After a second disappointing stint with the Yankees, Javier Vazquez is returning to the National League. Vazquez has officially signed a one-year contract worth $7MM with the Marlins. He also receives a full no-trade clause, and the team has agreed not to offer the righty arbitration next offseason.
Since the season ended, the Marlins have appeared to be one of the favorites to sign the 34-year-old; Florida had a little cash to spend on pitching after trading Dan Uggla to the Braves, and Vazquez expressed interest in joining the team, which plays its home games near his native Puerto Rico. The Nationals, Cubs, and Rockies also had varying levels of interest in Vazquez, who passed on two-year offers for the chance to pitch close to home.
Vazquez agreed to turn down an arbitration offer from the Yankees, which means New York will receive a supplementary pick in next year's draft. Because Vazquez is a Type B free agent, the Marlins will not have to surrender a pick in the deal.
Although he struggled to a 5.32 ERA and was eventually removed from the Yankees' rotation in 2010, Vazquez was extremely effective the last time he played in the NL East. In 2009, he finished fourth in Cy Young voting, pitching to a 2.87 ERA and striking out more than a batter per inning for the Braves. I named him as a pitcher who could benefit from a move to the NL this winter, so joining the Marlins makes him a decent bet to bounce back in 2011.
Bill Ladson of MLB.com first wrote that the two sides were closing in on a deal, while Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports (via Twitter) reported that an agreement had been reached. Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports later tweeted the contract details.
7 million after 5+ ERA 1.8 hr/9 season PLUS a no trade clause AND an agreement to not be offered arbitration after the season….
How did Javy get such leverage??
Yeah it kind of shocked me that he got that much – kind of tells you what shape the market for starters is.
I loved watching Javy pitch in his one year for the Braves so I hope he does well in Florida just not so much that they join the Phils-Braves battle at the top of the division.
I hope he beats he Phils. EVERY. GAME.
RH pitching Fly-ball guy? May strike out Howard often, but Howard and Utley will hit some bombs off him. Amazing pick-up though, it’s great to see what he can do in that ball-park.
Grammar above a third grade level would help here.
Vasquez would be awful if he pitches in Philly and would melt down under the pressure
Sidenote: I Javy and his numbers from last year can get 7M how come we can’t give away Kawakami only asking they take 3M? It seems like we could get more than 3-4m for passable starter like Kawakami on the last year of his deal.
I think he got this for his track record in the NL. It was kind of obvious he would get between 6-8M.
I’m less shocked about the money then I am with the no trade clause and no arbitration deal.. It essentially means that even if he has a great year he can up and leave for nothing. Non contending teams should never give out such leverage to a player, the marlins are taking a chance but realistically can’t get anything from it
I think the Marlins think they can contend. If their young talent blooms together – just like every year down there – they can be legit contenders.
You’re right, but don’t they think that every year? Maybe they though 7 mil was cheap for Javier and that’s why he deserved all that extra incentives?
If they contend, great. but they still lose him for nothing… I mean maybe if Vasquez ends up a Type A you agree to no arb because that will hurt his chances of getting another job. but if he ends up a type b it makes NO sense to not offer him arb.
They really do have a nice team developing. Their problem has been not all the pieces have come together at the same time i.e. their bullpen last year. and defense
They really do have a nice team developing. Their problem has been not all the pieces have come together at the same time i.e. their bullpen last year. and defense
True, unless he pitches well the first half, he agrees to waive his no trade clause and they can flip him at the deadline.
thats a huge (and unnecessary) IF
Not really unnescessary. It’s possible but yes, it’s a huge if.
Pint taken, especially since Miami is closest of all the MLB teams to his home country of Puerto Rico, he would me less motivated to be further away from his family, unless he really has a desire to win, which seems to be not be as important to him as other players.
The Marlins really screwed themselves. If he has another 09 year, they won’t be able to get draft picks. If he bombs, then they used Ugglas money for nothing, and cannot trade him.
The Marlins really screwed themselves. If he has another 09 year, they won’t be able to get draft picks. If he bombs, then they used Ugglas money for nothing, and cannot trade him.
Well worst comes to worst, Marlins offer Vasquez arbitration at the end of the year and he would definitley decline it if he has a good year and can get a bigger deal elsewhere. So if this does happen they can get a good draft pick.
if you cared to read, the marlins agreed to not offer arbitration.
I’m talking about the Marlins at the end of 2011, not the Yankees you d-bag
Again nyy4288 he said “If you care to read, the MARLINS agreed to not offer arbitration.” So that means the MARLINS CANNOT offer him arbitration. Try to take it easy with the “d-bag” comments when you are in the wrong.
Again nyy4288 he said “If you care to read, the MARLINS agreed to not offer arbitration.” So that means the MARLINS CANNOT offer him arbitration. Try to take it easy with the “d-bag” comments when you are in the wrong.
hahahaahah calling someone a d bag, when you still don’t understand. lol nice
Stop skipping school and really concentrate when the teach brings up ‘reading comprehension’
i voted for abortions so mistakes like you never happen
hahahaahah calling someone a d bag, when you still don’t understand. lol nice
Stop skipping school and really concentrate when the teach brings up ‘reading comprehension’
if you cared to read, the marlins agreed to not offer arbitration.
Well worst comes to worst, Marlins offer Vasquez arbitration at the end of the year and he would definitley decline it if he has a good year and can get a bigger deal elsewhere. So if this does happen they can get a good draft pick.
He had a few cylinders misfiring last season. His fastball was sitting at 88, and the nasty bite wasn’t there on his breaking pitches.
Hopefully he gets straightened out. He seems like a good guy and he’s fun to watch pitch when he’s “on”.
He had a few cylinders misfiring last season. His fastball was sitting at 88, and the nasty bite wasn’t there on his breaking pitches.
Hopefully he gets straightened out. He seems like a good guy and he’s fun to watch pitch when he’s “on”.
Surprised also that he got that type of contract, especially from the Marlins. Javy was a huge disappointment in NY, because of his inconsistantcy. He appeared to pitch scared at the start of the season, nibbling and throwing way too many change-ups instead of using his FB which led to him falling behind many batters and then getting rocked when he had to come in to the plate.
He pitched well in the early spring ,but was the victim poor run support in a number of games and that hurt him also. His inconsistancy lead to the frustration for the fans as well as Girardi, who treated him unfairly when compared to AJ Burnett. Vasquez was on a short leash everytime out after mid-season, while Burnett was allowed to try to get out of jams and lose games for the Yankees and even had excuses made on his behalf instead.
That being said, he did have opportunities to prove himself to the fans and the Yankees coaching staff and came up short. Hopefully he does well back in the NL east and has the opportunity to get a big contract next year.
Did you expect more out of him in NY his second time around?
Yes. The first time around he started hot,got hurt and kept it to himself and paid the price. With the type of year he had in Atlanta, coming to a better team the expectations were for him to pitch just as good as he did with the Braves. Unfortunately, he appears to be a NL pitcher
There is a huge difference between Vasquez and Burnett – Burnett pitched a great World Series game 2 where the stakes are the highest, Javy unfortunately has never done that.
AJ was signed to be the Number 2 pitcher on the staff. He was paid to be the Number 2 pitcher on the staff. It is just too bad that he also pitched like Number 2.Javy was traded for to be the Number 4 pitcher on the staff. I really didn’t understand it at the time. He pitched brutally for the Yankees in 2004 and didn’t pitch very well while with the White Sox either. I would have thought it quite obvious that Javy is just not an AL pitcher.
So the expectations were not the same for AJ and Javy. While both were disappointments, AJ has to be the bigger one.
AJ was signed to be the Number 2 pitcher on the staff. He was paid to be the Number 2 pitcher on the staff. It is just too bad that he also pitched like Number 2.Javy was traded for to be the Number 4 pitcher on the staff. I really didn’t understand it at the time. He pitched brutally for the Yankees in 2004 and didn’t pitch very well while with the White Sox either. I would have thought it quite obvious that Javy is just not an AL pitcher.
So the expectations were not the same for AJ and Javy. While both were disappointments, AJ has to be the bigger one.
What Burnett did is the WS shouldn’t and probably didn’t play into how he and Vasquez were treated by Girardi. I suspect the $82MM contract Burnett has carries more weight than Vaquez’s. Burnett was regularly allowed to get bombed in games while Vasquez had to get through 5 innings without giving up any kind of lead in order to stay in the game.
As an example, I don’t recall the team, but there was a game where NY went ahead early and Vaquez allowed the other team to tie the game. NY went ahead again and the team threatend to tie the game in the bottom of the 5th inning. Vasquez had two outs and two men on base. Needing one out for Vasquez to get the win, Girardi went out and pulled him. Meanwhile in situations like that with Burnett, AJ was allowed to stay in and get bombed. I suspect that if the contracts were reversed, so would be the results. If you look at the two records you would see that Vasquez actually had a little bit better numbers overall.
There is a huge difference between Vasquez and Burnett – Burnett pitched a great World Series game 2 where the stakes are the highest, Javy unfortunately has never done that.
Im not too surprised about the 7M based on what he did in 09. Last year he just didnt seem interested in pitching in NY and it showed. MLB network did an interesting breakdown on him and not finishing his pitches last year as opposed to the year before. That mostly strikes me as a very fixable thing plus he is where he wants to be instead of NY.
The NTC probably has more to do with him not wanting to be having a good year with the Marlins in say 4th place and then get moved away from his family and where he wants to be without his consent.
The arb agreement is a little odd but if thats what it takes to get him to sign the deal then if you think he is your guy then you give it to him.
Vazquez is finished. The whole NL/AL argument here is a little foolish as his record in both leagues are similar if you take the DH part in perspective. Also US Cellular and both Yankee Stadiums were much more hitter friendly than the Ted. Vazquez has lost substantial velocity which at his age he might not get back.
Look some of you guys may be right that vazquez will not return to form and some of you may be right that he will have another 2009 season but one fact that cannot be misunderstood is that The Florida Marlins are moving in the right direction. How many years have we seen players like vazquez on the open market and us marlins fans were hoping he would sign with us but it never happened and now that it has we complain? I dont know about you guys but I cant wait for this upcoming season as it will be one to remeber.
Don’t worry Vasquez will do well with your Marlins, maybe not to 2009 great, but solid. Besides he doesn’t need to feel the burden of being staff ace, thats why JJ gets paid the big bucks.
*Remember
Theres an edit button
How is it that Javier Vazquez gets such money, a fulll NT clause and agreement not to get offered arb and Jon Garland gets 5MM??
Marlins pitching rotation looks great if everyone stays healthy. JJ is the best young pitcher in the NL east, and definitly in the top 5 in the entire NL…can’t wait to see what he does this year 100% healthy since he pitched hurt since the All-Star break. Ricky Nolasco has had moments of brilliance in the past and if he keeps his walks down, will have a great year, Anibal Sanchez has a no-no and two one hitters under his belt in the past two seasons and a sub 3.7 ERA. Vazquez healthy should give you 200 innings, and a sub 4 ERA and and excellent K/BB ratio. Chris Volstad really turned the corner the 2nd half of the season, his sinker was just plain duuuurty.
If the fish make it to the playoffs, they have a quality rotation to keep them close in games, lets see if the bullpen can hold leads and Hanley, Stanton and co can match the loss in Uggla’s power. My guess is Mike Stanton will hit 40+ HR this year without a hiccup.