The Marlins will likely be on the outside looking in on the free agent market. They could use a catcher to battle or replace Matt Treanor as the backup to John Baker. Gregg Zaun is interested in coming back to the Marlins and he’s a huge improvement over Treanor who just can’t hit. David Ross, Eliezer Alfonzo and Michael Barrett are other possibilities to surface in Miami. The Marlins will also likely be looking for a backup outfielder and they might consider bringing in someone like Scott Podsednik, Shannon Stewart, Cory Sullivan or Chris Duffy. The Marlins could also use a veteran righty reliever who won’t cost much to help out in the bullpen. Mike Timlin, Keith Foulke or Al Reyes might could be a cheap fit for the pen. The Marlins also might take a chance on a pitcher like Brendan Donnelly who’s coming off a injury.

The Florida Marlins continue to slash the payroll as they have traded 30-year old righty reliever Kevin Gregg to the Cubs for 21-year old righty pitcher Jose Ceda. Gregg pitched in 72 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 7-8 with 29 saves, a 3.41 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. In two years with the Marlins, Gregg pitched in 146 games (0 starts) in which he was 7-13 with 61 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Matt Lindstrom replaced Gregg as the closer late last season for the Marlins and he has a huge upside which made Gregg expendable.

21-year old righty Jose Ceda was the Cubs #4 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. He pitched in 37 games (12 starts) in A+AA ball last season and he was 4-3 with 9 saves, a 3.83 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Ceda only allowed 67 hits while whiffing 95 batters in 84.2 innings last season which showed just how nasty his stuff can be. This was actually a good trade for both teams as the Marlins get help for the future while Gregg should help out the Cubs now.

Former Marlins’ reliever Henry Owens has been suspended for 50 games by major league baseball for testing positive for a banned substance. Owens took the drug to try to speed up his recovery from shoulder surgery. He pitched in 22 games (0 starts) for the Marlins in 2007 and he was 2-0 with 4 saves, a 1.96 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. It will be interesting to see who gives Owens a chance this season with a cloud hanging over him now.

The Marlins essentially dumped Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham on the Nationals to save cash. They received 2B Emilio Bonifacio, pitched P.J. Dean and 3B/SS Jake Smolinski from the Nationals. 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Scott Olsen started 33 games for the Marlins last season and he was 8-11 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. In four years with the Marlins, Olsen pitched in 102 games (101 starts) in which he was 31-37 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. 29-year old righty swinging outfielder Josh Willingham played in 102 games for the Marlins last season and he was 89 for 351 (.254 avg, .834 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers and 51 RBIs. In five years with the Marlins, Willingham played in 416 games in which he was 378 for 1,422 (.266 avg, .833 OPS) with 196 runs scored, 63 homers and 219 RBIs. This trade was another of the famous salary dumps for the Marlins as they didn’t get much in return for these guys. The kicker is that they will see them a lot as the Nationals are in the same division.

23-year old switch hitting 2B Emilio Bonifacio played in 49 games for the Nationals + D-Backs last season and he was 41 for 169 (.243 avg, .633 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 0 homers, 14 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. He has now played in 60 games in his major league career and he is 46 for 192 (.240 avg, .628 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 0 homers, 16 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. It’s unclear where Bonifacio will play as of now as Dan Uggla is entrenched at 2B for the Marlins. 20-year old righty pitcher P.J. Dean was the #30 rated prospect in the Nationals’ minor league system heading into the 2008 season. He pitched in 10 games (all starts) in Rookie Ball last season and he was 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Dean only allowed 26 hits in 46 innings pitched last season showing what kind of stuff he has. 19-year old righty swinging 3B/SS Jeff Smolinski was the #11 rated prospect in the Nationals’ minor league system coming into last season according to Baseball America. He played in 77 games in Rookie and A-Ball last season and he was 79 for 291 (.271 avg, .740 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 4 homers, 33 RBIs and 5 stolen bases.

One day the Marlins won’t be so cheap and try to keep a team together. It’s a shame that they have to trade players when they become elgible for arbitration when most other small markets can keep players until free agency. This was a simply pathetic trade by the Marlins.

The Marlins have claimed 27-year old lefty Dan Meyer off waivers from the Oakland A’s. Meyer pitched in 11 games (4 starts) for the A’s last season and he was 0-4 with a 7.48 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. Meyer has now pitched in 19 games (7 starts) in his major league career and he is 0-6 with a 7.63 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Meyer will be a long shot to make the Marlins pitching staff out of spring training but this was still probably a decent move as lefties tend to take longer to develop in the major leagues.