The Miami Marlins added second baseman Dee Gordon on Wednesday in a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers. They're still looking for a first baseman that can provide a middle-of-the-order bat and they have at least four players in mind.
On Thursday afternoon, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports noted the Marlins have Justin Morneau, Mark Trumbo, Pedro Alvarez and Michael Morse as their options for a first baseman. Morse is the only free agent out of this group, so Miami would have to orchestrate another trade if they preferred acquiring one of the other three. It looks as if their top two options are Morse and Morneau.
Joe Frisaro of MLB.com tweeted on Wednesday night that Miami is still in "hot pursuit" of Morneau, which indicates a trade might be imminent. Colorado is desperately in need of starting pitching of which the Marlins now have a surplus of. Miami went out and acquired Dan Haren from the Dodgers yesterday and Mat Latos from the Reds earlier today, so their depth chart now shows eight possible starting pitching candidates. It's also a possibility the Rockies want some prospects, which also shouldn't be a problem for Miami to pony up (although they may not want to).
In a resurgent year with the Colorado Rockies, Morneau slashed .319/.364/.496 with 17 home runs and 82 RBIs in 135 games this past season. The first baseman struggled with concussion issues in 2010 and 2011, during which he only played 150 games. He returned healthy the next two seasons, but saw drops in his batting average and RBI total. After spending 11 seasons in Minnesota, the team traded him to Pittsburgh in 2013 and he then signed a two-year, $12.5 million contract with the Rockies, which includes a $9 million mutual option for the third year.
Morse is also being considered, according to Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, who says, "If there is a name linked to the Marlins, it's likely they have discussed the player." Morse would be less costly because Miami wouldn't have to give up anything in a trade, however, he's only played 51 games at first base since 2012. He had a solid offensive season with the San Francisco Giants in 2014, slashing .279/.336/.475 with 16 home runs and 61 RBIs in 131 games.
As for Trumbo and Alvarez, their statuses are less clear. According to Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports, Trumbo is "definitely in play" with the Diamondbacks. There were rumors about a three-way trade involving Trumbo falling through, which refutes statements by team executives who said the outfielder would not be traded. It's no surprise he's being made available because he played in only 88 games last season due to a broken foot and batted .235/.293/.415 with 14 home runs and 61 RBIs. The D-Backs recently acquired Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas who could provide relief in the outfield if Trumbo were to be dealt.
With Pittsburgh perhaps needing one more starter, Tom Singer of MLB.com reports the Pirates and Marlins could revive talks about trading Alvarez for starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi, especially if discussions regarding Morneau fall apart. If the Pirates trade Alvarez, they have Andrew Lambo who can fill in at first base. Lambo spent 21 games with Pittsburgh last season and slashed .328/.389/.563 with 11 home runs and 42 RBIs in 61 games at Triple-A Indianapolis.
If no deal gets done by the end of today (the conclusion of the MLB Winter Meetings) it's likely any existing trade talks will carry on outside of San Diego.
