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The Marlins are open to trading away A.J. Ramos according to a report from Jayson Stark of ESPN. Reportedly in the market for a closer, it might be prudent for the Marlins to make Ramos available; especially considering the going price for elite relief over the past couple seasons.
Over the past two seasons, Ramos has registered 72 saves for the Marlins; the sixth-most of any closer in baseball over that time frame. While saves aren’t the best measure of a player’s value, over the same time frame, Ramos ranks 29th in FIP, 28th in ERA, and 18th by FanGraphs’ WAR among qualified relievers.
The Marlins also have signaled that they might be willing to trade current closer A.J. Ramos, especially if revenue-sharing rules change https://t.co/M5qfk7zsj5
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) November 29, 2016
The Marlins are rumored to be actively pursuing free agent reliever Kenley Jansen. Jansen posted the second-best FIP in baseball among relievers last season and was offered a $17.2 million qualifying offer from the Dodgers. After turning it down, Jansen’s services will be connected to draft pick compensation which can sometimes negatively impact a player’s free agent value. For a closer as elite as Jansen though, it shouldn’t affect his market value too much.
If the Marlins do end up signing Jansen, then it makes sense to make Ramos expendable, though super bullpens are somewhat in vogue at the moment. Regardless, the Marlins will still have an impressive bullpen going forward, with Kyle Barraclough and David Phelps coming off of excellent 2016 campaigns.