The Marlins have signed 29-year old righty reliever Jose Veras to a minor league deal. He pitched in 47 games (0 starts) for the Indians & Yankees last season and he was 4-3 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. Veras has now pitched in 128 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 9-6 with 3 saves, a 4.42 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. I like this signing for the Marlins as Veras should pitch better with the Marlins than he did in the American League.

The Florida Marlins have signed 32-year old righty reliever Derrick Turnbow to a minor league deal. He pitched in 8 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last season and he was 0-1 with a 8.53 ERA and a 3.16 WHIP. He walked 9 batters and allowed 11 hits in only 6 1/3 innings in the minors last year. Turnbow has now pitched in 257 games (1 start) in his major league career and he is 17-16 with 65 saves, a 4.30 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has only allowed 206 hits in 257 2/3 innings in his major league career while whiffing 265 batters which shows what kind of stuff he does have. But, he has walked 168 batters which is way too many. It will be interesting to see if the Marlins can turn him around.

Righty starting pitcher Kevin Brown was a key part of the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins’ team. He only pitched two years for the Marlins but he was outstanding with them leading the N.L. in ERA in 1996 (1.89). Brown pitched in 65 games (all starts) for the Marlins and he was 33-19 with a 2.30 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Despite only being with the Marlins two seasons, Brown is still tied for 9th in Marlins’ history in wins (33), tied for #3 in complete games (11) and he is #3 in shutouts (5). Brown was only a Marlin for two years but they were two great ones for both him and the Marlins.

It appears that 26-year old righty swinging Gaby Sanchez and 22-year old lefty swinging Logan Morrison will battle for the 1B job in 2010 this spring. Sanchez probably has a slight lead going into spring training. He played in 21 games for the Marlins last season and he was 5 for 21 (.238 avg, .828 OPS) with 2 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. Sanchez also played in 85 games in AAA-ball last year and he was 92 for 318 (.289 avg, .849 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 16 homers, 56 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Sanchez didn’t make any errors in 4 games for the Marlins last season.

Logan Morrison is one of the better prospects in the Marlins’ minor league system but he might still need some time in the minors. Morrison played in 82 games in A+AA ball last season and he was 80 for 289 (.277 avg, .848 OPS) with 48 runs scored, 8 homers, 49 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. He does show pretty good plate discipline as he walked 64 times last season while only whiffing 48 times.

Jorge Cantu played in 111 games at 1B last season for the Marlins and he made 6 errors. While he is not a good defenisve 3B it looks like that is where he will open the year unless both Sanchez and Morrison fall on their faces this spring. Wes Helms could also play some at 1B for the Marlins in 2010. He played 4 games there making 1 error in 2009 for the Marlins.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: D

29-year old lefty swinging John Baker will be platooning with 28-year old righty swinging Ronny Paulino behind the plate again in 2010. The Marlins hope that it works out as well as it did in 2009. Baker played in 112 games for the Marlins last season and he was 101 for 373 (.271 avg, .759 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 9 homers and 50 RBIs. Baker is improving as a catcher but he’s still below average. Baker made 6 errors and he had 5 passed balls in 105 games behind the plate last season. He threw out 19% of runners trying to steal on him last season and Marlins’ pitchers had a 4.43 ERA with him behind the plate.

Ronny Paulino played in 80 games for the Marlins last season and he was 65 for 239 (.272 avg, .763 OPS) with 24 runs scored, 8 homers and 27 RBIs. Paulino is a better defender than Baker is as he only made 2 errors and had 3 passed balls in 77 games behind the plate last season. He also threw out 28% of the runners trying to steal on him last season and Marlins’ pitchers had a 4.18 ERA with him behind the plate. Paulino is the better player of the two but Baker will play more once again because he bats lefthanded.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE CATCHERS IN 2010: B-

The Florida Marlins have signed 25-year old righty starting pitcher Josh Johnson to a 4-year, $39 million dollar contract extension. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) last season and he was 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Johnson has now pitched in 86 games (76 starts) for the Marlins in which he is 34-16 with a 3.40 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. I like this move for the Marlins but they better keep their fingers crossed because until last season he was a tad injury prone.

The Marlins have signed 31-year old righty reliever Chris Schroder to a minor league deal. He pitched in 45 games (1 start) in AAA-ball last season and he was 3-1 with 3 saves, a 2.22 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Schroder has also pitched in 62 games (0 starts) in his major league career and he is 2-5 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. He only has allowed 65 hits in 78 2/3 innings in his major league career while whiffing 85 batters so Schroder does have the potential to help the Marlins in 2010.

The Florida Marlins are on the verge of really making some noise in the National League East. But, it appears as if money is going to once again cause them to short circuit. If the season started next week though the Marlins would have a outstanding line-up that would look like this:

C-John Baker/Ronny Paulino
1B-Gabby Sanchez
2B-Dan Uggla
SS-Hanley Ramirez
3B-Jorge Cantu
LF-Chris Coghlan
CF-Cameron Maybin
RF-Cody Ross

The Marlins will likely trade Dan Uggla or Jorge Cantu before the season starts which would likely put Emilio Bonifacio somewhere in this starting line-up and that would be a huge downgrade. The Marlins are moving into a brand new stadium in 2012 so they should quit being so damn cheap.