The Florida Marlins have traded 29-year old lefty swinging 1B Mike Jacobs to the Royals for 25-year old righty reliever Leo Nunez. Jacobs played in 141 games for the Marlins last season and he was 118 for 477 (.247 avg, .813 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 32 homers and 93 RBIs. In four years in the majors, Jacobs has played in 421 games in which he is 385 for 1,472 (.262 avg, .816 OPS) with 197 runs scored, 80 homers and 247 RBIs. The Marlins figure that they have enough depth and ammo in the lineup to part with Jacobs. Plus, don’t forget that he’s going to be making way more money than Nunez will this season which is always important to the Marlins. Nunez is a fireballing righty who should fit in at the back end of the bullpen for the Marlins in 2009. He pitched in 45 games (0 starts) for the Royals last season and he was 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. The Marlins hope that the Nunez that pitched so well for the Royals in 2008 is the one they are getting for 2009. Nunez has pitched in 106 games (6 starts) in his major league career and he is 9-7 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. At some point the Marlins will actually make a trade based purely on baseball and not money. Until then, they will never be a legit playoff contender.

The Marlins have outrighted 33-year old righty Lee Gardner and 27-year old righty Doug Waechter to AAA making them both free agents. Gardner pitched in only 7 games for the Marlins this season due to injury and he was 0-0 with a 10.80 ERA and a 2.70 WHIP. In two seasons with the Marlins, Gardner pitched in 69 games (0 starts) in which he was 3-4 with 2 saves, a 2.67 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. If Gardner proves to be healthy in 2009 the Marlins will likely wish that they kept him as he was almost unhittable for them in 2007. Doug Waechter came out of nowhere and had a very effective season out of the bullpen for the Marlins in 2008. He pitched in 48 games (0 starts) for the Marlins in 2008 and he was 4-2 with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has now pitched in 108 games (54 starts) in his major league career and he is 18-27 with a 5.30 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. It seems as if Waechter had found a niche as a reliever so some team will pick him up next season. Either of these two guys could come back to haunt the Marlins in the future.

The Florida Marlins have outrighted 24-year old outfielder Alejandro De Aza and 29-year old righty reliever Henry Owens to AAA making them both free agents. Neither of these guys played last season due to injuries. Lefty swinging Alejandro De Aza played in 45 games in 2007 for the Marlins in which he was 33 for 149 (.229 avg, .574 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 8 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Marlins won’t likely miss De Aza as he appears to have a very limited upside. Righty reliever Henry Owens looked really good for the Marlins in 2007 before he went down with a very serious injury that caused him to miss the entire 2008 season. Owens pitched in 22 games (0 starts) in 2007 for the Marlins and he was 2-0 with 4 saves, a 1.96 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. Look for some team to take a chance on these guys as Owens has a nice upside and De Aza is still young.

The Marlins have released righty starting pitcher Sergio Mitre who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He won’t be able to pitch until July or August of 2009 so the Marlins didn’t feel like waiting for him. Mitre pitched in 42 games (34 starts) in two years with the Marlins and he was 6-13 with a 4.88 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. The Marlins have a lot of starting pitchers better than Mitre so they won’t miss him too much.

The Marlins have lost 24-year old righty reliever Scott Nestor on waivers to the Phillies. Nestor came into this season as the #25 prospect in the Marlins’ minor league system according to Baseball America but he had a awful year in 2008. Nestor pitched in 55 games (0 starts) in AAA ball this season and he was 1-1 with a 7.44 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. He has good stuff as he whiffed 64 batters and allowed only 54 hits in 61.2 innings this season, but, he walked a stunning 49 batters.

The Marlins have signed 1B/3B Wes Helms to a 2-year, $1.8 million dollar contract. This was a interesting move for the Marlins as Helms didn’t play that well this season for them. He played in 132 games for the Marlins this season and he was 61 for 251 (.243 avg, .646 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 5 homers and 31 RBIs. Helms has now played two years of his career in Miami with the Marlins covering 272 games in which he is 140 for 491 (.285 avg) with 58 runs scored, 15 homers and 78 RBIs. He will provide some pop off of the bench for the Marlins the next couple of seasons.