Miami Marlins

Free-agent first baseman Kyle Schwarber is reportedly generating interest from National League East teams.

MLB Network's Jon Heyman reported that the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins are among the teams pursuing the veteran slugger. Schwarber ended this past season with the Boston Red Sox after he was acquired from the Washington Nationals prior to the trade deadline.

Heyman pointed out that Schwarber would be a good fit for either Philadelphia or Miami considering his success in NL East ballparks. He has 32 homers in 91 games, which Heyman says would translate to 57 homers per 162 games.

Between Washington and Boston, Schwarber put up some of the best numbers of his career in 2021. The seven-year veteran slashed .266/.374/.554 and totaled 32 home runs. He played the season on a one-year, $10 million deal and declined his half of a mutual option in 2022 to test the open market.

Schwarber developed a strong connection with Red Sox fans during his short time in Boston. His signature moment with the team came at Fenway with a solo home run early in the team's AL Wild Card win over longtime rival New York Yankees. Schwarber said in October that he would be open to returning to Boston.

"This is definitely a clubhouse that I could see myself wanting to stay in. These guys are amazing," he told Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. "This is a World Series clubhouse, and I would love to hopefully see if that opportunity comes back."

Schwarber's power bat would be a good fit on many teams hoping to contend next season. The expected implementation of the universal DH for 2022 opens up his options in free agency.

Free-agent outfielder Nick Castellanos is reportedly looking for a long-term contract this offseason as multiple teams pursue him following an All-Star campaign.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com called him "a great fit" for the Miami Marlins but suggested the National League East team could fall out of the running because he is looking for a seven- or eight-year deal.

Elsewhere, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported the Philadelphia Phillies reached out to Castellanos' camp, which is all the more notable because president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was with the Detroit Tigers when they selected the then-third baseman in the first round of the 2010 draft.

While there has been a run of contract agreements prior to a potential work stoppage Wednesday, Castellanos remains one of the best available players who could drastically improve whichever lineup he joins.

Giving him such a long-term deal could be something of a risk considering he turns 30 in March, but he has played the best baseball of his career of late.

He was a first-time All-Star and Silver Slugger winner this past season for the Cincinnati Reds while slashing .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs and 100 RBI. Every number in the slash line and the home run total represented career bests, and he fell a single RBI short of the career-high 101 from the 2017 season.

Castellanos hit 23 or more long balls in three straight years from 2017 through 2019 and had an impressive 14 in 60 games during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Philadelphia was a middling 15th in the league in home runs in 2021 with 198, while Miami was near the bottom at 28th with 158. Adding Castellanos, who has also played for the Chicago Cubs, would surely drive those totals up as either team looks to compete with the defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves in the National League East.

Miami already added some offensive pop when Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported it agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal with former Milwaukee Brewers slugger Avisail Garcia, and the 29-homer outfielder would be quite the one-two punch with Castellanos.

Still, the reported length of the latter's desired contract could be an issue for teams looking to make a smaller commitment, even if he is a game-changing presence in the middle of a lineup.          

The Miami Marlins and starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara agreed to a five-year, $56 million extension, according to Jordan McPherson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald.

McPherson and Mish noted the contract will be the biggest ever for a pitcher who was still on his rookie deal with three years of arbitration left.

At an annual charity event on Nov. 19, Marlins general manager Kim Ng spoke about Alcantara's value to the team.

"I think he's real important," she said, per MLB.com's Christina De Nicola. "Sandy showed that he's got great stuff—he's always shown that—but I think in particular this year, we saw him get better. We saw him mature even more and know that he's at the front of our staff and holding the fort down for us."

News of Alcantara's extension comes shortly after ESPN's Jeff Passan reported Miami struck a four-year, $53 million deal with Avisail Garcia.

Marlins fans have probably seen enough false dawns to assume this means the money faucet is beginning to open in South Beach.

The franchise committed $194 million in new contracts during the 2012 offseason, only to turn around and trade away its three biggest acquisitions (Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle and Heath Bell) the next offseason.

Giancarlo Stanton signed a record-setting 13-year, $325 million extension in November 2014 and was sent to the New York Yankees in December 2017 as part of the cost-cutting by a new ownership group led by Derek Jeter and Bruce Sherman.

Having said all of that, signing Alcantara well before he hits free agency certainly sends a solid message.

The 26-year-old went 9-15 with a 3.19 ERA and a 3.42 FIP in 33 starts, per Baseball Reference. He averaged 8.8 strikeouts and 2.2 walks per nine innings. He also logged 205.2 innings after going 197.1 innings in his 2019 All-Star season.

Alcantara is the kind of pitcher who can help anchor a rotation for years, and now he's poised to do just that in Miami for the foreseeable future.

The Miami Marlins reportedly added some power to their lineup Sunday.

According to MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the Marlins and outfielder Avisail Garcia agreed to a four-year, $53 million deal.

Garcia has played for the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers throughout his career since entering the league in the 2012 season.

The 30-year-old was an All-Star during the 2017 season for the White Sox when he slashed .330/.380/.506 with 18 home runs and 80 RBI. He also hit double-digit long balls during the 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2021 campaigns.

He was with the Brewers the past two years and helped lead them to the National League playoffs both times.

Garcia drilled a career-best 29 homers in 2021 while slashing .262/.330/.490 with 86 RBI.

Those numbers stand out from Miami's perspective considering it finished an ugly 28th in the entire league with 158 home runs. Only the Arizona Diamondbacks and Pittsburgh Pirates had lower totals, which is a major reason the Marlins finished in fourth place in the National League East at 67-95.

Marlins CEO Derek Jeter previously told reporters the team would "be active" this offseason.

"We can't go out and spend foolishly, I guess is the best way to put it," he said. "We expect to have these conversations. Where these conversations lead, I have no idea. There's two sides, but we expect to be active."

Agreeing to a deal with Garcia certainly fits the bill as active, and he gives the team some offensive firepower it was largely missing last year as it looks to compete with the defending champion Atlanta Braves and others in the NL East.             

The Miami Marlins are reportedly "closing in" on a five-year contract extension for pitcher Sandy Alcantara, according to Craig Mish of MLB Network.

The new deal could be worth more than $55 million.

Alcantara was set to enter arbitration for the first time this offseason and would have been under team control through the 2024 season. The 26-year-old was projected to earn an estimated $4.5 million in 2022 through arbitration, per Spotrac. 

The reported deal would give the pitcher a hefty raise with guaranteed money while keeping him under team control for two extra seasons.

Alcantara finished last season with a 3.19 ERA, 1.075 WHIP and 201 strikeouts in 205.2 innings. Though the Marlins' struggles led to a 9-15 record for the right-hander, he excelled individually and finished with 4.1 wins above replacement on the mound, per Baseball Reference.

The 26-year-old came to Miami in 2019 as part of the trade that sent Marcell Ozuna to the St. Louis Cardinals. The Dominican Republic native made a quick impact in his new location, earning an All-Star selection that year when he posted a 3.88 ERA in 32 starts, including a National League-leading two complete-game shutouts.

The Marlins remain a work in progress overall, finishing 67-95 in 2021. The team's 31-29 record in the shortened 2020 season was enough to earn a spot in the expanded playoff, but that was the franchise's only postseason appearance since 2003, when it won the World Series.

Locking down Alcantara is at least a step in the right direction while developing an exciting young pitching staff that also features Trevor Rogers, Pablo Lopez and Zach Thompson.   

Cincinnati Reds second baseman Jonathan India and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena, as expected, were named the National League and American League Rookies of the Year, respectively, on Monday.

.@JonathanIndia is the Jackie Robinson NL Rookie of the Year!

India led all rookies in games, OBP, doubles, walks and runs scored. pic.twitter.com/XjTP8MTK4d

— MLB (@MLB) November 15, 2021

.@RandyArozarena is the Jackie Robinson AL Rookie of the Year!

Arozarena helped lead the Rays to an AL East title with a 20-20 season. pic.twitter.com/ReNjnP3vvO

— MLB (@MLB) November 15, 2021

India beat out St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Dylan Carlson and Miami Marlins pitcher Trevor Rogers. Arozarena beat out teammate Wander Franco and Houston Astros pitcher Luis Garcia.

It seemed a foregone conclusion that India, 24, would win the award in the NL. he led MLB's rookies in games (150), on-base percentage (.376), doubles (34), walks (71) and runs scored (98) while ranking second with a .835 OPS. He added 21 homers and 69 RBI.

He took home 29 of 30 first-place votes.

Full voting for NL Rookie of the Year. pic.twitter.com/kqePN5PdoW

— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) November 15, 2021

"I can't imagine someone being more deserving than Jonathan," Reds manager David Bell told reporters after the season. "He's done everything. He's done everything in his power to make our team better, and he has done that. He's personally had just a great season, great accomplishments, but he's just simply made us a much better team by being in our lineup every day, and I think that's what it is all about."

Nick Castellanos on Jonathan India: "The Reds better shape up and extend this man very quickly, or he's going to become too expensive. Jonathan India is a very, very good baseball player and he's going to get better."

— Adam Baum (@AdamJBaum) November 12, 2021

.@JonathanIndia is the first @Reds player to win Rookie of the Year since 1999 (Scott Williamson). pic.twitter.com/CHsdFt5AZq

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 15, 2021

The 26-year-old Arozarena was already the favorite to win Rookie of the Year after an incredible 2020 postseason that saw him named the AL Championship Series MVP.

"He set the bar so high, the expectation level coming off his postseason of 2020 probably made it unfair," Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters. "Nobody in their right mind was going to say he was just going to back that up for the month he produced in the (2020) postseason. But for a 26-year-old rookie, he had a pretty special season."

Indeed he did, hitting 274 with 20 homers, 69 RBI, 94 runs, 32 doubles, 20 steals and a .815 OPS. He led all MLB rookies with a 4.1 WAR, per Baseball Reference.

Randy Arozarena is the 4th @Raysbaseball player to win Rookie of the Year. pic.twitter.com/fkLdTvG7zB

— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) November 15, 2021

Arozarena received 22 first-place votes.

Luis Garcia placed second behind Randy Arozarena in the AL Rookie of the Year Award voting. Garcia got two first-place votes, 15 second-place votes and eight third-place votes. https://t.co/CvSJq7KOnx

— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) November 15, 2021

It was stiff competition for both players. In the NL, the versatile Carlson—he played all three outfield positions and hit in seven different spots in St. Louis' lineup—hit .266 with 18 homers, 65 RBI, 79 runs and a .780 OPS.

Rogers, meanwhile, went 7-8 with a 2.64 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 157 strikeouts in 133 innings. Sixto Sanchez was the young pitcher the Marlins were expected to build around for the future, but after he was forced to miss the season, Rogers emerged as another building block in Miami.

In the AL, Franco very likely would have won this award had he played a full season. Nonetheless, he still hit .288 with seven homers, 39 RBI, 53 runs, a .810 OPS and a 3.5 WAR in 70 games.

"I think you could make the argument that he's the most impactful player on any team in baseball," Cash told reporters after the season. "Certainly for us, our team was really good; we got better when he came. He lengthened our lineup. He made our defense better. He worked really hard on his defense to make his defense better, and it made our overall defense better. He is a game-changing player. It's going to be fun to watch for a long time."

Finally, Garcia helped the Astros reach the World Series, finishing 11-8 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 28 starts during the regular season, leading AL rookie pitchers in wins (11), innings (155.1) and strikeouts (167).

The Miami Marlins are doing their due diligence in evaluating free-agent outfielders.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network reported that Miami has met with Nick Castellanos' agent, Scott Boras, following the right fielder's standout season for the Cincinnati Reds.

Miami Herald writer Barry Jackson stated that the Marlins have also shown interest in Milwaukee Brewers free agent Avisail Garcia.

Castellanos will be one of the most coveted free agents this offseason after putting together the best season of his 10-year career. The 29-year-old recorded career highs in WAR (3.2), batting average (.309) and home runs (34) while adding 100 RBI.

Castellanos, who earned his first selection to the All-Star Game, was set to make a guaranteed $34 million over the next two seasons, but he opted out of the final two years of his contract. Cincinnati tagged him with an $18.4 million qualifying offer, but he declined it last week in favor of testing the open market.

Garcia opted out of his mutual contract option last week, and the 10-year veteran also could be in line for a big payday after coming off a career year. Garcia had career highs of 29 home runs and 86 RBI while hitting .262 in 135 games last season. Milwaukee chose not to give him a qualifying offer.

The Marlins went 67-95 last season, finishing in fourth place in the NL East and missing the playoffs. in 2020, Miami had advanced to the postseason for the first time since 2004, winning the NL Wild Card Series over the Chicago Cubs before getting swept in the NLDS by the Atlanta Braves.

The offensive production fell off a cliff for Miami last year. The Marlins finished 28th in MLB with a team batting average of .233 and 29th in runs scored with 623.

While adding Castellanos or Garcia would be a major boost to their lineup, the Marlins have multiple holes to fill and will have to spend their money wisely.

Miami Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said in an article published Friday that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer prior to the start of the 2021 Major League Baseball season.

Speaking to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald, Stottlemyre said he received the diagnosis in February and had his prostate and lymph nodes removed Oct. 6.

"I had elevated PSAs [prostate-specific antigens] over the past five years, and my doctors continued to monitor them," he said. "Over [last] winter, I just didn't feel right. I was wiped out. I knew something was wrong. When I got to spring training, my numbers had escalated to the point that I knew I had to see the urologist."

Mish noted Stottlemyre planned to have surgery during the All-Star break, but he opted to wait until after the season in order to keep coaching.

Stottlemyre added he "didn’t want anyone to know," so he only told only CEO Derek Jeter, general manager Kim Ng and manager Don Mattingly.

According to Mish, the Marlins gave Stottlemyre a contract extension that will keep him with the organization through next season.

The 57-year-old told Mish he is going to encourage men to get their prostates checked regularly.

"It brought me to my knees," Stottlemyre said. "There were some crying moments there. I want to be a spokesperson for this and remind people getting their prostate checked can save their life."

As Mish noted, Mel Stottlemyre Sr., the New York Yankees pitcher and longtime MLB pitching coach, died in 2019 after he was diagnosed with blood cancer. And Mel Stottlemyre Jr.'s brother Jason died of leukemia when he was 11.

Stottlemyre was a first-round draft pick by the Houston Astros in the 1985 secondary draft. He appeared in 13 games with the Kansas City Royals in 1990, his lone stint in the big leagues.

The Washington state native began his career as an MLB coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2009. He joined Mattingly's staff in 2019 after a three-year stint with the Seattle Mariners.

Talk about recovering from a mistake.

Miami Marlins right fielder Jesus Sanchez overran a fly ball during the fourth inning of Monday's game against the Washington Nationals but somehow recovered enough to stick his bare hand out and made a spectacular catch:

Jesús Sánchez will be on the highlight reel for years to come. 😱 pic.twitter.com/9reWcDn1vk

— MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2021

HE CAUGHT IT WITH HIS BARE HANDS @BRWalkoff

(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/3sBuOs6JLP

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 21, 2021

It was reminiscent of a similar catch San Francisco Giants outfielder Kevin Mitchell made in 1989:

The Marlins may be out of the playoff race in the National League East, but they will at least have this incredible play to look back at when reflecting on the 2021 season.

Stories have continued to emerge about the difficult conditions that minor league baseball players endure while trying to make it to the big leagues.

The latest one is courtesy of Advocates for Minor Leaguers, who shared texts from three minor leaguers in the Marlins organization about their housing situations.

These are texts we received from Miami Marlins players at three different Minor League affiliates.

The Marlins must address this. pic.twitter.com/kgrvJtQ9aE

— MiLB Players (@Milb_players) August 31, 2021

Minor leaguers face difficult housing scenarios because of low pay. Advocates for Minor Leaguers says that most players make under $7,500 per year. In addition, they play for free during spring training.

Brittany Ghiroli of The Athletic also summarized takes on the housing situation firsthand from over 30 minor leaguers.

The Athletic spoke to more than 30 players from 20 major-league organizations, ranging from undrafted free agents to first-round picks with big-league experience, about their housing travails, past and present.

Players detailed living out of their cars, dealing with roach-infested apartments and piling multiple teammates in one- or two-bedroom apartments, with some men sleeping on lawn chairs, pool rafts or air mattresses.

With rare exceptions, minor-league players—who are paid only seasonally—are responsible for procuring and paying for temporary housing for a five-month season. Players get assigned a team, often at the very end of spring training, and get three nights—in a hotel paid for by the team—to travel there and figure out where to live.

Some franchises have taken better care of minor leaguers in regard to housing, with Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post providing some examples in a July 16 piece:

The Houston Astros have tried to relieve some of the financial burdens on their minor leaguers by providing housing. The New York Yankees offer housing stipends to players in the Florida Complex League that extend beyond the competitive season, and they cover housing for their High Class A Hudson Valley team. The Philadelphia Phillies offer housing stipends to minor leaguers.

However, there are numerous examples of players from various organizations facing significant struggles in the present day or recent years, including the Los Angeles Angels, Detroit Tigers, the Oakland Athletics, the Baltimore Orioles.

Starting this year, minor league baseball underwent a complete restructure. There are now just four levels of minor league ball (Triple-A, Double-A, High Single-A and Low Single-A), with each of the 30 MLB teams overseeing an affiliate for each system.