In 2010, 31-year old righty swinging catcher John Buck played in 118 games for the Blue Jays and he was 115 for 409 (.281 avg, .803 OPS) with 53 runs scored, 20 homers and 66 RBIs. The Marlins then gave him a huge contract over the winter, based on last year’s production. Buck has played in 93 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 72 for 318 (.226 avg, .684 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 11 homers and 38 RBIs. You have to think that the Marlins didn’t scout Buck until last season to give him the kind of contract they did. In his six years in Kansas City, Buck played in 584 games in which he was 450 for 1,913 (.235 avg, .705 OPS) with 218 runs scored, 70 homers, 259 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Buck will have two more years with the Marlins to prove that his signing wasn’t the waste of money it looks like right now.

The Florida Marlins aren’t going to trade any of their younger players this week at the trade deadline with them moving into a brand new stadium next year. I still see them making some deals for prospects though. Closer Leo Nunez is the top trade chip the Marlins will likely make available this week. The Angels, Rangers, Phillies, Braves, Pirates and Diamondbacks will likely line up for a shot to get Nunez. Righty relievers Brian Sanches and Burke Badenhop could also be on the move as long as the Marlins get what they want for them. Infielder Omar Infante will be pursued by the Rangers, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Giants and D-Backs so he could be on the move by this Sunday too. The Marlins would love to dump righty starting pitcher Javier Vazquez or veteran infielder Wes Helms, but I don’t see them having much luck in those ventures.

The Marlins have sent 24-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Volstad to AAA. Volstad has started 20 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 5-8 with a 5.58 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He has given up 134 hits in his first 111 1/3 innings for the Marlins this year so he wasn’t missing many bats. Volstad has now pitched in 94 games (93 starts) in his first four years with the Marlins and he is 32-34 with a 4.71 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. The Marlins will likely call up 21-year old lefty starter Brad Hand to replace Volstad in the starting rotation. Hand has started 5 games for the Marlins so far this year and he is 1-3 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.

35-year old lefty reliever Randy Choate has really been effective so far this year for the Marlins. He has pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 0-1 with a 1.33 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP. He has been used almost exclusively against lefty batters as he has only pitched 20 1/3 innings so far this year. He has only allowed 9 hits this year while whiffing 26 batters as he has been dominating in his role in the Marlins’ bullpen so far this year. Rumors abound that teams are calling the Marlins about Choate, but he’s signed for 2012 at $1.25 million bucks, so a team is going to have to overwhelm the Marlins if they want to trade for him.

25-year old righty reliever Steven Chisek came into this season as the Marlins’ #19 prospect according to Baseball America. Chisek has pitched in 20 games (0 starts) for the Marlins so far this year and he is 1-1 with 1 save, a 2.13 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He has only given up 21 hits while walking 6 batters in his first 25 1/3 innings this year as he has been very aggressive in the strikezone. He also has whiffed 27 batters for the Fish as he was good stuff. Chisek could be moving up in the Marlins’ bullpen if they deal a reliever or two by the trade deadline.