Miami aggressively seeking bats at Meetings

SAN DIEGO -- The Marlins are aggressively pursuing ways to upgrade their offense, and they're weighing whether the best routes are through trades or free-agent signings at the Winter Meetings.

"It all depends on the situation, and the acquisition," Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill said on Tuesday. "I think whenever you're building something, you have to be mindful of where you are in the process, what your objectives are and really what the end game is."

For a building team like the Marlins, several factors come into play. If they see a trade fit, they are open to making deals, as long as they don't deplete the farm system. Free agency comes with cost risk, and Miami is likely to seek players on shorter-term contracts -- like one- or two-year deals. And then there is the case of seeking a place-holder-type player to fill in until some of the organization's top prospects are ready.

A potential trade fit is the Rangers, who have an outfield surplus and have made it clear they are open to making moves.

Texas is considering moving Willie Calhoun and/or Shin-Soo Choo. The two are left-handed-hitting outfielders.

Calhoun, 25, is pre-arbitration and coming off a season in which he hit .269 with 21 home runs and 48 RBIs. The 37-year-old Choo, who is making $21 million in the final season of his seven-year, $130 million contract, hit .265 with 24 homers and 61 RBIs in 2019.

At this point of his career, Choo is probably more suited as a designated hitter, while Calhoun has some questions defensively.

Among the free agents on the market are Corey Dickerson, Melky Cabrera and Yasiel Puig. Free agent Nicholas Castellanos seeks a large, multiyear contract, which may be more than Miami is willing to spend.

The Marlins are being mindful not to block some of their prospects that are getting closer to the big leagues, like outfielders Monte Harrison and Jesús Sánchez, along with first baseman Lewin Díaz and shortstop Jazz Chisholm.

"We knew that this offseason was going to be a challenge for us as you get those young guys closer to the big leagues," Hill said. "You're talking about our future, the core of the championship runs. They're getting closer to the big leagues, so you know they're on the horizon."

The Marlins also are balancing whether to part with any of their top 30 prospects because they spent the past two years making moves to bolster their farm system.

"We want to do what's right by our prospects and give them time to develop and mature so that they can be the players that we think they can be," Hill said. "At the same time, we need to win games at the Major League level."

Fielding calls on pitching
Controllable starting pitching remains in high demand, and the Marlins are fielding plenty of calls from clubs interested in their young starters.

"We've probably gotten the most hits on our pitching," Hill said. "Every time you talk about anything, they're coming after your pitching. But I think people recognize that our system is really deep and they can stay away from our top 15 and still ask for a very good player."

The Marlins are open to moving José Ureña, their Opening Day starter the past two seasons. The 28-year-old right-hander is without a defined role after being used in the bullpen late in 2019.

All-Star righty Sandy Alcantara is the least likely to be dealt, while teams have interest in lefty Caleb Smith. Prospects like Sixto Sánchez, Edward Cabrera and Nick Neidert are getting closer to being big league-ready.

"That's the part of just managing your players," Hill said. "We're not afraid to make trades, obviously, if it makes sense for us. I don't think that will change."

Encarnacion draws attention
Jerar Encarnacion, Miami's No. 17 prospect, impressed with his raw power and upside potential at the Arizona Fall League. The 22-year-old belted a grand slam for the Salt River Rafters in their Fall League championship victory.

Encarnacion is the type of prospect who could attract trade interest, especially since the Marlins have several outfield prospects in the system.

"Whenever you go to the premium prospect league in baseball and you perform, you're going to increase your value," Hill said.