Matty D lacks the O, sent to AAA

[dim]

March 24, 2011

By: David Marcus

MarlinsBaseball.com Writer

 

Matt Dominguez came into Spring Training the favorite to become the Marlins starting 3rd baseman come April 1st. Today, he was reassigned to AAA New Orleans, leaving the Marlins with a huge question mark at the hot spot.

 

In order to win the job, Dominguez had to prove he was as capable at hitting the ball as he is fielding it. He started off hot, hitting .308 the first week of Spring Training, giving the Marlins staff confidence that he may be able to win the starting spot. However, he struggled horribly soon after, going 1 for his last 28 and getting sent down with a .190 average. The 21 year old Dominguez is still considered the top prospect in the Marlins system, and could be up with the big league squad as early as late May.

 

The Marlins are now in a huge predicament. They put nearly all their chips in the Dominguez basket, and it fell apart at the seams. Now, they have only a week to decide who will begin the season as the Marlins starting third baseman. Marlins manager Edwin Rodriguez has said that Omar Infante will begin the season as the team’s starting 2nd baseman, and has no plans to move him to third. Other players who have previous experience at third base and will be considered for the starting role are Wes Helms, Donnie Murphy, Emilio Bonifacio, and Greg Dobbs.

 

There have been rumors that the Marlins have inquired about Rangers 3B Michael Young, who requested to be traded before Spring Training began. However, Marlins beat writer Joe Frisaro wrote that the Marlins have no interest in Michael Young, as the Rangers were asking for too much in return, in terms of prospects. It is believed that in any deal for Young, the Marlins would have to part with top pitching prospect Chad James. Another problem with any Young deal would be that he is scheduled to make an average of $16 million over the next three years. The Marlins would probably need the Rangers to absorb the majority of that contract, which makes it very hard for the Marlins to come up with a trade that would benefit both teams.

 

The Marlins also will look at other options outside of the organization. Eric Chavez, Pedro Feliz, Felipe Lopez, and Garrett Atkins are thought to be among the names currently be discussed among the Marlins brass.

 

Other than Dominguez, the Marlins also reassigned OF Josh Kroeger, utility infielders Joe Thurston and Ruben Gotay, and relief pitcher Frank Mata.

 

Mike Stanton returns to lineup

 

As scheduled, Marlins OF Mike Stanton returned to the lineup Thursday against the Boston Red Sox. Stanton had not played in a big league game since injury his quad in an exhibition game against the Miami Hurricanes.

 

Usually, you would expect to see some rustiness from a player who is coming off an injury, but Stanton isn’t any ordinary player. In the third inning, Stanton hit a towering home run off Red Sox pitcher Clay Bucholz that cleared the left field fence. The next inning, Stanton hit yet another mammoth home run off Bucholz, who gave up 11 runs on the day. Stanton finished the day going 3-4 with 2 home runs and 7 runs batted in. It is safe to say the Big Worm is ready for a stellar sophomore season. Chris Coghlan, who was expected to but didn’t play in Wednesday’s game against the Braves, did not participate Thursday, but manager Edwin Rodriguez still believes that Coghlan will be ready for Opening Day when the Marlins take on the Mets.