Marlin Maniac » Jorge Cantu

Miami Marlins 2012 Season Preview: The Bullpen

Ehsan Kassim — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 19:20:29 +0000

Depending on Juan Oviedo‘s immigration status, the Miami Marlins 2012 bullpen could already be set. Oviedo who is still battling VISA issues after admitting he had been playing under an assumed name of Leo Nunez, has yet to be cleared to return to the USA. When he does return, the Marlins believe that the MLB will step in and suspend Oviedo for lying about his name.

Sept. 21, 2011; Miami, FL, USA; Florida Marlins relief pitcher Leo Nunez (46) throws against the Atlanta Braves during the ninth inning at Sun Life Stadium. The Marlins won 4-0. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

A question that remains about the Marlins bullpen is how many people will be in the bullpen. The Marlins could carry just 12 hitters, meaning they would have 8 pitchers in the bullpen. If the Marlins decide they want to carry the usual 13 batters, then there will be 7 pitchers in the pen.

The pitchers that already have a role locked up in the Marlins 2012 bullpen are the following:

Closer-Heath Bell
Setup-Edward Mujica
Setup-Steve Cishek
LOGGY-Randy Choate
Middle Relief-Michael Dunn
Middle Relief-Ryan Webb

That is already 6 bullpen spots accounted for. The competition could be either for one or two spots depending on the Marlins decision of how many batters and pitchers they want to carry.

I have always been a believer in carrying an extra pitcher. You always want to be safe, not sorry when it comes to the amount of pitching you carry. Injuries are a major problem for pitchers all the time. The Marlins have been especially unlucky in this matter, it feels like.

Under the assumption that the Marlins decide to carry 13 hitters, as most teams do all the time, lets take a look at how the bullpen competition should shake out.

The Marlins would likely to be seeking to fill the long-relief role that has been vacated since Burke Badenhop was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays. Here are the candidates that will look to win a chance to have that role.

(more…)

A look back at the Marlins 2011 Top 30 prospects

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 09:30:13 +0000

Today, we will take a look at the Marlins top 30 prospects for the 2011 season and see how they fared. It is not a deep minor league system and the Marlins have addressed that and plan to rebuild the system going forward. Matt Dominguez, 3B- After failing to capture the starting third base job [...]

A look back at the Marlins 2011 Top 30 prospects - Marlin Maniac - Marlin Maniac - A Miami Marlins Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

With 40-man roster full, who could be on the chopping block?

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:00:02 +0000

When closer Heath Bell officially becomes a Miami Marlin he will max out the Marlins’ 40-man roster. With the Marlins just beginning to make signings, the question is who will the Marlins remove from the roster if/when they add free agents? The non-tender deadline is December 12, so a few spots could open up, but until then it will be full. Here are some candidates to be removed from the Marlins’ 40-man roster:

Arquimedes Caminero- The 24-year-old righty only made one appearance in 2011 and it was on June 23 for the Gulf Coast League Marlins. The Dominican native was added to the 40-man last off-season after spending 2010 in Low-A Greensboro. In 48 games out of the bullpen, he owned a 3.01 ERA with a spectacular 97/34 K/BB ratio. He is known as a flamethrower but hasn’t ever put it fully together. With his injury and not too much to offer than a heater, he could be easily removed if the Marlins sign someone else.

Evan Reed- One of the two players the Marlins received from Texas at the 2010 deadline for infielder Jorge Cantu, Reed made one Double-A appearance that year before going down with an arm injury that required Tommy John surgery. In 2011 Reed made 19 appearances between the GCL Marlins and the Advance-A Jupiter Hammerheads. His numbers weren’t amazing, but that’s expected coming back from Tommy John. Reed did pitch in the Arizona Fall League for the Surprise Saguaros. In 12 games in the Fall League, Reed posted a nice 2.57 ERA and a 16/5 K/BB ratio. The Marlins already invested a lot into Reed, 25, this far, so they may opt to keep him with the hope that he can contribute in Miami in 2012.

(more…)

Marlins right to transition to new era

Michael Jong — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 18:26:26 +0000

Before this season, I thought that the 2010 season for the Florida Marlins would be represent a franchise turning point. With players like Dan Uggla, Cody Ross, and Ricky Nolasco closing in on an expensive third season of arbitration, the Marlins would have an interesting decision to make. On the one hand, the team had enough of a nucleus and a successful enough 2009 campaign that they could have competed for a Wild Card berth. On the other hand, with those expensive salaries piling up in the near future and those players getting older, the team could have transitioned from the 2006-era Fish to the new era of Marlins baseball headlined by top prospects such as Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison.

Every instinct told me that the Marlins would go for the former option. Notoriously despised owner Jeffrey Loria almost fired Fredi Gonzalez for not making the playoffs last season, even though a playoff berth wasn’t expected of the team to begin with. I felt that the team would botch their opportunity to adopt the youth movement in order to pull off an average season overall and save face with the critics who say that the Marlins are cheap and unwilling to retain players.

Though the team may have been forced due to injury or ineffectiveness, I will still give them credit for going forward with the transition to a new era for the Marlins, the “new stadium” era, if you will. It was a compromise with going all in with this mediocre core through 2011 or moving forward in a new direction, and the Marlins did a solid job of taking the best of both worlds.

(more…)

Power outage cause for Marlins’ offensive ineptitude?

Michael Jong — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 18:06:36 +0000

Remember the 2008 season? We had just traded Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis and the fans were already feeling bad for themselves coming off of a 71-91 season. The Marlins were looking bleak on the offensive side of the ball, losing their best hitter and potentially replacing him with a crew of journeymen including Jorge Cantu and Jose Castillo.

Well, it seemed like it turned out fine in the end. The Marlins scored a respectable 770 runs that season, led by a quartet of infielders who pounded over 25 home runs each that year. The team of Cantu, Mike Jacobs, Dan Uggla, and Hanley Ramirez belted a combined 125 home runs on their way to career years (Jacobs not included). The team averaged 4.75 runs per game, and all was good with the offensive world.

Two seasons later and the Marlins are struggling with a .500 record and floundering offense. The Fish are scoring just 4.49 runs per game this year, eighth in the National League but a far cry from the 4.7+ run averages the team had posted the last two seasons. Coinciding with that has come a curious power outage from quite a few of the team’s expected power sources, particularly Cantu, Ramirez, and Cody Ross. Could this outage be the cause of the team’s offensive struggles?

(more…)