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It was trumpeted as the deal of the winter, a blockbuster with a capital B.
When the Marlins traded Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers at the 2007 winter meetings for six prospects, including blue-chippers Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, most hailed it as a win-win deal for both teams.
The Tigers added instant star power in Cabrera and Willis. The Marlins acquired high-end potential in Miller and Maybin, a pair of former first-round draft picks.
That was the consensus, anyway.
Only here it is, more than two years later, and the mega-trade has yielded more bruised fruit than the ripe variety.
Although still very young, 24-year-old Miller and 22-year-old Maybin haven't come close to living up to their hype, proving to be more frustrating than anything else.
And in Detroit, Cabrera and Willis have dealt with disruptive personal issues.
To put the trade into a different perspective, consider that Burke Badenhop, a long reliever and trade throw-in, has recorded nine wins for the Marlins -- or the same as Miller and eight more victories than Willis has registered for the Tigers.
``I was the eighth guy in an eight-player deal,'' said Badenhop, who made his first spring training appearance Monday. ``Of the six guys [the Marlins obtained], I had the least experience.''
MORE BAD NEWS
Sunday's news was typical of all that's gone wrong from the Marlins' standpoint. First, the control-challenged Miller labored in his two-inning spring debut, allowing three runs on three hits and a pair of walks.
New pitching coach Randy St. Claire is working with Miller to change his delivery back to what it was in high school and college -- a turnabout from the previous direction taken under former coach Mark Wiley. Then, in the same game, Maybin limped back to the clubhouse after he pulled up lame with a groin injury. The injury is not believed to be serious, but represents one more setback in his development.
``I think it's time to show that we're capable,'' said Miller, who has gone 9-15 with the Marlins.
Matters haven't turned out any better for the other players obtained by the Marlins. Catcher Mike Rabelo was a flop and has since rejoined the Tigers. Eulogio de la Cruz is pitching in Japan after failing to make it with the Marlins or any other big-league team. And Dallas Trahern, a minor-league pitcher, underwent Tommy John surgery in September.
As one American League scout put it: ``You can't bat 1.000, not in this profession.''
Neither the Marlins nor Tigers have come close. Certainly, it has turned out nothing like the 2005 trade in which the Marlins dealt Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Boston Red Sox for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and two others. Both teams benefited immediately from that trade.
Not so Marlins-Tigers.
While Cabrera has continued to rank among the majors' elite hitters in Detroit, exactly as the Tigers had hoped, his off-field habits have brought criticism and embarrassment. He turned up drunk on the final weekend of last season and went 0 for 4 in a crucial loss for the Tigers, who ended up losing the division race in a tiebreaker game with the Minnesota Twins.
Cabrera apologized and received counseling for his drinking over the winter.
LOSING CONTROL
Willis has become an enigma, and an expensive one at that. Before he threw his first pitch for Detroit, the Tigers gave him a three-year deal for $29 million. But he has turned out to be nothing like the pitcher he was with the Marlins, when he was runner-up in the Cy Young Award voting in 2005 after going 22-10 in 2005.
Willis has lost his control, won just once in 14 starts over two seasons and has spent time on the disabled list for a social anxiety disorder. The Tigers, meanwhile, have failed to reach the postseason since Cabrera and Willis joined the club.
Said the AL scout: ``The thing that's been in everybody's mind about the trade was why Detroit gave [Willis] that new contract. There were a lot of people who were not that impressed with Andrew Miller. He was one man's trash and another man's treasure. He might figure it out later on, like some tall pitchers do, but by that time it could be on some other team's dime. Maybin? I still think he's going to be special. The Maybin part of the trade makes a ton of sense.''
But the Marlins-Tigers trade has not brought instant gratification to either club.
``You really don't know how things are going to play out,'' Maybin said. ``I'm very optimistic. I've had some good years just learning and developing. I feel like every year I've learned something new and developed more. In that sense I feel like things are going pretty good for me.''
Said Miller: ``For us, it's not about validating the trade. But I think it's kind of one of those things where we have to kind of get over that young moniker and show up and be good players. It's been tough.
``I know speaking for myself and Cam it hasn't always been as easy as we've wanted it to be. We've both kind of battled injuries, which is part of the game. We wish for much better. But we still have a chance to keep going out there and prove what we're capable of.''
When the Marlins traded Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis to the Detroit Tigers at the 2007 winter meetings for six prospects, including blue-chippers Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, most hailed it as a win-win deal for both teams.
The Tigers added instant star power in Cabrera and Willis. The Marlins acquired high-end potential in Miller and Maybin, a pair of former first-round draft picks.
That was the consensus, anyway.
Only here it is, more than two years later, and the mega-trade has yielded more bruised fruit than the ripe variety.
Although still very young, 24-year-old Miller and 22-year-old Maybin haven't come close to living up to their hype, proving to be more frustrating than anything else.
And in Detroit, Cabrera and Willis have dealt with disruptive personal issues.
To put the trade into a different perspective, consider that Burke Badenhop, a long reliever and trade throw-in, has recorded nine wins for the Marlins -- or the same as Miller and eight more victories than Willis has registered for the Tigers.
``I was the eighth guy in an eight-player deal,'' said Badenhop, who made his first spring training appearance Monday. ``Of the six guys [the Marlins obtained], I had the least experience.''
MORE BAD NEWS
Sunday's news was typical of all that's gone wrong from the Marlins' standpoint. First, the control-challenged Miller labored in his two-inning spring debut, allowing three runs on three hits and a pair of walks.
New pitching coach Randy St. Claire is working with Miller to change his delivery back to what it was in high school and college -- a turnabout from the previous direction taken under former coach Mark Wiley. Then, in the same game, Maybin limped back to the clubhouse after he pulled up lame with a groin injury. The injury is not believed to be serious, but represents one more setback in his development.
``I think it's time to show that we're capable,'' said Miller, who has gone 9-15 with the Marlins.
Matters haven't turned out any better for the other players obtained by the Marlins. Catcher Mike Rabelo was a flop and has since rejoined the Tigers. Eulogio de la Cruz is pitching in Japan after failing to make it with the Marlins or any other big-league team. And Dallas Trahern, a minor-league pitcher, underwent Tommy John surgery in September.
As one American League scout put it: ``You can't bat 1.000, not in this profession.''
Neither the Marlins nor Tigers have come close. Certainly, it has turned out nothing like the 2005 trade in which the Marlins dealt Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell to the Boston Red Sox for Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and two others. Both teams benefited immediately from that trade.
Not so Marlins-Tigers.
While Cabrera has continued to rank among the majors' elite hitters in Detroit, exactly as the Tigers had hoped, his off-field habits have brought criticism and embarrassment. He turned up drunk on the final weekend of last season and went 0 for 4 in a crucial loss for the Tigers, who ended up losing the division race in a tiebreaker game with the Minnesota Twins.
Cabrera apologized and received counseling for his drinking over the winter.
LOSING CONTROL
Willis has become an enigma, and an expensive one at that. Before he threw his first pitch for Detroit, the Tigers gave him a three-year deal for $29 million. But he has turned out to be nothing like the pitcher he was with the Marlins, when he was runner-up in the Cy Young Award voting in 2005 after going 22-10 in 2005.
Willis has lost his control, won just once in 14 starts over two seasons and has spent time on the disabled list for a social anxiety disorder. The Tigers, meanwhile, have failed to reach the postseason since Cabrera and Willis joined the club.
Said the AL scout: ``The thing that's been in everybody's mind about the trade was why Detroit gave [Willis] that new contract. There were a lot of people who were not that impressed with Andrew Miller. He was one man's trash and another man's treasure. He might figure it out later on, like some tall pitchers do, but by that time it could be on some other team's dime. Maybin? I still think he's going to be special. The Maybin part of the trade makes a ton of sense.''
But the Marlins-Tigers trade has not brought instant gratification to either club.
``You really don't know how things are going to play out,'' Maybin said. ``I'm very optimistic. I've had some good years just learning and developing. I feel like every year I've learned something new and developed more. In that sense I feel like things are going pretty good for me.''
Said Miller: ``For us, it's not about validating the trade. But I think it's kind of one of those things where we have to kind of get over that young moniker and show up and be good players. It's been tough.
``I know speaking for myself and Cam it hasn't always been as easy as we've wanted it to be. We've both kind of battled injuries, which is part of the game. We wish for much better. But we still have a chance to keep going out there and prove what we're capable of.''
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