“With me and Julio down by the schoolyard…”
I never understood that song, but it does provide a good sound bite. Kind of like this latest move where the Marlins acquired Jorge Julio from the Diamondbacks for Yusmeiro Petit.
In one move, the Marlins solve the problem of their bullpen by adding an experienced closer and also solidify their starting rotation.
Julio immediately becomes the closer, and with 99 career saves he has 95 more than the other Marlin candidates for the position (Tankersley has 3, Lindstrom has 0 and Gregg has 1). He also has 345Ks in 357.2IP along with a 4.20 ERA.
This also congeals the bullpen, as now the candidates to close are going to be in set-up roles, and the Marlins can take their time and see what each guy can do in certain situations. Julio has one year left on his contract, and the Marlins could be in a position to groom their next closer this season.
As for the rotation, Sergio Mitre now takes over as the #5 starter as the season breaks while Yusmeiro Petit, the other candidate, is now shipped off to Arizona. Petit had started turning heads this spring, but has struggled of late – the Marlins are not sure what to expect from the prospect. As for Mitre, he has been able to put together some very good outings and has been getting sharper with each time out.
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