NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. _ Toss another name into the mix for the Marlins' 2017 rotation: Jeff Locke.
The Marlins agreed to a one-year, $3 million major league contract with the left-handed Locke, pending a physical, according to multiple reports.
The Pirates cut Locke, 29, last week after the worst season of his career, but he will reunite with two Miami vice presidents who worked with Locke during his most successful years in Pittsburgh: Jim Benedict (VP of pitching development) and Marc DelPiano (VP of player development).
President of baseball operations Michael Hill mentioned Locke as a candidate to join the Marlins on Monday.
"That's a good name. That's a guy who has history with Benny and Delp," Hill said. "It's a starter who shut us down when he pitched against us. Those are the types of names we're looking at to add to our starter depth."
Hill wasn't wrong about Locke against the Marlins. On May 30, Locke threw a three-hit shutout against Miami in Miami. On Aug. 20, shortly after Locke had been demoted to the bullpen due to ineffectiveness in the rotation, he tossed two scoreless innings.
Overall, Locke's 2016 did not go well. He finished with a 5.44 ERA and 1.53 WHIP in 30 starts (19 games) while striking out a career-low 5.2 batters per nine innings.
In parts of six big league seasons, Locke owns a 4.41 ERA and 1.41 WHIP. He was an All-Star in 2013, his first full season in the majors.
Locke _ like Edinson Volquez, who the Marlins signed last week _ is coming off of a down season but has had success in the past and has a background with Benedict. For the Marlins, that seems to be enough to take a shot, especially for a relatively inexpensive deal like Locke's.
FOX Sports was the first to report Locke's agreement.
