Speculation: More Roster Changes Coming?

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

Because they have been so active on the trade and free-agent fronts, the Marlins don't project to be one of the busiest teams at the upcoming Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., from Dec. 6-9.

However, the team has some unfinished business to tend to. The club remains in the market for more relief help. And it is exploring the market for a veteran left-handed bat to come off the bench.

Busy Marlins may add more talent at Meetings

[Miamarlin21]

More relief help? I thought our bullpen's pretty solid other than getting a lefty.

[Erick]

They can't get much more relief help.

All of the bullpen spots are pretty much locked, especially if they keep Nunez around.

I don't get it, really. (although, Loria did say all of those things, so who knows)

[lou]

They need a left hander, especially with none in the rotation. Mike Dunn can't be it.

[AdamRavs]

They need a cf'er.. Cogs in cf scares the hell out of me

[Erick]

They need a left hander, especially with none in the rotation. Mike Dunn can't be it.

I agree, but where?

Righties
1. Nunez
2. Hensley
3. Webb
4. Mujica
5. Sanches
6. Badenhop/Sanabia

Lefties
1. Dunn

That's 7 guys.

Either Nunez has to go, or they get rid of Badenhop/send Sanabia down to further develop as a starter, and use Sanches in long relief.

Those seem to be the only two options left, in order to add that 2nd lefty.

I really don't see the point of Nunez next year, but it doesn't seem like they plan on moving him. They want a super-pen next year...

[lou]

Badenhop is going to get DFA'd. So is Veras. Sanabia can live in AAA. You answered your own question.

I see a point in Nunez, if payroll is $60 million. You can get Ohman, Beimel, or Feliciano for $1-1.5 on a 1 year deal, and you'll have a few bucks for a cheap veteran outfielder and/or veteran lefty bat. But without that extra $3-5 million bucks, yea. Time to ditch Leo, have a "weaker" 5th RHP in the pen, and go get a lefty/outfielders.

The Marlins get it. Only they know what their payroll is going to be. It seems stupid to me though, after devoting around $15-16 million bucks to Javy, Infante, and Buck, to skimp on the last few players on the bench. Go get three $1 million veterans, and call it an offseason.
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We can live 60 games with the Coghlan/Bonifacio/Infante/whoever shuffle at 2B/3B/CF, and if we're contending, Dominguez and trade options in June if the offense is weak is not a bad idea. If Sanabia, West, James, Hand, Olmos, and the slew of RP prospects are rocking in the minors, we'll have trade chips up the wazoo.

[Erick]

Badenhop is going to get DFA'd. So is Veras. Sanabia can live in AAA. You answered your own question.

I see a point in Nunez, if payroll is $60 million. You can get Ohman, Beimel, or Feliciano for $1-1.5 on a 1 year deal, and you'll have a few bucks for a cheap veteran outfielder and/or veteran lefty bat. But without that extra $3-5 million bucks, yea. Time to ditch Leo, have a "weaker" 5th RHP in the pen, and go get a lefty/outfielders.

The Marlins get it. Only they know what their payroll is going to be. It seems stupid to me though, after devoting around $15-16 million bucks to Javy, Infante, and Buck, to skimp on the last few players on the bench. Go get three $1 million veterans, and call it an offseason.
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We can live 60 games with the Coghlan/Bonifacio/Infante/whoever shuffle at 2B/3B/CF, and if we're contending, Dominguez and trade options in June if the offense is weak is not a bad idea. If Sanabia, West, James, Hand, Olmos, and the slew of RP prospects are rocking in the minors, we'll have trade chips up the wazoo.

I guess you're right about only the Marlins knowing what their payroll is going to be.

I'm just under the assumption that it's going to be ~55 million because everything I've read seems to indicate that.

60 million dollar payroll would be nice, though.

[rmc523]

I see a point in Nunez, if payroll is $60 million. You can get Ohman, Beimel, or Feliciano for $1-1.5 on a 1 year deal, and you'll have a few bucks for a cheap veteran outfielder and/or veteran lefty bat. But without that extra $3-5 million bucks, yea. Time to ditch Leo, have a "weaker" 5th RHP in the pen, and go get a lefty/outfielders.

I've been wondering what they're planning on doing with Ohman (go after him or not).

[lou]

I'd like to see them try and get a non LOOGY lefty reliever who they can actually use more than 40 innings, but if Ohman is all they can get, why not if it's cheap.

[Erick]

I'd like to see them try and get a non LOOGY lefty reliever who they can actually use more than 40 innings, but if Ohman is all they can get, why not if it's cheap.

There's not one lefty reliever in the FA market not named Scott Downs who fits that description.

I said it on mb.com, but the guys you keep mentioning (Feliciano, Ohman, Beimel, etc.) are all LOOGY's.

[lou]

I didn't realize the current FA agent market is the only way to obtain players. Fuck the upcoming mass DFA's before setting 40s for the Rule5, the Rule5 itself, trades, and camp cuts. No other ways of obtaining players.

Will Ohman, let's do it.

Side note, Feliciano has some amazing numbers from last year for amount of games played compared to his innings.

[Erick]

I didn't realize the current FA agent market is the only way to obtain players. Fuck the upcoming mass DFA's before setting 40s for the Rule5, the Rule5 itself, trades, and camp cuts. No other ways of obtaining players.

Will Ohman, let's do it.

Side note, Feliciano has some amazing numbers from last year for amount of games played compared to his innings.

Bottom line is, they're going to have to settle for a LOOGY.

There's not going to be a trade for a Thornton/Kuo/Venters/Marshall, etc. Those guys are going to be extremely difficult to find in the Rule V, if possible at all; if the lefty they end up getting is that good against both sides of the plate, he'll be a starter before they ever consider him as a lefty reliever, anyway.

Settle for the LOOGY, and hope Dunn can become the lefty reliever you're talking about. Or perhaps convert West to the pen, sooner rather than later and see how that works out. I'd say that's our best bet.

[Miamarlin21]

When is the Rule V Draft? Didn't they change the date?
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But, we have drafted a lefty bullpen guy in the 2008 Rule V Draft in Zach Kroenke from the Yankees, but we returned him during Spring Training. So it is a possibility. Even if we do, it's a long-shot for him to stick.

[THE_REAL_MIBS]

The acquistion of Javier Vazquez gives the Marlins a deep starting rotation of five right-handers, along with Josh Johnson, Ricky Nolasco, Chris Volstad and Anibal Sanchez.

Should they dangle one of those pitchers — perhaps Nolasco or Sanchez — to shore up an inexperienced outfield?

Here’s general manager Mike Hill’s response this morning when I asked him if he was confident that the Marlins’ five starters on paper right now will be the same five that start the 2011 season.

“In this business you never finish trying to make things better. I will say that at this point we’re very happy with the rotation that we’ve been able to put together at this point.

“Something we have always strived to try to build is that depth. I think it was obvious at the end of the 2010 season, when JJ and Nolasco went down (with injuries), that a lack of depth was exposed. And that’s not something that many organizations can profess, to have starting pitching depth.

“That is something we definitely wanted to try to do and when the opportunity arose to sign such a professional experienced veteran like Javier Vazquez, it made 100 percent sense to us.

“Our scouts are watching all season and watching potential free agents as we headed toward the off-season. Our scouts had seen Javier pitch, know the player, did not see a drop off in velocity and saw the same competitor that we’ve seen in the last decade.

“So, when Jeffrey (Loria, Marlins owner) gave us the opportunity to move forward, it just made so much sense for us to bring (Vazquez) aboard and make him a Marlin. And as we head to Orlando next week (for the MLB Winter Meetings) we will see what presents itself.”

Mike was then asked about any concerns about not having a left-handed starter in the rotation.

“When it’s all said and done, we just want the five best pitchers, the five pitchers who are going to win as many games and get as many people out as they can,” he replied.

“As we looked to put this rotation together we just wanted the five best. In this particular situation, it’s five right-handers. They all handle left-handers well…”

My hunch: The Marlins will open the season with these five right-handers in the rotation. But don’t be surprised if teams approach them — as they often do — about potential deals involving their starting pitchers.

During the GM meetings, one report quoting a baseball person thought the Marlins could land center fielder Juston Upton by trading Nolasco and left-fielder Logan Morrison. I don’t think that’s going to happen.

But I have spoken to other baseball people this week who question whether Chris Coghlan can be a solid center fielder.

If the Marlins did trade one of those five starters, right-hander Alex Sanabia or left-hander Sean West could plug the hole — but the rotation depth would suffer.

It's official- Javier Vazquez joins Florida Marlins rotation