UPDATE 5:13 pm EST: Chris Cotillo of MLB Daily Dish is reporting multiple sources saying that the Marlins are likely to land Saltalamacchia.
Multiple reports have Saltalamacchia headed to the #Marlins as very likely.
— Chris Cotillo (@ChrisCotillo) December 3, 2013
UPDATE: Jayson Stark of ESPN mentions that teams believe Saltalamacchia may settle for Miami's offer.
Saltalamacchia was looking for a minimum of 3 guaranteed years. Other teams believe he's heading for #Marlins for 2 years & possible option
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) December 3, 2013
Stay tuned as this situation unfolds.
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Just to throw some more fuel into the heavy fire that is the growing Miami Marlins-Jarrod Saltalamacchia rumor mill, Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post tweeted out this bit of speculation to his interested readers:
For those #Rockies fans curious about free-agent catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia, I'm told he's going to #Marlins.
— Patrick Saunders (@psaundersdp) December 3, 2013
It is difficult to tell exactly what that means. Is his source saying that Saltalamacchia is leaning towards Miami or outright signing with them soon. We are already fairly certain that Miami is the front-runner for Saltalamacchia's services and that a deal may come quickly one way or another, but does this mean it is all but done?
It is unlikely to be certain at the moment, but it does add to the likelihood that Miami is serious about its pursuit of the 29-year-old native of Palm Beach County. The Marlins have the "home-field advantage" of Saltalamacchia's Floridian roots and the "no state income tax" thing on their side, but there is a heavy disincentive to signing with Miami given the instability of the Jeffrey Loria regime. If the Marlins can make this signing happen, however, it would be a decent upgrade at a poor position while at the same time stemming the bleeding credibility of the franchise in the wake of their fire sale of last November.
