Kuzul

I love when players and agents use their degrees from Common Sense University. It’s not often these degrees are used, so when they are it brings a smile to my face.

After a couple of failed trips in the American League, it was pretty clear that RHP Javier Vazquez belonged in the National League. For what ever reason, when Vazquez pitches in the AL, he turns into the ghost of Daniel Cabrera.

So when it was announced on Sunday that Vazquez signed with the Florida Marlins, I thought, here’s a guy who used his degree from Common Sense University. Regardless of what happens during the regular season, this is a good initial signing by the Florida Marlins.

The Marlins signed Vazquez to a one-year, $seven million contract according to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com. The deal includes a no-trade clause and the Marlins can’t offer him arbitration after the 2011 season.

As we all know, Vazquez was a disaster last season with the New York Yankees. He had a 5.32 ERA and towards the end of the year, he was a complete non-factor in the Yankees’ playoff push.

The Marlins are hoping that a return to the NL revitalizes Vazquez and he can enjoy some success again. They would love for him to return to his 2009 Atlanta Braves form.

Take a look at Vazquez’s career splits in the AL and NL:

As you can see, not only did I use his new Marlin colors to illustrate the difference in Vazquez’s performance in the AL and NL, but he is better across the board in the NL.

I don’t think Vazquez will be as good as he was in 2009 with the Braves (2.87 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.8 K/9) and I don’t think he will be as bad as he was with the Yankees last season. I think he will fall somewhere in between.

Somewhere in between means an ERA in the high-three’s, 2.5 BB’s/9, and about 7.8 K’s/9 in 190–200 innings pitched. That’s not a bad season by anyone’s standards.

Vazquez should slide in nicely in the No. 3 or 4 spot in the rotation behind Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco and Anibal Sanchez. Chris Volstad will round out the very deep rotation for the Marlins.

Vazquez joins John Buck, Ryan Webb, Omar Infante, Mike Dunn and Edward Mujica as significant pieces the Marlins have added this offseason. Despite their flurry of moves, I still think the Marlins are a third place team in the NL East. They are still a very weak defensive team.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has reported that the Florida Marlins have inked former Yankee, Javier Vazquez to a one-year deal worth $7 million. The deal also includes a full no-trade clause.

This is a risky move for the Marlins because Vazquez is coming off a terrible year with the New York Yankees. Fortunately for the Marlins, Vazquez has been a better pitcher in the National League. It’s a big move for Vazquez because he needs to bounce back after his sub-par 2010 season.

This move adds a veteran to the Marlin’s young starting rotation and can potentially be a great move if Vazquez returns to his 2009 form. Vazquez will need to forget about his 2010 season in which he post a 10-10 record with a 5.32 era. Just a year before his dreadful season with the Yankees, Vazquez won 15 games with a 2.87 era with the Atlanta Braves. The question for the Marlins is which Javier Vazquez will show up for them?

Vazquez has been known to be an innings-eater and a strikeout pitcher, but he will need to regain his confidence in Florida. The National League is where Vazquez belongs as it seems he just could not deal with the pressure of the American League and New York.

Vazquez is entering his 14h MLB season, and the Marlins will be his sixth different team that he has pitched for. 

Vazquez has had stints with the Expos, Yankees, Diamondbacks, White Sox and Braves. During his time with five different clubs, Vazquez has earned his way to a 152-149 record with a 4.26 era.

Source: Ken Rosenthal on Twitter

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The Florida Marlins have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent starter Javier Vazquez worth in the $7 million range, along with a full no-trade clause and the inability to offer arbitration next offseason. 

Coming off the Dan Uggla trade, the Florida Marlins were looking to use the intended salary on free agents to fulfill other areas of need. The Marlins signed catcher John Buck to a three-year deal worth $18 million earlier this month. 

Vazquez struggled in his second stint with the New York Yankees this past season, going 10-10 with a 5.32 ERA. Yet the Puerto Rican has a history of being a National League pitcher, with a career 4.02 ERA in over eight seasons there. He went 15-10 with a career-low 2.87 ERA in 219 1/3 innings with the Atlanta Braves in 2009.

In Vazquez, the Marlins are getting an innings eater who has averaged 211 innings in the past decade, and his acquisition could provide relief to the bullpen if they have been used too frequently on a given stretch in the season. 

Baring any injuries or struggles, Vazquez’s addition to the starting rotation will make the Marlins a legitimate threat in the NL East, if not a dark horse like this past seasons’ San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds. He joins an all right-handed staff that has Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. He is expected to be the teams’ No. 2 or No. 3, depending on spring-training performance. 

In his career, Vazquez is 2-2 in eight games at Sun Life Stadium, with a 4.95 ERA and 1.28 WHIP.

Fish Frying the Hot Stove 

The Marlins have been among the most active teams in the early weeks of the offseason as part of their plan to increase payroll as they get closer into the new ballpark.

The Marlins have traded Dan Uggla, Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller in separate deals for a combined package of infielder Omar Infante and pitchers Mike Dunn, Edward Mujica, Ryan Webb and Dustin Richardson. 

With the winter meetings coming up, the Marlins seem far from done in making major moves. The team has been rumored as one of the teams interested in Arizona’s Justin Upton, and Vazquez’s arrival could pave the way for the team to deal Ricky Nolasco if contract talks don’t progress. 

The Marlins have another possible starter in Alex Sanabia, who was 5-3 in 15 games (72 1/3 innings) with a 3.73 ERA as a rookie this past season, if any such trade leaves a hole in the rotation. 

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Right handed pitcher Javier Vasquez agreed to a one year deal with the Florida Marlins.

It was reported that Vasquez had turned down a multi-year deal from another team, which only shows he wants to make himself a front of the rotation guy again, and get a great offer after 2011.

But for now, the deal is known to be somewhere around $7 million, according to baseball insider Ken Rosenthal.

Vasquez, 34, joined the New York Yankees early this year, hoping to carry over his dominant stuff  from the Atlanta Braves to the American League. He failed, posting a 5.32 ERA which is certainly not impressive.

But now that he will be back in the National League, it looks as if Vasquez can regain his 2009 form, where he finished 4th in the Cy Young voting. That year, he finished at 15-10, with an ERA of 2.87. Notice the fact that all the other interested teams in Vasquez were all National League teams: the Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, and the Chicago Cubs.

This all makes sense for the Marlins.

The team’s priority this offseason was to add depth to the entire team, and this agreement helped.

Also, Vasquez is an experienced veteran, so this was an excellent addition to the young staff.

This $7 million deal was possible, after the Marlins let go of slugger Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves. At least there was some positive side to that.

Florida now has added two veterans, Vasquez and catcher John Buck. They had also received a good hitter in Omar Infante and a bullpen upgrade in Mike Dunn.

The best guess at this point is that Florida will go for a playoff run, and if that does not work, they will trade some of the players, like they did with Cameron Maybin, or Uggla and get even more prospects for the future.

It looks as if this team is up this, but it’s hard to tell this early. Only time will tell.

Javier Vasquez just needs to pass a physical, and this great deal will be official.

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Come March, when Spring Training rolls around, the Florida Marlins will without a doubt turn to Matt Dominguez for a shot to claim the third base job. Originally, Chris Coghlan was destined to man the hot corner until the Dan Uggla and Cameron Maybin trades left him in the outfield only this time in center. 

But what if Matt Dominguez isn’t ready with the bat? His defense is major league ready at this point but at 20, many wonder whether the offense is a year or two away. He hit .252/.333/.411 with 14 HRs, 81 RBI in 138 games. 

If the worst case scenario were to occur and Dominguez end up back in AA Jacksonville, who can replace him at third base?

One automatic name that pops up is Emilio Bonifacio, the team’s speedy utility player but the last time he maned third base, he committed 14 errors in 86 games back in 2009. 

Even with the presence of Perry Hill, Bonifacio is better suited as the teams’ bench, pinch runner, and occasional starter perhaps taking over for Chris Coghlan, Omar Infante or playing a third when a player needs a day off. 

That leaves one available free agent bargain who was an Oakland Athletic since 1998, Eric Chavez. Let’s take a look at why the Marlins should pursue Chavez as third base insurance policy. 

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While it appears as though the Florida Marlins would love to sign Javier Vazquez and for Vazquez to end up reuniting with fellow countryman Edwin Rodriguez in Miami which would be closer to his hometown Puerto Rico, it looks as though it may be out of their price range, as he is reportedly seeking three years, $33 million. 

After trading Dan Uggla and getting back Omar Infante’s $2.5 million salary for 2011 and signing John Buck long-term ($4.5 million in 2011), the Florida Marlins have $3 to $4 million left to spend on the free agent market. 

Owner Jeffrey Loria and Larry Beinfest are hoping to use the intended Uggla money on a fifth starter to complement Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad. 

As it stands now, the ball club could go into spring training with Alex Sanabia (5-2, 3.66 ERA in 12 starts), Sean West (8-8, 5.03 ERA in 22 career starts) and minor leaguers Tom Koehler (16-2, 2.61 ERA in 28 starts in AA Jacksonville) and Elih Villanueva (14-4, 2.26 ERA in 28 starts in AA Jacksonville) as possible candidates for the fifth spot but rather than using it on another area such as the bullpen or in the infield, the team is intent on finding a veteran fifth starter.

Last season, the team gambled on Nate Robertson, and that experiment failed as he went 6-8 with a 5.47 ERA in 19 games. 

If the Marlins’ intention is to indeed pursue and acquire a veteran fifth starter, here are five cheaper alternatives to a more expensive Javier Vazquez or Carl Pavano.

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On Nov. 16, the Florida Marlins shocked the baseball world by trading Dan Uggla.  Despite all the rumors that have surrounded Uggla over the years, the Marlins had always neglected to move him.  Until now that is. 

Not only was the trade surprising in and of itself, but the team who the Marlins sent the mighty second baseman Uggla to was a shocker: their National League East rivals, the Atlanta Braves. 

The early consensus around the baseball blogs was that the Marlins got a poor return, that they made a bad choice, and that losing Dan Uggla will hurt them in 2011.  

Its easy to see why losing an offensive force like Dan Uggla would hurt a team.  He is the only second baseman to have hit 30+ home runs four years in a row, and has hit 27 or higher in all five years of his MLB career. 

Uggla, while not a RBI machine, has never put up fewer than 88 in a season, and he topped out at 105 in 2010.  In fact, Uggla had his best season in 2010 when you look at his WAR and triple slash line. 

In 2010 Dan Uggla put up 5.1 WAR (he was worth 5.1 more wins for the Marlins than a “replacement level player”), that 5.1 WAR was actually better than Hanley Ramirez’s 4.4 WAR season. 

Uggla put up a triple slash line of .287/.369/.508, which are all career highs except for when he slugged .514 in 2008.

However, I don’t think the Florida Marlins need Dan Uggla’s bat for the 2011 season.  I even think that the 2011 Marlins will be better without the two time All Star, according to WAR.

In 2011 the Marlins will run out a new fourth hitter on opening day because Uggla took his bat and moved up Interstate 75 to Atlanta; that man will be phenom Mike Stanton. 

In his first 100 MLB games the 6’5″ 233-pound Stanton ripped 22 home runs and doubled 21 times to the tune of a monster .507 slugging percentage (.001 less than Uggla). 

Before that, in double A ball, Stanton hit 21 home runs in only 53 games while slugging .729.  So in 2010, Stanton hit 43 home runs in 153 games over two levels. 

Mike Stanton has power that scouts have been raving about since he was drafted in the second round of the 2007 draft.  Stanton is also heralded as the strongest player in the entire MLB, and the sky is really the limit for this guy.

Stanton is projected by baseball projections guru Bill James to hit 38 jacks in 2011, more than Dan Uggla has ever hit. So, I think Mike Stanton can clearly make up for the presence that Dan Uggla used to provide the lineup.

Now I know that before the trade, Dan Uggla and Mike Stanton were both Marlins, so the fish could have run both mashers out there.  Which, using Bill James’ projections would have produced 69 home runs. 

Yet, I think, by moving Uggla, the Marlins actually will produce more wins, and a similar amount of home runs, than if they had kept him, from the positions affected by the moves. 

By trading Uggla, the Marlins added Omar Infante a solid infielder, and were able to sign slugging catcher John Buck to a three-year contract and add his power bat to the fold. 

So the savings that Florida got from moving Uggla, they smartly used to upgrade another position.

In 2010 Uggla was worth 5.1 WAR (his career high), but in 2010 Buck and Infante combined for 5.6 WAR, even though Buck only appeared in 118 games, and Infante only played in 134. 

It took Uggla 159 games to amass his 5.1 WAR.  So, if Infante appears in 150 games and Buck catches 130, they should easily beat out Uggla in terms of WAR, by a decent margin, which will result in more wins for the Marlins. 

Also Infante and Buck aren’t far off in the power department, as they are only projected to hit seven fewer home runs in 2011 than Uggla.

All in all, the Florida Marlins felt it was safe to trade Uggla. I agree, and think that it was the smart move. 

In 2011, and for his whole future Marlin career, the 2010 “should have been rookie of the year award winner” Mike Stanton will easily produce at levels that can replace Uggla’s bat in the Florida lineup. 

Also, new arrivals John Buck and Omar Infante can produce more WAR, measured in wins, for the 2011 Marlins than fan favorite Dan Uggla would have, while playing better defense and hitting a similar number of long balls.

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I didn’t think I would ever say this, but thank goodness for the Florida Marlins.

I say this because if it wasn’t for them, there would be nothing but awards given out so far this offseason. The Marlins have been baseball’s most active team so far and on Wednesday, they were at it again.

Buck will be the Marlins’ catcher for the next 3 years

The Marlins signed All Star catcher John Buck to a three-year, $18 million contract. Buck hit .281/.314/.489 with 20 HR’s last season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

I understand the catching position has been a black hole for the Marlins for the past couple of seasons, but I have to call nonsense on this one.

I have a hard time believing that a guy who averaged .235/.301/.404 with 12 HR’s in his career prior to 2010 and then all of a sudden breaks out to have a career in 2010 is worth a three-year, $18 million deal. It sure sounds like Buck had an “Adrian Beltre” year to me.

Marlin catchers hit a combined .226/.289/.338 with nine HR’s last season, so the addition of Buck based on last year’s numbers appears to be a serious upgrade. However, it seems to me that the Marlins are paying Buck for what he did in the past and not what he is likely to do in the future.

What Buck is likely to do is have a year that resembles his average prior to his 2010 season. All of a sudden that .235/.301/.404 Buck has put up in years past doesn’t look like much of an upgrade.

With the addition of Buck, here is what the Marlins’ starting lineup could look like come Opening Day:

Chris Coghlan, 3B

Omar Infante, 2B

Hanley Ramirez, SS

Mike Stanton, RF

Gaby Sanchez, 1B

Logan Morrison, LF

John Buck, C

Emilio Bonifacio, CF

The “keys” to that lineup as I would say are Coghlan, Morrison and Buck. If Coghlan can bounce back, Morrison continue to develop into the star he is going to be, and Buck has the year he had in 2010, all of a sudden that Marlins’ lineup looks really good.

But I don’t think Buck has the year he had last year, and at the end of his second year, this will look like a pretty bad deal for the Marlins.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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ESPN announced Tuesday that the Atlanta Braves have acquired three-time All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla from the Florida Marlins for utilityman Omar Infante and pitcher Mike Dunn.

Uggla had not signed a contract extension with the Marlins and a trade was inevitable. The Marlins wanted to get rid of Uggla after not coming to an agreement on a long-term contract extension. Uggla made $7.8 million last season, and is set to become a free agent after next season.

The arrival of Uggla is quite the insurance policy for the Braves. Uggla can play almost every infield position, but Braves general manager said that Uggla will play at second base. However, we could see him play different positions in case long-time Brave Chipper Jones suffers an injury at third base—or if rookie first baseman Freddie Freeman struggles to live up to expectations.

Wren said of Uggla, “We’re satisfied he’s here for one year. He’s a kind of guy we’d like to make long-term.”

The general manager would then go on to say, “For several years now, we’ve been looking for a right-handed bat in our lineup, a legit 30-home run guy, and Dan gives us that. It gives us more balance, that one focal point in the middle.”

According to reports, the Marlins organization offered Uggla a three year, $24 million contract. Uggla declined and counter-offered with a five-year, $71 million contract. The Marlins declined, thus leading to the trade on Tuesday. A source said that the Marlins upped their offer to a four year, $48 million offer, but Uggla still remained negative.

Fox Sports reported that Uggla had also drawn interest from the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Nationals, and Giants. The Tigers were also reportedly interested in the second baseman.

Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said, “It’s sad to see him go, but we’re happy with the people we got back. I really think that we put our best foot forward and tried to keep him as a Marlin, and it didn’t work out.”

“There could be a little downturn in the power, but it’s a different look now for the Marlins to get the high average, high on-base guy,” Beinfest continued. “And then hopefully the guys in the middle, Hanley Ramirez and Mike Stanton, can drive those guys in.”

Uggla is now re-united with manager Fredi Gonzalez, who the Marlins fired in June. Gonzalez was hired by the Braves last month as the heir apparent to Braves long-time manager Bobby Cox.

The Marlins have been rather busy this offseason and can be considered the most willing team to “wheel and deal.”

Florida was busy last week as they dealt outfielder Cameron Maybin to the Padres for two relievers, and also traded pitcher Andrew Miller to the Red Sox for reliever Dustin Richardson. However, both players were quintessential pieces in the Dontrelle Willis trade that sent him to the Detroit Tigers in 2007. It appears that the Marlins have given up on their two prospects, but a change of scenery may be good for both players.

The Marlins have also agreed to terms on a contract with catcher John Buck—sources say the deal is three years and worth $18 million (Some reports also state that the deal is worth $20 million). Buck had a breakout year with the Blue Jays last season—he batted .281 and hit 20 home runs, along with 66 RBI.

Over five seasons in Florida, Uggla hit 154 home runs and is the Marlins’ all-time leader in that category. He has been elected to the annual All-Star game three times and won his first Silver Slugger award this season. He batted .287 last season and hit 33 home runs, along with 105 RBI, both career highs.

Omar Infante, the newest Marlin, made his first All-Star team last season and hit a career-high .321. He also hit eight home runs, along with 47 RBIs.

Infante is expected to fill Uggla’s shoes at second base, and like Uggla, he can play practically every infield position.

Mike Dunn, a rookie last season, went 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA in 25 games. The left-hander is expected to immediately bolster the Marlins’ pitching staff.

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The Florida Marlins have been making extreme tidal waves thus far this offseason with the trades of Dan Uggla, Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller and are about to make even more with their reported interest in Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton. 

For the Marlins, their interest has come from left field, never have they been this active in trying to improve their team, this early in the offseason in quite a while. Part of it could be attributed to the eerily quiet offseason last year, where the Marlins made no big additions and ended up paying for it in the standings with a 80-82 record after their lofty expectations of a playoff berth. 

According to reports and sources, a package of Logan Morrison and Ricky Nolasco would be enough to land the 23-year-old outfielder from Arizona, who was the first pick in the 2005 First Year Player Draft. 

Nevertheless, the Marlins have been in negotiations to sign Ricky Nolasco to a long-term extension. Back in October, Nolasco’s agent Matt Sosnick said the sides had agreed on the number of years, but were “about 20 percent” off on the salary. He also anticipated talks to pick up again in November or December.

If contract talks go south (the Dan Uggla route), expect for trade talks to pick up with Nolasco’s name attached. Back in July, Nolasco had his name mentioned in trade rumors in when the team was hovering around .500 coming out of the All-Star Break but after pulling together a win streak they kept Ricky Nolasco and saw themselves as buyers. 

Nolasco was 14-9 with a 4.51 ERA in 26 stars in 2009 and can become a free agent after the 2012 season.

The Marlins would rather make a deal like this now than next offseason ahead of their new ballpark when they would would themselves as a championship-caliber team. 

Yet any such trade is seen as a long shot because the Marlins value pitching and would be lacking in that department after Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, and Chris Volstad. Acquiring Justin Upton at the cost of trading Morrison would likely mean that Chris Coghlan remains in left field versus going to center field if no trade occurred. 

On the other hand, acquiring Justin Upton would be benefical for the Marlins since he is locked up through the 2015 season (five years at $49.5 million left), with a similar dollar amount offered to Dan Uggla (four years, $48 million). Upton is expected to earn $4,250,000 in 2011 and along with John Buck’s $6 million annual salary would almost total up to the $12 million allocated for Dan Uggla had he signed a long-term deal. 

The Marlins expect to raise payroll after the upcoming season to be aligned with the middle of the pack which is expected to be anywhere from $75 million to $85 million so Upton’s latter years of the deal which rise into $14-15 million a season shouldn’t be a holding point. 

At the end of the day if any deal happens, it probably wouldn’t be until December when Winter Meetings roll around and when the Marlins have had enough time to iron out contract talks with Ricky Nolasco but the way this offseason has gone you just never know what might happen next. 

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