For the Miami Marlins to trade ace right-hander Jose Fernandez, it would take quite a haul -- if the scuttlebutt from the Winter Meetings is accurate. CBS Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman checked in from the event Monday afternoon with this gem on Twitter:
Marlins said to be seeking "5 or 6" great young players in trade for Jose, one gm says. Many MLB ready too.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 7, 2015
When's the last time a deal like that happened, when a team got a massive haul of prospects for a young major-league star? Well, the Marlins have done it before, when they traded Miguel Cabrera (and Dontrelle Willis) to the Tigers for Burke Badenhop, Frankie De La Cruz, Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, Mike Rabelo and Dallas Trahern eight Winter Meetings ago. Even though Willis was on the downside, and Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin eventually turned into solid major leaguers, and Cabrera eventually became quite expensive to keep, that deal didn't work out so well for the Marlins.
How about the Indians getting Cliff Lee, Brandon Phillips, Grady Sizemore and Lee Stevens for Bartolo Colon in 2002? That might be the ultimate haul (Lee Stevens aside) for an established player. Deals like those don't happen often. And it's hard to imagine a team parting with a stable of talent like that these days.
Still, they're rightly shooting for the moon with Fernandez who, despite being one of the better young pitchers in the league, does have a Tommy John surgery under his belt. Several teams are said to be looking into what it might take to get him regardless. The Dodgers, having missed on several top free-agent targets before settling for Hisashi Iwakuma, appear to be one of them.
Why has it come to this? The Fish and Fernandez reportedly aren't getting along -- one dispute involves Fernandez's agent, Scott Boras -- and his relationship with the team leads people to believe the Marlins will trade him well before he hits free agency in 2019.
For what it's worth, Marlins President of Baseball operations Michael Hill said the following when asked about Fernandez on Monday in Nashville:
Michael Hill on Jose Fernandez: "He's not available." #marlins
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) December 8, 2015
That may be true, but it may also be posturing by the Marlins, who need to maintain as much leverage as they can in this situation.
Some wonder if it might even happen this offseason. But there are lots of reasons the Marlins should keep Fernandez.
• Trading him now, when it appears they're in a position of weakness, would limit the return.
• He's a perennial Cy Young candidate, and they need star players who are good now in order to make the team interesting for fans to watch in person and on TV.
• As a bilingual Cuban-American, he makes for a great franchise face in Miami.
• Manager Don Mattingly just got there, c'mon.
