The Marlins have acquired 30-year old righty starting pitcher Carlos Zambrano and $15 million bucks for 25-year old righty starting pitcher Chris Volstad. The Marlins will only be on the hook for $3 million of the $18 million bucks owed to Zambrano for 2012. Zambrano pitched in 24 games (all starts) for the Cubs last year and he was 9-7 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He has now pitched in 319 games (282 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 125-81 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Zambrano is also a really good hitter for a pitcher. He is 159 of 659 (.241 avg, .646 OPS) with 72 runs scored, 23 homers, 69 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He goes up to the plate hacking as he has whiffed 232 times in his major league career while only walking 10 times. Zambrano has been selected to the N.L. All-Star team three times in his career so far and he has also won 3 Silver Slugger Awards. Zambrano has always been a good starting pitcher, but his temper consistently got him into trouble in Chicago. Marlins’ manager Ozzie Guillen thinks he can handle him, and if he can…..the Marlins made a good deal here. Chris Volstad pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Marlins last year and he was 5-13 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He pitched in 103 games (102 starts) in his four years with the Marlins and he was 32-39 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Volstad had been a disappointment since his very solid rookie year.

The Marlins have signed 27-year old righty reliever Rob Delaney to a minor league deal. Delaney pitched in 4 games (0 starts) for the Rays last year and he was 0-0 with a 10.50 ERA and a 2.20 WHIP. He also pitched in 51 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball for the Rays last year and he was 4-2 with 13 saves, a 1.86 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Delaney has now pitched in 5 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 10.50 ERA and a 2.33 WHIP. Maybe a change of scenery will spark Rob Delaney to start having some success in the majors.

The Marlins have signed 28-year old righty reliever/starter Chad Gaudin to a minor league deal. Gaudin pitched in 10 games (0 starts) for the Nationals last year and he was 1-1 with a 6.48 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP. He has now pitched in 268 games (75 starts) in his first 9 years in the majors and he is 36-40 with 2 saves, a 4.63 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. Gaudin will have a shot to win a long man job in the Marlins’ pen this spring.

The Marlins have re-signed 33-year old lefty swinging 1B/3B Greg Dobbs to a 2-year deal. Dobbs played in 134 games for the Marlins last year and he was 113 of 411 (.275 avg, .701 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 8 homers and 49 RBIs. He has now played in 689 games in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 396 of 1,500 (.264 avg, .713 OPS) with 157 runs scored, 39 homers, 211 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Dobbs will be the first pinch hitter off the bench for the Marlins this year, but they hope they don’t need him as much as they did last year.