Miami Marlins Sign Kevin Gregg, Bandwagon Emptying

The struggles of the Miami Marlins bullpen has been pretty well documented as of late. The Marlins front office still believes that the 2014 version of the Marlins is good enough to compete for a playoff spot. For that reason, they have been proactive in attempting to sure up the bullpen.

On Sunday, they acquired Bryan Morris from the Pittsburgh Pirates for a draft pick. Today, the team signed former closer Kevin Gregg.

The problem with these moves, neither pitcher is very good. Morris’ -0.8 WAR ranks dead last for qualified relievers and Kevin Gregg has not pitched for a major league affiliate this season and posted a 4.38 xFIP in 62 appearances a season ago.

Gregg, who served as the Marlins closer from 2007-2008, is 36-years old and will work in the minors for 8 or 9 days and join the bullpen. Marlins fans all recall the tremendous and horrifying rollercoaster rides Gregg would put them through, each time he came out to complete a save.

A roster move will need to be made at that point to accommodate Gregg on both the 25 and 40-man rosters.

The Marlins have had two reliable bullpen arms all season, in Steve Cishek and Carter Capps. On Sunday, Cishek gave up the game winning home run to on Sunday and Capps is likely headed towards season ending Tommy John surgery.

The good news is that the Marlins front office is trying. The bad news is that they are swinging and missing, nearly as bad as Jarrod Saltalamacchia did in May.