It appears that those rumors from Friday about the Miami Marlins getting “impatient” with the free agency process were spot on. According to Enrique Rojas from ESPN, the Marlins have just offered Reyes a 6 year, $111 million deal.
If this rumor is correct — and it has now been backed up by Jon Heyman from Sports Illustrated and others — then the Marlins are making a dramatic push to sign Reyes before the Winter Meetings get into swing. Normally more teams enter the bidding for top free agents during the Meetings, so it’s possible the Marlins want to get Reyes locked up now to ensure that they don’t lose him to another bidder.
However, it doesn’t appear that there are any teams out there interested in guaranteeing anywhere near that much money on Reyes. The Mets were the primary other team in the bidding, but they are not willing to go any higher than just above $100 million over six years. There were no other teams in the bidding, although it had been rumored that the Tigers could get involved late.
Congratulations Marlins, you may have just bought yourself a new shortstop. Reyes is a risky player to give a guaranteed contract this large, but hey, it certainly is a flashy move. And it will likely result in a couple more butts in the seats next season.
To join in the conversation about the Marlins’ offseason, head on over to SB Nation’s blog on the Marlins, Fish Stripes.