Report: Marlins have discussed Carter, Reynolds
The Miami Marlins have spent a good chunk of their offseason acquiring arms for both their starting rotation and bullpen, but that doesn't mean they haven't been searching for bats, too.
Miami is interested in adding a right-handed hitting complement to Justin Bour at first base, and have discussed free agents Chris Carter and Mark Reynolds, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reports.
Carter, who tied for the National League lead in home runs (41) last season has drawn plenty of interest from clubs after he was non-tendered a contract by the Milwaukee Brewers. He has 150 career home runs to his credit, but he's also struck out 875 times in seven big-league seasons.
Reynolds was in the midst of a nice year with the Colorado Rockies, hitting a career-high .282 with 53 RBIs before he underwent surgery to remove the hamate bone in his left hand in August. After making a speedy recovery, Reynolds fractured a bone in the same hand a month later after getting hit by a pitch, and missed the remainder of the season.
Bour only appeared in 90 games for the Marlins last season because of a high ankle sprain, which forced Miami to give most of the opportunities at first base to Chris Johnson, who didn't deliver. Both of Carter and Reynolds would be upgrades over Johnson.
2016 stats
| PLAYER | PA | HR | RBI | SO | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Carter | 644 | 41 | 94 | 206 | .821 | 0.9 |
| Mark Reynolds | 441 | 14 | 53 | 112 | .806 | 0.1 |
| Chris Johnson | 264 | 5 | 24 | 78 | .611 | -0.8 |
A platoon of the power-hitting Bour along with one of Carter or Reynolds would give the Marlins a lot of pop from first base, as all three players have devoted most of their careers to hitting the long ball.
Miami finished 2016 third in the National League East with a 79-86 record and received 0.0 WAR from their first basemen, who also combined to hit just .239/.305/.376 with a wRC+ of 80, the second-lowest mark in the NL last season.