Fifteen Years of Deadline Deals, Part One

With the non-waiver trade deadline in the rear-view mirror (and, perhaps, a more important trade deadline coming up), I thought I’d take the time to look at past deadline deals the Marlins have swung, and their impact on the team.

1993

- Marlins traded P Cris Carpenter to the Rangers for P Robb Nen and P Kurt Miller (July 17, 1993). Incredibly, the Marlins first-ever deadline deal may have been their best.  They got their closer for the next 3 1/2 years in Nen, plus a spare part in Kurt Miller, who pitched for parts of three seasons for Florida.  Nen was almost un-hittable at times, and was a key cog in the bullpen for the team that won the 1997 World Series.  As for Carpenter, he won four games for Texas in ‘93, then spent two more un-eventful years in the Majors before being let got by Milwaukee in 1996.

1994

No deadline deals.

1995

No deadline deals.

1996

-Marlins traded 3B Terry Pendleton to the Braves for OF Roosevelt Brown (July 13, 1996). When Pendleton was traded, the two-headed monster of Alex Arias and Kurt Abbott took over 3B duties for the Fish.  Pendleton didn’t do much for the Braves (hit .204 after the trade), and played two more years before moving on to coaching, where he is now a successful hitting coach for the Braves.  Brown was impressive for Single A Macon when traded (.278 average, 19 homers) and looked like a solid prospect.  But he spent 1 1/2 years kicking around the Marlins system before being drafted by the Cubs in the Minor-League portion of the Rule V Draft.

-Marlins traded P Dave Weathers to Yankees for P Mark Hutton (July 31, 1996). The Yankees needed an extra arm for their playoff run, and found one in Weathers.  Ironically, Dave would return to the Marlins eight years later when the Fish were looking for the same thing.  Hutton played parts of two years for Florida and didn’t do too bad.  He both started and relieved for the Fish until being traded to Colorado almost exactly one year later.

1997

-Marlins traded P Pat Rapp to Giants for P Brandon Leese and P Bobby Rector (July 18, 1997). Rapp, an original Marlin, was no longer needed on the soon-to-be-World Series-winning team, with the success of phenom LIvan Hernandez.  The Marlins got a couple prospects out of the deal, neither of whom amounted to anything.  Rector reached AA, but never higher, and was out of baseball at the turn of the century.  Leese reached AAA with the Fish in 2001, but posted a 6.95 ERA in his last pro season.

-Marlins traded OF Billy McMillon to Phillies for 1B Darren Daulton (July 21, 1997). Three days after the first deal, the Marlins strengthened their bench by acquiring the wily veteran Daulton, who also had World Series experience.  Daulton shared time at first with Jeff Conine and hit .262, but his leadership was invaluable.  McMillon, once thought to have a bright future in the bigs, carved out a niche as a role player, and played parts of six seasons, his last being in 2004.

-Marlins traded P Mark Hutton to Rockies for IF Craig Counsell (July 27, 1997). With starting 2B Luis Castillo being the only hole in the Marlins potent lineup, they went out and got Counsell from Colorado.  The scrappy Counsell hit .299 in the regular season in Florida and scored the run that won the World Series for the Marlins.  Florida had a deep bullpen in ‘97, leaving Hutton expendable.

-Marlins traded P Matt Whisenant to Royals for C Matt Treanor (July 29, 1997). Hard to believe one of the players from this trade is still around.  Whisenant had a high ERA everywhere he pitched in ‘96 AND ‘97.  Whisenant played parts of four seasons in the Majors, his last in 2000.  Treanor was in High A ball when acquired in 1997.  He gradually (and I mean GRADUALLY) worked his way up the developmental ladder and finally got his chance at the Majors in 2004.  He’s been with the Fish full-time since 2005 and even got a chance to start this season.

1998

-Marlins traded P Felix Heredia & P Steve Hoff to Cubs for 3B Kevin Orie, P Todd Noel & P Justin Speier (July 31, 1998). The Marlins continued their purge of the 1997 team, sending the valuable lefty Heredia to Chicago.  Heredia continued on, as many lefties have, and pitched until 2005.  Hoff didn’t amount to anything other than a minor-league arm.  Orie took over 3B duties from Todd Zeile, who was also traded on this day.  Orie also played in 1999 until being sent to the Dodgers in a conditional deal.  Noel finished out ‘98 in the Marlins system, but played ‘99 and ‘00 with the  Yanks.  Speier got his feet wet with Florida in ‘98, but didn’t impress.  He became a reliable reliever, and is in the Angels bullpen today.

-Marlins traded Todd Zeile to Rangers for 3B Jose Santos & P Dan DeYoung (July 31, 1998). A busy day for the Marlins, as they sent Zeile, who they got earlier in the season in the Sheffield/Eisenreich/Bonilla dump-off.  The Marlins traded the other piece in that deal, Mike Piazza, the week after acquiring him.  They waited a little longer to sell off Zeile, who they had no intention of keeping when they got him.  Santos, who off-and-on showed power, reached AA for the Marlins, but ended his career in Single-A Jupiter in 2003.  DeYoung pitched the rest of 1998, but was never heard from again.

1999

-Marlins traded P Livan Hernandez to Giants for P Jason Grilli & P Nate Bump (July 24, 1999). The toast of Miami when he came up in ‘97, Hernandez was traded in ‘99, knowing he’d command too much for the Marlins to offer on the open market.  Grilli and Bump were both shuttled between AAA and the Majors in the Marlins careers.  Grilli was selected by the White Sox in the ‘04 Rule V Draft.  He’s currently a reliever for the Rockies.  Bump turned into a decent middle reliever, and pitched 50 games for Florida in 2004.  His final year in the Marlins system was 2006.  He currently pitches in AA for the Giants.

Years 2000-2008 still to come…..

Lets Play (small) Ball!

As the season progresses and we get closer to the playoffs, I worry about the young Florida Marlins. Even as they come off a series split with the National League’s top team, the Chicago Cubs, and are currently fighting for the series win with the NL East’s top team, the New York Mets. I cannot help but wonder if the Marlins will be able to keep up their unlikely success. Now, I realize that several articles have been written on this subject, questioning whether or not the Marlins are for real, if we can keep hitting home runs at a record pace, etc. The answer is yes they can. They have kept this up for far too long for us to still doubt them. Hanley Ramirez will continue to succeed leading off, Dan Uggla will continue hitting home runs and Mike Jacobs, Cody Ross and Josh Willingham will continue to produce solid numbers in the middle of the lineup.

The bigger question is: Can they keep playing this style of baseball and still win through August and September and, hopefully, October. The answer to that question is not so simple. The Marlins are currently on pace to break the record for total team home runs in a season, they currently have a league high 150, and their bats won’t be quieted easily. There is no question that they are a team of sluggers, swinging for the fences at any chance they get, eager for that next big fly. As the season wears on, the trade deadline approaches and teams scurry to fill gaps on their roster and evaluate their chances at a playoff run, the Marlins’ style will be tested.

Teams will begin to play them differently, in fact they already have. The Fish will be challenged to play small ball, something they have struggled with all season. The home run may be the most thrilling play in professional sports, but relying on it as your only means to win a game will not get your team very far in October. We’ve all heard that the post-season is ‘a whole new season’ and what happened in the regular season doesn’t mean much anymore. Marlin fans will be the first to agree as they have twice seen their underdog Marlins win the World Series from the wild card spot, once in 1997 and again in 2003.

Hypothetically, lets say the Marlins do take this all the way to the post-season. They are by no means there yet, as the Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Phillies and Mets all currently possess better records than them. But even if they do climb up the standings, make the wild card or even win the East, it is still hard to imagine that in the playoffs, this style of baseball will cut it.

If the Florida Marlins do make the playoffs, it will probably once again be as the wild card and, more than likely, they will play the Cubs in the Division Series. After witnessing the series split in Chicago, Marlin fans have reason to feel optimistic at the prospect of playing the Cubs, and they should, as their team has been one of the biggest surprises in baseball this season. Unfortunately, the Cubs possess the NL’s top batting average, the most runs scored and the most RBI’s. What this tells me is that the Cubs know how to move runners and get them home. They also have the NL’s second lowest ERA. Relying on the home run, it will not be easy to defeat such a team.

I realize that by using the regular season stats of the Cubs after calling the post-season an entirely new season may seem counterproductive, but I feel that it is worth examining. It shows what kind of team the Cubs are and, as the likely opponent for the Marlins in the Division Series if they make the playoffs, the obstacles the Marlins will likely have to overcome to be successful. The Cubs will obviously score runs, their pitchers are fantastic and will challenge the Marlin sluggers to hit home runs, or else. It is the perfect storm. Your opponent knows how to score runs, does not allow runs to be scored on them and your only hope for scoring runs is the home run. If the Marlins wish to be successful in the playoffs, they have to learn how to move runners and then bring them home. To beat teams in the playoffs, they need to find ways to score runs when the home run just isn’t there.

As I sit here writing this, the Marlins are proving me wrong. They are playing small ball. They put up 5 runs in the 4^th inning against the Mets and they did it with no home runs. The first game of this series, they played small ball as well, and won. Dan Uggla, the Marlins’ biggest slugger, even remarked on the fact that they were able to play small ball and score some runs in the 8^th inning to rally past the Mets. Hopefully, they are learning how to play without the home run because there are times, slumps, when the home run goes away and a hitter will have to rely on other means to score runs for their team. It seems that the Florida Marlins have begun to understand and buy into this strange, new way of playing baseball.

As we enter August and the conclusion of the regular season draws nearer, it will be interesting to see what adjustments the Marlins make. Whether it be on their roster (I keep hearing Manny the Marlin rumors as the deadline is less than 24 hours away) or a new baseball philosophy, whatever changes take place, it will be fun to watch this young team make a run at the post-season.

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