Fish Bites has been absent more than I'd like this week, so we're going to include some NL East links along with the usual midweek business involving the Miami Marlins. Here are some Bites to chew on for this Wednesday.
- SB Nation Boston's Luke Hughes has an interesting Red Sox proposal for Hanley Ramirez.
Trade 3B Kevin Youkilis, OF Josh Reddick And P Anthony Ranaudo To Miami Marlins For SS Hanley Ramirez
Remember what I said a few weeks back when I bashed the trade ideas by Ken Rosenthal? Now this would something to consider. I'm not certain Reddick can play center field, but his inclusion in a deal would give the Marlins the depth to trade Gaby Sanchez or Logan Morrison and play the surviving Marlin at first base. Youkilis is not a strong third baseman, but he is a top-notch hitter signed for two more seasons. Anthony Ranaudo was ranked by Baseball Prospectus's Kevin Goldstein as the second-best prospect in the organization and the 100th best in baseball before 2011, and he had a solid season to start his professional career last year.
Fish Stripers, if an offer like this comes over the phone, who hangs up first, Larry Beinfest or Ben Cherington?
- This guy seems to think that if the Marlins had Prince Fielder, they would be in the playoffs, but without him, they will not compete. This is not as farfetched as it sounds; Fielder is likely a 2.5- to three-win upgrade over Gaby Sanchez, and if the Marlins get anything else out of a Sanchez trade, they may be to improve the team by four more wins, putting them right in that playoff sweet spot. Of course, they could probably do something similar by just signing Roy Oswalt and hoping for a good bounce-back year and not "guaranteeing" anything. This way, they mitigate the risk of a long-term deal for Fielder.
- In other free agent news, Yoennis Cespedes remains on the Marlins radar, but Danny Knobler of CBSSports says there is a divide in the Marlins camp about pursuing him (H/T MLB Daily Dish). The team will probably still bid, and I think it would be a good idea to be in the market for the Cuban outfielder.- The current, most important priority for the Fish, however? Signing Greg Dobbs! Yep, signing a guy who hit .275/.311/.389 (.305 wOBA) last season and is a career .264/.308/.405 (.308 wOBA) hitter is the priority right now. It looks like the front office has found its new Wes Helms.
- This reader on the Miami Marlins official site seems to think that Burke Badenhop and Clay Hensley were guys
...that would put fans in the seats.
I don't think I need to explain that one to you folks.
Around the League: NL East Edition
- Ed Wade is retunring to the Philadelphia Phillies as a consultant. He was recently removed from his role as Houston Astros general manager. While Wade is probably well-served to play the role of scout (he did draft Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels among other Phillies homegrown successes), one cannot ignore his fair share of ineptitude in the front office as GM.
- The Phillies and shortstop Jimmy Rollins reached an agreement that will allow Rollins to most likely finish his career in Philadelphia. The deal is for three years at $33M with a vesting option for a fourth year, which is based on appearances and is said to be easily reached. Eric Seidman of FanGraphs said that this is likely a worthwhile dealfor the Phillies.
- We covered the Washington Nationals' trade for Gio Gonzalez last weekend, but in case you missed it, Dave Cameron of FanGraphs gives us a reasonable estimate of Gonzalez's talent. R.J. Anderson of Baseball Prospectus more or less agrees.
At Fish Stripes
- On Friday, we debuted Eric Weston's first look at the Marlins' top five prospects. This is a must-read if you are a Marlins fan who, like me, is not as strongly attached to the minor league scene as you (and I) should be.
- Over the weekend, we debuted two new weekend staples for the site. Dustin (FishNFinz) brings us this week's caption contest and poll for this week. The poll results were quite understandable, but the caption contest still needs more entries. Come on guys, the picture is top notch, and you can totally make an awesome caption for it. If you're not the creative type, go ahead and vote via rec's for whichever ones you liked!
- On Monday, I reviewed two things of interest: Chris Volstad and his disappointing season and Cameron Maybin and his disappointing trade.
- Yesterday, I finally got around to doing what I've been wanting to do all season long and reviewed Catching Hell.