Jose Miguel Fernandez- Potential Steal of the Offseason

[Second Base]

Let's look at the information available. 

- He owns a career .319/.403 line from Cuba, including multiple years in which he outhit some of the more notable Cubans that have found success in the majors.

- He was expected to receive a contract in the realm of Yasmany Tomas or Yuli Gurriel. However, he was caught trying to flee Cuba in October, 2014. He served a suspension in 2015 and by the time 2016 rolled around, he was still attempting to successfully flee Cuba. By the time he was eligible to sign in 2017, it had been close to three years since Fernandez had played competitive ball, teams were leery the long layoff would ruin his career, so he was only able to secure a minor league deal.

- Even after not playing for two and a half years, Fernandez had a great Spring with the Dodgers and hit .306 between AA/AAA.

- The Dodgers had plans of Fernandez replacing Alex Guerrero on the roster initially until he could take over at second base. Guerrero has since found success, hitting 35 HR's in Japan in 2017, but ultimately it was a breakout campaign from Chris Taylor and the resigning of Justin Turner that prevented Fernandez from playing in the majors last year.

- Fernandez hit over .500 for team Cuba in the Workd Baseball Classic.

- While in Cuba, Fernandez drew strong comparisons to Ichiro Suzuki or Howie Kendrick. It was believed that he could step straight onto a major league roster and hit .300 and at the top of any lineup.

- He spent the fall and winter cutting weight, improving his range and arm strength in preparation for playing 1B, 3B and 2B at the major league level.

- Early reports of his bat have been glowing so far.

I don't think he'll unseat Kinsler or Cozart obviously, but if there's an injury or Valbuena fails to produce again, Fernandez could grab a starting spot atop this lineup and not look back. In fact, I don't think they'll be able to keep him in AAA long. He's back in playing shape and he might hit .400 down there.

This guy can really help the Angels.

[Erstad Grit]

I completely agree.

I was confused when Dogs released him. When they did, fans of several teams on MLBtraderumors were clamoring for their team to go get him. 

Plus no one would be shocked if Kinsler ends on the DL at some point. 

Would he bet best in the bench role or starting every day in AAA? 

[krAbs]

1 hour ago, Scotty@AW said:

However, he was caught trying to flee Cuba in October, 2014. He served a suspension in 2015 and by the time 2016 rolled around, he was still attempting to successfully flee Cuba.

Sounds like he'll be great as long as we don't ask him to steal bases - seems like he gets caught a lot.

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Erstad Grit said:

I completely agree.

I was confused when Dogs released him. When they did, fans of several teams on MLBtraderumors were clamoring for their team to go get him. 

Plus no one would be shocked if Kinsler ends on the DL at some point. 

Would he bet best in the bench role or starting every day in AAA? 

His bat is ultimately what would help us the most, but really, he's a great insurance policy. 

Kinsler has been a great 2B throughout his career. POwer, speed, defense, OBP....he's just what we need at leadoff. But he's coming off a down season and is 35. I don't think he's done being a good starting 2B in the major leagues, but just in case he is, we have someone that can step into that leadoff role and play 2B. 

Valbuena is probably going to be better this year. He was unlucky and injured last year and he's shown the past few years that if he's right, he'll hit for power and get on base vs RHP. He'll need a platoon partner, and just in case last year wasn't a fluke, Fernandez is a guaranteed productive bat at 1B.

And Cozart will likely be fine moving from being a SS in a hitter friendly park in the NL to 3B in a pitching friendly park in the AL. The adjustments he made last year yielded legitimate results. He might even end up being an elite defender over there, and he should hit for power, average and reach base. But just in case he doesn't, or he gets injured, or has to fill in at SS, it will be nice to have Fernandez be able to step in.

Personally, I'd keep him in AAA for a month or so, just so he can have consistent AB's. We have to give our starters time to adjust, and Cowart gives us a great defensive backup at 3B and 2B.  But beyond that, I think Fernandez would be good in a reserve role and as a platoon partner at 1B. Valbuena is useless against LHP, and we don't know if Ohtani will hit lefties yet. So Fernandez should still get continuous AB's.

[HaloNArizona]

I think Fernandez will get a decent amount of playing time with the Angels...I am a little worried about Cozart playing the entire season without a DL trip.  I think by the ASB, Valbuena, will still have no value and the team will decide it's time to cut him free.

[Chuck]

@Jeff Fletcher any info on why the Dodgers released him last year after what was a very good minor league season? 

[Second Base]

40 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

@Jeff Fletcher any info on why the Dodgers released him last year after what was a very good minor league season? 

Best guess would be that he simply asked for his release. The Dodgers kept him in AA  of the season and he isn't young anymore. It's now or never with him and with the Dodgers depth, he likely would've been stuck in AAA for the foreseeable future.

[laagamer]

Sleeper pick! 

 

I think he's going to be too good to keep down in AAA, especially when someone starts stinking up the MLB bench and he's hitting .300.

[IheartLA]

he's listed at age 29, going to be 30 in April... I don't think so 

Anyone wanna guess his real age? 32, 33?

[Hubs]

I think they actually are closer now to birth dates, why would he lie and say he's 30 if he was 33?

He's a good fill in candidate at 2B until Jam Jones is ready (And yes I'm on the Jam Jones for 2B train)...

Also, I think he can be a good player for us, but likely only via injury.

If Cozart and Kinsler play only 135-140 games, it's likely they play basically every day except if they hit the DL, that has been Cozart's MO for sure, and Kinsler doesn't usually miss time.

Nevertheless, Fernandez knows he can be a utility guy this year if he's successful and a starter in 2019.

[Inside Pitch]

48 minutes ago, IheartLA said:

he's listed at age 29, going to be 30 in April... I don't think so 

Anyone wanna guess his real age? 32, 33?

Because of the particular situation in Cuba (communism), and the government's usage of sports as a means of national pride there has never been the same sort of age discrepancies as with players from the DR.   Players in Cuba weren't ever in a situation where they could profit from being young and good at baseball.  If anything the incentive there was to be older and be able to play in their highest league....

[DMVol]

Not to be a Debbie Downer but it’s hard for me to understand how we picked him up so cheaply....as this article says, why was there no trade interest?

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/dodgers-release-jose-miguel-fernandez.html

[Warfarin]

1 hour ago, DMVol said:

Not to be a Debbie Downer but it’s hard for me to understand how we picked him up so cheaply....as this article says, why was there no trade interest?

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/11/dodgers-release-jose-miguel-fernandez.html

Right.  The Dodgers are a loaded team with either a young starter or an heir apparent in their farm system at virtually every position, but the one exception is 2B.  They have Forsythe for one more year, but really no legitimate 2B option waiting to take his place.  The fact that the Dodgers just moved on from Fernandez suggests to me they don't see him as a future 2B starter.  If they did, they would have for sure hung onto him, given their lack of depth at 2B.

He mysteriously stopped playing for them around the end of July, with no information about any kind of injury surfacing.  Not exactly sure what happened there, but it did sound kind of odd...

[DMVol]

32 minutes ago, Warfarin said:

Right.  The Dodgers are a loaded team with either a young starter or an heir apparent in their farm system at virtually every position, but the one exception is 2B.  They have Forsythe for one more year, but really no legitimate 2B option waiting to take his place.  The fact that the Dodgers just moved on from Fernandez suggests to me they don't see him as a future 2B starter.  If they did, they would have for sure hung onto him, given their lack of depth at 2B.

He mysteriously stopped playing for them around the end of July, with no information about any kind of injury surfacing.  Not exactly sure what happened there, but it did sound kind of odd...

I guess you have to assume he was shopped around before they released him....Odd....you would understand if he had a big contract but I don’t think that was the case....

[Second Base]

1 hour ago, Warfarin said:

Right.  The Dodgers are a loaded team with either a young starter or an heir apparent in their farm system at virtually every position, but the one exception is 2B.  They have Forsythe for one more year, but really no legitimate 2B option waiting to take his place.  The fact that the Dodgers just moved on from Fernandez suggests to me they don't see him as a future 2B starter.  If they did, they would have for sure hung onto him, given their lack of depth at 2B.

He mysteriously stopped playing for them around the end of July, with no information about any kind of injury surfacing.  Not exactly sure what happened there, but it did sound kind of odd...

There was supposedly some sort of hamstring injury that occured very late in the minor league season. And again, I think this simply came down to him asking the Dodgers to release him. The Dodgers had Chris Taylor, Logan Forsythe, Justin Turner and Chase Utely on the roster that could fill in at 2B.

Rather than keep a 30 year old in AAA and not afford him the opportunity to live out his dream of playing Major League Baseball violates the all important yet rarely talked about "human element" of this game. 

Teams don't just outright release guys that hit as well as Fernandez did, and has. Either they thought he wasn't good enough (highly unlikely given how he played) or they had to release him. 

The latter is much more likely. There could've been a gentlemen's agreement that if he wasn't in the majors by the end of the season that they would let him seek employment elsewhere. Perhaps he was disgruntled and they didn't want the distraction, or perhaps he simply approached them and asked if he'd be on their roster, when they said no, he could have asked for his release and was granted it.

[Troll Daddy]

I hope Scotty is right about Fernandez 

signed 

Rose C Glasses 

[Warfarin]

9 minutes ago, Scotty@AW said:

There was supposedly some sort of hamstring injury that occured very late in the minor league season. And again, I think this simply came down to him asking the Dodgers to release him. The Dodgers had Chris Taylor, Logan Forsythe, Justin Turner and Chase Utely on the roster that could fill in at 2B.

Rather than keep a 30 year old in AAA and not afford him the opportunity to live out his dream of playing Major League Baseball violates the all important yet rarely talked about "human element" of this game. 

Teams don't just outright release guys that hit as well as Fernandez did, and has. Either they thought he wasn't good enough (highly unlikely given how he played) or they had to release him. 

The latter is much more likely. There could've been a gentlemen's agreement that if he wasn't in the majors by the end of the season that they would let him seek employment elsewhere. Perhaps he was disgruntled and they didn't want the distraction, or perhaps he simply approached them and asked if he'd be on their roster, when they said no, he could have asked for his release and was granted it.

While I agree there is a human element to the game, I feel that smartly run teams like the Dodgers don't just give up significant minor league talent in a position of long-term weakness.  Taylor is clearly earmarked as their CF now.  Forysthe is their starting 2B, but his contract is up after this year.  Turner hasn't played 2B in years and I would be stunned if he ever plays it again.  Utley is kept moreso for clubhouse purposes - he isn't blocking anyone.  

I do think they didn't see a future 2B in Fernandez and just moved on.  Friedman is very smart, and he wouldn't just release a player he thought could be his future starting 2B in a year.  If he truly saw potential in him, he'd probably have him start off in AAA, then promoted mid-season to get some MLB exposure, then have him take over as the starting 2B starting next season.

Again, just my opinion of what a team like the Dodgers would do if they felt he was truly capable of being a legitimate starting second baseman.

[UndertheHalo]

The optimism is running strong in this thread.  I hope the guy can hit.  I have no expectation. 

[wopphil]

The guy had an .864 OPS in AA, as a 29 year old. What suggests his ceiling is anything better than a AAAA bench player?

[Stradling]

The fact that he did that after being away from the game for a couple years is my guess.  

[Docwaukee]

the dogs took a 29 yo cuban defector and put him at AA where he put up an .864 ops.  They move him to AAA for 3 games and then move him back to AA where he plays 24 more games and just disappears.  So odd.  

Agree with Scotty that they had an agreement where he could become a free agent again if he didn't get added to the roster.  

I also agree with the sentiment that the dogs weren't about to release a guy who could help them at a minimum of cost.  There had to be more to this than just JMF's talent though but that doesn't mean the dogs are right just because they are smart about other stuff.  

Eppler is pretty smart too.  I applaud Scotty for going out on a limb and making a bold prediction.  He's likely going to be wrong, but it's not a tremendous reach by any stretch.  

[totdprods]

I'm not quite as high on him, but do think he can give us something very similar to Yunel - .292/.346/.393/.739 - maybe a bit less BA and a bit more SLG - while being more versatile and a lot better defensively. 

A lot less whistling and glam shots too.

[wopphil]

Is he a decent defender?

[Warfarin]

3 hours ago, totdprods said:

I'm not quite as high on him, but do think he can give us something very similar to Yunel - .292/.346/.393/.739 - maybe a bit less BA and a bit more SLG - while being more versatile and a lot better defensively. 

A lot less whistling and glam shots too.

I think the upside with his bat is pretty clear, and I think he can be an average ML hitter, but I think the "a lot better defensively" is probably not accurate.  The reports are that he's a fairly poor defensive second baseman.  I don't know how he'll be at first, but the reports at 2B don't sound great.

[ettin]

1 hour ago, wopphil said:

Is he a decent defender?

His defense is not his strong suit which is why I don't think this is as likely to work out since it is an up the middle position he needs to fill.