Report: Jose Fernandez wants $30 million per year
By Jason Evans
Jose Fernandez is looking to get paid by somebody.
The elephant in the Miami Marlins room is not if but when Jose Fernandez will be leaving the team. The Marlins were rumored to already be shopping the young superstar pitcher, but wanted a whole cachet of assets in return for him. We’ve heard the rumblings all winter that Fernandez isn’t very happy with Marlins management.
Now comes a report from the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson that Fernandez is going to want $30 million per season.
"But Fernandez and the Marlins will make this work until free agency (after 2018) or an eventual trade. The Marlins are under the impression that his representation wants $30 million a year when he becomes a free agent, a figure they have no plans to meet."
The Marlins have a history of not paying players (minus Giancarlo Stanton, but don’t forget he doesn’t have a no-trade clause) or if they do pay players they eventually trade them (Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado to name a few).
Fernandez is set to earn $2.8 million this year in his first year of arbitration, and will have two more after that before being a part of the mega 2018 free agent class.
It’s no surprise that Fernandez and his representatives would want $30 million per year. We’ve all seen the record money given out to Zack Greinke and David Price this off-season. The issue is, Fernandez has to prove that he’s durable.
He’s only pitched in parts of the last two seasons due to Tommy John surgery. He’s only made 19 starts during that time.
If he can put together All-Star, ace type seasons over the next three years, plus the fact that he’ll be hitting the market at age 26, there’s no doubt that he can get that $30 million he seeks.