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Marlins To Sign Mark Buehrle

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The Marlins' heavy offseason spending continued today, as they agreed to sign lefty Mark Buehrle to a four-year, $58MM deal, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  The durable lefty will head to the National League for the first time in his career to bolster Miami's rotation.  Buehrle, who spent his entire career with the White Sox after being drafted in the 38th round in 1998, follows former Sox manager Ozzie Guillen to Miami.  This offseason, the Marlins have shocked baseball by committing $191MM to Buehrle, Jose Reyes, and Heath Bell in preparation of the opening of their new stadium next year.

Buehrle

The contract represents a slight bump from Buehrle's previous deal.  He's represented by Jeff Berry of CAA Sports.  Buehrle, 32, has been remarkably consistent, pitching at least 201 innings in every season since 2001.  Buehrle has a pitch-to-contact style, as his 5.1 career strikeout rate attests, and his career ERA is 3.83.  He joins Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, and Ricky Nolasco in what could be an excellent Marlins rotation.

The Nationals were the other finalist for Buehrle, reportedly offering three years and $42-45MM.  The Rangers also topped out at three years.  In addition to Buehrle, the Marlins had been bidding on C.J. Wilson.  Buehrle was quickly priced out of the White Sox' range, and they'll get a supplemental draft pick for losing the fan favorite.

MLBTR writers Steve Adams and Zach Links correctly predicted in November that Buehrle would sign with the Marlins.  Check out our free agent prediction contest leaderboard here.

Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.    

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Comments

    • I feel like the Marlins are reversing the old “can he pitch?” Brian Cashman joke into a “Does he want a massive deal? Yes?  Okay, sign him.”

      • Wilson i think will be playing for the Angels.The Nats will battle my Mets for fourth place for the next couple of years

        • I think the nats will still be battling it out for 2nd or 3rd. they still have Strasburg and Zimmerman and Lannon are getting better every year. and with their line-up as soon as Harper comes up will still be pretty scary. Mets on the other hand, doubt they can even beat a jv baseball team. now that team needs to just pack it up and move. and after they ship out Davis there will be only one good player left on that team. and their pitching dont get me started there lol, aside from pelfrey and niese the rest suck! they need to get rid of Santana. maybe the twins will give you guys back what you gave them for santana lol….or maybe not

        • You clearly do not know enough about baseball to be posting on this site

    • I hope the Marlins acquire A.J. Burnett while they’re spending like crazy.

      He can be their ace.

  6. a bargain compared to Atlanta’s signing of Derek Lowe 4 years ago

    • Its the same deal.  4 years for about 15 million a season.  Buehrle is the most overrated “ace” in baseball.  He is basically a left handed Derek Lowe.  

      • He is younger though, and Lowe’s deal didn’t start off bad, although everyone expected the tail end to get ugly.

        • Florida is where retired people hang out. How are they actually going to fill the arena?

          • easily , because they moved the stadium from ft laudrdale / boca raton area INTO THE HEART OF A YOUNG, BASEBALL LOVING AREA OF MIAMI..Now instead of driving an hour to watch one game i can take the bus and be there in 10 mins MAX..BTW the MARLINS HAVE BEEN THE SECOND MOST WATCHED TEAM IN RECENT YEARS…YOUR PROB FROM SOME WHERE THAT THERE ISNT MUCH TO DO SO YOU GO TO WASHINGTON GAMES EVEN THOUGH THEIR FAN BASE SUCKS AND (NO BODY WANTS TO WATCH  THEM PLAY)..or a team similar..DONT HATE MIAMI IS TAKING  OVER EVERY SPORT,,IT MUST SUCK TO HAVE JEAULOUSY RUN THROUGH YOU VEINS WHEN YOUR IN 30 degree weather and were down here in the low 70’s going to the beach whenever we want…..MARLINS WINNING THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 2012…watch and see cold one watch and see…BTW I KNOW TONS OF PEOPLE WITH SEASON TICKETS ALREADY (before REYES) …SORRY we’ll have to take the yankies out again because you know clevland isnt making it anywhere…….

            • no way theyre the second most watched team. prove that. post some evidence

  8. Buehrle will be fantastic in such a cavernous park. Man, the Marlins are going to be great this year.

      • Cue Buehrle, Reyes, and Hanley (now that it’s reported that he’s staying put) walking out to fireworks and fanfare. They then guarantee “not 7” championships.

      • Well, the field dimensions are almost identical, so there’s that.

    • Unfortunately, he’s a ground ball pitcher.  Gotta hope most of the ground balls go to the RIGHT side of the infield.

    • So the stadium that hasn’t hosted any games is a pitcher’s park?

  9. Holy Crap Batman…I dont think anyone thought he would get 58M

    • amazing isnt it? Now the big question is whats the over/under on years all of these guys stay marlins. I bet in 2-3 years they look to ship most of these players out when the luster of their new stadium goes away and the fanbase continues their usual “not caring about the marlins” routine

      • That long eh?  I figured they’d trade whoever fared worst in spring training before the season even started for some prospects, and then the other 2 at the deadline for more prospects or cheap controllable players.

    • Did the Marlins run into some mafia deal out there? Is Marc Anthony somehow involved!? What is going on

      • They’ve been pocketing their luxury tax $$ for several years in anticipation of this.

  15. Wow. Really surprised Buehrle would go to such a joke of a franchise. Guess it’s hard to say no to 4/58 though.

    • Joke? Loria may be but the team has won 2 World Series and has a great 2012 ahead

      • Fair point. Guess for that money he’ll sign knowing he’ll probabky be traded halfway through the deal

      • The Cubs have also won 2 World Series, so it may not be much of an accomplishment….

        Oh, wait…

      • Well as many as the White Sox have in the last 100, It’s been 103 for the Cubs. I don’t mean to diss the Cubs though, what other franchise on the planet can say we had people that fought at Gettysburg and in the Civil War that saw us win our last championship?

    • The Marlins have actually never lost a playoff series so when they do make the playoffs they do win.

      • Its going to be like the Heat or the Phillies.. they will make it to the Playoffs and everyone will put the pressure on them and expect them to win annnnnnnnnnnd… CHoKE

    • Nope. Buehrle only got a $.5M raise.

      A bit disappointed that the Sox didn’t match on that little of a raise…

  19. Hopefully this means they’re out of the race for Wilson?  C’mon Halos, seal the deal!

      • I think CJ goes to the Nats, and Fielder to the Marlins. Bye Bye Mets.

          • not first place lol. they should just sit at home during the season and let the minor leaguers try to show what they got. prob fair better lol win more games haha

  20. Marlins?  More like Morelins! Get…get it? Because more? Like more free agents? And money.  Or Marlolins. Because laugh out loud bad.

  21. Somewhere Ozzie is swearing unintelligibly in delight! 

  22. So the Marlins have sign Heath Bell, Jose Reyes, Mark Buehrle, and offered to Pujols. This just in, they are also signing “The Kitchen Sink”.

  23. Nice contract for Buehrle. I guess the Marlins need to overpay to get these guys to sign with them

  25. Reyes can’t stay on the field and Buehrle has maybe one or two good years left. The Marlins are setting themselves back for years this offseason.

    • They could always have ponied up 10 years for Pujols… at least these deals are six or less

    • As opposed to what? Continuing to rely on the guys they already have? 

    • Why’s he only got 1-2 good years left in the tank? Didnt realize 32 was terribly old. I seem to remember Cliff Lee signing for 5 years at 32…

      By the way I’m not saying Buehrle is the same caliber player as Lee, but he sure is hell is a 2 on any team, and a 1 on a few…

      • I would never call him a 1, but the type of pitcher he is it’s perfectly fair to give him 4 years, the value of each year may be an overpay though.

    • Buerhle’s got the kind of stuff and durability that could take him into his 40’s.

      Sure, anything can happen, but if you’re giving out a four year deal to a 33-year-old starter, you could do a lot worse than Mark Buerhle.

  26. Really wanted to see Mark in DC. Here’s to you getting lit up by the Nats Mark *raises glass*

  34. Buehrle has officially taken his talents to South Beach. Sorry Nats fans.

      • Middle of the rotation guy???I would definitely say he is the number 2 on this team, and when JJ gets injured, again, Buerhle becomes the number 1

      • Yeah we’ll see how you feel about that during the season. Its always the fans and GM of the team that didn’t sign a free agent they were after that claims he was “overpaid”. CJ Wilson will be over paid, Buehrle is a safe bet in the new ballpark’s huge outfield.

    • Sounds like they may be focusing on Prince now and Pujols to the Cards is pretty much 100% now.

    • we’re out on albert. still going after Prince and Wilson though

  39. Noooooo, :(

    Although that’s pretty expensive I suppose. I didn’t think he’d get more than 13 annually in a four-year commitment.

    • Or Marlins sign Fielder and try to trade Gaby Sanchez and Matt Dominguez for Gio.

  43. Good luck in Miami Buehrle, love you from the south side chicago forever and always <3

    • wow. I know you guys love him up there but your comment looks like something you read on the inside of Valentine’s Day card from Hallmark.

      • i would send him a HallMARK card if i, could telling him that 0.o

  44. I had a feeling Buehrle would end up in Florida this offseason after Ozzie ended up there.

  45. I don’t know i would consider it a fail.  I’d say St Louis took it up their Pujols more than Miami failed…just sayin

  47. Holy crap. The Marlins are tossing around money like there’s no tomorrow.

  48. This is much better than getting CJ in my opinion. Buehrle is the perfect guy to go against the Phillies and their lineup. He is also a great fit for the ball park and the NL in general. I really like this signing for the team. I really hope it works out.

  49. They could now sign Prince, and Wilson for the amount of money Pujols is getting.

    • This is the better option. Lineup with Reyes, Bonifacio, Hanley, Fielder, and Stanton at the top, and rotation with JJ, Buehrle, Nolasco, Wilson, and Sanchez. That’s what I want to see.

      • scary, and if they don’t win with that…..in 2-3 years they’ll start trading

    • How is that possible?

      The rumors are Pujols at $22m AAV. Price will most likely exceed that (though at few years). Wilson will be around $15m. I guess in totality it MAY be possible but you aren’t really comparing Apples to Apples.

      • I didn’t really compare anything, just stated something. I’d rather have wilson+fielder anyway. Not to mention all these contracts they are signing are just rental until they decide to trade off half their team yet again.

      • Doesn’t sound so far fetched now huh??? They had the biggest offers for Wilson, and Pujols on the table. I was right. You were WRONG. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA you suck lol LOL!!!!! HAHAHA

  52. Buehrle and Guillen reunite!

    Should shut up everyone saying the Marlins have no pitching.

    • They need 1 more guy so Volstad can be a thing of the past. This offseason will not be complete if he is still a part of this rotation IMO lol. He is terrible!!

        • I’d prefer a Gio trade. I think Wilson is overrated, especially for the offers that are out there.

      • Everyone who has said it’s such a mistake for the Marlins to chase Pujols (when it’s not).

  53. The Marlins HAVE TO overpay. you gotta give players that extra to compensate for making them dress up in those new clown costumes every day

  54. Beurhle will give the Marlins a good veteran presence. The Marlins are smoking this off season.

  55. Anyone else get the feeling that FLA is making these signings with money they don’t have, expecting a massive revenue growth to cover these future salaries?

    Anyone also get the feeling that they won’t experience the massive revenue growth they are expecting? (cf. the financial state of virtually every professional sports team in Florida).

    • I heard this being talked about the other day on the radio. Look out for bankruptcy hearings in the future.

    • Take Reyes’ contract for example:

      Year 1: 10m
      Year 2: 10m
      Year 3: 16m
      Year 4: 22m
      Year 5: 22m
      Year 6: 22m
      Year 7: 22m option or 4m buyout

      Looks like they are banking on massive revenue increase there.

        • Seriously. As a Yankee fan I’m glad A-Rod’s ridiculous contract decreases every year the remainder of each year.

    • If you’re not from miami you won’t understand the potential they have in growing their revenue and attendance. It’s huge, downtown Miami is hot, the people there are mostly professionals who are very outgoing and into sports, even non baseball fans will just go for the fun. Plus there’s a lot of fans and soon to be fans in downtown miami as well which is just 4 minutes away from the stadium. Then we have the latin community from little havana and other close rural locations who are into baseball as well. And a lot of middle-class Americans and Sports maniacs from Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, South Beach, Kendall, etc.

      The other stadium was located in a more lonely and boring location, less populated area. It was still Miami but like 1 hour from the new stadium.

  56. Middle of the rotation arm getting $14.5 million per? Ouch. Huge Overpay. 

  57. Soooo, When are Reyes, Buehrle, and Bell going to do they’re interview promising not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7 (or whatever that was) championships to Miami????

  58. Why is this not big news net?
    I think he’s the top pitching free agent. Even better than C.J.

  60. This might hurt Albert’s last bit of negotiation leverage for that last $3M or so. I have a hard time buying the Marlins can still afford him. 

  62. YES WE DID

    But seriously, does this remove them from the CJ bidding?

  63. Ohhh this is what it means when you have a shopping spree. I also know, the regret later on that goes with buying and overpaying expensive things.

  64. Am I the only one that thinks the Marlins haven’t gotten that much better with all these signings

    • They’ve gotten better, but yea, not alot I would say. They’ll be a much better team just because they’ll have JJ55 out there…but how long before he gets hurt again?

  65. How r they paying for this? It’s called the Mob and Drug Dealers in Miami. Haha.

    • I am wondering the same thing haha You bring in Ozzie Guillen, Heath Bell, Jose Rayes, and now Buehrle with more to probably come…that is a TON of money spent I didn’t know the Marlins had. I mean I knew they have some money, but that much? No…haha

  66. Are the Marlins’ owners rolling the dice on an all-or-nothing gambit by spending so much money? Is the plan to declare bankruptcy IF the fans don’t turn out and keep turning out? (I don’t think they will keep turning out.)  What happens then?  Do the players get stiffed? Or is MLB on the hook to make good on the payroll commitments?

  67. Over 200 innings every single season since 2001. Only 2 of those season he had less than 3 WAR. Finally the Marlins are addressing needs rather than luxuries.  

    • I agree. He was the one guy I was focused on from the beginning of the offseason. He was a must add IMO.

      • Yea at least with him you know what you are getting for half the price of Wilson. Plus he has a good track record in inter league play if that means anything.  

      • Yea at least with him you know what you are getting for half the price of Wilson. Plus he has a good track record in inter league play if that means anything.  

  69. Heyman says they are still in on CJ and are talking to Prince, too.

      • I honestly am not putting anything past these guys at this point. I’ll believe whatever report is out there haha.

        • I have serious doubts that the Marlins have the revenue to afford all of these guys plus Pujols or Fielder.

          • I have serious doubts that the Marlins have the revenue to afford all of these guys WITHOUT Pujols or Fielder.

          • As do I but they have shown they will shock the MLB with some decisions, so who knows. I doubt they get Fielder or Pujols at this point. I’ve heard that they are considering trading Gaby for pitching and moving LoMo to first. Many things will happen before the season, just no more major signings IMO.

            • If they’re going to trade off their bats then what exactly was the point in getting Reyes? It only works if you add Reyes to Gaby, LoMo, and Stanton. The dumbest thing I have seen is the discussion of trading Hanley…that would negate the Reyes signing alltogether.

              • I agree with the last part but trading Gaby for pitching isn’t necessarily a bad idea..then they could add a cheap guy to play LF.

      • Nope, not when you have that great homerun celebration thing they have in center field. They need someone to hit Homeruns for that thing to go off..so Prince is next..

  70. Yankees spend a over 423.5 million dollars and everyone is F the Yankees they spend too much.
    Marlins spending 190 million and more to free agent..Everyone is shocked and surprised .

  71. He’s been over $15M in WAR Value in each of the last 5 years, but this still strikes me as a stretch. Obviously more the term than the AAV. Good for him though. I can’t stand the White Sox, but it’s hard to root against this guy. 

  74. Can they sign anyone else to excessively overpriced contract. Let see who is next Fielder

  75. while breaking ground on the new stadium the marlins found several 100 kilos of pure white from the 80’s

  77. the marlins are clearly looking to do that 1 strike wonder then sell off their players. they are the only team willing to offer long contracts to guys that maybe getting past their prime.

    17M/yr.. yikes

    could be worst though, you could have AJ burnett for 2 more seasons

  78. So..The new ad for Miami Marlins would be. We spend over 200 million on players,please come to the F**king game so we can make our money back. 

    p.s Heat fans please don’t come late.

  79. Really wanted to see him in D.C… I like the Marlins but they’re starting to get on my nerves, driving up the price on every single goddamn free agent on the market. Anyway, the Nats should definitely go for CJ or Oswalt now.

  80. Ugh, all this talk of the marlins buying free agents up is disgusting

  81. Ugh, all this talk of the marlins buying free agents up is disgusting

    • I would hardly compare Reyes, Buehrle, and Bell to Wade, James, and Bosh….but probably a similar outcome.

      • You have the Phillies and the Braves in your division, you aren’t winning a WS yet.

  86. Quality pitcher but they really overpaid. His velocity is down. He’s a junk ball pitcher now.

  87. So this means they have thrown in the towel on Pujols, realizing they have no chance to snag him? And they don’t seem too interested in Fielder.

  90. Nice signing. He is expected to be a 3.5 WAR pitcher throughout the course of the contract which he has averaged since past few years. Good deal

  91. How long is it going to take for mlbtr to report J-Roll has resigned with the Phils?

    • I saw that a couple hours ago and it was reported on MLB Network but I guess it might not be official yet? Idk heard its a 3-4 year deal.

    • They didnt sign a big three or anything similar…bad comparison. Only similarity is that they are both in Miami. 

  93. I like Buehrle, but $15 mil is way too much for a guy that’s basically guaranteed to put up an ERA of 4 (even if he will make every single scheduled start).

    Reminds me of the Derek Lowe signing without the upside.

    • Look at his stats and tell me how hes guaranteed to put up an era of over 4… since 2001 every single season he has pitched 200+ innings that by itself is worth quite a lot. He keeps his team in games and he will be moving from the AL to the NL. He is also moving to a more pitcher friendly park from what I hear about the new stadium. I love his veteran presence in that rotation. 

      • ERA of 4.  As in 4.00, give or take.  Which is his career ERA (and FIP).

        It’s not bad, but I’d want a lot better for $15mil per year.

        • Well 3.5 and 4 is a pretty big difference in terms of era. I expect his era to drop in the NL too…3.3-3.4 is very possible. 

    • Look at his stats and tell me how hes guaranteed to put up an era of over 4… since 2001 every single season he has pitched 200+ innings that by itself is worth quite a lot. He keeps his team in games and he will be moving from the AL to the NL. He is also moving to a more pitcher friendly park from what I hear about the new stadium. I love his veteran presence in that rotation. 

  94. I like Buehrle, but $15 mil is way too much for a guy that’s basically guaranteed to put up an ERA of 4 (even if he will make every single scheduled start).

    Reminds me of the Derek Lowe signing without the upside.

  95. The Marlins REALLY must think no one is going to show up to their brand new ballpark. Funny thing is, they still won’t.

  96. I wonder if the Marlins would be Interested in A-Rod he’s a home town boy and live’s in Miami…Im sure they would they rather have A-Rod at 6 years 143mil than Fielder at 8 years 180mil or Pujols at 10 years 220mil… It would have to be a 3 team trade…maybe something like…

    Marlin get – Arod
    Nat’s get – Hanley & Burnett
    Yankees get – Zimmerman & Sanchez

    • There is one problem, Pujols and Fielder would be given these deal at age 31 and 27 respectively. A-Rod on the other hand is 36 has six years left and is clearly  in decline.

      • You have to think about it A-Rod at 6 years & 97 mil for the Marlins is a great deal…If they ship Hanley’s 46 mil to the Nat’s it’s only 97mil for the Marlins they can’t lose…And they would only need 3 good years from him anyway…they just care about the star power
        not so much the stats or if he declines say in years 5 or 6…

        6 years & 97mil of A-Rod is a million times better than the contracts Fielder or Pujols will get…Plus they would get hell of revenue when he brakes the home run record

      • Or you Can have Hanley & Sanchez go to the Nat’s…with the Yankees getting Just Zimmerman and the Marlins getting A-Rod and all his salary

        • Good try but I doubt anyone is dumb enough to take on Arod at this point, I see him having maybe 2 more serviceable years. Hes breaking down fast and that hip injury didnt help. No idea why the Nats would want Hanley either…

  98. what is it fans say about the yankees? oh thats right the marlins are buying a championship!!! lol ….hows it feel marlin fans knowing your team is buying a championship ? gotta do what you gotta do to fill seats in that new stadium. give it till allstar break then itll be dead in the seats like the cleveland indians on major league lol

  100. It’s funny to me how Miami fans are so happy right now about these signings..1. They haven’t even done anything yet.. 2.”HEAT”..

  101. So.. When the Marlins miss the playoffs this year, will they trade everyone they signed to get even more prospects than before??

  102. Buehrle is one of the more underrated pitchers in baseball these days, great deal if you ask me even if they did overpay a bit. I just hate to see players leave teams they have been with their entire careers.

    But think about it, Mark is moving to the NL and away from a serious hitters park, he’s going to be outstanding in Miami. Reyes was a sketchy deal to me but the Fish have really upped their pitching staff well.

  103. As a Twins fan I like this move for obvious reasons.

    But still, Buehrle and Ozzie are together again, and it should be a fun summer to watch Miami

  104. Another piece of the Chisox is gone. Watch though everyone is expecting them to slide. They will not be too good this upcoming year, they will however bounce back under the controls of Ventura. He was that kind of a player I expect no less as a manager.

  105. This is a shame. Kenny Williams is normally great with re-signing his franchise players.

  106. If Nationals were unwilling to overpay for the ideal guy (Mark), I don’t think they will overpay for a less desirable option (Wilson). I don’t think our pitching needs are so desperate that we need to overpay of either of these guys. I would have loved to have Mark for three years but too bad. Anyways, our bigger need is CF and I hope Rizzo finds a good solution.

  108. Mark you are a true gentleman, a pitching scholar and a future hall of famer. You will be missed in the city of broad shoulders.

  109. If the Marlins are truly out on poo holes the Cards should probably twist his arm a bit.

  111. What REALLY pisses me off about this is this “debacle” is just the icing on the cake for the past 6yrs. Ever since we won the WS you forever saw KW in front of the camera with chest puffed out talking about “we plan on winning multiple titles”…”we build teams to win WS not division titles”….all this B.S. basically saying (I.M.O.) that this is a new era…we’re going for it EVERY year….and yea, the payroll was considerable….BUT…nothing really changed. Whenever there was an impact FREE AGENT out there, it cost too much money (besides Dunn)..KW prefered to get fleeced on “impact” trades or take it in the pooper w/the waiver wire. ONE year..ONE year removed from going “ALL IN” and getting it handed to us on a platter and here we are running with our tail between our legs calling for a REBUILD! What? We must be a such a joke to the Big Dog’s around MLB….I can just picture Theo and Cashman on the phone…
    “You believe that KW? Thought he could play with us Big Boys and throw money at his problems? HAHAHA, now he’s gonna try and go all MoneyBall on us…hahaha, that Kenny, lemme tell ya”
    I’m so Disgusted with Reinsdorf right now….DISGUSTED! You WILL NOT see me at the Park this year or even supporting their TV/Radio ratings.
    LIFE LONG Fan who is now lost.

  113. I am so pissed the Yankees decided not to sign Buerhle. He gives you 200 Ip a year. Wins 15 games a year and always keeps his teams in games. Not to mention he is a lefty. He would have been a perfect number 3 starter for the Yankees. Sabathia,Nova,Buerhle,Garica,Burnett.

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