Larry Beinfest's End of 2010 Thoughts

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

Since the season is officially over, I thought we could get a thread going about what we're going to do for next year. Let's start with Beinfest's take on things.

Just had our annual, end-of-season sit-down with president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest. Some of the highlights from the 30-minute season debriefing:

-- Beinfest said it was apparent even before the rash of injuries toward the end of the season that the Marlins weren't a playoff-caliber team. Said Beinfest: "We never won a bunch in a row. Never lost a bunch in a row. Never really got it going. I think a lot of people will focus on the last six weeks and the injuries and say, maybe that's why. But when you look back on it in total, we never really got it going. It was never sustained winning. We never really made a big push. Even when you look at the most basic things, where we rank in batting average and ERA, we're just in the middle of the pack. And that's where we ended up. We ended up in the middle of the pack, right around .500."

-- Beinfest said the offseason would be spent trying to improve the bullpen: "We definitely need to upgrade the bullpen. There needs to be more depth. There needs to be more quality. There needs to be more balance in terms of left/right. From my perspective, I think one of the greatest challenges for this organization is putting together a bullpen. It's probably one of our greater challenges."

-- On catching: "I think (Brett) Hayes and (Brad) Davis have done a really nice job in September. Obviously we need John Baker back. We need (Ronny) Paulino unsuspended. We're going to have to fortify the catching."

-- On defense: "We still did not make the strides defensively. So now we have to spend the offseason saying: Are these people going to continue to get better? Was it good enough? Or was it actually the personnel? Are we going to have to change out some of the personnel to improve the defense to get it to the level that we need?"

-- On the third-base situation, with Chris Coghlan penciled in for that position: "Let's face it, Matt Dominguez is coming. He played very well in the second half. Defensively he is well above average. We know Chris can play the outfield if something happens in the offseason that we want to make some changes. We know he can go back out there. As of today, we'll start hitting some ground balls when he's healthy and getting him ready."

-- On the timetable for naming a permanent manager: "As quickly as possible I think would be the organization's preference, to have the manager and coaching staff in place. We met with all the coaches, explained the situation to them. Our pitching coach, Randy St. Claire, is under contract for this year so he will be back. The other coaches....will be considered." Beinfest said he has not yet asked other teams for permission to speak with prospective candidates.

-- On the performance of Hanley Ramirez: "You can ask him, but coming from .342 to where he is today, he's going to finish at .300, I think we ask a lot of Hanley. I think we have high expectations only because of his talent. Hanley, his arm's bothered him for a good part of the year and he hung in there. Did he hit .342? No. I think he is going to be an elite player for a long time, whether that means he's going to be somewhere between .300 and .342, that's how we judge him, I don't know. He will probably tell you at times he had down times that he wasn't accustomed to. But that happens in this game. I think sometimes we lose some appreciation for it, the impact of the player in total, the way he can run, the way he can command a game. At times he can just take over because of his talent."

Larry Beinfest: Marlins "Never Really Got It Going"

What do you think we need this offseason? Who should stay? Who needs to go?

[Ramp]

fix the bullpen, get a veteran starter in there after JJ, Ricky and Anibal, have a fight for the 5th spot in the rotation, re-sign Uggla, give Edwin an extension, trade for Pujols

[Valid]

On the third-base situation, with Chris Coghlan penciled in for that position: "Let's face it, Matt Dominguez is coming. He played very well in the second half. Defensively he is well above average. We know Chris can play the outfield if something happens in the offseason that we want to make some changes. We know he can go back out there. As of today, we'll start hitting some ground balls when he's healthy and getting him ready."

This part stuck out to me. What changes would force Coghlan to play the outfield? Morrison and Stanton have the corner spots locked down, and it looks like Maybin or Cousins is going to be playing center. Even if the FO decides to deal Maybin, you wouldn't see something like Stanton going to center and Coghlan being inserted into the outfield.

[FishFanInPA]

Get Joakim Soria.

Plan for pile.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

Found a little more on what Beinfest said. More food for thought for the offseason.

Finding a new manager, improving the defense and overhauling the bullpen will dominate a busy off-season for the Marlins, who capped a disappointing year with a 5-2 win over the Pirates.

"We definitely need to upgrade the bullpen. There needs to be more depth. There needs to be more quality,' baseball operations president Larry Beinfest said about a bullpen that led the National League with 25 blown saves.

But Beinfest volunteered Dominguez's name several times Sunday while discussing options to help eliminate the 123 errors committed in 2010.

Dominguez, 21, batted .252 with 14 home runs and 81 RBI at Class AA Jacksonville. He's the next rising prospect in an organization that saw three rookies blossom with the Marlins - first baseman Gaby Sanchez, right fielder Mike Stanton and left fielder Logan Morrison.

"Let's face it: Matt Dominguez's coming. He played very well in the second half. Defensively he is well above average,' Beinfest said.

As of now, the team plans to start Chris Coghlan at third base next year. But that could change. Coghlan played left field this year before a torn meniscus ended his season.

"We know Chris can play the outfield. If something happens in the off-season and we make some changes, we know he can go back out there,' Beinfest said.

"One of the things we'll wrestle with this winter, too, is how close is Matt. Defensively he's probably ready to go. We're going to have to talk about the readiness of Matt and Chris at third and spend some time talking about it.'

Beinfest also said the Marlins, in their organizational meetings this month, will discuss the idea of "trading off some offense for some defense' as a way to help cut down on the errors.

Second baseman Dan Uggla led the team with 18 errors, followed by shortstop Hanley Ramirez (16) and Sanchez (11).

The Marlins are far apart in negotiations with Uggla for a possible multi-year contract. There's a chance the team could trade him to avoid paying him a large contract in his final year of arbitration.

Beinfest, in keeping with team policy, didn't talk about the contract negotiations. But he talked about Uggla in glowing terms, as if the Marlins plan to have him back.

"Just the way he plays the game — the grit, the toughness that he brings to this team — is so vital, so important. He should be commended not so much for the 30 home runs, but for the way he plays the game,' Beinfest said.

Another option is to trade Sanchez for relief pitching. That could let Morrison move to first base, a position he played most of his minor-league career, and Coghlan go back to left field.

Morrison, who was called up July 27, made three errors and often collided with teammates chasing balls.

"I know there's going to be a lot of intrigue with, 'What do you do with all these position players when Chris comes back?' I think it's a good thing. It's a good problem,' Beinfest said.

"If Matt Dominguez wants to push and he's ready to play in the big leagues, that's great. Then we'll figure it out.'

The first thing the Marlins will do is find a manager. Beinfest said he wants to get it done "as quickly as possible."

The team also must decide whether to look for a new catcher or give Ronny Paulino another shot at catcher. Paulino was suspended for 50 games in August for violating baseball's drug policy.

Beinfest didn't sound optimistic that John Baker, who is recovering from elbow surgery, would be ready by spring.

Beinfest said four rotation spots are locked up, starting with Josh Johnson and Ricky Nolasco. Both right-handers ended their seasons in September with injuries but both will be ready.

The other two spots will go to Anibal Sanchez and Chris Volstad, with the fifth spot up for grabs.

"I think that is quality starting pitching,' Beinfest said. "That can be the type of starting pitching that can take you deep into October.'

But the road to October will be a rough one unless the Marlins tighten up their defense and pitching. To emphasize that point, Beinfest made reference to the San Francisco Giants and the San Diego Padres.

"There are a couple of teams playing on the West Coast today that are probably playing for the post-season off their pitching and their defense,' he said.

Third-base prospect Matt Dominguez an option for Florida Marlins in 2011

[wanks1212]

No to trading Gaby for relief pitching.

Yes to signing a veteran starter who is actually good, and not a NateBob.

Oh, and they want to get better defensively, but also want to keep Uggla around and guys like Hanley and Logan on the team? Pretty much can't happen, with the exception of signing/trading for a defensive catcher.

[Swifty]

You could trade Gaby, move LoMo to first and have Cogs back in left (that probably upgrades the defense, but I think LoMo>Cogs in LF, even if LoMo>Gaby at 1B, so do we get better, not so sure). You could trade Maybin and move Coghlan to center, or move Stanton to center and put Coghlan in right/left with LoMo at the other corner.

Both of those scenarios sound relatively disastrous.

Beinfestball

[wanks1212]

Cogs playing the outfield goes against their "get better defensively" proposition. As long as they keep the middle infield the same, as they should, and want Logan/Gaby/Cogs in the lineup, as they should next year, the defense won't be good unless those guys dramatically improve in the offseason, which isn't likely to happen.

[Swifty]

We have a lot of "propositions" that really don't come close to measuring up.

Again, Beinfestball

[Valid]

"Beinfest didn't sound optimistic that John Baker, who is recovering from elbow surgery, would be ready by spring."

Ya think?

[Ramp]

I like how Mike Hill is the GM and still gets to make no decisions or talk to the press (unless its to the two goobers in the booth)

[Fish and Chips]

Sign Crawford, that is all

[Ramp]

yea, thats all we need

[wanks1212]

Use the money that could be spent on Crawford for a starter, the bullpen, and the bench, and keep the rest of the guys around, and you've got yourself a pretty good squad.

[Miamarlin21]

So if we sign a starter we just go ahead and tell Sanabia and West that they don't have a shot and they're going back to New Orleans?