New York Yankees: Where Will CC Sabathia Pitch in 2018?
By Tim Boyle
Miami Marlins
The 2017 Miami Marlins were five starting pitchers short of a playoff berth, with their offense carrying them throughout the year. Backed up 59 home runs from Giancarlo Stanton and an incredible year from Marcell Ozuna, the Marlins managed to make some noise with their bats.
For the second straight year, the new starting pitchers disappointed. Edinson Volquez failed to stay healthy and only won four games. Wei-Yin Chen wasn’t nearly as bad as he was in 2016 mostly because he was on the disabled list for nearly all of 2017.
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After those failures, the Marlins might be tempted to pass on a risk like Sabathia. Why would he be any better than Volquez or Chen? At least they had youth on their side.
Sabathia isn’t an exact match for the Marlins and their (mostly) youthful roster. Plus, it might be strange to see him hit again on a regular basis. Can he still wield the lumber after a decade in the American League?
Miami needs to do something new. With Derek Jeter now playing captain of this sinking ship, a reunion of sorts with ex-teammate Sabathia could benefit the player and the team.
The biggest hindrance in signing Sabathia would be how much talent the Marlins could acquire in a trade. If they do pull the trigger on dealing away one of their position players, seeing Sabathia pitch for Miami looks far less likely.