Dan Haren Has Real Value but in a Limited Trade Market

Dan Haren is not the most awe-inspiring name on the trade market. 

He is not a franchise-changing acquisition, nor is he the kind of pickup who will boost ticket sales.

However, Dan Haren is the kind of undervalued, low-risk trade piece who can help a team over the pitching humps that sprout throughout a six-month season. He comes relatively cheap, he is durable and if his final 10 starts of 2014 are any kind of indicator, he is still effective at 34 years old.

The Miami Marlins understand all of this, and if they had their way, Haren would occupy their rotation come April. Unfortunately, Haren has no desire to pitch anywhere but the West Coast. He has even threatened to retire and forgo a $10 million payout if he has to pitch anywhere other than Southern California, as he told ESPN Los Angeles’ Mark Saxon.

As such, the Marlins are working to trade Haren, having given up trying to convince him to stay in Miami.

"

Update on Dan Haren: #Marlins hopeful they will have a resolution "soon" on his plans for 2015.

— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 5, 2015"

A market exists for Haren despite his 4.02 ERA and 4.09 FIP last season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Haren started the season well as the Dodgers’ fifth starter, going 5-3 with a 3.16 ERA through his first 10 starts. Then he was smacked around pretty good to the tune of a 3-6 record and 6.52 ERA over 11 turns from the start of June through the start of August.

It got to a point where the Dodgers searched for rotation help at the trade deadline to replace Haren, but he responded wonderfully. In his final 10 starts, Haren went 5-2 with a 2.43 ERA and .191/.220/.307 opponents’ slash line. Aside from ace Clayton Kershaw, Haren was the team’s best starter down the stretch.

Haren was also durable, making 32 starts. It was his 10th consecutive season of at least 30 starts, something only Mark Buehrle can match.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

That is why there is interest in Haren. The San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Oakland A’s are possible destinations, as they all could have rotation vacancies and a reliable, effective veteran starter would fit nicely. They all also have ballparks that would benefit Haren.

The Giants announced Tuesday that starter Tim Hudson underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his right ankle, and while they expect he will be ready by Opening Day, there is always concern when the pitcher is 39. Assistant general manager Bobby Evans told reporters the team is not seeking to add a starter, as noted by Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, but that is with Tim Lincecum or Yusmeiro Petit filling out the back side.

Acquiring Haren would add depth and allow the team to shuttle Lincecum or Petit to the bullpen if either struggles as a starter or to replace Hudson at the start of the season.

The Giants have already inquired about Haren, but that was before they re-signed Jake Peavy about two weeks ago, according to Fox Sports insider JP Morosi.

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Evans: #sfgiants were not actively trying to add a major-league starter before this, and this won’t change, but always seeking to add depth.

— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) January 6, 2015"

The Padres don’t have a pressing need for Haren, but as CBS Sports insider Jon Heyman reported last month, the Padres are one of the teams for which Haren would gladly pitch.

Its rotation fairly set, but Haren is a far less risky option at the back of it than Robbie Erlin or Brandon Morrow. If the Marlins picked up a portion of Haren’s salary—there is little incentive for the Marlins to do this other than appeasing Haren—then San Diego seems like a viable option.

“I don’t know how much more we can do with the pitching,” Padres manager Bud Black told Corey Brock of MLB.com. “We lost some arms in [trades] … but [GM A.J. Preller] replenished that.”

It is possible the A’s explore something here, but they have cheaper rotation options even if they are riskier than having Haren pitch in their cavernous yard.

Despite Haren’s desire to pitch in California, preferably the southern part, Morosi reports Haren will consider other clubs on a team-by-team basis. That opens up the market a bit more but not much.

By this point in the offseason, most teams have their rotations filled out in pencil. A guy like Haren, while he has clear value, is not the kind of arm to make a general manager take the eraser to his preseason lineup card. That could force Haren’s hand—pass up the $10 million and give it to the Marlins by retiring or pitch in Florida.

If Haren retires, the Marlins plan to allocate the $10 million for Mat Latos’ $8.4 million salary, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports. Because an acquiring team is not likely to give up much for Haren, the Marlins could sweeten their return by offering some of that $10 million to help with Haren’s payout, but again there isn’t overwhelming incentive to do so.

The Marlins do not have to trade Haren. They can call his bluff and either get a solid back-end option for their rotation or become $10 million richer without him. But all indications are they will try to accommodate Haren’s wishes.

If the Marlins find a taker for Haren, said team will likely be improving the back of its rotation while also adding depth. Those are valuable assets in today’s game, even if they don’t move the needle.

All that is left for Miami to do is find a team that is suitable to Haren and willing to take an eraser to its depth chart while adding up to $10 million to its payroll. Good luck to all.

Anthony Witrado covers Major League Baseball for Bleacher Report. He spent the previous three seasons as the national baseball columnist at Sporting News and four years before that as the Brewers beat writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Follow Anthony on Twitter @awitrado and talk baseball here.