The Marlins are less than a million bucks apart with second baseman Dan Uggla; the full list shows that this gap is toward the low end. No matter what happens, Uggla will be the team’s second highest-paid player (Hanley Ramirez will earn $5.5MM in ’09).
Uggla’s agent, Jeff Borris, explained that the Fish are not looking to sign his client long-term:
"The Marlins are not interested in signing Daniel Uggla to a multiyear contract. We always would be open to listen to anything, but they made it very clear to us they were only going to sign Hanley and Hanley alone."
Regarding new acquisition Emilio Bonifacio, Borris noted that "his price is right for the Marlins." The author of the blog post, Mike Berardino, suspects Uggla could be traded by the July deadline if not sooner.
Uggla, 29 in March, provides a blast of right-handed power at second base. He hit .260/.360/.514 in 619 plate appearances. His defense was well below-average in ’07 but slightly above par in ’08, according to John Dewan’s plus/minus system. Uggla could be a candidate to play third base if traded. He is under team control through 2011. Teams such as the Twins, Angels, and Giants could make sense.
