Fernandez unlikely to be traded
EXECUTIVES from a few teams in the market for highend starting pitching have told me Jose Fernandez is not currently available.
That could change, of course, since no organization pivots from one plan to the next, quite like the Marlins.
At the moment, though, the recent stories that the Marlins are displeased with Fernandez’s attitude and would be open to trading their ace might be more about a teeming conflict between Fernandez’s agent, Scott Boras, and upper Marlins management, notably team president David Samson.
For his part, Boras told me he spoke to Marlins president of baseball operations Mike Hill the day after the most recent negative stories emerged and “[Hill] told me he is looking forward to Jose being their No. 1 pitcher [in 2016]. He was very pleased with Jose’s rehab and the fact he pitched so well [after Tommy John surgery] in the big leagues. He looks forward to [Fernandez] performing at a high level for the Marlins next year and that we will have continued dialogue in the future.”
Boras also said shortly after the season ended that he spoke with Dan Jennings, who had moved from the GM spot to manager during the year and was then fired from any Marlin job. Boras said: “The manager and the coaches said very positive things about Jose.”
Neither Hill nor Jennings responded to text message requests for interviews.
Boras and the organization have been at odds since Miami demoted Marcell Ozuna last July and then kept him down long enough that he will not be arbitration eligible this offseason. Boras has expressed his displeasure over that decision. Then this offseason, Samson said he would not allow Boras to be part of conversations regarding innings parameters for Fernandez in 2016 — his first full season back from Tommy John surgery. Fernandez responded by saying Boras, as his representative, would be part of any discussions.
This has some similarities to the discord that became public between the Mets and Boras about Matt Harvey’s innings limit in his first season back after Tommy John surgery. Like Harvey, Fernandez is a free agent after the 2018 season and I was told that initial overtures to sign the righty longterm came nowhere close to an agreement. Boras clients generally go to free agency to determine their value. Thus, Miami could be thinking already about how they maximize the value of Fernandez, who is 23 and went 61 with a 2.92 ERA in 11 starts last year and is 229 with a 2.40 ERA in 47 career starts.