The Marlins’ signing of Vazquez was indicative of the team’s thinking that Vazquez will have a bounceback year. There are some inclinations that he shouldn’t (particularly his decreased velocity), but you have to figure that last year was just as much an aberration as 2009. He should bounce back into the 4.00 – 4.50 range, we just are unsure about where in that range. And even that is a valuable addition.

The key is that that move has been made, and the team cannot really further improve on their staff. A signing like Pavano would cripple a chance for the Marlins to see if Volstad is worth using, and each of the other rotation spots are assured. The Marlins can easily improve on either CF or 3B because one of those two positions is going to have a replacement level player manning it. Volstad is at least a 1-win starter at his current level.

I’m curious to hear what you think of Nolasco. A lot of our success hinges on Nolasco’s continued bounce back. If Nolasco has a solid year between 2008 and 2010′s performance, we’ll have two guys under 4.00 ERA, two more at around 4.25 (Sanchez and Vazquez presumably), and Volstad as a fifth starter. It isn’t the Phillies’ rotation, but it’s definitely a competitive one.

I think that would be an interesting move for both sides. Sanchez is under team control for another two years and is a solid bet for 2.5 wins in each of those years. Young is something of an enigma but is coming off his best season yet. I feel like Arizona would flinch first and say no, but if they are desperate to clear payroll and strikeouts (as evidenced by the Mark Reynolds trade) they might bite if we add a youngster.