Hey guys! It's been a while. Anyway, I am back with the little game that I purposed last year to help pass the time this offseason. I aspire to work in a front office someday so this stuff is like ecstasy for me. It took me about 2 hours to design all this, but with the information already in place, it should take no more than 30 mintues. Anyway, here are the team controlled players/salaries. The arbitration estimates were found on MLBTR and projected by Matt Swartz. Free agent prices in my picks are my own estimates. The current salaries were found by this site

http://www.spotrac.c.../miami-marlins/

 

Starting Position Players

 

C - John Buck - $6.5M

1B -

2B - Emilio Bonifacio $2.2M

3B -

SS - Jose Reyes - $10M

LF -

CF -

RF -

 

Bench

C -

INF - Greg Dobbs - $1.6M

INF -

OF -

OF -

 

Starting Pitchers

 

1. Josh Johnson - $13.75M

2. Ricky Nolasco - $11.5M

3. Mark Buerhle - $12M

4.

5.

 

 

Bullpen

 

LR -

MR -

MR - Ryan Webb - $900K

LOOGY -

SU -

SU -

CL -

 

*Heath Bell is owed $4M next year

 

So yeah, there it is. $62.45M is owed to this club next year. Of course, there are others that are practically guaranteed to make the roster next year but for the sake of this estimate they are not included. They'll be on my 25 man roster down below though.

Starting Position Players

 

C - Rob Brantly - $480K

1B - Logan Morrison - $500K

2B - Emilio Bonifacio - $2.2M

3B - Alex Rodriguez - $11.5M

SS - Jose Reyes - $10M

LF - Melky Cabrera - $7.5M

CF - Justin Ruggiano - $500K

RF - Giancarlo Stanton - $500K

 

Bench

C - Rod Barajas - $2M

INF - Greg Dobbs - $1.6M

INF - Kevin Kouzmanoff - $800K

INF/OF - Donovan Solano - $480K

OF - Bryan Petersen - $500K

 

Starting Pitchers

 

1. Josh Johnson - $13.75M

2. Mark Buerhle - $12M

3. Jacob Turner - $1.175M

4. Nathan Eovaldi - $480K

5. Wade LeBlanc - $500K

 

 

Bullpen

 

LR - Alex Sanabia - $500K

MR - Jose Ceda - $480K

MR - Ryan Webb - $900K

LOOGY - Bill Bray - $750K

SU - Matt Lindstrom - $3M

SU - AJ Ramos - $480K

CL - Steve Cishek - $500K

 

Heath Bell - $4M

 

Total Salary: $77M

 

 

 

 

 

 

Transactions

 

1) Trade Ricky Nolasco, JT Realmuto, and another few prospects for Alex Rodriguez.

- Boom! Blockbuster of the offseason. A-Rod has clearly fallen out of favor in the Bronx and now is a time to scoop him up. He is still a good/above average 3rd baseman, although not legendary status like he was before. This move would not only provide a solid player at the hot corner, but the revenue generated from this trade would almost make up for it. "Rodriguez" jerseys would flood the streets. Sending Ricky over, who could also use a change of scenery, along with a good catching prospect in Realmuto (who is not needed with Brantly's emergence) and some good pitching prospects (anyone but Fernandez and James) could possibly get this deal done. The Marlins pay the equivalent of Ricky's salary to lessen the value of prospects needed.

 

2) Trade John Buck for prospects and sign Rod Barajas

- Rob Brantly has shown that he can handle this job from now on, so Buck's $6.5M service is no longer needed. However, a veteran backstop is still a necessity. Continuing the trend of former Blue Jays, Rod Barajas could provide some solid experience as well as pop off the bench. As for Buck, some team may be willing to make a deal after losing out on the Mike Napoli/Russell Martin/AJ Pierzynski market. The catcher FA class is fairly thin.

 

3) Sign Matt Lindstrom and Bill Bray

- Blast from the past anyone? Matt Lindstrom has progressively gotten better after his early tenure with the Marlins from 2007-09. His peripherals look good, he's been healthy, and he's still lighting up the radar gun. In a fairly inexperienced and unpredictable bullpen, Lindstrom could provide some consistency in a setup role. He'd be worth the money. Bray was hurt in CIN last year and his numbers didn't look too good. But he has proven to be a solid LOOGY (and possibly even more than that) in the past and could be a good replacement for Randy Choate in 2013.

 

4) Sign Melky Cabrera to a 1 year deal

- Left field was a position I filled out last. It was a doozy. Should LoMo be kept out in LF and another 1B signed? Hopefully not. Should Bryan Petersen get the call to play every day? Maybe a bit more likely. Should a FA be targeted and acquired? That seemed like the best fit. The market for left fielders wasn't slim by any means. Led by slugger Josh Hamilton, it also includes the likes of Jonny Gomes, Shane Victorino, Ryan Ludwick, Cody Ross, and Delmon Young. But those names would likely require multiyear deals... none of which would be in the Marlins' best interest, especially with Yelich hopefully providing more flexibility by the 2014 campaign. But one name caught my eye - Melky Cabrera. With the other 24 salaries, I came out to $69.58M. On a one year deal, there is a little risk/high reward situation for the disgraced would be batting champion. He would be motivated to put up great numbers in order to increase his opportunity for a big payday come next offseason and could provide a great bat in a Marlins lineup who could definitely use the support.

Also, the more I look at that proposed A-Rod deal, the more I feel that Chad James or Alex Fernandez would have to be apart of it. If necessary, I think I'd include one of them in order to finalize it. Maybe take on a bit more salary relief that way.

You know you're insulting my by putting Ricky Nolasco in front of Mark Buehrle, right?

 

Me, personally. That's like... hey Dr Beinfest, I'm going to kick you in the balls for no reason. f*** you Dr Beinfest.

I also approve of Melky for a 1 year if he's having a hard time on the market. PEDs take a while to wear off you see...

You know you're insulting my by putting Ricky Nolasco in front of Mark Buehrle, right?

 

Me, personally. That's like... hey Dr Beinfest, I'm going to kick you in the balls for no reason. f*** you Dr Beinfest.

 

 

Haha that's actually the remnants of a mix-up while designing this whole thang. I was using a different salary source and it said that Ricky had a higher 2013 salary than Buerhle so I listed him 2nd. Then I forgot to change it. I definitely rank Buerhle ahead of Nolasco. I mean, I'd get rid of Ricky for some bum known as A-Rod :lol

I also approve of Melky for a 1 year if he's having a hard time on the market. PEDs take a while to ware off you see...

 

 

*Wear off. You're a doctor, dammit.

I've never fully disclosed what my PhD is in but I can f***ing guarantee you I don't have a PhD in Theory of Spelling and Grammar Check, asshole.

Also, the more I look at that proposed A-Rod deal, the more I feel that Chad James or Alex Fernandez would have to be apart of it. If necessary, I think I'd include one of them in order to finalize it. Maybe take on a bit more salary relief that way.

 

 

I'd love the trade the 43 year old Alex Fernandez to get a free A-Rod , however, it'll take more than Chad James and less than JOSE Fernandez to get A-Rod (and by more than Chad James, I mean taking on a decent amount of his remaining contract and giving them a Brad Hand or Marcell Ozuna on top, not major but effective).

 

Anyway, I don't think this team looks too much different from last years squad. I'm getting the feeling that we're going to start the season with Solano starting at 2B, Bonifacio might move back to 3B or go to CF, and we'll sign a cheap 3B or CF from free agency (Still feel Eric Chavez would fit perfectly). However, I believe the front office and the people downstairs might feel forced to rush Yelich through the minors, having him called up by July if he performs well, and I think he plays just well enough to be our starting CF (or LF and Ruggiano moves to CF) by then.

 

Pitching staff seems like it'll be Johnson/Buerhle/Nolasco/Turner/Eovaldi, which actually isn't terrible. If our team is bad, it most likely won't be because our starting pitching blew it for us.

 

The bullpen will be filled with "see what sticks" guys for the most part, with Sanabia and Leblanc being the long relievers (and I think both are good options to start if any of the original five go bad) with Ryan Webb, AJ Ramos, Jose Ceda, and randoms filling the middle. Cishek will start as closer, and I think he keeps the job. Despite falling off a bit last season, he seems solid and could give us a decent enough season.

 

In terms of the starting lineup, we know that the guarantees are...

 

C Brantley/Buck (Buck likely to be traded soon)

SS Reyes

RF Stanton

2B/3B/CF Bonifacio

 

The Almost guaranteed squad consists of one player:

LF/CF: Ruggiano

 

Question Marks:

Given rumors, it seems that the Marlins may look to re-sign Carlos Lee, meaning we'd be in line for another fun season of Logan Morrison in LF, thus settling the whole "Who starts at CF" debate with Ruggiano filling the spot. If we decide do the right thing and put Morrison at 1B, we're going to have to fill that CF need, and we can't guarantee Yelich any time soon. With the Hamilton/Upton/Bourn scenario unlikely, and Melky Cabrera's PED situation probably scaring the Marlins from giving him a 1 year deal worth $6-8 million. I personally am partial to, if the team is to go out and seek a CF, look at giving Rick Ankiel or Andrew Jones a cheap one year deal (think Luis Gonzalez a few years ago) and use the whole "stick sh*t against the wall, see what sticks" approach.

 

This team doesn't have glaring issues that make it unfixable, the problems it has however are extremely obvious and huge. Unless you're banking on David Wright (which you shouldn't), there's no long term 3B option available within the next two years unless you're willing to trade Jose Fernandez (which, for the love of god, we won't).

 

Obviously 2014 we will see our starting rotation led by Fernandez, our offense led by Stanton/Yelich/Reyes and whoever else comes into the plan (and things, to the occasional fan, probably look brighter in 2014), but 2013 could easily be a nice little season if the right moves are made. This front office (and Loria) decided to make a splash last season for what looked like the right reasons, but now in hindsight were all the wrong ones. They made a splash to make a splash rather than the might the right moves. Most of the time the biggest moves are the ones you don't see on the front pages. The Giants won the World Series last year and they're biggest move last season was landing Marco Scutaro at the deadline (and it worked). Baseball's funny. It's a sport where the Orioles can make the playoffs over the Rangers and the Dodgers spend $200 million+ to become the 5th best team in the National League. There's still a sh*t ton of fun things about the Marlins next season. I'm excited still to see what the Marlins have planned for the rest of offseason and going into next season, whether it goes as I approve of it or I don't.

 

Just as long as they don't sign Jeremy Hermida. For the love of all that is holy, don't let that happen.

I think the FO definitely has to address our lineup and provide some protection in front of and behind Stanton. A big part of that will be whether or not LoMo can fit the bill. Landing A-Rod or Melky would also definitely help out in that department as Stanton should see far better pitches to hit. He'd be perfect in the #3 spot since the threat of Reyes/Bonifacio on the basepath will lead to more fastballs for Stanton to devour.

 

I agree that our pitching staff is solid enough. There's a lot of depth in the middle/long relief area but with the absence of Choate, Mujica, and Oviedo, there is no one that I would really consider a solid LOOGY or setup man. AJ Ramos has the stuff but time will tell if he can be consistent in the back end. Although losing Heath Bell was addition through subtraction, some more veteran arms to rely upon in tough situations certainly can't be a bad thing. Most of our position players are relatively young and cost controlled so splurging in the pen for a year or so would be an efficient use of money.

Starting Position Players

 

C - Rob Brantly

1B - Logan Morrison

2B - Emilio Bonifacio

3B - Kevin Youklis

SS - Jose Reyes

LF - Justion Upton

CF - Justin Ruggiano

RF - Giancarlo Stanton

 

Bench

C -John Buck

INF - Greg Dobbs

INF - Kevin Kouzmanoff

INF/OF - Donovan Solano

OF - Bryan Petersen

 

Starting Pitchers

 

1. Dan Haren

2. Mark Buerhle

3. Shawn Marcum

4. Jacob Turner

5. Nathan Eovaldi

 

 

I know the Marlins wont do any of that, but i can also dream

Trading Hanley was probably a mistake, looking back at it.

Trading Hanley was probably a mistake, looking back at it.

 

 

Agreed, his value could have been much higher this offseason in a relatively shallow 3B market. He'd have more value that any 3B available through Free Agency (assuming Kevin Youkilis is the best in that realm). We probably could have gotten someone better than Eovaldi, and, as a cherry on top, kept Choate.

I'd want to trade for Justin Upton! Seriously, trade for Justin Upton, hope BJ will sign at a discount to play alongside his brother and sign a FA SP if possible.

 

Yes, yes. It's all coming together. If BJ can play 2B again it might just work out for Ruggz.

I guess this thread is appropriate for this tweet.

 

Bob Nightengale �@BNightengale

The #Marlins are letting teams know that virtually everyone is available on trade market, and plenty of teams are calling.

I guess this thread is appropriate for this tweet.

 

Bob Nightengale �@BNightengale

The #Marlins are letting teams know that virtually everyone is available on trade market, and plenty of teams are calling.

 

Nolasco, James for JUp

Starting Position Players

 

C - Brantly

1B - LOMO

2B - Emilio Bonifacio $2.2M

3B - Youkilis

SS - Jose Reyes - $10M

LF - Ruggiano

CF -Pagan

RF -Stanton

 

Bench

C -Buck

INF - Greg Dobbs - $1.6M

INF -Solano

OF -Re-sign Kearns

OF -Scott Hairston

 

Starting Pitchers

 

1. Josh Johnson - $13.75M

2. Mark Buerhle - $12M

3.Dempster

4. Eovaldi

5.Turner

 

 

Bullpen

 

LR - Sean Burnett

MR - Chris Hatcher

MR - Ryan Webb - $900K

LOOGY - Jennings

SU -Mike Adams

SU - Soria

CL - Cishek

 

Trade Ricky Nolasco to cut salary

 

Thats a lot of money but possible if they re-invest in the team like they said they would.

Biggest guy to get for me is pagan. He is literally the best possible fit in centerfield in this park.

I would have a firesale; everyone but Stanton/Reyes is made available. Make the '13 season a tryout for '14 because we're going nowhere in '13.

 

No big moves.

 

If we want to improve the team in '13, I hope they're 1-year, stopgap deals.

I pitch a TV show to ESPN or someone. 6 episode commitment with 6 more if it does well.

 

Hold open tryouts. Put it on TV. Advertise the tryouts. Etc. First 5 episodes are during spring training. The spot up for grabs is 3b. Do american idol style eliminations. Beinfest is Paula, Samson is the black guy, and Loria is Simon. Show fat, terrible, people try out and it will be just as funny as american idol rejects. Storylines will be easy to find. 5th episode is one of the last days of spring training and we find out who wins. 6th episode is opening day.

 

Show focuses on this player. Total access unlike that BS show on showtime. Mic'd in the field every game. ESPN does live lookins with his mic on. sh*t is cash.

 

I turn the team into a full fledged circus instead of trying to hide its identity.

 

:drunks

You know what we should do? Trade JJ, Buerhle, Reyes, Buck, and Boni to Toronto for Yunel Escobar.

Ehe.

I would have a firesale; everyone but Stanton/Reyes is made available. Make the '13 season a tryout for '14 because we're going nowhere in '13.

 

No big moves.

 

If we want to improve the team in '13, I hope they're 1-year, stopgap deals.

 

So close.

Yeah, I'm good.

FIRE ERICK

Yeah, I'm good.

 

 

It's funny, I remember laughing at your post this morning.

 

Now I'm crying.