Marlin Maniac » 2010 » July

Marlins swap Ohman for VandenHurk

Michael Jong — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:11:12 +0000

In a move quite similar to the one pulled two seasons ago for reliever Arthur Rhodes, the Marlins dealt starter prospect Rick VandenHurk to the Baltimore Orioles for lefty reliever Will Ohman. Let’s cut to the chase and ask what this move will do for the Marlins.

What we give up

The Marlins officially gave up VandenHurk today, but it seems as if they had given up on Hurk for some time now.

Following a solid 82-inning performance in 2009 during which VandenHurk showed a changed approach and significantly better control than in previous seasons, the Marlins still passed him up for the fifth rotation spot. Despite a lack of great options at the fifth starter position, the Marlins decided to acquire an outside option in (what appears now to be a washed-up) veteran Nate Robertson rather than hand the position to one of the incumbent players. Of the incumbents, both VandenHurk and Andrew Miller were the oldest, and thus the most likely to be given up on by the Fish.

The Orioles should get an interesting pitcher, however. Hurk still has his fly ball/home run issues, but could have significantly improved his previous control problems by moving to the slider. The O’s have a stacked future rotation lined up, led by the trio of Brian Matusz, Chris Tillman, and Jake Arrieta. However, VandenHurk still has plenty of service time remaining (five years of service time) and may be worth a gamble in return for a one-shot reliever signed in the offseason.

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Cantu trade the right move, any moves left?

Michael Jong — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:49:20 +0000

A couple of days ago, the Marlins dealt Jorge Cantu away for a pair of minor leaguers, Evan Reed and Omar Poveda. I won’t pretend to know what these players are all about, but I’ll let prospect maven Bryan Smith of FanGraphs fill us in:

[Poveda] never had a particularly good fastball, so there has to be some concern that he’ll return to the mound without a heater to speak of. If so, it’s unlikely to project that he’d be able to carve out a big league career. But, he was a guy that had a feel for a change-up and curveball, and will likely come out of the gate pitching backwards. It’s not a sexy career path, and it’s an unlikely one to work, but again, it’s a near-free shot in the dark for Florida.

The better chance at providing actual value to the Marlins is Evan Reed. A third-round pick in the 2007 draft, the Rangers drafted the Cal Poly closer with the intention of making him a starting pitcher. Doing so for the 2008 season was a bit of a disaster — between the California League and pacing himself, Reed lost his abilities to strike people out and keep the ball in the park. It clearly was misguided, and the Rangers acted swiftly last year, moving him back to the closer role. Reed responded with a 12.0 K/9 and 0.2 HR/9. He was over his head in the Arizona Fall League, however, allowing three home runs in limited work.

The Marlins may get nothing from either player and it would still be ultimately a good move. What could the Marlins possibly have gotten for Cantu over the next two months? Maybe half a win the rest of the season? The Marlins were definitely not going to resign Cantu, as evidenced by rumors that Chris Coghlan would have moved to third if Cantu was dealt had Coghlan not injured himself. The team was prepared to move on without Cantu, so getting any return would have been useful. It also seems as if Reed is a halfway decent bet to make the majors.

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Coghlan injury assures status quo

Michael Jong — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:28:38 +0000

Editor’s note: Posting will be sporadic between yesterday (Monday) and Wednesday, as I am preparing to move out of Gainesville, FL. After Wednesday, you should see a little more of me. Thanks for the patience, loyal reader(s). -MJ

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Extending Uggla would be a mistake

Michael Jong — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 20:26:41 +0000

As we approach the trade deadline, rumors swirl as usual about the fate of many players, including quite a few Marlins. My general opinion is that the Marlins should be dealing this season, as 2010 is more or less over in terms of playoff contention and the team has a few players heading into their third year of arbitration that might get too pricey for the limited payroll. I make the argument, among other points, in this season’s Marlin Maniac Trade Deadline Primer, which you can check out and purchase here.

Amidst the news of potential interest in Marlins players such as Cody Ross and Jorge Cantu, I was shocked to see this little ditty from ESPN’s Jayson Stark (H/T MLBTR) about Dan Uggla.

…Now it appears the Fish have decided that Uggla’s bat is such an irreplaceable commodity that they’re more focused on trying to extend his contract and commit to him as their second baseman as they move into their new ballpark in 2012.

This report seems somewhat substantiated by this blog post by MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro (H/T HotStove.com), claiming that the Marlins are considering options beyond 2011, though nothing has been decided.

What? Given the price tag on Uggla, I had figured he would either be traded or not tendered a contract at some point before the end of this upcoming offseason. Now there seems to be talk about extending Dan Uggla past 2011, his final arbitration season?

As much of a Dan Uggla fan as I am, I can tell that this is not a good move.

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Robertson paves the way for Volstad return

Michael Jong — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 20:39:43 +0000

After last night’s ugly loss, it is not all that surprising that the Marlins designated Nate Robertson for assignment (along with sending backup catcher Brett Hayes to the 15-day DL) and brought up reliever Jorge Sosa to replace him. This move comes with a few interesting implications, which I think are worth mentioning.

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