Standout lacking at third

By Juan C. Rodriguez | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

March 15, 2008

 

With just over two weeks left in spring training, it's becoming less likely the Marlins will name a clear winner in the third base race. Think more in terms of a draw.

 

The Grapefruit League season has cemented a few notions about the players under consideration. Jose Castillo is gifted defensively. Jorge Cantu is lethal offensively. Dallas McPherson is rusty after missing a year recuperating from back surgery.

 

McPherson isn't conceding anything, but he has already been sidelined with oblique soreness and now a tender groin. He's 1 for 15 this spring.

 

That leaves Castillo and Cantu. Individually, neither is the ideal replacement for Miguel Cabrera. Together, the Marlins might have something.

 

This is not an either-or scenario. The Marlins can, and all but surely will, carry both. That will enable manager Fredi Gonzalez to mix and match based on any number of criteria.

 

Castillo and Cantu have been around long enough to build track records against plenty of veteran pitchers. You also could see Cantu starting and Castillo entering later as a defensive replacement. When the Marlins have a ground ball pitcher on the mound like Sergio Mitre, Andrew Miller or Chris Volstad, Castillo might be the better choice.

 

"He can catch the ball," infield coach Andy Fox said of Castillo. "He's got some range. He's got some arm strength. For a guy that hasn't really played the position a lot, he's got a real good feel over there. Same thing with Jorge. I've been happy with the way he's played. When he gets to balls, he catches them, and that's all you can ask for. The more he plays there the better he's going to get."

 

If the Marlins are serious about improving their defense, Castillo will see plenty of time at third. Cantu has about 340 more innings worth of big-league experience at third than Castillo, but Cantu's career fielding percentage there (.914) is 50 points lower.

 

How the Marlins' post-Cabrera offense evolves is another factor. Castillo probably won't produce like a typical major league third baseman. He won't have to if Hanley Ramirez, Dan Uggla, Mike Jacobs, Jeremy Hermida and Josh Willingham perform as expected.

 

Cantu had two more hits in Friday's Grapefruit League loss to the Mets and is batting .436 with a 1.192 on-base plus slugging percentage in 39 spring at-bats. Maybe Cantu wouldn't do any worse in the field than Cabrera last season, but improving on the 2007 win total (71) is contingent on having someone there who'll do better.

 

Gonzalez has mentioned more than once the Marlins rarely got out-slugged last season. This is a team that can afford to sacrifice offense for better defense. The potential for Ramirez to improve at shortstop is greater with Castillo to his right.

 

"A third baseman that has more range, your shortstop can play more up the middle," infield coach Andy Fox said. "They work hand-in-hand. Mikey Lowell is a slow runner, but he covered a lot of ground, so it allowed you to play farther to your left than you probably would. It gives you the ability to cheat."

 

The forgotten man in all this is McPherson, whose goal remains to not get cheated this spring. If he can get back on the field by early next week, McPherson still believes he can give the Marlins something to think about.

 

"Hopefully, I can get hot and make a case for myself," the left-handed hitting McPherson said. "It's always frustrating if you get sent down because you didn't play enough. It's not as frustrating if you get sent down because you just weren't good enough."

 

Added Gonzalez: "There's still competition all the way to the end."

 

Juan C. Rodriguez can be reached at jcrodriguez@sun-sentinel.com.

 

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basebal...5,0,84394.story

 

 

I think thats a good idea, having Castillo start against the groundball pitchers. You figure because of his glove and range it will help us out more.

a split in playing time between the two might be a good idea if you can get the best out of what each has to offer. With Cantu tearing the cover off the ball and Castillo playing above-average defense so far, you figure a combination would make an overall decent third baseman.

Kinda reminds me of the early 90's Phillies when they had Kim Batiste come in late defensively every game for Dave Hollins at 3rd.

if cantu and castillo stick, do we see mcpherson in AAA or is he done as a marlin?

if cantu and castillo stick, do we see mcpherson in AAA or is he done as a marlin?

 

We're definitely going to keep him at AAA and see what he does once he gets some at-bats. If Castillo or Cantu don't peform, he'll get the call up.

McPherson to AAA, because he still has options and could be called up when he is healthy and ready to produce.

From what I have seen of McPherson so far, he needs time in the minors someplace. He looks out of place at the plate. Big, looping swings evey time. A year off of baseball can do that to you.

 

BTW A little off topic, but is Todd's boy still with the team or did he get optioned to the minors? If Rex is still with the big league club it must be because we want to showcase his talents, not because he has the slightest chance of sticking.

From what I have seen of McPherson so far, he needs time in the minors someplace. He looks out of place at the plate. Big, looping swings evey time. A year off of baseball can do that to you.

 

BTW A little off topic, but is Todd's boy still with the team or did he get optioned to the minors? If Rex is still with the big league club it must be because we want to showcase his talents, not because he has the slightest chance of sticking.

 

He was reassiged to minor league camp last week.

They all either have options or signed split contracts, but certainly from what's been written appears to be in no condition to be playing anywhere, here or Albuquerque. The Marlins may even hold him over for a few weeks in Jupiter for conditioning purposes as they've done with players in the past. But let's see what the next couple weeks left in ST hold for the guy, it's conceivable he could play a little before being shipped out.

 

As for Castillo and Cantu, since starting spring training 0-11 Jose Castillo is batting over .370 and playing excellent defense at third so if he keeps it up you have to think Cantu has a fight on his hands if he expects to be at third for Opening Day regardless of what he's batting. The question is can Castillo stay hot or conversely, can Cantu start showing enough at third that the manager and coaches have some kind of comfort level with him playing the position and not making things worse for Hanley at shortstop?

I'm glad the Sentinel informed us that we don't have a standout at third. Otherwise, I wouldn't have known.

 

Truthfully, I think Cantu can be a standout. He may stink at defense but so did Ryan Braun. That didn't stop him from being a rookie sensation. All it takes is for Cantu to recapture his stroke, which I think he lost due to injuries and then not getting a chance to play.

 

I know we're emphasizing defense, but I see this being more applicable to the guy's we are actually keeping around longterm, meaning that guy's like Hanley and Uggla need to focus more on limiting their mistakes. That doesn't mean we should put a guy who has proven himself to be average at best at an offensive position over a guy who can provide a lot of offense.

I think Cantu's .452 avg and 2 HR are clearly the standout