After signing Giancarlo Stanton to a 13-year, $325 million contract, the Miami Marlins are working on extending more of their young players. In contrast, the San Diego Padres are looking to trade some of theirs, most notably one of their catchers.
Miami has reportedly offered starting pitcher Jose Fernandez a six-year contract, according to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports. The deal is said to be worth close to $40 million, which Fernandez's agent, Scott Boras, is likely to decline and then counter with a new offer. Heyman notes much work needs to be done with these contract talks if the team wants a chance to lock up Fernandez long-term.
Based on what Fernandez has accomplished this early in his career, he and his agent might believe the offer is a bit low. Perhaps Miami thinks they can sign him on the cheap because he's coming off Tommy John surgery, but the right-hander won NL Rookie of the Year in 2013 as a 20-year-old and has a 16-8 record with a 2.25 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 36 starts over the past two seasons. His 2014 campaign was cut short after eight starts when he suffered a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.
Fernandez is only 22 years old and the Marlins are looking to keep him around along with outfielders Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria to establish the team's core with Stanton. Miami is also looking to add a middle-of-the-order bat this offseason to accompany Stanton.
Speaking of young talent, the San Diego Padres are actively shopping catcher Yasmani Grandal. The 25-year-old slashed .225/.327/.401 with 15 home runs and 49 RBIs in 128 games this season, but the Padres have received a lot of inquiries regarding Grandal and fellow catchers Rene Rivera and Austin Hedges. From a front office perspective, the Padres probably want to keep the 31-year-old Rivera while they work the 21-year-old Hedges through the minors. Grandal will likely yield a larger return in a trade due to his age and potential.
ESPN Insider Buster Olney tweeted earlier today that the Padres "have gotten more aggressive in marketing" Grandal. San Diego was in talks with the Los Angeles Dodgers about outfielder Matt Kemp, which is interesting because the Dodgers want to get Kemp off their hands and also need a catcher, while the Padres want to get a catcher of their hands and need a power-hitting outfielder. Los Angeles remains one possible destination for Grandal, with others relatively unknown at this point.
After watching Russell Martin sign a five-year, $82 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays, it's easy to see catchers are in high demand.
