Michael, do you have any idea as to why we didn’t go for Jon Garland? he’s 31 and pitched 200 innings with a 3.47 ERA last season, and he just signed a one-year deal for $5 million (plus incentives to $8 million max), while pretty much at his prime. We instead decided to sign what looks like a 50/50 chance at a washed up Vazquez for at least $6-7 million guaranteed?

I admitted that this was an excellent question. In addition to the Jon Garland signing, yesterday we found out that the Texas Rangers signed Yorvit Torrealba to a two-year deal worth $6.25M. Why are these two incidents interesting to Marlins fans? They are intriguing because the players may indeed not have been all that far off from the guys the Marlins signed, Vazquez and free agent catcher John Buck. Yet the Marlins will be spending a ton more on their pair of players than the Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers signed. So why did the Fish do what they did? Let’s compare the guys involved.

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All of that is to say that the Marlins don’t often splurge on free agents. As we all know, their typical method on acquiring players on the free agent market involves finding low-priced bargains and hoping that they come out in a big way. That is how the team always acquired its relief pitchers, and that is how they often plugged gaps such as the third base position in 2008 (Jorge Cantu) and the catcher hole before 2005 (Miguel Olivo).

The signing of Vazquez is a different approach than these. While those previous moves certainly panned out well for the team, they are nevertheless extremely rare occurrences, even for a team with as good a scouting department as the Marlins supposedly have. The Vazquez deal signals another method for low-rent team building, that of looking for medium-ranged bargains with high upside. In short, the Marlins are finally taking risks, and I think it is the right move for the team.

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We’ve already discussed Vazquez is some detail in this blog, so Marlin Maniac readers should be well aware of the risks and potential rewards of this deal. Barring the physical, Vazquez should become a Marlin, but I think this physical, typically a mere formality for these deals, is highly important for the Fish in this case. Vazquez’ arm didn’t look the same in his second disastrous stint with the New York Yankees, and if he performs in a similar fashion this season, the Marlins will have thrown away a good deal of cash (terms of the price were not disclosed as of now).

But if he does perform well, and if last season’s issues seem to be resolved, the Marlins will receive a windfall of benefits.

(EDIT: Ken Rosenthal reports that the Vazquez deal is in the range of $6-7M. Pretty good deal.)

(EDIT: More from Ken Rosenthal. The Marlins have him under a no-trade clause, which I think is understandable. Unfortunately, they also wrote in that they cannot offer arbitration, which makes one of my later points null and void. Still is a decent deal, but now it’s more strictly “boom or bust.”

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For those of you who read my bio, you know that I started off as a bandwagon Marlins fan, becoming a full-fledged fan during their 1997 run to the World Series. I am thankful for that run because it brought me into the world of baseball for the first time and really enthralled me. After watching Edgar Renteria slap that base hit into center field, plating Craig Counsell in extra innings to win Game 7 of the World Series over the Cleveland Indians, I was hooked. I could not get enough of Marlins baseball, and I am thankful that it happened early in my life because the memory was romanticized beyond its actual value. I may not remember much of my time as a second grader, but I do remember sitting on the floor, watching NBC and listening to that Bob Costas call for the game. It is forever etched in my mind, and because I romanticized it so much, my tie to baseball was forever sealed, regardless of what happened afterwards.

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Javier Vazquez isn’t a Marlin yet. But contract negotiations to bring him to Florida have gotten “hot,” according to one source familiar with those discussions.

Vazquez has been atop the Marlins’ shopping list for a week, since the trade of Dan Uggla freed up money for a veteran starting pitcher. And sources within the industry told ESPN.com late Tuesday that the club’s negotiations with the 34-year-old right-hander were “moving forward.”

It’s viewed as unlikely a deal would be finished until after Thanksgiving. But other clubs that have expressed interest in Vazquez are now saying they’re pessimistic about their chances of signing him.

This is interesting news for a team that usually never spends its dough on free agents. What I particularly find intriguing is the risk involved in a player like Javier Vazquez. Last season, he pitched very poorly, and it wasn’t all bad luck. His velocity has dropped and he was pitching more outside the zone than he had in previous years. Combine that with his advanced age (he is 34 years old) and those factors could be a sign of a rapid decline.

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