Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports The former Miami Springs Golden Hawk and Miami Hurricane would look great as a Miami Marlin. Time to spend Bruce Sherman’s and Derek Jeter’s money! Entering the third year under new Marlins ownership, fans expect to see significant improvement at the major league level. Some of that improvement will surely come from within, but prospects—as they say—will break your heart. Successful MLB rebuilds make sure to surround their young cores with veterans who can bring credibility and reliable production. Free agent additions figure to be critically important to keeping the Fish on track. To date, the largest investment that the Sherman/Jeter Marlins have made in any free agent was $5.25 million for Cuban outfielder Víctor Víctor Mesa. “Deep Sea Fishing” is a series of profiles on established, available players—all of them projected to cost more than Víctor Víctor—who should be seriously considered by the front office. 2019 team(s): Brewers 2019 salary: $16 million 2020 season age: 31 Marlins connection? Yasmani Grandal went to Miami Springs High School, played college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes, and played one year for manager Don Mattingly with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015. Why the Marlins should want him Coming off a season in which he made his second All-Star team and hit a career high 28 home runs, Grandal will be one of the bigger names on the free agent wire this offseason. The catcher was a workhorse for the Milwaukee Brewers during their 2019 playoff run, leading all backstops in games played with 153. Last week, the native of Havana, Cuba declined a $16 million mutual option to seek a longer commitment on the open market. Yasmani Grandal is a wizard pic.twitter.com/gOtYzGHs0p— SI MLB (@si_mlb) June 15, 2017 Since coming onto the scene with the San Diego Padres in 2012, Grandal has earned a reputation for being one of the best defensive catchers in the game. Specifically, Grandal has received praise for his framing. According to FanGraphs, Grandal is the second-best defensive catcher in Major League Baseball, behind former Marlin J.T. Realmuto. He has a .994 fielding percentage through the first eight seasons of his career, which is higher than both Gary Carter and Yogi Berra. While he won’t be putting together his Hall of Fame speech anytime soon, Grandal’s achievements have not gone unnoticed, as he finished 15th in NL MVP voting in 2019. He is a well-rounded player and has been for quite a while now. Dating back to 2016, Grandal’s 19.7 fWAR leads all MLB catchers (Realmuto is second at 17.1 fWAR). Michael Hill’s stance has been that draft-pick compensation would not prevent the Miami Marlins from going after a desired free agent. That won’t come into play with Grandal, anyway—he refused a qualifying offer extended to him by the Los Angeles Dodgers last offseason, making him ineligible to receive one this time around. This is a big selling point for the backstop who slashed .246/.380/.468 last year, and will lead to a higher willingness for teams to sign the two-time All Star than what we saw last offseason. The most important factor to consider is where the 31-year-old fits with this team. In 2019, Jorge Alfaro caught 118 games for the Marlins. Alfaro, still only 26, is certainly on the path to having a future behind the plate in Miami. The Marlins, for the most part, saw Garrett Cooper, Martin Prado, and Neil Walker at first base in 2019. The latter two will not be returning this upcoming season, and Cooper is someone who can also play right field. An addition of Grandal would likely mean a more even split between catcher and first, much like his 2014 season, where he played 76 games at catcher and 37 at first in an injury-shortened season. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweeted earlier this offseason that Grandal is expected to get a huge deal, so the likelihood of a long-term contract is no secret throughout Major League Baseball. Investing in such a player would be a wise move, because it gives the Marlins a veteran leader that they’re lacking with the departure of Prado. If the future of the catcher position in Miami lies with Alfaro and prospects such as Will Banfield and Dustin Skelton, who better to mentor them than someone with the résumé of Grandal? Why the Marlins might not get him There are teams in Major League Baseball who need a catcher far more than the Marlins, so don’t be surprised if a bidding war ensues and someone ends up overpaying for the two-time All-Star. His representatives have already begun taking meetings with front office officials, including those from the Toronto Blue Jays. It seems likely that the type of deal Grandal gets will be one that is more suited for a team in “win-now” mode rather than in the middle of a rebuild. If the Marlins ultimately do lock up a free agent to a long-term deal, their targets figure to be players significantly younger than 31 years old. Much like other players noted in our Deep Sea Fishing Series, Yasmani Grandal would create some buzz among casual fans in South Florida. The Miami Springs High School and University of Miami alum would have no trouble getting Marlins fans behind him, and would fill a leadership role to a young but promising team. Fish Stripes estimates a 5% chance of the Marlins signing Yasmani Grandal this offseason. Be sure to bookmark FishStripes.com and check in frequently as the Deep Sea Fishing series continues...

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images Welcome to the Splash Zone, the quickest way to get your day started off right. We bring you a rundown of Miami Dolphins news from the last 24 hours. The Dolphins placed two of their longest tenured players on injured reserve yesterday. Reshad Jones has dealt with some injuries this year and may have played his last snap for the team that drafted him back in 2010. But he will have company on IR as Bobby McCain will also join him as McCain injured his shoulder on Sunday against the Bills. Newly acquired receiver Gary Jennings will also be heading to IR. You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below. Dolphins place Reshad Jones, Bobby McCain on IR – ProFootballTalkReshad Jones may have played his final snap for the Dolphins. The veteran safety was one of three players placed on injured reserve by the team on Wednesday. Brian Flores Ray Lewis: ‘Brian Flores Has Dolphins Giving Everything They Have’ – CBS MiamiInside the NFL analyst Ray Lewis weighs in on the job Dolphins coach Brian Flores has done in his first year in Miami. Dolphins Roster Moves Dolphins Sign Adrian Colbert, Activate Andrew Van Ginkel, Promote Gerald WillisThe Dolphins also placed wide receiver Gary Jennings, safety Reshad Jones and safety Bobby McCain on injured reserve. Phinsider News You May Have Missed Miami Dolphins News 11/20/19: The DeVante Parker Breakout Is Finally Here - The PhinsiderWelcome to the Splash Zone, the quickest way to get your day started off right. We bring you a rundown of Miami Dolphins news from the last 24 hours. Around SB Nation: What Other NFL Blogs Are Discussing - The PhinsiderWeekly, we take a look around the SB Nation family of NFL blogs. Here are the news stories and analysis they are discussing. Dolphins place Reshad Jones, Bobby McCain on injured reserve - The PhinsiderThe Miami Dolphins took a massive hit at the safety position on Wednesday, with multiple media reports indicating the team will place Reshad Jones and Bobby McCain on injured reserve, ending the...

Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images Robinson made seven of his 3s in the second quarter. In a span of 42 seconds late in the second quarter of the Miami Heat’s home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Duncan Robinson sank three 3-pointers. Miami’s lead ballooned from 14 to 23. Cleveland coach John Beilein, who coached Robinson at Michigan, called a timeout. A minute-and-a-half later, Robinson nailed another 3-pointer. This one was from 36 feet. McKinnie evidently stopped a few feet past the arc thinking, 'Nah, he can't make it from there.'Yeah, about that... pic.twitter.com/TxEiq03I0D— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) November 21, 2019 Robinson made seven of his nine 3-pointers in an electric 43-point second quarter that led the Heat to a dominant win over the Cavaliers for the second time in six days. He scored a career-high 29 points on the night, and he was just one 3 shy of matching the Heat franchise record for 3-pointers. MIAMI RUNS ON DUNCAN!!! @D_Bo20 has a career high 24 points (8-10 3PT FG) in ?? half - 21 of which came in the 2nd quarter alone! pic.twitter.com/bJ0CVIQ6Bw— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 21, 2019 This game mirrored all of the Heat’s wins over sub-par teams since returning from their uneven 1-2 West coast road trip a couple weeks ago. Miami built up a big lead in the first half, saw it slip and then did enough to put the game to rest. Wednesday night, the Cavaliers cut a 30-point lead to 16 early in the fourth quarter before the Heat regained their control on the contest. Another commonality from the Heat’s last four games — a plethora of turnovers. The Heat committed 23 of them Wednesday night. It remains the one glaring disappointment in the midst of an otherwise encouraging start to the season. Heat rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro combined for 10 turnovers. Aside from their turnovers, Nunn and Herro provided some good scoring for Miami. Herro dropped 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the field including four 3s. Nunn added 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. 3 on 1. @nunnbetter_ can handle it. pic.twitter.com/xG2yGbC87E— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) November 21, 2019 Jimmy Butler shot just 3-of-16 from the field, but made all 13 attempts at the free throw line. He was also 2-for-4 from deep, which was encouraging since he has been mostly quiet from downtown to start the season. Butler missed some shots he normally makes, but I liked his aggression. He also added his all-around game — chipping in five rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Just look at him get this steal. Jimmy Butler is the Ravens in NFL 2k5. pic.twitter.com/w03g8ZxHwi— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) November 21, 2019 Goran Dragic, who sat out Miami’s last game with an illness, scored 13 points and dished out six assists in 26 minutes. Kelly Olynyk added 10 points, including two 3-pointers. Bam Adebayo scored Miami’s first eight points and finished with 13 overall. Both Adebayo and Chris Silva need to improve their free-throw shooting. Adebayo was just 3-for-6, and Silva was 0-for-4. On the flip side, Silva corralled six offensive rebounds. He and Adebayo offered their usual energy on both ends of the floor. Foul trouble for Silva gave Udonis Haslem his second appearance of the season. The 17-year veteran scored three points, all of which came from the foul line, in five minutes. James Johnson did not get off the bench, even during mop-up time. The Heat will fly to Chicago to face the Bulls for an 8 p.m. Friday game.

A one-night-only homage to one of Cuba’s most legendary acts: Buena Vista Social Club. Prism Creative Group takes over Lummus Park on Nov. 21 from 7-10 p.m. for this free Buena Vista Social Club Tribute Night event. Also presented by the City of Miami Beach. Take a trip to Old Havana with this...Read more... »