White Sox To Acquire Martinez, Marinez For Guillen
THURSDAY, 1:15pm: The White Sox announced that they assigned the contract of right-hander Ricardo Andres to the Marlins to complete the deal. Andres appeared in 12 games at Rookie Ball this year in his first professional season. The 20-year-old posted a 6.32 ERA in 15 2/3 innings, striking out 11.
TUESDAY, 1:36pm: The White Sox will also acquire reliever Jhan Marinez, tweets Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Marinez, 23, posted a 3.57 ERA, 11.5 K/9, 6.5 BB/9, and 1.1 HR/9 in 58 Double-A relief innings this year. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked Marinez fourth among Marlins prospects, citing a "combination of great stuff and immaturity." Marinez has a closer repertoire, wrote BA.
10:21am: The White Sox are expected to acquire infielder Osvaldo Martinez and a minor league pitcher from the Marlins for manager Ozzie Guillen, tweets MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez. Guillen was released from his contract by the White Sox yesterday, with the Sox retaining compensation rights if he manages another team in 2012.
Martinez, a 23-year-old shortstop, hit .245/.296/.322 in 371 Triple-A plate appearances this year. Prior to the season, Baseball America ranked him fifth among Marlins prospects, saying he profiles as a "solid No. 2 hitter" with a strong arm, good instincts, and soft hands at shortstop. At that time, BA saw a future as a versatile but quality utilityman the worst-case scenario for Martinez.
The last player-manager trade in baseball took place nine years ago, when the Devil Rays traded outfielder Randy Winn to the Mariners for Antonio Perez as well as the right to negotiate with manager Lou Piniella.
Ozzie’s Four-Year Deal Worth About $10MM
New Miami Marlins managed Ozzie Guillen was introduced today, and MLB.com's Joe Frisaro says his four-year contract is worth about $10MM. His $2.5MM salary represents almost a 40% increase over the $1.8MM he was earning with the White Sox.
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria says he “could not be happier” that Guillen is going to lead the team into its new stadium, according to Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post. And the skipper himself promised an energetic team that will play hard and deliver results.
"Hopefully I can bring energy flavor, enthusiasm but the most important thing – a winning team,” Guillen said. "As long as I am here I'm going to promise you, you're going to see a ballclub that will play hard. It's not about Ozzie – it's about Miami Marlins.”
Capozzi notes (Twitter links) that Guillen rejected the Marlins' first contract offer. Team President David Samson told Guillen that he loves his Twitter activity and noted that it comes with responsibility.
Ozzie Guillen Links
New Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen tweeted today that it's "weird to be in Miami," but he's very happy and ready to go. Today's Ozzie-related links…
- Guillen's contract with the Marlins is expected to run through 2015, according to ESPNChicago's Bruce Levine. In that same article, Jayson Stark explains how Ozzie's farewell blog post last night was erroneously published at MLB.com.
- Guillen didn't give it his all in 2011, explains Jim Margalus of South Side Sox, becoming disengaged with setting his lineups.
- Ozzie is worth the risk for Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, writes Yahoo's Jeff Passan.
- The parting of ways "needed to be done on both sides," White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko told Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune.
- Many of the Sox's number crunchers avoided the dugout during batting practice due to Guillen's dislike of sabermetrics, notes Gonzales.
- The Marlins "immediately become far more exciting" by landing Guillen, writes Scott Miller of CBS Sports.