Miami Marlins

Miami Marlins manager Don Mattingly wants answers following his team's 7-3 loss to the New York Mets on Monday night. 

New York's four-run ninth-inning rally was aided by a controversial hit batsman that saw center fielder Juan Lagares appearing to bunt a ball foul with two strikes while trying to sacrifice a runner to second. However, the umpires ruled Lagares did not offer at the high-and-in pitch while getting struck, awarding him first base. The ruling was upheld upon review.

Instead of having a runner at first with one out, the Mets had first and second with no outs. That set the stage for them to take the lead and then some.

Mattingly called the umpire crew "shaky" following the loss:

"I'm not supposed to complain about calls, but the league needs to look at it," Mattingly said. "I don't understand a lot of it tonight. I understand the Marlins are not supposed to be good this year; I guess it's OK to pile on. ... It's got to be better than that."

The Lagares controversy was not the only call Mattingly took issue with. He believed the home-plate missed a strike-three call on New York left fielder Jeff McNeil with two runners on base and one out at the top of the second.

Three pitches later, McNeil doubled to even the score at 2-2.

Nothing the league office says will change the outcome of the result, but Mattingly made it clear that he wants to have a conversation with the higher powers.

Former New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is joining the Miami Marlins organization as a special adviser to the baseball operations department, according to SiriusXM's Craig Mish.

Posada spent more than two decades with Miami chief executive officer Derek Jeter in the Yankees organization together, spending most of that time as teammates in the Bronx.

The Miami resident revealed to reporters in February 2018 that he would be open to taking a position with the Marlins as long as the job did not require much traveling:

Posada was a part of the legendary Core Four (Jeter, Posada, Mariano Rivera and Andy Pettitte) that led the Yankees to five World Series championships from 1996 to 2009.

The Puerto Rico native broke into the majors in 1995—the same year as Jeter—and spent his entire big league career in pinstripes, hitting .273/.374/.474 with 275 home runs and 1,065 RBI in his 17-year career. He earned five All-Star selections, five Silver Sluggers and two top-six finishes in American League MVP voting. 

He retired following the 2011 campaign. His No. 20 was retired by the Bronx Bombers. 

Jeter was part of the ownership group that took over the Marlins in 2017. Since then, Miami has undergone a roster overhaul by trading the then-National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton, reigning NL MVP Christian Yelich, All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna, two-time All-Star Dee Gordon, and, just recently, All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto.

Even after jettisoning a number of star players in the year-plus since taking over in South Beach, Jeter recently went on the record to make it clear he was ready to establish a winning culture.

"I have no patience," Jeter said Monday, per the Associated Press. "I have zero patience. I've been preaching it. I don't have it."

The Marlins, who won the World Series in 1997 and 2003, are in the midst of a 15-year playoff drought and have not recorded a winning season since 2009.

The Miami Marlins announced Tuesday that they signed veteran outfielder Curtis Granderson to a minor league contract.

As part of the deal, Granderson will receive an invite to spring training.

The 37-year-old Granderson spent time with both the Toronto Blue Jays and Milwaukee Brewers last season.

In 123 games, Granderson hit .242 with 13 home runs and 38 RBI. He also walked 54 times and had an on-base percentage of .351. Granderson's 403 plate appearances last season were his fewest since 2013 when he appeared in just 61 contests because of injury.

The power-hitting lefty is a 15-year MLB veteran and three-time All-Star who spent time with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers before last season. He's a career .252 hitter with 332 home runs and 903 RBI. He has hit 20 or more home runs in a season on 10 occasions, 30 or more four times and 40 or more twice.

In 2011 and 2012, Granderson hit over 40 homers each year as a member of the Yanks. While his production has waned since, he still managed 26 home runs in 2017 and 30 the year before with the Mets.

Granderson still has plenty of pop in his bat, and he is a solid platoon option against right-handed pitchers.

He also has a wealth of playoff experience with 64 career postseason games and 244 career playoff plate appearances to his credit. Granderson is a .224 career hitter in the playoffs with nine homers and 30 RBI, and he has played in the World Series on three occasions.

The Marlins won't play in the World Series anytime soon due to their rebuilding status, but Granderson could be a helpful presence on a young team.

Marlins CEO Derek Jeter is well aware of what Granderson brings to the table since they played together with the Yankees from 2010 to 2013.

Miami has a young starting outfield penciled in with Lewis Brinson (24), Brian Anderson (25) and Austin Dean (25) having the inside track to start.

Those players could benefit from a mentor, and there are few outfielders in Major League Baseball who could do a better job in that regard than Granderson.

Cincinnati Reds prospect Jonathan India is among the players being discussed in trade talks for Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, according to MLB.com's Joe Frisaro.

The fifth overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft was recently rated as Cincinnati's fourth-best prospect and the No. 53 overall prospect in all of baseball, per MLB.com.

Mark Sheldon of MLB.com notes the Marlins have also shown interest in infielder Nick Senzel, outfielder Taylor Trammell and pitcher Hunter Greene, who are ranked as the Reds' top three prospects.

Frisaro notes that Miami is looking for a package of two-to-four players. Jon Heyman of Fancred reported on Tuesday that the Reds and Marlins have made progress in trade talks but remain apart on prospects involved in a potential deal, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres still among the teams in the mix.

Cincinnati has been one of the most active teams in all of baseball this winter as it looks for its first winning season since 2013.

The Reds have already acquired pitcher Tanner Roark, pitcher Alex Wood, outfielder Yasiel Puig, outfielder Matt Kemp and pitcher Sonny Gray. They have been able to make all of those additions without surrendering any of their top-tier prospects.

India was viewed as one of the best college bats in last year's draft class, winning the 2018 SEC Player of the Year. He hit .240/.380/.433 with six home runs, nine doubles, one triple and 23 RBI in 44 appearances between rookie ball and Single-A last year. 

Meanwhile, Realmuto earned his first All-Star selection and first Silver Slugger by hitting .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs, 30 doubles and 74 RBI in 2018. It's important to point out that he put up those numbers at the spacious Marlins Park; moving to hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park would figure to provide a nice boost to already impressive numbers.

The 27-year-old is currently under club control through the 2020 season, per Spotrac.

Heyman added that 2017 Gold Glove winner Tucker Barnhart, who is owed just $9.75 million in base salary over the next three seasons, could go to Miami in a potential deal.

The J.T. Realmuto trade rumors continue to be a hot topic in Major League Baseball, with the San Diego Padres taking an interest in the All-Star catcher. 

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Miami Marlins have asked the Padres to include top catching prospect Francisco Mejia in their trade offer for Realmuto. 

Fancred Sports' Jon Heyman reported Friday the Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers are believed to be the most prominent teams in trade discussions for Realmuto.

Morosi added the Padres are "insisting" on receiving a negotiating window to discuss a contract extension with Realmuto as a condition of a possible trade.

The slow-moving offseason for free agents has led the Padres to get involved in multiple discussions. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported they are pursuing Manny Machado as well.

Mejia was acquired by San Diego from the Cleveland Indians last July for relievers Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. He hit .185/.241/.389 in 20 games after the deal and is ranked as the No. 2 catching prospect for 2019 by MLB.com.

Realmuto was named to his first All-Star team in 2018. The 27-year-old led all qualified catchers with a .277 batting average, .484 slugging percentage and 4.8 FanGraphs wins above replacement last season.

The Miami Marlins reportedly haven't budged on their sky-high asking price for catcher J.T. Realmuto in trade talks ahead of the 2019 season. 

On Thursday, Ken Rosenthal of MLB Network gave an update on the situation, noting the Marlins seek a young, impact bat in the mold of the Los Angeles Dodgers' Cody Bellinger or Atlanta Braves' Ozzie Albies along with prospects to move the 2018 All-Star Game selection:

Realmuto is coming off a terrific 2018 campaign where he posted a .277/.340/.484 triple-slash line with 21 home runs across 125 appearances. His homer total set a new career high as did his OPS (.824) and WAR (4.8, per FanGraphs).

They represent strong stats regardless of position, but playing catcher makes them more valuable since an extremely limited number of backstops provide those type of offensive contributions.

Although his name has been a constant presence in the rumor mill throughout the winter, Realmuto said in November while on the MLB All-Star tour in Japan he wasn't letting the situation become a distraction, per Jim Armstrong of the Associated Press.

"It's not a discussion for me to have, honestly," he said. "It's not my decision whether I get traded or not. It's up to the Marlins. Whatever they want to do with me, that's up to them. So for me, there is really no discussion to be had. My job is to show up and play baseball."

While the Dodgers and Braves have been mentioned as possible landing spots—Atlanta became less likely when it brought back Brian McCann to pair with Tyler Flowers—the MLB Network's Jon Morosi reported last week the Houston Astros are still involved, though they are also turned off by the high price tag.

Realmuto is under team control through 2020, so there's no real sense of urgency for Miami to move him this offseason. He's one of the rebuilding team's most valuable assets, so getting top dollar in return is essential to stocking up the farm system.

The front office could face more pressure to find a trade partner if he's still on the roster next winter without a long-term contract extension in place, though.

Former Miami Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria is not a popular figure amongst the team's fans, given that he regularly used his cut of the MLB's shared revenue as personal profit rather than putting that money back into the team and also left the city of Miami with $2.4 billion in stadium expenditures over the coming years.

His right-hand man during that period was former team president David Samson, who profited off of Loria's antics before the team's eventual sale for $1.2 billion in 2017. So you could forgive Marlins fans if they didn't take kindly to Samson's remarks at ESPN personality and Miami Herald writer Dan Le Batard's birthday party:

"Here's why I love when you guys boo me," he said. "I want you to keep booing me, because guess what? $1.2 billion. F--k you!"

Samson said it was all in good fun:

However, the folks in Miami might feel as though the joke is on them.

As the MLB winter meetings heat up in Las Vegas, Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto has been one of the hottest names on the market.

ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted Tuesday that Miami appears to be "looking to finish a deal," which is a different approach than the team has had in the past. Joe Frisaro of MLB.com noted the New York Mets are one of three teams currently in the mix, with the identities of the two other clubs unknown.

Mike Puma of the New York Post reported a three-way deal that would send Realmuto to the Mets and Noah Syndergaard to the New York Yankees has been discussed. Frisaro noted, though, that a three-team blockbuster is a "long shot."

Later on Tuesday, Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported the three-team deal with the Yankees, Mets and Marlins was "not progressing," but the Mets remain interested in Realmuto.

Miami president of baseball operations Michael Hill revealed, per Frisaro, that there is "significant interest" in Realmuto at the winter meetings.

The 27-year-old Realmuto, who has two more years of club control, is viewed as one of the game's rising stars. He earned his first All-Star selection and first Silver Slugger in 2018 by hitting .277/.340/.484 with 21 home runs, 30 doubles and 74 RBI.

After the team traded away then-reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton, All-Star outfielder Marcell Ozuna and All-Star second baseman Dee Gordon, Realmuto requested a trade in December 2017. But Miami held onto him for the 2018 campaign.

SiriusXM's Craig Mish reported last week that Miami previously offered Realmuto a pair of extensions, and while his camp did counter at one point, talks have since ended. According to Jon Heyman of Fancred, Realmuto is looking for "Buster Posey money," which would put a contract in the nine-year, $167 million range.

Per MLB Network's Jon Morosi, Realmuto's agent, Jeff Berry, made it clear earlier this offseason his client is not interested in a long-term deal with Miami: "I think he will definitely be wearing a different uniform by the start of spring training."

An agent talking like that could hurt a team's leverage in trade negotiations, but given the number of teams interested in Realmuto, the Marlins should still be able get a strong return for their star catcher.

The New York Mets are reportedly "resistant" to include shortstop Amed Rosario in trade talks surrounding Miami Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto. 

On Wednesday, Jon Heyman of Fancred reported talks between the NL East rivals, which also feature Mets outfielders Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, are "real," but noted progress toward a potential deal has been slowed by the Mets' desire to keep Rosario.

The 23-year-old Dominican Republic native posted a mediocre .256/.295/.381 triple-slash line with 24 stolen bases and nine home runs across 154 games in 2018, his first full season in the big leagues.

Rosario also struggled in the field, posting a minus-16 Defensive Runs Saved figure at shortstop, the seventh-worst total of any fielder in MLB last season, per FanGraphs.

Although the speedy infielder still features plenty of untapped potential—he was rated as the organization's top prospect by MLB.com in 2017—it's a bit surprising he's being prioritized by the Mets over a proven commodity like Conforto.

The 25-year-old Oregon State product compiled a .939 OPS across 109 games in 2017, which would have ranked 13th in all of baseball if he had enough plate appearances to qualify, and he's coming off a 2018 campaign where he finished with a .350 OBP and a career-high 28 homers.

New York also features another prized shortstop prospect, Andres Gimenez, who finished this year at the Double-A level and could be ready for the majors in late 2019 or early 2020.

So it wouldn't be a surprise if the Mets are leaking their desire to keep Rosario in a sneaky bid to get Conforto removed from the Realmuto discussions instead.

The Marlins' catcher, who slugged 21 homers at a position with an extremely limited number of impact offensive contributors, is under team control through 2020 and would provide a much-needed boost to the Mets lineup to help the club's star-studded rotation.

Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post reported the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals were the other teams showing interest in Realmuto.

The Mets shouldn't let Rosario and his long-term potential stand in the way of finishing a blockbuster trade, especially with their NL East foes also involved in the sweepstakes.

Despite some reported unhappiness with the Miami Marlins, J.T. Realmuto understands it's not up to him where he plays next season.

Per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Realmuto acknowledged the Marlins will decide whether or not to trade him.

"It's not a discussion for me to have, honestly," he said. "It's not my decision whether I get traded or not. It's up to the Marlins. Whatever they want to do with me, that's up to them. So for me, there is really no discussion to be had. My job is to show up and play baseball."

During the Marlins' fire sale last offseason, when Giancarlo Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich were traded away, Realmuto's agent made it clear his client wanted to leave the organization. 

"He would like to be traded to another organization before spring training so he has an opportunity to compete for a championship," Jeff Berry told Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

Berry reiterated his client's stance during an Oct. 30 appearance on MLB Network Radio (h/t ESPN.com), saying Realmuto told Miami's ownership and front office he won't sign an extension. 

The Marlins still have Realmuto under team control for two more seasons. The 27-year-old is projected to earn $6.1 million in 2019 through arbitration, per MLB Trade Rumors' Tim Dierkes.

Realmuto was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time last season. He hit .277/.340/.484 with a career-high 21 homers in 125 games.