starts.
Shields, who turned 33 last month, reportedly has a $110 million offer in-hand from a mystery team, but should that prove to be false, the righty would bring a veteran presence to a still-young Marlins team that is seeking its first NL East crown in franchise history.
Should Shields, who has made at least 33 starts in every season dating back to the 2008 season, he would give Miami four pitchers who could legitimately considered a big league ace. Along with Shields, Fernandez, Alvarez and Latos could all be number ones on any number of staffs – and it’s exactly what would make this potential signing so terrifying if you’re a fan of other division teams.
Alvarez, just 24 years old, has gotten better with each passing year at the big league level. Last season, he hit his high point to-date, throwing three shutouts in 30 starts, in which he posted a 2.65 earned run average and notched his first All-Star appearance. One could really go on and on about just Alvarez’s campaign, but we’ll save that for another time.
Latos, the newest member of the club’s rotation, spent the last three seasons with the Reds as, perhaps, one of the most underrated starting pitchers in the game today. Over that span, he’s averaged 11 wins – despite missing half of 2014 – with a 3.31 earned run average. During his big league career, which began with the San Diego Padres, he’s averaged over 200 innings pitched and 191 strikeouts.
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Under team control through just 2015, he gives Miami one of the biggest arms in the game that, if paired with Shields and the existing cast in South Beach, could change the make-up of the National League playoff picture.
Again, it’s not likely that Miami opens the wallet to land Shields, but given how young its crop of arms is – and how improved the team is from mere months ago, this has all the makings of a move that could not only pay dividends in 2015 – but for several years down the road.
Rounding things out, both Cosart (2.39 ERA in 10 starts with Miami last season) and Koehler (191 1/3 innings of work across 32 starts) will no-doubt be overlooked when mentioned this rotation – but both round out the rotation in a way that few other “back-end” pieces can. They provide quality innings – and a lot of them.
Cosart, who was acquired from Houston last season, is also just 24 years of age. After joining the Marlins in 2014, he lowered his earned run average from 4.41 with the Astros to the aforementioned 2.39 clip with Miami; should he maintain that form, the trade will undoubtedly work out in the long-term for the Fish.
Koehler is a classic innings-eater; and a valuable one at that. Last season with Miami, he held opposing hitters to a .248 mark in his nearly-200 innings of work. Across the board, opposing offenses marks against him declined from 2013 – another promising sign for the 28-year-old right-hander.
With the bitter taste of the buy-then-sell escapade of just a few short years ago still fresh in memory, the Marlins ownership and front office has a rare chance to right a wrong and turn a mediocre, albeit talented, club into one of the most feared teams in all of baseball.
All it takes is signing James Shields.