The Marlins don’t have a permanent manager and Dan Uggla is nearing free agency so Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest and GM Michael Hill have some franchise-defining decisions to make this offseason. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald has the details:
- Dan Uggla’s representation has asked for a deal worth about five years and $58MM, but the Marlins are offering fewer years and less money. They’d prefer to work out a three-year deal and are offering just over $8MM per season. Uggla, who will be eligible for free agency after 2011, makes nearly that much this year and he’ll earn a raise through arbitration next year, so the Marlins don’t appear to be offering much of a deal.
- The Marlins say they would like to add a top catcher and they’ll consider alternatives to John Baker, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery. Yorvit Torrealba, Bengie Molina, John Buck and Miguel Olivo will be considerations for Florida if they hit the open market, but Victor Martinez probably won’t be a fit. The Marlins could also have interest in Jason Varitek and Rod Barajas as part-time options.
- Rafael Soriano’s expected salary demands have priced him out of the Marlins’ plans.
- The Marlins will consider Yankees bench coach Tony Pena, Padres first base coach Rick Renteria and Padres bench coach Ted Simmons as they search for their next manager. Interim manager Edwin Rodriguez could keep his job and it doesn’t seem likely that the team will resume talks with Bobby Valentine, who was once considered the frontrunner for the gig.
- The Marlins would have interest in Ozzie Guillen if he were available, but the White Sox skipper is under contract in Chicago next year. However, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports hears that Guillen wants assurances that the White Sox want him to be their long-term manager. White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf would prefer to keep Guillen around than search for a new manager, so Guillen could get the security he’s looking for.
“but the Marlins are offering fewer years and less money.”
Shocking.
The fact that the Marlins refuse to spend even a little bit of money must be really disappointing to that fan base. Having to play them so much throughout the season, I see that a couple of pieces could really put this team over the top. If they were to add a good backstop, a starting pitcher to go along with Josh Johnson, and some help in the bullpen, they’d have a really nice team to go along with their core of Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison, etc.
….and Dan Uggla’s been nothing but professional for you. Pay the man.
its inevitable that johnson, ramirez and stanton all will eventually become world series champions for another team.
Inevitable, and a crying shame. Lol
I’m not a big fan of Uggla’s but his contract request isn’t too bad. I wouldn’t give him 5 years, but his 11 million a year request isn’t out of this world considering his production. To me, he’s a bit of the team’s heart and soul- their leader who sets a tone. If I were the Marlins, I’d give him 4 years at 44 million with the understanding that he may move off 2b in the latter years of the deal if his defense goes down. The Marlins have the makings of a pretty good team for the next few years if they keep Uggla. Fielding a lineup with him, Stanton, H. Ramirez, L. Morrison, and G. Sanchez makes them competitive in the offense and allows them the next 2 years to focus on developing their pitching. Truth be told, if they need to reduce payroll, I’d trade H. Ramirez. He’d bring back the most players, but he’s also too much of a head case to build a team around.
Uggla should move to the AL, he could DH in the latter years of a long-term deal.
There’s a lot going into the Marlins being in on V-Mart. I don’t see it. The lack of spending they do, along with his wanting to win AND get paid just make it seem like an unlikely scenario.
If Uggla were asking for 3-years, $8 million the Marlins would say they can’t do more than 2-years, $6 million. They could do much, much more of course, but they won’t unless they think they’re the ones winning the deal. Jeffrey Loria, you’re trash, sell the team.
I’m not sure that I would want to go 5 years with him either. However, his dollar demands are incredibly low. I would have assumed that it was the Marlins offering $11m/season, not Uggla.
On the open market I could see him getting a 4/$55 type deal. For what it’s worth he has averaged about $17m/season over the past 3 years.