State Of The Marlins
The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson has all sorts of info concerning the state of the Florida Marlins.
- We’ve heard this before – the Fish can’t afford to keep both Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Do you trade the cheaper guy, or the more valuable one? As Jackson says, it really just depends on the offers. It wouldn’t be a complete shock to see both traded if the Marlins received separate knockout offers on each.
- The Marlins are likely to non-tender Miguel Olivo, with an eye on bringing Paul Lo Duca back to Florida to provide veteran leadership for the young pitching staff. Other free agents on the radar: Yorvit Torrealba, Michael Barrett, Jason Kendall, and former Marlin Ramon Castro. Several of these are $5MM players, so the team’s owner would have to sign off.
- Some kind of MLB-ready starting pitching is likely to come back in a Willis or Cabrera deal. But otherwise the Fish will try an injury-discounted guy like Kris Benson. The market has no shortage of these types – Matt Clement, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Jason Jennings, Jon Lieber, and Jaret Wright all fit the mold.
- The Marlins will listen on Scott Olsen, but aren’t opposed to keeping him.
- For now, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Cabrera are staying put on the left side of the infield. Good luck improving the defense.
- The Marlins would like to bring Aaron Boone back for ’08.
Renck’s Latest Rockie Rumors
Rockies beat reporter Troy E. Renck had the scoop on all kinds of Rockie rumors yesterday; I’m just now getting to it. Let’s look at some highlights from his column.
- Renck suggests the Rox take a look at Bob Wickman. Meanwhile, the Phillies actually inquired but aren’t expected to work out a deal. The Indians will take a pass.
- Renck mentions that the Rockies have "long coveted" catcher Paul Lo Duca. Lo Duca should be there for the signing this winter.
- The Rockies will have around $45MM tied up in Todd Helton, Matt Holliday, Garrett Atkins, Brad Hawpe, Brian Fuentes, and Aaron Cook for 2008. Even if the team raises its $55MM payroll, someone has to go. By the way, locking up Holliday long-term will cost a king’s ransom. He’s a Scott Boras client.
- Given the burden of Todd Helton‘s contract and his no-trade clause, he may be immovable. But a .400 OBP is still valuable any way you slice it, so perhaps the Red Sox or Angels will get re-engaged. Renck believes Atkins and Fuentes are the main trading chips to clear payroll though. The Angels and Twins could still use Atkins while the Phils, Red Sox, and Yankees have inquired on Fuentes in the past. Atkins for a Kevin Slowey or Scott Baker just makes too much sense.
Who’s Catching For Mets In ’08?
Paul Lo Duca‘s contract is up after this season. As you may recall, Lo Duca’s reps brought up the idea of an extension at the Winter Meetings in January, but the Mets didn’t want to discuss it yet. Lo Duca, 35, makes $6.25MM this season.
We know catchers don’t age well; there’s a decent chance Lo Duca tanks in 2008 (if not this year). PECOTA might throw him another $5-6MM for ’08, but that’s about it. The Mets are right to hesitate.
Assuming they cut him loose, they could look internally for their new backstop. Ramon Castro might be able to start, or at least serve in a platoon. Castro, 31, has hit a respectable .247/.328/.440 with 15 HR as a Met in 352 ABs. But while Lo Duca has gotten a lot of grief in the New York papers, it’s Castro with the true blemish on his record. It didn’t stop the Mets from signing him initially though; such offenses are often ignored by teams.
Interestingly, Castro could back up Ivan Rodriguez for a second time if the Mets sign him this offseason. Castro was behind Pudge in ’03 for the Marlins. Earlier this week, though, I predicted that the Tigers will exercise Pudge’s $13MM option, if not extend him even further.
The two legitimate free agent options for the Mets appear to be Michael Barrett and Jorge Posada. Barrett is five years younger, and could post his best season in 2007. Plus, the Cubs haven’t really made any effort to extend his contract. Jason Kendall will be out there as well, and he’d probably take a shorter-term deal.