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MILWAUKEE — Ricky Nolasco's season ended Sunday. So perhaps did his tenure with the Marlins.
A source who spoke with a Marlins front office member after Nolasco's latest disheartening start said the club will give serious thought to trading him this offseason. Despite their need for starting pitching, the Marlins' exasperation level with Nolasco appears to be red-lining.
Sunday, he gave up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over two-plus innings in the Brewers' series-sweeping 9-5 win at Miller Park. Nolasco's ERA ballooned from 3.72 to 4.67 thanks to a season-ending, eight-start stretch in which he went 1-4 with an 8.18 ERA and 64 hits allowed in 44 innings.
The source said some in the front office are advocating a trade, convinced Nolasco's determination to be more than a .500 pitcher isn't commensurate with his stuff. Manager Jack McKeon has openly questioned whether Nolasco wants to be better than a run-of-the-mill starter.
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"I can't figure him out," McKeon said. "He's got too good a stuff to be a 10-12 pitcher. …He better look in the mirror and see if he can make an adjustment or two. Evidently, the hitters are making adjustments to him."
The Marlins before last season gave Nolasco a three-year, $26.5 million contract. He is owed $9 million and $11 million in 2012 and 2013, respectively. For all his promise, Nolasco the last three seasons combined (90 starts) is 37-30 with a 4.76 ERA. His strikeouts per nine innings have dropped from 9.5 to 8.4 to 6.5 this season.
"I'm not trying to be a strikeout pitcher," Nolasco said. "I'm trying to throw as many innings as I can. My slider hasn't been as good as it has in the past. …I'm not trying to go out there and strike people out. I'm trying to get people out. Just the way things went this year it didn't work out that way."
Nolasco allowed 244 hits, the second-highest single-season total in club history behind Livan Hernandez (265) in 1998. Hernandez that year pitched 234 1/3 innings, whereas Nolasco finished 2011 with 206. His 10.66 hits per nine innings is the third-highest mark in Marlins history among starters with 175 or more innings. The guys ahead of Nolasco: Scott Olsen in 2007 (11.51) and Brian Meadows in 1999 (10.80).
Though Nolasco currently is pacing the National League in hits allowed, Chris Carpenter (241) is right behind him and has one more start remaining.
"I have high expectations of myself and didn't fulfill a lot of them," Nolasco said. "This is the one season I feel I've learned the most. I don't want to call it a struggle, but I've had ups and downs and feel like I've learned the most dealing with a lot of stuff and the way you need to go about getting people out."
A source who spoke with a Marlins front office member after Nolasco's latest disheartening start said the club will give serious thought to trading him this offseason. Despite their need for starting pitching, the Marlins' exasperation level with Nolasco appears to be red-lining.
Sunday, he gave up seven runs (six earned) on nine hits over two-plus innings in the Brewers' series-sweeping 9-5 win at Miller Park. Nolasco's ERA ballooned from 3.72 to 4.67 thanks to a season-ending, eight-start stretch in which he went 1-4 with an 8.18 ERA and 64 hits allowed in 44 innings.
The source said some in the front office are advocating a trade, convinced Nolasco's determination to be more than a .500 pitcher isn't commensurate with his stuff. Manager Jack McKeon has openly questioned whether Nolasco wants to be better than a run-of-the-mill starter.
Text alerts: Get South Florida sports news on your phone
"I can't figure him out," McKeon said. "He's got too good a stuff to be a 10-12 pitcher. …He better look in the mirror and see if he can make an adjustment or two. Evidently, the hitters are making adjustments to him."
The Marlins before last season gave Nolasco a three-year, $26.5 million contract. He is owed $9 million and $11 million in 2012 and 2013, respectively. For all his promise, Nolasco the last three seasons combined (90 starts) is 37-30 with a 4.76 ERA. His strikeouts per nine innings have dropped from 9.5 to 8.4 to 6.5 this season.
"I'm not trying to be a strikeout pitcher," Nolasco said. "I'm trying to throw as many innings as I can. My slider hasn't been as good as it has in the past. …I'm not trying to go out there and strike people out. I'm trying to get people out. Just the way things went this year it didn't work out that way."
Nolasco allowed 244 hits, the second-highest single-season total in club history behind Livan Hernandez (265) in 1998. Hernandez that year pitched 234 1/3 innings, whereas Nolasco finished 2011 with 206. His 10.66 hits per nine innings is the third-highest mark in Marlins history among starters with 175 or more innings. The guys ahead of Nolasco: Scott Olsen in 2007 (11.51) and Brian Meadows in 1999 (10.80).
Though Nolasco currently is pacing the National League in hits allowed, Chris Carpenter (241) is right behind him and has one more start remaining.
"I have high expectations of myself and didn't fulfill a lot of them," Nolasco said. "This is the one season I feel I've learned the most. I don't want to call it a struggle, but I've had ups and downs and feel like I've learned the most dealing with a lot of stuff and the way you need to go about getting people out."
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