"Why aren't the Marlins going after Yasiel Puig?"
It is not unreasonable to wonder. In fact it might even be asked with a tone of incredulity. The question has probably been on the minds of Miami fans who care enough about baseball to know Puig is the most prominent still-available free agent as spring training unfurls.
Puig-to-Miami makes sense in a couple of undeniable ways.
The Marlins have made an expressed effort to add offensive production to a 105-loss team that scored the second-fewest runs in all of MLB in 2019 and _ in a season of record-setting longball _ finished dead last in home runs.
Puig, for all that is mercurial about him, is a career .277 hitter who has clubbed 28, 23 and 24 homers the past three years and who had a career-high 84 RBI last season. By any standards he is an above average hitter. By Marlins standards he'd a star _ especially in this market, where the native of Cienfuegos, Cuba who defected in 2012 might be an especially popular signing. And, having just turned 29, Puig is in his prime, while his protracted availability suggests the price may be right.
The Marlins' roster would only be enhanced by adding Puig.
It won't happen.
And why it won't happen underlines the fundamental difference between the regime of immensely unpopular former owner Jeffrey Loria and the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter hierarchy beginning its third season.
Loria, an impetuous man who once overrode internal advice to sign reliever Heath Bell, would have been hot for Puig. Former team president David Samson admitted as much Wednesday.
"I think Jeffrey would have been intrigued with the possibility of signing a Cuban player who could potentially help out offensively and maybe at the gate," Samson told us. "I then would have done everything in my power to stop this, given that I know he not only wouldn't move the needle in any area but also his presence in the clubhouse would be a negative."
Loria was enamored of starpower and quick-fix solutions. Sherman this week called that modus operandi a "silly way" to run a ballclub.
Sherman/Jeter essentially have detonated the roster (and blueprint, and front office philosophy) to start over, trading away top talent to completely replenish the farm system.
It seems to be working, though last season's wins/losses downturn in Year 2 of the new ownership only increases the imperative for notable improvement this year.
Also, Miami feels its outfield is improved and set, without Puig, who plays right. What it would cost to sign Puig makes easier that belief, granted. I am told Sherman and Jeter discussed signing Puig but that he did not fit payroll parameters _ a further indication the new owners' grand plan includes fiscal responsibility, rarely a strength under Loria).
The Fish instead traded for Jonathan Villar, a 24-homer, 40-stolen base guy they like in center field and leading off. Corey Dickerson, an all-star in 2017, is a free agent add on a two-year deal, and projects to start in left. In right field, look for a combination of Harold Ramirez, who showed promise as a rookie last year; Garrett Cooper (.281, 15 HRs in 2019); and Brian Anderson, who'll be in RF when he isn't playing third.
Also in the outfield mix: Young Magneuris Sierra is promising, and veterans Matt Joyce and Jon Berti will fight for playing time. The Fish also signed former all-star Matt Kemp as a non-roster invitee. And Miami hopes prospects Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez might rise up with a breakout year.
That outfield depth (much of it young) and the new owners' long-range plan are why these Marlins are not gunning for Puig in a way the previous regime would have.
I still believe the Marlins would be better with Puig. He is volatile. Nicknamed "The Wild Horse," Puig is given to driving really fast, wearing his hair in a red mohawk, instigating brawls and being suspended. But wouldn't the classy Jeter and a veteran manager like Don Mattingly be the men to rein in the wild horse?
Still, there is a discernible grand plan now, at least. Whether it works, we shall see. Meantime, Sherman, still enjoying benefit of doubt for not being Loria, and Jeter, still enjoying benefit of doubt for being Jeter, essentially set sail on Year 3 of saying "Trust us."
Not going after Yasiel Puig is the latest big example of that.
