Yes, I know that San Diego is tight on budget due to the weird ownership situation. You guys too will be working on a little less than usual; the Chase Headley situation in particular may be tricky.

I think the Malins traded a season too early, but I doubt that Maybin will turn into a whole lot more. I don’t think he’ll ever be more than an average player, which is a good thing to have, but not something which the Marlins can wait two or three years for. It remains to be seen, but I think the move just now will turn out to be a neutral one in the years to come, and that’s probably what both teams felt (with SD banking on better upside).

we are going thru the same thing here in San Diego, with Chase Headley, who was deemed “The Jewel of the Franchise”, in the minors, but has played more like The Joke of the Franchise. Now he benefits from “Super Two Status” and is due something close to 2 million dollars. That money could and should go towards a little more starting pitching or infield help, but a guy who only hit 11 homers, but has 139 strikeouts to show for it and no idea of how to hit with RISP, is about to get paid and clog up the budget at the same time.

So, I know a little something about what affordable talent should look like.

It helps to get a little insight from a Marlins fan who knows more than I do about your coaching staff there, and what they look for from their prospects. I just happen to think they may have traded him a little soon, but we’ll see. And if the centerfield siutation there doesnt work out with Cohglan and whoever else they’re going to throw out there, you guys are kinda laying your head on the chopping block. But I could be totally wrong and either way, neither team gave up the world to get the guys they wanted.

Good Luck in 2011…

First off, welcome to Marlin Maniac!

I’m not wishing anything away. I think the Marlins could have afforded to wait another season and continue to monitor Maybin’s progress. I’m a little disappointed that the deal only netted relievers in return. But look at it from the Marlins’ angle:

1) There is a distinct possibility that Maybin’s swing and plate discipline is busted beyond repair. BP’s Kevin Goldstein mentioned that some scouts thought it could be fixed, but others thought that messing with the mechanics may knock out any power potential he may have. That was a comment made before the 2009 season, almost two years ago. His swing has always been thought of as long, and the Marlins have been trying to fix it. You have to believe that the Fish’s coaches have more knowledge on Maybin’s swing and strikeout issues than the rest of us, so I would prefer to defer to them rather than to my own scouting opinion.

Also, your example of Heyward wasn’t the best choice. Take a look at their career K% in the minors:

Maybin: 23.1%
Heyward: 13.8%

Heyward was younger and played less in the minors, but there were never any complaints about his strikeouts in the minors. When he reached the majors, his patient approach led to more strikeouts, of course. It’s a natural expectation from a player who moves from the minors to the majors. The difference is that Maybin has a less refined approach at the plate and has more of a strikeout problem. Combine that with a lack of power at the moment, and you can see why the Marlins were concerned that Maybin would never be all that productive.

2) The relievers don’t have to be great, I suppose. Mujica seems like more of a throw-in, with Webb being the main target. I’m not terribly happy that we traded Maybin for relievers, but the team was fairly desperate for arms to help a poor bullpen last season.

With regards to what the Marlins wanted, I wouldn’t want to make too many assumptions. I’m assuming you are commenting here as a Padres fan, as it sems you know them pretty well. The Marlins wanted Maybin to play well, but it seems they were not confident that would happen. However, the Fish have no current plans to make “big splashes” in either the trade or free agent market to fill the CF gap. They’ve already mentioned that they are going to try a number of in-house options for the position.

Part of the reason the front office seems to lack patience is due to its strapped financial situation. The Marlins can only afford to give players a trial run through their pre-arbitration years. If they struggle during arbitration, the Fish would be spending money without getting much return. Because of that low budget, that’s not a luxury they can afford. Players need to develop quickly in this system or else they’ll get too expensive for the Marlins to afford. Maybin did have a year left before he possibly became a Super Two player, but the Fish might have thought that this was the best they could do given what he had already shown.

I appreciate the comment though, as it’s always great to foster a healthy discussion. Thanks!

1)Unless his hitting mechanics were incredibly bad, how does one justify trading a potential 5-tooler, because he strikes out too much at barely 23 yrs of age?..that just seems silly to me. There are other “studs” playing right now, who have been more heralded than Maybin, but have struck out more or are projected to strike out more than him, Jayson Heyward is one of them, and he almost won rookie of the year, with 128 K’s in 143 games.

2) Do the Marlins really think that Edward Mujica is going to be the kind of back of the bullpen guy that they really need?…his numbers here are VERY deceiving!…he didnt walk guys for the most part, but when hitters got to him, they usually hit the ball out…Im not talkin about doubles, singles or triples…Im talkin homeruns. Here in SD, when we saw him come into games, we would close our eyes and wish for the best.

Webb is the surest thing to a solid set up guy/closer that I can think of right now….and all of his stuff moves. NOTHING he pitches is straight and all of his breakinng pitchers have extremely late movement, including his fastabll. But like Maybin, he is much too young to call a “guaranteed pay off”

Lets get a grip here..

whats getting lost in this equation of how qucikly the Fish wanted Maybin to progress is the fact that they’re moving into a brand new ballpark in 2012. And personally, I think what they would like to do is to have a ‘splashy acquisition’ in CF..someone older, maybe, who is already somewhat established.

Add to the fact that Larry Beinfest isnt among the more patient GMs in the game, having gambled and traded the top overall pick in Adrian Gonzalez, in 2003, for a veteran closer in Ugeth Urbina, to help them get to the WS in 2003. Im still convinced to this day that if the Marlins had not made it to the WS that season, he would not have a job right now. And even tho they won it in 2003, there are STILL fans there in Florida who think that trading Adrian was a big mistake.

When Adrian got here to SD, first of all, he wasnt even thought of as a guy who was gonna start because Ryan Klesko was the 1st baseman here at the time. If Ryan had not been injured, we dont know that Adrian wouldnt have been flipped yet again, in another trade. Only because the general consensus then, was the leftie hitters struggled in PETCO, BADLY.

Given that fact and further proof of that by the decrease in power from Klesko and Giles, Adrian could very well have been traded again…even Kevin Towers, the GM then, said a cupla years after Adrian came to prominence that he didnt expect him to be very good because most leftie hitters in PETCO didnt do well.

Saying all that to say,if the Padres took a gamble on the best draft pick of 2000 and benefitted from the production he has given us, the least that Florida could have done, given all the talent they’ve had come from their farm system, was to wait on Cameron Maybin a little while longer.

Like a lot of teams, Im getting the feeling that the Marlins analysts and scouts are trying to diminish what Maybin really is, so that they dont have to face the music where it involves trading him too soon.