FEBRUARY 13TH: The deal is expected to be for three years and worth around $23MM, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times.
12:54pm: Marmol's agent, Barry Praver, arrived at Fitch Park in Arizona today to finalize a multiyear deal for the closer, tweets Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune. The contract extension is expected to be announced Monday, according to Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter).
FEBRUARY 3RD: The Cubs are close to signing closer Carlos Marmol to a long-term contract extension, according to Fred Mitchell and David Kaplan of the Chicago Tribune. The new deal is expected to be announced before Cubs pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training in Mesa, Arizona on February 13th.
The deal would buy out Marmol's remaining two years of arbitration eligibility for 2011 and '12 and perhaps lock him up beyond that. The righty had asked for $5.65MM in arbitration with the Cubs countering at $4.1MM. Marmol is the Cubs' final remaining arbitration-eligible player, as our Arbitration Tracker shows.
Marmol, 28, is coming off an excellent season in which he posted a 2.55 ERA and a whopping 16.0 K/9 en route to 38 saves. He gets it done with an extreme blend of strikeouts, walks, and flyballs.
Not surprised, if he cuts his walk numbers in half then he’d probably be easily considered baseball’s best closer after Mariano.
If he did that, he’d definitely be the best. Mo is the greatest reliever overall, but he’s old and he wasn’t even among the best last year. I would rather take Soria over him at this point to be honest, Marmol too.
Some of Mo’s numbers went down last year and like the rest of non-yankee fans I’m waiting for age to kick in, but I’d still put him in the top 5, maybe top 3 closers in baseball.
As for Marmol, I’d say last year he definitely must of hit most people’s top 5 closers list. His H/9 and K/9 rates were awesome. But I’m sorry, conventional wisdom suggests his BB/9 rate will come back to bite him.
You need to start watching Yankees game friend
I agree. He is a K machine. on a side note I just checked the Cubs website and apparently they have a BIG 3 rotation…..huh I thought it was more like a big 2. Since when does Carlos Zambrano qualify as a big pitcher anymore?
He’s kinda big around the waist
And we have a win-nah!
maybe they meant big as in weight, he is a 250 + pounder
He should be already. He was .4 WAR better than the next best reliever (3.1 to Brian Wilson’s 2.7)
Marmol already has a career batting average against of .174. If he cuts his walks in half he’ll be considered Jesus Christ. For comparison, Mariano Rivera’s career BAA is .210.
4/34 sounds about right.
Carlos has dirty dirty stuff. It wouldn’t be far off to say that he has the best stuff in the majors right now. If he could harness it and get his control down he would be almost impossible to hit because he is very tough to hit now and his control is average at best.
There are lots of guys with nasty stuff but with control problems worse than Marmol’s. I’m sorry I just really hate to crown anyone the best at anything when how it is measured can be called into question. Good relief pitcher, no doubt.
It can be measured to a certain extent with 16 K/9. That is down right nasty. I agree “dirty stuff” is partially up to interpretation but his K/9 points down the right road.
Here’s to hoping he finds the signature portion of the contract better than he finds the plate.
See above.
this is a guy i’ve REALLY wanted to see pitch but haven’t had a chance (being a Jays fan). his K/9 and H/9 numbers are just off the charts. The walks are a clear issue, but this guy seems pretty much untouchable.
It’s pretty fun watching him pitch. He makes really good hitters look silly with that slider.
I visited Wrigley for the first time ever last year and he closed it out against the Braves.
His walks are an obvious problem but I believe part of how untouchable he is and how high his k/9 is party related to how wild he is. If he cuts down the walks I think it will almost equal out because his K’s will go down and his WHIP might stay about the same with people getting more hits off of him. It is just one theory but I would like to see him cut down his walks and see what does happen.
Never seen him pitch live, but I love watching cubs highlights on Sportscenter and seeing Marmol walk the bases loaded, then get the next three guys in order. I swear he has made someone shat their pants with that slider. If he can get ahead in the count more this year, the kid will be one of the best closers in the game.
Agreed, you don’t see too many guys hit him hard if they even do make contact. Hitters aren’t the only ones shatting their pants either, us cub fans need a new pair after he walks the first 2 or 3 guys lol.
Good closer. This would be a nice move the cubs.
Marmol’s slider is so nasty, it’s hard to believe he’s not putting extreme strain on his arm that will eventually catch up to him. It usually does with guys who’s stuff is so extraordinary.
Agreed. Hopefully the new pitching coach can work with him in smoothing out his mechanics. His current violent delivery is not built for the long haul.
If he learns just a little more control and composure, he could easily be the most dominant closer for years to come. He stuff is that good, but comparing him to Mo Riveria is embarrassing.
i think these people mean his stuff is as good.
He never had a chance to save more than 15 games. If he had closed in 2009 the Cubs would have made a serious run at the division or wild card. Kevin Gregg was awful.
Kevin Gregg IS* awful
it’s a shame too because the Orioles have a pretty good team now.. they won’t be better then third with Gregg closing games.. besides the signing a Derek Lee they improved alot… Vlady will help alot too
this is honestly a bad move they are going nowhere for 3-5 yrs for one.. they finally have a real pitching coach who will be able to teach him control and how to pitch .. they could get alot for him in July … he’s their only player who could bring back a ML player right now..
You are delusional. Stop watching baseball, because you have no idea what is going on.
does anybody know what kind of money/years the cubs are talking about with Marmol?
Three Years in the $22MM to $25MM range. They’re trying to buy out one year of free agency and all of the arbitration years. If he puts up similar numbers again, $7MM per year would be pretty reasonable at arbitration or in free agency.
If he could cut down the walks he would be one of the best in the game. That 16 Ks per 9 is crazy. Its just he can walk them loaded than strike them all out. This deal would have been a no brainer without those fly balls and walks.
Marmol was lights out last yr but I don’t think I’m going to like this move. Closers are fickle creatures.
long term deals to closers always work out great…. not. It is the cubs though, they need to start stock piling more terrible contracts as they’re finally going to start shedding some next year.
When guys like Scott Linebrink get 4 year deals for $16 million, I wouldn’t call a 3 year, 22 Million deal for Marmol a bad deal.
Three years, oh no! The sky is falling! Quick, take a jab at the Cubs before it is too late!
Please. It’s a reasonable deal just on its own merits, and even moreso when you consider how mediocre the Cubs bullpen was last year and exactly how badly that cost them. No team in baseball, regardless of league, division or overall record, lost more one-run games than the Cubs. Only four teams played more. A strong bullpen is an absolute must going forward, and locking up key pieces to that success to reasonable deals is important.
3/22 for Marmol…writing’s on the wall. The days of $10m+ for any but the most elite closers are over.
I can’t believe he has more BB’s allowed than hits
385 innings, 235 hits, 252 walks, but an amazing 500 K’s also
Killer slider and a wobbling fastball. Can he repeat last year’s performance? Hendry sure does have a terrible track record with long term contracts. Perhaps the J.P.Ricciardi of the National League?
Again, how is 3 years a “long term” contract? What is a wobbling fastball? He throws 94-95 mph.