STATE OF THE MARLINS

Click here for the Florida Marlins 2010 team page

UPDATE 11/26/09 - 8:52 AM PST
LINEUP - The Marlins have one of the best players in the majors, shortstop Hanley Ramirez (.953 OPS, 27 SB), hitting in the middle of their lineup and two potential stars, Chris Coghlan and Cameron Maybin, likely hitting in front of him in 2010. Maybin struggled early in the season and was demoted in May after hitting just .202 with 31 K's in 84 AB's. However, the 22 year-old was a different player when he returned in September, posting an .853 OPS over the final month of the season. He'll team in the outfield with Coghlan (.321 BA, 9 HR, 47 RBI), the NL Rookie of the Year, and veteran Cody Ross (.270 BA, 24 HR, 90 RBI). Free agent 1B Nick Johnson, who hit just 2 HR's but was an on-base machine (.477 OBP) after being acquired from the Nationals in July, is unlikely to return. Jeremy Hermida, who never quite lived up to expectations in four seasons with the team, was traded to the Red Sox. Dan Uggla (31 HR, 90 RBI, 150 K) is on the trade block once again. If he goes, Emilio Bonifacio (.252 BA, 21 SB) would likely move from 3B to 2B with Jorge Cantu (.289 BA, 16 HR, 100 RBI) moving from 1B to 3B and Gaby Sanchez (.849 OPS in AAA) stepping in at 1B.

ROTATION - Josh Johnson is 34-16 in his career and has established himself as one of the premier starting pitchers in the game. Ricky Nolasco was so bad after his first 9 starts of '09 (2-5, 9.07 ERA) that he was demoted to AAA. He returned after a few weeks and was a much better pitcher the rest of the way (11-4, 3.82 ERA, 158 K in 141.1 IP). Anibal Sanchez missed most of 2009 with a shoulder injury but pitched extremely well after returning in late August, posting a 2.68 ERA and holding opponents to a .212 BA over his final 9 starts. Twenty-three year-old left Sean West (8-6, 4.79 ERA in 20 starts) pitched well enough to secure a rotation spot for 2010 but he'll have plenty of competition from lefty Andrew Miller (3-5, 4.84 ERA in 14 starts), and right-handers Chris Volstad (9-13, 5.21 ERA in 29 starts), and Rick VandenHurk (3-2, 4.30 ERA in 11 starts) as they battle for the last two spots in the rotation.

BULLPEN - Two of the team's best relievers, Brendan Donnelly (1.78 ERA, 9 holds in 30 relief appearances) and Kiko Calero (1.95 ERA, 12 holds in 67 relief appearances) are free agents. Leo Nuñez (4.06 ERA, 22 Sv in 26 chances) returns as the closer although the team could look for an upgrade. Lefties Dan Meyer (3.09 ERA, 20 holds in 71 relief appearances) and Reynel Pinto (3.23 ERA, 13 holds in 73 relief appearances) both had very good seasons, as did right-hander Brian Sanches (2.56 ERA, 10 holds in 47 relief appearances). Burke Badenhop was excellent in long relief (6-4, 3.31 ERA, 65.1 IP in 33 relief appearances). The biggest disappointment was Matt Lindstrom, who opened the season as the closer but posted a 6.52 ERA over the first half of the season and then missed over a month with an elbow strain.