The Florida Marlins will likely have the weakest production in the major leagues out of their catchers this season. At least Miguel Olivo had enough power to hurt the opposition from time to time. That will not be the case with Mike Rabelo and Matt Treanor. Rabelo should get slighty more playing time than Treanor will this season because he’s the better hitter. Rabelo has played in 52 games in his major league career and he is 43 for 169 (.254 avg, .653 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 1 homer and 18 RBIs. The downside of Rabelo is that he has one trait in common with Miguel Olivo which is a lack of patience at the plate as he has only walked six times in his career. Matt Treanor hit the best he has in his major league career last season but don’t let that fool you….he’s not a good hitter. Treanor does a good job defensively and with the pitching staff which is why the Marlins like him. Treanor has now played in 209 games in his major league career and he is 122 for 517 (.236 avg, .565 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 6 homers and 47 RBIs.

Mike Rabelo does seem to be a tad better on defense than Treanor. He threw out 24% of the runners that tried to steal on him but Tigers pitchers had a 5.06 ERA with him behind the plate. Treanor only threw out 13% of the runners that attempted to steal on him but Marlins pitchers had a 4.70 ERA when throwing to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR 2008 SEASON: D

The Marlins have signed 33-year old lefty starter Mark Hendrickson to a 1-year deal. Hendrickson will likely be in the Marlins starting rotation and that’s not a good thing for them. Hendrickson pitched in 39 games (15 starts) last season for the Dodgers and he was 4-8 with a 5.21 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 179 games (135 starts) in his major league career and he has a 43-55 record with a 5.01 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. This just proves that desperate times call for desperate measures.

The Marlins have signed Jorge Cantu to a minor league contract to battle Jose Castillo for the starting job at third base. Cantu has a better bat but Castillo is the superior defender. Cantu has had success in his young major league career but he needs to rebound as his last couple seasons have not been too great. He played in 52 games last season for the Devil Rays+Reds last season and he was 29 for 115 (.252 avg) with 12 runs scored, 1 homer and 13 RBIs. Cantu has now played in 359 games in his major league career and he is 355 for 1,299 (.273 avg, .762 OPS) with 150 runs scored, 45 homers and 209 RBIs. Cantu is probably a small favorite going into Spring Training over Castillo because of his pow

The Marlins have signed three players to minor league contracts who will compete for roster spots in Spring Training. The Marlins have signed outfielders Jorge Piedra, Alexis Gomez and catcher Paul Hoover. Piedra is a 28-year old lefty swinger who last played in the majors in 2006 with the Rockies. He has now played in 142 games in his major league career and he is 72 for 262 (.275 avg, .816 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 12 homers and 36 RBIs. Alexis Gomez also swings from the left side and he’s 29 years old. He last played in the majors in 2006 with the Tigers. Gomez has played in 89 games in his major league career and he is 41 of 158 (.259 avg, .650 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 1 homer, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Paul Hoover is a 31-year old reserve catcher who swings from the right side. He played in 3 games last season for the Marlins and he was 3 for 8 (.375 avg, .750 OPS) with 1 run scored. He has now played in 15 games in his major league career and he is 9 for 34 (.265 avg, .530 OPS) with 3 runs scored and 3 RBIs.

The Florida Marlins have signed Doug Waechter, Joe Nelson, Marcus Gwyn, Tim Corcoran and Bobby Keppel to minor league contracts. Waechter last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Devil Rays. He is recovering from a serious surgery but he likely will be ready for Spring Training. He has pitched in 60 games (54 starts) in his major league career and he is 14-25 with a 5.62 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Bobby Keppel is a 25-year old righty starter who worked in 4 games for the Rockies last season and he was 0-0 with a 11.25 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. He has now pitched in 12 games (6 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-4 with a 6.10 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. 33 year old righty reliever Joe Nelson last pitched in the majors in 2006 with the Kansas City Royals. He has pitched in 48 games in the majors in his career and he is 1-1 with 9 saves, a 6.39 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP. 30-year old righty reliever Marcus Gwyn made his major league debut last season and it did not go too well. Gwyn worked in 3 games for the Angels last season and he was 0-0 with 1 save, a. 11.81 ERA and a 2.63 WHIP. 29-year old righty Tim Corcoran will have the best chance of this bunch of pitchers to make the Marlins final roster. He pitched in 9 games last season for the Devil Rays and he was 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. Corcoran has now pitched in 40 games (17 starts) in his major league career and he is 5-9 with a 4.97 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP.