Marlins’ fans can thank the MLB Players’ Union for the fact that 29-year old righty swinging Dan Uggla will be back starting for them in 2010. The Union put pressure on the Marlins to start spending some of the revenue sharing they get on player payroll which resulted in Uggla not getting traded. Uggla played in 158 games for the Marlins last season and he was 137 for 564 (.243 avg, .813 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 31 homers and 90 RBIs. Since coming over to the Marlins in the Rule 5 Draft 4 years ago, Uggla has averaged 99.8 runs scored, 30.3 homers and 90 RBIs per year. Uggla’s bat more than makes up for his iron glove in the field. He made 16 errors in 158 games while showing pretty poor range in the field. Whether Uggla lasts the whole year as a Florida Marlin will likely depend on how well the team is playing at the All-Star break. If the Marlins are still in the hunt for the playoffs look for Uggla to be a Florida Marlin for all of 2010.

24-year old switch-hitting Emilio Bonifacio will be the Marlins utility man in 2010. He played in 127 games for the Marlins last season and he was 116 for 461 (.252 avg, .611 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 1 homer, 27 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Bonifacio played in 7 error-free games at 2B for the Marlins last season while showing poor range. This is Bonifacio’s natural position so the Marlins would probably give him the first crack at the starting 2B job if Uggla got either hurt or traded.

26-year old lefty swinging Danny Richar was signed as a minor league free agent over the winter to help provide depth at 2B in 2010. He played in 7 games for the Reds last season and he was 2 for 8 (.250 avg, .583 OPS) with 1 run scored. Richar also played in 47 games in AAA-ball last season and he was 49 for 169 (.290 avg, .768 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 4 homers, 16 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Richar only played in 1 game at 2B for the Reds last season and the ball didn’t get hit to him. Richar is an average defender at 2B.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2B IN 2010: B+