The Florida Marlins have placed catcher John Baker on the 60-day D.L. as he has been slow to recover from elbow surgery. Brett Hayes will be John Buck’s backup until Baker returns to action. That likely means that Buck will have a heavy workload in 2011 for the Marlins. But, that’s why he is getting the big money so don’t feel too sorry for him.

The Marlins have released 26-year old righty reliever Brett Sinkbeil. Sinkbeil pitched in 3 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 0-0 with a 10.50 ERA and a 3.50 WHIP as he walked 5 batters in only 2 innings! He also pitched in 58 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 3-3 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. The Marlins won’t miss Sinkbeil at all in 2011 no matter where he winds up.

51-year old manager Edwin Rodriguez replaced Fredi Gonzalez last season when he was fired. Rodriguez led the Marlins to a 46-46 (50%) record last year. He was only signed to a 1-year deal, so unless he gets the Marlins to the playoffs, he likely won’t be back when they open their new stadium in 2012. That would be a shame because Rodriguez looked more than up to the job of a major league manager in 2010.

The Florida Marlins have a suddenly deep and talented bullpen heading into 2011. 27-year old righty Leo Nunez will likely start the 2011 season as the Marlins’ closer. If he wants to keep the job he will have to pitch well. Nunez pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 4-3 with 30 saves, a 3.46 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He has now pitched in 143 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 8-9 with 56 saves, a 3.77 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP.

31-year old righty Clay Hensley will likely be the top set-up man for the Marlins in 2011. Hensley pitched in 68 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 3-4 with 7 saves, a 2.16 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. He has now pitched in 174 games (40 starts) in his first 5 years in the majors and he is 18-22 with 7 saves, a 3.72 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Marlins hope that last season wasn’t a mirage for Hensley.

26-year old righty Edward Mujica will likely be 3rd in line for saves when the 2011 season begins. Mujica pitched in 59 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year and he was 2-1 with a 3.62 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. Mujica only walked 6 batters last year while whiffing 72 batters in only 69 2/3 innings. He has now pitched in 179 games (4 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 8-9 with 2 saves, a 4.47 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Marlins hope that Mujica’s solid 2010 season wasn’t just a product of him pitching half his games at Petco Park.

25-year old righty Ryan Webb pitched in 54 games (0 starts) for the Padres last year and he was 3-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 82 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 5-2 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Webb has good stuff so he should help out the Marlins in 2011.

32-year old righty Brian Sanches really pitched well for the Marlins since coming over a couple of years ago. He pitched in 61 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 2-2 with a 2.26 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Sanches has now pitched in 108 games (0 starts) in his first two years with the Marlins and he is 6-4 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Sanches doesn’t have the best stuff around but he really knows how to pitch.

28-year old righty Burke Badenhop is the only semi-decent player the Marlins got for Miguel Cabrera. He pitched in 53 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 2-5 with 1 save, a 3.99 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. He has now pitched in 101 games (10 starts) in his first three years with the Marlins and he is 11-12 with 1 save, a 4.43 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He might have a hard time making the pitching staff at the start of the 2011 season.

35-year old lefty Randy Choate will be the specialist. He will be really effective for the Marlins if they just use him against lefty hitters. Choate pitched in 85 games (0 starts) for the Rays last year and he was 4-3 with a 4.23 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has now pitched in 342 games (0 starts) in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 10-10 with 5 saves, a 4.39 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP.

25-year old lefty Michael Dunn comes into this season as the Marlins’ #11 prospect. Dunn came over to the Marlins in the Dan Uggla deal with the Braves. Dunn pitched in 25 games (0 starts) for the Braves last year and he was 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. He has now pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 2-0 with a 2.74 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Dunn has whiffed 32 batters in only 23 innings so far in his major league career which shows what kind of stuff he has, but he has also walked 22 batters which is way too many. If Dunn is throwing strikes in 2011, he might be a huge asset for the Marlins in 2011.

27-year old lefty Dustin Richardson will likely start 2011 in the minors. He pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox last year and he was 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 2.23 WHIP. Richardson has now pitched in 29 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 3.31 ERA and a 2.02 WHIP. I think Richardson will be with the Marlins at some point in 2011.

24-year old righty Jose Ceda pitched in 8 games (0 starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 0-0 with a 5.19 ERA and a 2.19 WHIP. He also pitched in 34 games (0 starts) in A+AA-ball last year in which he was 4-1 with 6 saves, a 2.01 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Ceda whiffed 50 batters and only allowed 25 hits in 40 1/3 innings in the minors which shows what kind of stuff he has. Ceda comes into this season as the Marlins #12 prospect according to Baseball America.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE MARLINS BULLPEN IN 2011: B

27-year old righty swinging outfielder John Raynor refused an assignment to minor league camp so the Marlins released him. Raynor played in 11 games for the Pirates last year and he was 2 for 10 (.200 avg, .473 OPS) with 1 run scored. He was returned to the Marlins after the Pirates took him in the Rule 5 Draft in the winter of 2009. Raynor also played in 43 games in Rookie+AAA-ball last year for the Marlins and he was 38 of 137 (.277 avg, .713 OPS) with 21 runs scored, 2 homers, 14 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Raynor played in 462 games in his five years in the minors for the Marlins and he was 499 of 1,680 (.297 avg, .826 OPS) with 334 runs scored, 38 homers, 179 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. The Marlins shouldn’t miss Raynor too much in 2011 and beyond.