Prior to being traded to the Miami Marlins, starting pitcher Dan Haren told the Los Angeles Dodgers he would retire unless he was pitching on the West Coast. The Dodgers didn't seem to care when they sent him and his $10 million salary to the East Coast.
Since Haren was traded at the MLB Winter Meetings, it's been said he has yet to notify the Marlins if he'll pitch in 2015. It doesn't really matter for Miami because they have depth in the starting rotation and were given the money to cover Haren's salary. But now it seems as if Haren is taking a stand and wants to be traded rather than retire, which might be putting pressure on the Marlins' front office.
According to Jon Heyman of CBS Sports, Haren is "said to be holding out hoping for a trade to the Angels or Padres." The right-hander previously pitched for the Los Angeles Angels, so a reunion there wouldn't be out of the question, especially since Haren would be free of charge and add depth to their starting rotation. As for San Diego, they've been the most active team on the trade market this offseason and it wouldn't be surprising if they, say, swapped one of their starters for Haren. They just signed both Brandon Morrow and Josh Johnson to incentive-laden one-year contracts and it's unknown if they'd be interested in the struggling right-hander (35-38 record with a 4.33 ERA over the past three seasons).
In Haren's defense, he made it clear when he signed with the Dodgers prior to the 2014 season:
"My signing with the Dodgers last year and my decision to exercise my player option were based on my desire to play in Southern California near my family," Haren told ESPN in an email. "I had other opportunities, but at this point in my career, I have no interest in playing in a city away from my family."
However, the Dodgers no longer have the same front office that brought Haren on board. Former Rays' president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman was hired to assume the same role in Los Angeles and he hired Oakland Athletics assistant general manager Farhan Zaidi to take over as GM. These two men, for the entirety of their careers, have been working with small market teams that have some of the lowest payrolls in the game. As a result, they took their statistical approach to Los Angeles in hopes of maximizing player efficiency while reducing the Dodgers' excessive payroll (highest in the MLB last season). Unfortunately, Haren's 13-11 record and 4.02 ERA didn't fit the description for what these men believe to be a $10 million per year starting pitcher.
We're not sure what's next for Haren, but he obviously wants to be on the West Coast. Maybe even a reunion with the Oakland A's could be a possibility since he won't cost anything (assuming his salary goes wherever he goes).
