The Marlins have signed 26-year old lefty swinging 2B Danny Richar to a minor league deal. Richar played in 7 games for the Reds last season and he was 2 for 8 (.250 avg) with 1 run scored. He also played in 47 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 49 for 169 (.290 avg, .767 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Richar has now played in 79 games in his three years in the majors and he is 53 for 231 (.229 avg, .662 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 6 homers, 18 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. This is a good signing for the Marlins as Richar should compete for a bench job next spring.

The Marlins have signed 28-year old righty swinging IF/OF Brain Barden to a minor league deal. Barden played in 52 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 24 for 103 (.233 avg, .664 OPS) with 13 runs scored, 4 homers and 10 RBIs. In his three years in the majors, Barden has played in 84 games in which he is 32 for 147 (.218 avg, .592 OPS) with 19 runs scored, 4 homers and 11 RBIs. Barden can play pretty much everywhere but pitcher and catcher so he could have some value at some point in 2010 for the Marlins.

The Marlins have signed 26-year old 2B/SS/3B Donnie Murphy to a minor league deal. Murphy played in only 3 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 2 for 9 (.222 avg, .856 OPS) with 1 run scored, 1 homer and 1 RBI. He last played during the 2008 with the Oakland A’s. Murphy has played in 4 years in his major league career appearing in 127 games in which he is 62 for 325 (.191 avg, .607 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 10 homers and 45 RBIs. He has some power but he swings for the fences too much as he has whiffed 103 times in his major league career. I’m not too confident that Murphy will do anything to help the Marlins in his time with them.

The Marlins have signed 33-year old righty reliever Scott Strickland to a minor league deal. Strickland pitched in 50 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 2-1 with 32 saves, a 2.98 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He last pitched in the majors in 2005 with the Astros. Strickland has pitched in 236 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 12-21 with 20 saves, a 3.34 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. I like this signing for the Marlins as Strickland will have a good chance of earning a spot in the bullpen this spring.

The Marlins decided not to tender a 2010 contract to 31-year old switch-hitting IF/OF Alfredo Amezaga making him a free agent. Amezaga played in only 27 games for the Marlins last season and he was 15 for 69 (.217 avg, .528 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 5 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He played in 417 games in his four years with the Marlins and he was 289 for 1,114 (.259 avg, .666 OPS) with 135 runs scored, 8 homers, 86 RBIs and 42 stolen bases. The Marlins will miss Amezaga’s versatility but he is still gimpy from a bad knee which made the team’s choice easier.