Names The Marlins Should Look Into

[love_that_reefer]

The Marlins had gotten off the a great start but have now fell to earth losing six in a row. The Marlins have weaknesses but still have the pitching to keep them in the race all year long. Even after losing six straight, they still have a 1.5 lead in the East as the first month of baseball is coming to a close. Here are just a few players I think the Marlins need to look at to give them a better chance to win.

1. Jim Edmonds- He slugged .568 in 250 at-bats with the Cubs after a horrific start for the Padres. Edmonds finished last year with 20 HRs and a .822 OPS while still playing above average defense. The Marlins are weak in the OF and Cameron Maybin is off to a dreadful start hitting .189/.271/.302 with 22 K's in 53 AB's. Edmonds could help mentor Maybin and give the Marlins a veteran OF who can play all three outfield positions. Marlins really don't have that veteran leadership on this team and more importantly it wouldn't cost the Marlins anything from their farm system or a lot of money. They wouldn't have to trade anything for an upgrade. Edmonds could do a lot of good for the Marlins and he has been working out in SoCal getting back in shape for a May return. I think he would be a great fit for the Marlins.

2. Mike MacDougal- I know he's not the best reliever in the world but the Marlins do need some help. He was designated for assignment by the White Sox and not likely to be claimed off waivers thanks to his $2.7 million salary this season so it is very likely he will be released when he clears waivers. The Marlins should take a shot on him because if he is released, the Marlins can get him for cheap while the White Sox pay the bill. Mike struggled early this year giving up 6 ER in 4.1 IP but a move to the NL and a pitcher's park could help him get back on track. A fresh start could do him some good.

3. Luis Vizcaino- Luis is basically in the same boat as MacDougal being designated for assignment by the Cubs. He too will likely be released and the Marlins should take a shot in him. Unlike MacDougal, he has not given up a run this season through 3.2 IP. A fresh start and a pitcher friendly ballpark could so him some good as well.

4. Josh Barfield- The Indians aren't using him and Barfield is currently hitting .375 in AAA. He played third and the OF this spring and of course is a second baseman by trade. He could help spell Bonifacio and Uggla and be a nice pinch runner off the bench. The Marlins don't really have an option off the bench to backup second base right now. Barfield wouldn't cost the Marlins much in a trade and he is very affordable. Barfield seems to have recovered fully from surgery on his middle finger last year which caused him to struggled last year. Barfield could do some good for the Marlins.

These are just some players that fit into the Marlins needs and finances. None of these players would cost much and they could be of use for the Marlins. This was just off the top of my head and if you have any players you think the Marlins could use, please list them.

[browntown653]

This thread could be co-titled "Names The Yankees Should Look Into."

[love_that_reefer]

Haha, it very well could be

[browntown653]

I know Edmonds is old and well past his prime but I'm surprised somebody hasn't at least taken a flier on him at this point. He'd be more productive even at his age then plenty of outfielders around, and at least in a platoon vs RHP.

[love_that_reefer]

More productive than Maybin at this point anyway. Odalis Perez is an option for the Marlins rotation as Matthew Pouliot from rotoworld suggests.

[cjkalt]

If Pedro realizes he isnt a 6 mil pitcher the Marlins should look at him at 2-3 mil

[love_that_reefer]

Marlins aren't even going to pay that for Pedro. I thought about him as an option but he just cost way too much.

[love_that_reefer]

Marlins can add Casey Fossum to that list after being designated for assignment yesterday. He's a lefty but that's about all that he has going for him but maybe the Marlins could get a couple of good months out of him.

[bcshorts]

To me, the Marlins have three huge problems. Well, more than that, but for simplicity's sake, we'll say three...

First, their defense is awful. It has been for the last several years, and only a slight improvement has been made. They rank tenth in the NL in fielding percentage and ninth in defensive efficiency. That's better than last year, when they were even closer to the bottom.

Secondly, their bullpen is worse than awful. Lindstrom, as predicted, has done badly in the closer's role. From what I understand, Fredi Gonzalez plans to stick with him and live through the growing pains, so there may be no change on that part. The rest of the bullpen has arguably been even worse, though, and the only thing to do about it is switch it up. I agree completely with the two relievers you mentioned, especially Vizcaino. They will not finish above .500 if drastic changes aren't made in their pen.

Third, they lack a quality leadoff hitter. The entire difference between their record and a .500 mark can be explained by Emilio Bonifacio. When Bonifacio gets two or more hits, the Marlins are 5-1. When he gets one or none, they are 6-6. Not to mention that during their recent six game losing streak he has gone 3-21, while he was hitting .321 before. Bonifacio isn't a long-term answer at the top of the lineup, and neither is Cameron Maybin. And considering they are both entrenched in the lineup, the Marlins have a big problem.

OK, I was going to keep it simple, but I can't. Because none of this is surprising. Nothing has changed from the preseason, when the Marlins lacked depth, defense, and pitching. They are a team filled with below average players centered around two or three quality players and a superstar. The lineup is not deep, it is not good at getting on base, and it is not going to get better. Even with Hanley Ramirez, they are middle of the pack - at best - in all offensive categories within the National League.

Their sole hope rests with either Bonifacio or Maybin turning into a quality .360 OBP leadoff hitter within a few weeks, and that's just not going to happen. Their rotation, though solid at the top, is not nearly strong enough to carry them through a season with average hitting, bad defense, and a dismal bullpen.

Josh Johnson, Chris Volstad, and Anibal Sanchez have been awesome so far, but they're pitching way over their heads right now, with a combined 2.44 ERA. And the rotation still only ranks fifth in the NL. Sure, Nolasco is going to pitch better, but those other three aren't going to come close to 2.44. Hitting 3.70 or so would be impressive enough, and that's not even likely. What we have is a very average rotation that will be great in another year or two. But they're not there yet.

The Marlins are still an average team, at best, in a strong division. They will struggle to finish in the top two of the NL East. They do have a chance, if only because of the horrific pitching coming out of Philadelphia and New York. However, those teams have better lineups and certainly better bullpens, and have the experience and consistency to finish highly. Atlanta is a different discussion, especially with the many injuries currently hurting them, but are a better, deeper team than the Marlins.

So here we sit again, mesmerized by the hype and promise of talented pitching and speedy youngsters. And in another five months we'll look back, realizing that it wasn't so hard to predict a sub-.500 finish for the fake fish from Florida.

[love_that_reefer]

I can't believe how many people are down on Lindstrom so early. Its quite ridiculous. Its like no one remembers he missed the last two weeks of ST because of shoulder problems and this is basically his ST. His last outing was embarrassing but hadn't pitched in a week pior to that. Gonzalez hasn't been getting him the work he needs. And to say the rest of the bullpen has been even worse is incorrect too. Nunez has been great and Calero has been a nice surprise. Atlanta's bullpen is worse than the Marlins in the bullpen dept.

Johnson, Sanchez and Volstad have not been pitching over their heads. They are good pitchers who are performing well. Not a surprise. Nolasco is a disappointment so far too. Mets and Phillies are not as strong in the rotation as the Marlisn. Mets are threatening to blow up the rotation so that should tell you something.

Right about the depth but that can be solved which is why I wrote this piece but wrong about the sub-.500 finish. You say nothing has changed in the preseason but nothing has changed from last year either when they were 7 games above .500.

[bcshorts]

For the record, I was down on Lindstrom preseason, which I think was posted somewhere.

Atlanta's bullpen is not worse than the Marlins, but that's not the discussion. They are both bad right now. The difference, though, is that the Braves have proven names at the end of theirs in Gonzalez, Soriano, and Moylan.

Calero should probably be the Marlins' closer.

To say Johnson, Sanchez, and Volstad aren't pitching over their heads means you think they will finished the year with a combined ERA of approximately 2.44. Want to make a bet?

Nolasco will be fine, and will probably finish the year as their best SP, or second best behind Johnson.

I agree that the Phillies and Mets are weaker in the rotation than the Marlins, but they make up for it in many other areas.

And depth is a problem, but the biggest problems are the three I mentioned. A leadoff hitter is, in particular, important.

John Baker is great at #2, but there is no one at #1. And that's going to kill the Marlins.

Bonifacio's current .308 OBP is especially impressive.

[love_that_reefer]

Yes, the Marlins bullpen is better than the Braves and was brought up only because they play in the same division and you seem to think they are somehow in better shape than the Marlins. Braves have proven names sure but you don;t win by the name n the back of the jersey. I'd take Nunez over anyone in the Braves pen. I know you were down on Lindstrom before the season saying they will miss Gregg which couldn't be further from the truth. Lindstrom is better than Gregg but just behind everyone else because of that injury. As of April 23rd, the Marlins had the fifth best bullpen ERA in all of baseball. Ain't a funny what a weekend can do raising that ERA to over 5?

Lindstrom should be the closer with Nunez next in line.

No, saying that Johnson, Volstad and Sanchez aren't pitching over their heads means they should be doing well since they are very good pitchers. That's not to say they will keep a 2.44 ERA in the least bit. They all should have sub-4 ERAs because they are very talented.

Marlins offense isn't that weak and can score runs with the best of them. Currently 4th in runs scored and that's with Uggla struggling and Hanley with just two homers.

Leadoff is not that big of a problem because they can always move Hanley back to leadoff until someone else's bat warms up. I'd rather them not but its an easy fix. It worked for them last year. Depth is a bigger problem and an easily fixable one.

Paulino has been a great backup for Baker which is nice.

Everyone knew Bonifacio was going to fall to earth so this is no shock. His defense is still valued at third though.

Any thoughts on the actual subject of this thread? We all know your thoughts on the Marlins by now.

[bcshorts]

You are so retarded.

Nunez is better than Soriano, who has a career 2.85 ERA and 1.03 WHIP?
Nunez is better than Gonzalez, who has a career 2.70 ERA and 1.20 WHIP?
Nunez is better than Moylan, who has a career 2.55 ERA and 1.16 WHIP?

Yet Nunez has a career 4.89 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. So yes, of course he is better.

Not to mention that the Braves also had the nice blow up that the Marlins did when the Braves blew a seven run lead against the Phillies is the first series of the season. So I guess we should apply these exceptions across the board, or no?

Also, if pitchers who are going to have sub-4.00 ERA's (which are your words, and imply somewhere between 3.50-3.99) currently have a 2.44 ERA, that usually means they are pitching over the heads. We'll take a combined 3.75 ERA as most likely for those three. Projecting that over the course of the season, that would be allowing approximately 80 more runs than their current pace. That accounts for something like 7 wins. But of course they're not pitching over their heads. 7 wins is nothing...

The Marlins' offense also took significant downgrades from last season, by replacing offensive guru (I joke) Mike Jacobs and Josh Willingham with Bonifacio and Maybin. That actually is a huge loss of power and runs, and probably a downgrade in OBP as well.

Oh, and how the hell is Bonifacio's defense valued at third? Do you just pull this stuff out of your ass? Bonifacio's minor league fielding statistics are just terrible. He has a career .965 fielding percentage at 2B in 573 games. No 2B who played more than 70 games in the majors last year had a fielding percentage less than .975. Re-read that. And now you want to move him to 3B? Not to mention that in 59 games at SS he had a .955 fielding percentage. No shortstops who played over 100 games had a fielding percentage less than .967. Yeah, let's move him to third.

Of course, he can't be much worse than Cantu. But he isn't much better either.

[love_that_reefer]

I'm retarded? Why, for seeing talent over names on the back of a jersey?? For not putting a lot of faith in three guys coming off surgeries or injuries?? Yeah, I'm just so retarded Gonzalez hasn't been healthy in over two years but magically will regain his old form. Its not even a question right? Moylan is coming off TJ surgery this year so he is nothing automatic and not likely to regain his form this year either. Soriano barely pitched last year and had to have surgery om his elbow as well. Three guys with big health issues. Braves did have a blow up this weekend and still have a worse bullpen. What's your point? They had a worse one before and now after. But what do I know? I'm just the retard that would take a reliever who has posted back to back quality seasons over three guys who haven't done shit in over a year and coming off surgeries

You seem to missing the point of the Marlins pitching over their heads. They are pitching well as expected by most who know what they are talking about. You thought they would suck for some reason but they aren't. Johnson has ace stuff and showing it. This is all a sample size so of course the 2.44 ERA won't last all season but they are pitching as expected thus far hence not overachieving. Nolasco is actually underachieving so far. The Marlins rotation is real whether you like it or not and pitching as expected. Marlins are 5th in rotation ERA and will be around there all season long.

Marlins lost some production but can still score runs with anyone. If Bonifacio conitnues to struggle, they can always call up Sanchez to play first and Cantu to third to get the offense going.

No, I didn't pull things out of my ass. Its called keeping up with what scouts say and watching the actual games being played. Silly me! He has really taken to third where most scouts said he was going to have to move anyway. Boy were they right. Bonifacio is head and shoulders above Cantu at third and proving it with each passing day. Since he is the best third baseman they have defensively, he is valued. Not hard to see but you hold onto those minor league fielding percentages at a different position. He will have his errors but will be better than anything thing they've had since Lowell left.

Guess you have no thoughts on the actual subject of this thread. Thanks for participating and just repeating your anti-Marlins rants

[cjkalt]

The Marlins should look at Fossum for sure...

But to comment on the previous few threads,

Nunez has only pitching 90 innings the last 2 years, so he's proven he can be okay in low workload siutations, now that the Marlins are on a pace to have him pitch 80% more innings than he has done the last 2 years, the most innings he's ever pitched in a season was 53 IP and that season he had an ERA near 8 so I don't think you can say its a sure lock at all

Gonzalez and Soriano are more proven that Nunez in their roles, are they an injury risk sure but they definitely have the superior talent and are better relievers. There is no way LTR that you can say that the Marlins bullpen is better, Lindstrom has been struggling and hasn't ever done a good job in the closers role so its definitely a concern.

The reality though is that neither of these bullpens are that good, Nunez's ERA last year would have put him dead last if he was in the Red Sox bullpen. Both of these bullpens are average but the Braves do have the better pen.

Also if you move Hanley to leadoff, then you have a huge gap in the middle of your lineup, the Marlins don't have an answer there. Also you can't say Sanchez will boost the Marlins lineup when he hit below .200 in spring training against inferior pitching than he'd seen in the Major Leauges.

Also you can't just assume that Nolasco will be the same, he's on the blacklist of pitchers who are in trouble for worse stats and increased injury risk based on increasing in the number of innings and pitches thrown.

So both of you should stop about the bullpens, neither one is good, the Marlins have a hole at the leadoff spot and its a concern.