You are browsing the archive for outfield.

Avatar of jonnylons

by jonnylons

Wuertz, Green, and Kearns Added to Marlins Roster

January 16, 2013 in Offseason

Austin Kearns MiamiThe Marlins made some smaller moves here in January – a far cry from last offseason, but positive moves nonetheless. All three players, Mike Wuertz, Nick Green, and Austin Kearns, signed minor league deals with the Fish.

Kearns made the team out of Spring Training last season and expects to compete for backup OF and a bat off the bench. He hit .245 with 4 home runs in 147 ABs last season with 44 Ks (about 30%) in 87 games last season. If he sticks with the team, look for a similar role for the upcoming season.

Nick Green was promoted from AAA last season, but was only able to appear in 7 games last season due to a thumb injury that shelved him from mid-August through the end of the season. The veteran journey-man is expected to compete as a utility player as only Adeiny Hechavarria and Donovan Solano can play both SS and 2B currently. Green could fill that role if he makes the team out of Spring Training as well as having the ability to play 3B, too.

Of the 3 players, Mike Wuertz offers the most interesting ceiling. Wuertz has a very live slider that was the league’s most unhittable pitch back in 2009. Hitters hit just .188 that season and he amassed 102 Ks in 78 IP. In fact he has a K+ per inning career rating and has a .229 average against hitters. In 2011, he had a bumpy time of it where hitters’ average climbed to .280 against him and his ERA shot up to 6.68. Wuertz also missed the entire 2012 season at the big league level – he signed a minor league deal with the Reds last season but was released on July 5th, 2012. So, if he can find a way to revert back to his pre-2011 days, the Marlins may have added a pretty good arm to the bullpen. If not, they risk little except a hand shake as Wuertz would most likely get the same treatment from the Marlins that he received from the Reds last season.

Tags: , , , , , , , , No Comments »

Avatar of jonnylons

by jonnylons

Jacque Jones Sent Down – What This Means for Marlins

June 11, 2008 in Roster

Not so fast, my friends. Yes, Jacque Jones was designated for assignment – which means every GM in baseball has already been alerted and he will be faced with a ticket to AAA Alburquerque.

Jacque Jones has been designated for assignmentThis does not mean, however, that the Marlins are going to call up Cameron Maybin. (See Cameron Maybin’s stats.) Or at least it shouldn’t mean that.

The Marlins are genuinely excited about Maybin, but he has not shown any consistency at the plate where a team can seriously consider him for an everyday spot in CF. Or heck, even a bench position.

Maybin is hitting .264 and yes the power is showing up (12 home runs in 231 at bats) but his approach needs lots of work. He currently has 80 strikeouts and only 35 walks. His OBP is only .364, not too bad considering that he is striking out 34% of the time he goes to bat. That does not translate to any kind of success at the major league level and – in case Berardino hasn’t noticed – the Marlins are winning games and not that desperate.

In fact, I think this move signals one thing – Josh Willingham is going to return very soon. He went up to Jupiter today to begin his rehab stint there and he has been working out for some time. With Cody Ross putting together an unbelievable stretch of offense, the Marlins have no need to keep a struggling Jacque Jones on the roster. (Do they really need a Robert Andino? Well, it means the could put Alfredo Amezaga back out in center field if need be.)

Look for Jones to go to AAA and the Marlins to get Willingham back fairly soon (maybe during this road trip). On the disabled list with a lower back strain, he will join AA Carolina on Friday. Willingham is projected to have 10 days for his rehab assignment and could be back with the Marlins at the end of that period.

If Jones can rehab and get some more consistent playing time and put up decent numbers, he might be back for when the Marlins make their stretch run heading to the playoffs.

As for Maybin, yeah he has the raw physical talent but it would be unwise to bring him up at this point. Unless the Marlins are convinced he is the next Miguel Cabrera…

Tags: , , , , , 1 Comment »