MLB Rumors: Marlins won’t trade Jose Fernandez
The Marlins appear to finally have learned their lesson about selling off young talent
The Miami Marlins have a long and sad history of selling off young stars before they have to try to sign them to rich contract extensions. Based on team president Michael Hill’s comments today the Marlins might finally have learned their lesson. He is adamant that the team will not be moving ace starting pitcher Jose Fernandez this off season.
When healthy, Fernandez is one of most dominant pitchers in the big leagues. He has a career ERA of 2.40 as a starter and his nasty stuff has allowed him to strike out 336 hitters in just 47 career starts. The only catch is that he’s missed significant time over the past two seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery. Still, the talent is obvious to anyone who watches him pitch and the Marlins certainly will be making their fans happy to finally holding on to a young star.
Holding on to young talent is not something that the Marlins have done over the course of their franchise’s history. Marlin fans can easily recall a laundry list of players that the team has moved before they were in a position to offer them a rich contract extension. Stars like Hanley Ramirez, Dontrelle Willis, Miguel Cabrera and others have been shipped out-of-town in exchange for prospects to help the Marlins avoid shelling out big bucks.
Maybe Jose Fernandez will be the star who finally breaks this vicious cycle. Hill seems convinced that he’s the right star to build around for the future. While I think it’s fair to question whether or not gambling on a pitcher is the right time for this franchise to commit to a star for the first time, fans should still be encouraged that the team’s ownership is willing to spend instead of deal.
Of course, not dealing Fernandez this off-season doesn’t mean they are really ready to commit to him long-term. He isn’t slated to become a free agent until 2019 so the Marlins aren’t under any pressure to make a deal with him any time soon. It’s very possible that Marlins brass have decided they’ll hold on to him this off-season in absence of an overwhelming offer, but will still deal him prior to his free agency. This could be a false promise to their fans.
For the sake of long-suffering Marlins fans I hope the franchise is able to commit to Fernandez for the long haul. Their fans deserve their own star to keep after watching so many others head out-of-town to win championships elsewhere.