General FA: Beinfest Says Rotation Set

[Big Z]

I guess. We can always get Big Z as our # 5.

[Valid]

The Miami Marlins have a new manager with a Q rating off the charts in Ozzie Guillen. They've squired free agents Mark Buehrle and Jose Reyes around their new ballpark this week on recruiting visits. They've been in touch with free agent Prince Fielder, and sources say they're very active in the relief pitching market as well (Heath Bell?).

http://scott-miller.blogs.cbssports....70335/33210020

[Bobbob1313]

Yuck. Fucking yuck. That would really ruin things for me.

[Miamarlin21]

Well we do need a closer. I wouldn't be upset, but everyone knows the Marlins have had a hardon for Bell for two years now.

[Valid]

Considering Bell is probably going to get a similar deal to the one Philadelphia is reportedly offering Madson, I would not want this. No need to overpay for a closer.

[Big Z]

I think Bell was being offered 2/14 in SD, but wanted 3 yrs.

[Valid]

I think Bell was being offered 2/14 in SD, but wanted 3 yrs.

Yeah. No way he signs for $7 mil a year if Madson gets $11 mil.

[Valid]

Let's not forget, the Marlins haven't spend more than $60 million on payroll in any season this entire century. And that includes the year they won the World Series with a $45 million budget. Big budgets just isn't what owner Jeffrey Loria does. Heck, he once let his team operate on a $15 million budget, and that was just five years ago. With the kind of players they are showing interest in right now, you'd think that they were getting ready to spend Yankee-type money in 2012 as opposed to the $80-$90 million that most reports suggest.

That is still a pretty decent payroll, but is it going to allow them to make serious runs at any of these uber-expensive free agents? Sorry, not going to happen. It isn't like Miami is going from spending $30 million to $90 million, they actually had, by their standards, a lofty budget of about $57 million in 2011 and they already have just shy of $50 million in salary commitments for 2012 before factoring in any arbitration awards, which could push their payroll up to $60 million. That still gives them plenty of money to spend, possibly $35 million, but I just have a hard time believing they'll really do it.

What it really looks like the Marlins are doing is what they always do, playing the PR game. Don't forget, this is a franchise opening a big new expensive stadium that they had to dupe the city into paying for and they most certainly want to put some butts in the seats. According to their team president, the Marlins think they will draw at least 30,000 per game next season. That's pretty big talk from a team that has been in the bottom of league attendance since the beginning of time. And it is awfully convenient that the team has yet to bother with releasing figures on season ticket sales thus far, justifying their eyebrow-raising attendance projections.

Hmmm... it is almost like the team is just saying and doing things in order to generate interest in season tickets because they are worried about filling their new stadium, no?

Call me crazy, but if they were really serious about signing these big free agents, wouldn't they be playing things a little closer to the vest instead of making every single potential free agent meeting and visit known to the media well in advance? Wouldn't they be making a legit offer to their supposed top target Jose Reyes instead of a three-year deal that has no chance of being accepted (but at least they can tell their fans they made an offer)?

Methinks they dost protest too much. This isn't the 1990's though when the "if you build it, they will come" new stadium revenue model was guaranteed. Their new digs and its retractable roof should boost attendance since the weather won't be such a deterrent anymore, but it would be an awfully big gamble for the Marlins to forgo their cautious spending ways and start throwing money around like crazy until they know for sure that they are going to be seeing the increased revenues to cover their off-season expenditures.

Or maybe it is me who dost protest too much. All that I've seen from the Marlins in recent years is one bad decision after another. The way the dumped Joe Girardi. The way they've handled Logan Morrison. Their blatant disregard for their fans in their $15 million payroll year. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth and a bunch of big talk about becoming serious off-season players isn't going to wash it away.

http://bloguin.com/theoutsidecorner/...ee-agency.html

Haha.

Yeah; the Marlins are giving Reyes, Pujols, and Buerhle tours of the ballpark and are going down to scout Cespedes just to "play the PR game."

I hate idiots.

[MiamiHomer]

Yeah, I'm not wasting my time reading some random blog trying to piss on the Marlins.

[Bobbob1313]

Beyond the rest of it, when have the Marlins ever tried to play "the PR game?"

[Omar]

1) I've never heard of that website
2) They have a grammatical error in the first sentence
3) His opinion isn't very well enforced

[Metes]

Ehe Bloguin

Blogs are the worst

[Erick]

On top of the fact that it might not be wise to spend on a closer (I'm not necessarily on that side, but it's definitely debatable), Heath Bell would absolutely be the guy I would not want considering his declining K rate last year.

[Metes]

And he's a big fatty

[MiamiHomer]

Posted here since it address all current targets:

The Marlins have made "substantial offers" to both Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes, reports Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports and have also offered a contract to Mark Buehrle, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (both Twitter links). The team met with Pujols today, Reyes on Wednesday and Buehrle on Tuesday but apparently already felt comfortable enough to make contract offers, though Heyman reports there is "nothing close" to a deal with any of the three.

Miami's aggressiveness is no surprise, given how the Marlins have been in hot pursuit of several top free agents already this offseason. It's unlikely that Pujols, Reyes or Buehrle would sign so early without fully exploring the market for their services, though a blow-away offer from the Marlins could change their minds.

The Marlins' payroll was expected to increase by as much as $35MM this winter, but signing Pujols, Reyes and Buehrle would add at least $60MM to the 2012 payroll. That's a big outlay for three players, but given how committed Jeffrey Loria is to put a competitive team into his new ballpark, we have been conservative with our estimates about how much the Marlins are willing to spend this winter.

-MLBTR