Dan Uggla

On a 4-game losing streak leaving the team 19-25, and with hopeful ace Ricky Nolasco demoted, the Marlins are not right. In a note, Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald says the Marlins are looking to make a change.

Jackson mentions Dan Uggla as a possible trade chip. Uggla is making $5.35MM in '09, his first year of arbitration, and after an abysmal beginning he may finally be starting to earn it by posting a 1.265 OPS with 4 HR and 9 RBI over his last 7 games.

The Marlins pitchers may lead the NL in strikeouts, but the team's 4.98 ERA is third to last and their 187 walks are tied with the Nats for most allowed.

There are lots of good comments discussing Marlins 2010 options and 2009 trade possibilities in this post.

According to SI.com’s Jon Heyman, Dan Uggla won his arbitration case.  He’ll be paid $5.35MM in ’09 instead of the Marlins’ $4.4MM submission.  2009 is Uggla’s first arb year, so the decision will have a ripple effect on his ’10 and ’11 salaries.

According to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald, Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla will have his arbitration hearing today.  The Marlins submitted $4.4MM, while Uggla is at $5.35MM.  Uggla will sit in on the proceedings.

Juan C. Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel has a chat transcript from Dan Uggla’s Wednesday afternoon appearance on ESPN Radio 760 in West Palm Beach.  During the interview Uggla hinted that he’d like the Marlins to offer him a long-term deal, even if it’s "crappy."

"People would argue that I deserve a long term deal, along with some other guys on our team that probably deserve a long term deal.  But by no means are we saying, ’Oh we are worth just as much as Hanley [Ramirez],’ or anything like that. It would be nice to have them [the Marlins] — to even throw out even a crappy deal just to show us they are interested in keeping some of us around."

Uggla, 28, hit .260/.360/.514 last season with 32 home runs and 92 RBI.  He also stole five bases.

Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post spoke with Marlins team president David Samson on Wednesday.  Samson implied that Dan Uggla probably won’t be traded this offseason.

"Everyone is on the trading block, but some players are more likely than others to get traded and I would certainly put (Uggla) in the less-likely (category) as we speak today," Samson said.

Uggla will recieve either $5.35 million or $4.4 million when an arbitrator decides his fate next month. "Dan Uggla is a very important part of our team. He is being compensated as one of the top first-time eligible position players in history," Samson added.

The Marlins are less than a million bucks apart with second baseman Dan Uggla; the full list shows that this gap is toward the low end.  No matter what happens, Uggla will be the team’s second highest-paid player (Hanley Ramirez will earn $5.5MM in ’09).

Uggla’s agent, Jeff Borris, explained that the Fish are not looking to sign his client long-term:

"The Marlins are not interested in signing Daniel Uggla to a multiyear contract.  We always would be open to listen to anything, but they made it very clear to us they were only going to sign Hanley and Hanley alone."

Regarding new acquisition Emilio Bonifacio, Borris noted that "his price is right for the Marlins."  The author of the blog post, Mike Berardino, suspects Uggla could be traded by the July deadline if not sooner.

Uggla, 29 in March, provides a blast of right-handed power at second base.  He hit .260/.360/.514 in 619 plate appearances.  His defense was well below-average in ’07 but slightly above par in ’08, according to John Dewan’s plus/minus system.  Uggla could be a candidate to play third base if traded.  He is under team control through 2011.  Teams such as the Twins, Angels, and Giants could make sense.