Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
The Miami Marlins do have some holes that the front office needs to fill this winter. There are not any big name players that the Marlins are after, which is no surprise. Rather, the Marlins are going to target middle-of-the-pack players that they do not have to offer a lot of annual money to. Free agent right-handed pitcher Phil Hughes seems to be high on that list.
Hughes struggled last season with the New York Yankees. The 27-year-old was 4-14 with a 5.19 ERA and recorded a 10.5 H/9 and a 1.5 HR/9. Hughes was relatively known for giving up the home run ball and did so 24 times in 2013 and 59 times during the last two seasons. He looked far away from his 2010-self where he was an 18-game winner. His ERA has always been higher than most good pitchers and after an injury-filled 2011, he has not returned to form.
Teams may look at Hughes this winter as a low-risk, high-reward pitcher and teams could be right. It would make sense from that viewpoint that the Marlins take a look at him because the team still needs to fill-out the rest of its starting rotation for the 2014. The big threat for Hughes is that his confidence is shot and he allows too many runs.
However, if Hughes were to sign with the Marlins, he could enter a ballpark that only allowed 48 home runs, which is the second lowest amount in baseball for any team playing at home. Miami allowed 121 home runs this season, the 11th most total in the majors this season.
Miami has enough young pitching and a multi-year deal for Hughes may make sense in the grand scheme of things.
Ryan Gaydos is an MLB columnist for www.RantSports.com. He comments on Miami Marlins rumors. Follow him on Twitter, “like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
