Miami Marlins should absolutely not sign Alex Rodriguez
The Miami Marlins may be in the market for a hitter, but Alex Rodriguez is a ridiculously poor fit.
Upon news of his impending release by the New York Yankees, speculation about where Alex Rodriguez could continue his playing career surfaced. The Miami Marlins are one of the top potential landing spots that has been speculated about, due purely to Rodriguez making his offseason home in the Miami area and the possibility of a boost at the gate for the team.
On Saturday, Marlins’ manager Don Mattingly said the team hadn’t discussed signing Rodriguez. But things have changed, with outfielder Giancarlo Stanton suffering a groin injury Saturday night and the news on Sunday he will miss the rest of the season.
When asked about Rodriguez, via Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel, Marlins’ president Michael Hill had this to say on Sunday.
"“He’s an available player, I think we’re going through that process right now. …“I have no idea what his interest level is to continue playing. Where we are now, this team has played too well for too long and we’re going to do everything in our power to help it any way we can … whether it’s (Rodriguez) or anyone else.”"
Joe Frisaro of MLB has reported the Marlins, in the aftermath of Stanton’s injury, are considering signing Rodriguez. It’s a nice idea in theory, but there have to be other options that would be a better fit. Frankly, there can’t be a worse fit than Rodriguez.
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As a National League team, the Marlins have no need for a designated hitter outside of occasional interleague play. Rodriguez played some third base in his final game as a Yankee, but otherwise he has not played in the field at all this season. In 2015 he played four games at third base and two games at first base, so at 41 years old there’s no way Rodriguez would add value defensively anyway.
Ichiro Suzuki can still be productive, but he’s not a full-time player anymore and having him as a primary right fielder is not ideal for the Marlins. Someone that can help in that area should be a priority, and the last time Rodriguez played the outfield was probably Little League.
Leaving aside being strictly a DH and not being an outfielder, there’s the small issue of production. Rodriguez drove in a run in each of his final two games with the Yankees, but he still has just a .200/.247/.351 slash-line with nine home runs and 31 RBI over 243 plate appearances this season.
Marlins’ owner Jeffrey Loria would surely put his full stamp of approval on a Rodriguez signing, based purely on a subsequent boost to ticket and jersey sales. While that’s not the wrong idea from a business perspective, it is short-sighted. Even if Rodriguez had something to offer with a bat in his hands anymore, the Marlins have no way to get him in the lineup regularly.