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He’s outta here! Heath Bell heads to D-Backs in three-team trade

20th October 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     

In what was a rather quick and unexpected chain of events, the Miami Marlins managed to trade former All-Star closer Heath Bell to the Arizona Diamondbacks as a part of a three team trade involving the Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Oakland Athletics.

The Arizona Diamondbacks received CL Heath Bell, along with cash from the Marlins and INF Cliff Pennington from the Athletics. The Oakland Athletics received CF Chris Young from the Diamondbacks. The Miami Marlins received Oakland Athletics 3B prospect, Yordy Cabrera.

 

During a disastrous 2012 season, Heath Bell posted a 5.09 ERA and eventually lost his closing role to Steve Cishek after proving to be incapable of closing out games. However, that wasn’t the only thing Heath Bell did to wear out his welcome in Miami. Numerous reports came out during the season with quotes from Bell putting the blaming his failures on Ozzie Guillen, the pitching staff, or his teammates. Speculation has been growing that the Marlins would try to trade Heath Bell and his contract to a team this off season, but there hasn’t been much trade talk or rumors out there specifying that a trade was in the works. Apparently the Diamondbacks saw a match.

The Marlins received 3B Yordy Cabrera, who was once highly regarded in the 2010 draft and was selected in the 2nd round by Oakland. Last year Cabrera only hit .232 to go along with a .293 OBP.  While his stats in the minor leagues are dismal, he has the potential to be a quality major league player.

 

The feeling I get from seeing people’s responses to the Heath Bell trade is that they are more satisfied that he is no longer with the team than acquiring Cabrera. How could you blame them?

Heath Bell has to be one of the biggest free agency bust in Marlins history after signing a three year, $27 million dollar deal last December. Between his production and comments during his time in Miami he quickly purchased himself a one way ticket out of town.

This is probably only the beginning of a “retooling” in Miami. Other high dollar players who may be in trades this off-season could be: Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, and John Buck.

 

While Yordy Cabrera might not develop into a quality major league player, or even a everyday big league player, you can’t help but to feel relieved that Heath Bell will no longer be pitching for your Miami Marlins.

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Top Marlins prospects underway in Arizona Fall League

19th October 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     

As rumors spin about Alex Rodriguez, Ozzie Guillen and the front office’s future, and more, Marlins prospects are doing their regular thing. Out in Arizona, top young players from the Marlins have joined along with the best of the best from Minor League organizations of the Atlanta Braves, Oakland Athletics, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays, all to make up the Phoenix Desert Dogs.

 

Seven prospects make up the Marlins portion of the Desert Dogs, including OF Christian Yelich, OF Kyle Jensen, C Jacob Realmuto, RHP Michael Brady, LHP Grant Dayton, LHP Brian Flynn, and RHP Scott McGough.

Yelich and Jensen have appeared in six games a piece; Yelich being 4-for-17 with 1 RBI, 3 walks, and a .235 AVG, Jensen being 5-for-20 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI, 3 walks, 2 runs, and a .250 AVG. Realmuto has appeared in three games and is 1-for-11 with a .091 AVG.

Yelich, who was voted the Marlins Minor League Player of the Year for the second year straight, posted a .330 AVG (131-for-397) with 29 doubles, 5 triples, 12 homers, and 48 RBI with Jupiter.

Jensen hit .234 (104-for-445) with 21 doubles, 2 triples, 24 homers, and 84 RBI with Jacksonville.

Realmuto hit .256 (114-for-446) with 16 doubles, 8 homers, and 46 RBI with Jupiter.

 

UPDATE (10/20/12): The Miami Marlins announced a three-team trade which moved closer RHP Heath Bell and cash considerations to the Arizona Diamondbacks, receiving Oakland Athletics prospect 3B/IF Yordy Cabrera (D-Backs sent OF Chris Young to Oakland). Cabrera, the player that the Marlins received, plays for the Phoenix Desert Dogs already since the Fall League team is under the Athletics as well.

Cabrera’s stats thus far for the Desert Dogs: .333 AVG (3-for-9), one double, one home run, five RBI, two runs, seven total bases. For Single-A Advanced Stockton Ports in 2012, he hit .232 (51-for-220) in 60 games, totaling up 9 doubles, 2 triples, 3 homers, 21 RBI, and 26 runs.

Here is the article regarding the trade of Bell and acquisition of Cabrera.

 

 

As for the pitchers, all four have appeared in two games a piece.

RHP Brady is 0-1 with a 13.50 ERA. He’s pitched 2.0 innings, allowing 3 runs, all earned, on 4 hits. He’s also walked two and struck out two. For Jupiter, Brady was 2-4 with a 3.38 ERA.

LHP Dayton is perfect in his 2 innings of work, as he’s struck out five and only walked one; sporting a 0.00 ERA with no hits or runs allowed. For Jupiter and Jacksonville, Dayton was 4-6 with a 2.47 ERA.

LHP Flynn, who was acquired in the Anibal Sanchez/Omar Infante trade with the Detroit Tigers in July, is 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA. In his 6.0 innings of work, he’s allowed 5 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits, striking out 4. He started the two games he’s appeared in. In the Minors, Flynn made 27 starts for three teams, posting an 11-5 record with a 3.91 ERA. With Jacksonville, he was 3-0 with a 3.80 ERA.

RHP McGough, an acquisition from the Hanley Ramirez trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers, sports a 4.50 ERA and no record. He’s allowed 2 runs (1 earned) in his two innings of work, walking one. In the Minors, he posted a 5-6 record with a 3.80 ERA; though following the trade, he was 2-1 with a 3.24 ERA with Jupiter.

 

Other Marlins prospects are partaking in offseason leagues, those players including Chris Coghlan, Gorkys Hernandez, Marcell Ozuna, Gil Velazquez, Jose Alvarez, and Josh Schmidt. You can check out the stats of all the players here, or individual stats via the links provided.

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Hanley Ramirez next to go as Miami Marlins dismantle continues

25th July 2012 by under Featured, Game Day, Minor Leagues, Rumors     


The next piece has fallen. The Miami Marlins have agreed to trade SS/3B Hanley Ramirez and RP Randy Choate to the Los Angeles Dodgers for SP Nathan Eovaldi and RP Scott McGough. This trade was finalized in the early hours Wednesday morning and came to a surprise to me, and many others.

The former face of the franchise has been showcasing another down year hitting wise, .248/14/48, which isn’t much better than his 2011 numbers.

As a fan and Hanley Ramirez supporter, this is a tough trade to see. Players of Hanley’s caliber shouldn’t be hitting like he’s hitting or be traded for what he has been traded for. Nathan Eovaldi is a quality young pitcher in my opinion, but to trade someone with all the credentials that Hanley has, it’s a bummer. Sometimes things just don’t work out and some moves may be necessary to rejuvenate or help restructure a ball club.

Lets talk about some positives in this trade, eh?

RHP Nathan Eovaldi, headline return in trade, is only 22 years old and has posted some quite impressive minor league numbers in his career showcasing a 3.28 ERA. His fastball sits in the mid 90′s and can occasionally reach the upper 90′s. He’s been in the MLB for a few starts with the Dodgers and has a 1-6 record after 10 starts to go along with his 4.15 ERA. He should be in the Marlins rotation sometime soon if not placed there immediately.

Another positive in this trade is that the Dodgers WILL obtain the rest of Hanley Ramirez’s salary for the next two seasons which is nearly $40 million in contract obligations. This trade allows the Marlins to clears about $20 million of the books for next seasons payroll.

Was this trade rushed? Did the Marlins feel pressured to trade Hanley Ramirez now? Should they have waited? I don’t know. Part of me feels that the Marlins should have waited until the off season to gauge market and see if any other team would have been interested. Apparently the Marlins were more focused on getting Hanley’s salary off the books instead of acquiring some top prospects.

The next big piece to be traded in my opinion is Josh Johnson. The Rangers need a SP and the Marlins need a 3B. I think it would be natural that the Marlins try to work out a trade for Rangers 3B/1B prospect Mike Olt along with others for Josh Johnson. It might even take more to acquire Johnson as I hear the asking price is extremely high.

Three Miami Marlins traded. When will the next one be?

-Alex

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Marlins land prized prospect Jacob Turner in deal with Tigers

24th July 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     


In a relatively fast chain of events, the Miami Marlins traded SP Anibal Sanchez, INF Omar Infante and a draft pick to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for SP Jacob Turner, C Rob Brantly, SP Brian Flynn and a draft pick. Rumors have been swirling for multiple days now of a possible trade between the Marlins and Tigers regarding Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante and approximately ten minutes before game time, the teams announced that the rumors of a trade are now confirmed.

Anibal Sanchez, arguably the Marlins most reliable starting pitcher over the past few years, has posted a 3.94 ERA to go along with his 5-7 record this season. Omar Infante had a line of .287/8/33 while playing good defense this year with the fish.

Jacob Turner who is the “prized” prospect in this deal, has posted great numbers in the minor leagues but has had a shaky start to his Major League career. He currently has a career MLB earned run average over eight. Catcher Rob Brantly is a quality minor leaguer who has shown the ability to hit at all levels of pro ball. He currently will be slated at AAA along with Turner. The third player in the deal, Brian Flynn, is a 6’8″ lefty pitcher out of Wichita State. He has the ability to reach the mid 90′s with his fastball but he is still a work in progress. He is set to join the Marlins AA affiliate, the Jacksonville Suns.

Based on what I have seen/read on Twitter, most people seem satisfied with the trade, which they should be.

Jacob Turner has the potential to be a front of the rotation guy. His six MLB starts don’t worry me much because he’s only 21 years old. He could join the rotation later on this season in my opinion. Basically the Marlins traded what’s left of Anibal Sanchez’s season for a young and affordable player for multiple years in Jacob Turner. Yes, Anibal has left us with some great memories from seasons past, but Turner can leave some memorable impressions on the fans soon enough. He is quite a talent that the Marlins should feel lucky to have obtained.

Realistically, the Marlins wouldn’t have resigned Anibal Sanchez this off season. He would be getting top dollar on the open market and it isn’t a sure thing that he would have wanted to stay in Miami. However, trading Omar Infante hurts a little due to his offensive production but he would only be under team control for one more season.

The Marlins made out extremely well in this trade. Acquiring a future top of the rotation starter along with two solid prospects is a win in my book. For the Marlins fans who are upset with this trade, they should do their research. They shouldn’t be disappointed what so ever with this trade. The future got a little bit brighter and the team got a stud starting pitcher that they have needed.

What’s next for the Marlins?

I’m sure this is possibly the first move of many the Marlins might try to make to “restructure” the look of the team. It’s possible that within a week players like Josh Johnson, Hanley Ramirez, and Carlos Lee could no longer be apart of the team. While it will take a lot of talent to take Josh Johnson or Hanley Ramirez off the Marlins hands, it can be done. Multiple scouts were in Miami tonight to watch Johnson’s stellar start. Among the scouts, the Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox were represented.

Some people are calling this a start of a fire sale. Don’t. This is simply the start of rebuilding this team into a playoff contender which the Marlins clearly aren’t at this time. If the right package presents itself, the Marlins should not hesitate to entertain it. I’m sure there will be more rumors and trades to discuss in the upcoming days.

-Alex

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Twitterview with Marlins prospect Ron Miller

25th June 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with the Miami Marlins 2012 10th round draft pick, Ron Miller. He originally attended Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles, but as a sophomore, he transferred to Serra High School. While he didn’t play baseball at school his senior year, he had a very impressive junior year. This interview was done through Twitter.

Alex- Congratulations on being drafted by the Miami Marlins in the 10th round. What were your initial reactions to the news?
Ron- Thanks! Well I was on the couch sittin at home, and I was watching it live on the computer, and when I heard my name, my heart dropped. Best feeling I ever had in my entire life.

Alex- Did the Marlins give you any kind of indication that they planned on drafting you?
Ron- No they didn’t, that’s why I was surprised, I was expecting some other teams.

Alex- For the people who don’t know, what type of player are you? What do you bring to the table?
Ron- I’m a humble player, I’m not a loud guy, I got some quiet fire, I like to help my team out, during the seasons, I bring power and RBI’s to the table. I’m a really focused player that’s always in the right state of mind. My biggest thing is to stay focused.

Alex- The Marlins have you listed as a 3B on their website. Other websites have you linked to 1B, or the OF. Do you have a preference?
Ron- Well I play all 3, but my favorite is 3rd, but I also like 1B and OF too.

Alex- Do you model your game after anyone?
Ron- Before I got drafted I modeled my game after Hanley Ramirez and Robinson Cano. With Hanley the batting stance, everything, and with Cano, just make everything look easy.

Alex- Interesting you mention Hanley, who is obviously the Marlins franchise player. What do you think of the opportunity to play with him someday?
Ron- I think that would be amazing to play with him one day, I know he could teach me a lot of things, our two bats in the lineup would be good!

Alex- Have the Marlins given you any indication of what level of ball you may be starting at?
Ron- Well im going to play my first year in the GCL, we start this monday.

Alex- Sounds great. Looking forward to watching you play this year! Once again, congratulations on being drafted and thank you for taking the time for an interview.
Ron- Thank you, I appreciate it!

The Marlins GCL teams season is already underway and Miller leads the team in doubles.


-Alex

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Reliever Jose Ceda has elbow sprain, will undergo Tommy John surgery

29th March 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues, Spring Training     

25-year old right-handed reliever Jose Ceda is out indefinitely due to an elbow sprain. Ceda, who was making a run to be a middle reliever in the Miami Marlins’ bullpen, will likely require Tommy John surgery. The surgery, as most people know, takes around a year to recover from.

Ceda is a 6’4″, 280 LB rookie, has pitched 5 games (7.1 IP) this Spring, sporting a 1.31 ERA with 8 K’s, and 2 walks. He made 17 game appearances last year, serving 20.1 innings with a 4.43 ERA; Ceda was someone the Marlins had confidence in for the future. Unfortunately, that hopeful confidence trend has declined as of today, as the Marlins will likely not see him at all at the big league level during the season, nor the minor league level in most likelihood.

 

The Marlins will have an opportunity for RHP Wade LeBlanc to make the big league team now with Ceda gone. LeBlanc, someone who will likely win the long relief role (and possible starting role, if a starting pitcher were to get hurt), has put up good numbers this Spring. He’s 2-1 (6 games, 20.2 IP) with a 1.31 ERA, 19 K’s and only 2 walks. I fully expect LeBlanc to make the big league team, especially with Ceda off the chart. Regardless if you believe Spring Training stats carry over into the season, LeBlanc deserves the chance. Non-roster invitee Chad Gaudin is also another option for the role.

 

After that, one spot still possibly remains in the bullpen. RHP Juan Oviedo [formerly Leo Nunez] continues to faces visa issues in the Dominican Republic, and is still on the Marlins’ Restricted List. His return is not on any timetable; it’s still up in the air at this point. He was expected to return mid-March, but clearly didn’t. RHP Edward Mujica will most likely take Oviedo’s now-8th inning role (RHP Heath Bell replaced Oviedo’s closing spot) until he returns in a stable, game-ready condition- and hopefully with everything regarding his identity, legal.

 

UPDATE: According to a tweet from Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel, Jose Ceda will indeed undergo Tommy John surgery. He is scheduled to do so on April 3rd.

 

 

-Derek (Source: Chris Girandola and Joe Frisaro, MLB.com [GO])

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Marlins sign outfielder Kearns, Cuban defector Cespedes establishes residency, now a free-agent

25th January 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues, Rumors     

The Fish have added another veteran: this time, an outfielder.

The Miami Marlins announced on Wednesday that they have reached an agreement with OF Austin Kearns to a minor-league contract with an invite to Spring Training.

 

Kearns, a 31-year-old with ten years experience in the majors, has jumped around team to team his entire career; with stints playing for the Reds, Nationals, Yankees, and Indians. He spent 2011 with the Cleveland Indians, where he would play 57 games, sporting a .200 BA in 150 at-bats, 30 hits, 18 runs, 2 home runs, and 7 RBI’s. In his career, he’s put up a .254 BA with 117 home runs, 478 RBI’s (in 1019 games).

He has only played in 177 games in the last three years (3yrs = 486 games), and has showed a somewhat significant decline not just in the past three years, but in his whole career; despite being a well-known rookie in 2002, where he finished third in the N.L. Rookie of the Year voting while he was with Cincinnati. He was designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians on August 12, 2011.

 

As noted before, Kearns will try to earn a pinch-hitting/bench spot with his invite to Spring Training in Jupiter, FL.

 

 

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CUBAN DEFECTOR YOENIS CESPEDES ESTABLISHES RESIDENCY IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, DECLARED FREE-AGENT

More free agents, anyone?

 

26-year-old Cuban ‘superstar’ outfielder Yoenis Cespedes has established residency in the Dominican Republic, and was declared a free-agent on Wednesday by Major League Baseball. The Marlins are expected to make a big push for Cespedes as he welcomes in offers from clubs; including from the top teams pursuing him, the Chicago Cubs and the Detroit Tigers. The Tigers just completed a nine-year, $214M deal with free-agent first-baseman Prince Fielder, which likely thins their chances of getting Cespedes.

 

Cespedes is rumored to be seeking something around $32M, with four-to-six years on the board (likely to be somewhere around $6M/season). David Samson said this on his weekly radio segment on The Dan LeBatard Show on 790 The Ticket (via Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun Sentinel):

“[Pursuing Cespedes, the Marlins will be] Aggressive right to the point of stupidity, but not quite there. We think he’s a perfect fit for us, but it has to be sane. [We've] expressing interest, going to visit, making it very clear to his representatives and to him and his family that we think he should not be anywhere other than Miami. As a Cuban and someone in the DR, it makes perfect sense. We have a perfect position for him to play. It would be great.”

 

Cespedes played in the Dominican Republic for winter ball this January, going 5-for-35 (.143 BA) with a home run, no walks and 10 K’s.

 

Who knows how long it will take for Cespedes to sign (it only took him almost two months more than expected to establish residency), but the money has been on Miami around the rumor mill.

 

-Derek

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Marlins announce non-roster Spring Training invitations, Spring single-game tickets go on sale Saturday

21st January 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     

The Miami Marlins announced Friday that they have invited 22 players that are not on the 40-man roster to Spring Training in Jupiter, FL. Here are the players:

 

Signed to Minor-League contract as a Free Agent:

Pitchers:

Rob Delany (RHP), Chad Gaudin (RHP), Gary Glover (RHP), Beau Jones (LHP), J.D. Martin (RHP), and Robert Ray (RHP)

 

Infielders:

Nick Green, Donovan Solano, Terry Tiffee, and Gil Velasquez

 

Outfielders:

Aaron Rowand

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Marlins trade Volstad to Cubs for Zambrano, re-sign Dobbs

7th January 2012 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     

Carlos Zambrano is the latest major acquisition the Miami Marlins have made this offseason. The 3-time All-Star right-hander who’s been with the Chicago Cubs for 11 seasons, comes to Miami in a trade that puts RHP Chris Volstad in Chicago.

 

The Marlins will pay $2.5 million of Zambrano’s contract, the Cubs will eat up the remaining amount of the $18 million contract he has.

 

In his career, Big-Z is 125-81 (319 games) with a 3.60 ERA. Last year, Zambrano went 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA; but his season was cut short after one of his common outbursts in August ended up getting him ejected from the game; and following the ejection he packed up his stuff and left the clubhouse, saying he was retiring. He was placed on the disqualified list, where stay and not play another game in 2011. He would continue to play baseball, though, in the winter baseball league in Venezuela. During the league, he was hit in the face with a line drive. This was Zambrano’s first start since Cubs president Theo Epstein told the media and Zambrano that he would have to “earn his way back” to the Chicago Cubs. He recovered, and had to have 6 stitches.

 

RHP Chris Volstad will go to the Chicago Cubs, who was arbitration-eligible and looking to make around $2.5 million this year, about what the Marlins will pay for Zambrano. Volstad went 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA in 2011, and was sent down to the minors and brought back up in the middle of the season.

 

Meanwhile, the Fish have resigned veteran 3B/IF Greg Dobbs to a two-year, $3 million contract, a move many fans have waited and asked for, including myself. Dobbs had 113 hits in 2011 in his first year with the Fish, in 134 games. Along with that, 411 at bats and 8 home runs.

Pitcher Elih Villanueva was designated for assignment to make room for Dobbs on the 40-man roster.

 

 

-Derek

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Report: 2011 to be Jack McKeon’s last year as manager with Marlins

2nd September 2011 by under Featured, Minor Leagues     

Interim manager Jack McKeon won’t be back for 2012, Sports Illustrated writer Jon Heyman has reported earlier today with a tweet. “[Jack] McKeon can stay in Marlins [organization] forever in some capacity,” wrote Heyman. “But he and [Marlins] have decided someone else will manage in 2012.”

 

Update: ESPN.com analyst and XM’s MLB Network Radio co-host Jim Bowden has since tweeted saying “Jack McKeon told us there is “NO TRUTH” to a report that he and Marlins have agreed that someone else will manage team in ’12.”

 

 

McKeon took over the club June 20, after Edwin Rodriguez resigned before a game against the Tampa Bay Rays the day before. McKeon previously had been with the Marlins 2003-2005, where he led them to a World Series championship in ’03. The Marlins are currently 28-36 under McKeon this year, which isn’t actually bad considering the June they had, and the plague of injuries we’ve had to deal with. McKeon won the Manager of the Year award in 1999 with the Cincinnati Reds and in 2003 with the Florida Marlins. He is 80 years old, the second oldest manager in Major League history.

 

Now we come to this: who will be the manager for the Miami Marlins in 2012, if not McKeon? Some report that current White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen will want to come down to South Beach. I can personally see that happening, but Guillen has personally stated, just a few days ago, in fact, that he would stay with the White Sox if they offered him an extension to his contract, which could likely happen. But if no extension is offered, he has stated he would probably leave.

 

Other names in the managerial hat from years ago are Jim Fregosi, Bobby Valentine, Tony Pena, and Bo Porter. Marlins also have the option to use internal names, such as a minor league manager or coach, or they can use somebody like bench coach Brandon Hyde, who is they guy Jack hands the book to when he has been ejected or something of similar nature.

 

But, just like the Miami Marlins color scheme and uniforms, we have no idea what could happen. Only speculation at this point.

 

-Derek (Source: @SIJohnHeyman [John Heyman of Sports Illustrated], @Jim BowdenESPNxm [Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and SiriusXM MLB Network Radio Co-Host])

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