I didn’t think I would ever say this, but thank goodness for the Florida Marlins.

I say this because if it wasn’t for them, there would be nothing but awards given out so far this offseason. The Marlins have been baseball’s most active team so far and on Wednesday, they were at it again.

 

Buck will be the Marlins’ catcher for the next 3 years

The Marlins signed All Star catcher John Buck to a three-year, $18 million contract. Buck hit .281/.314/.489 with 20 HR’s last season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

I understand the catching position has been a black hole for the Marlins for the past couple of seasons, but I have to call nonsense on this one.

I have a hard time believing that a guy who averaged .235/.301/.404 with 12 HR’s in his career prior to 2010 and then all of a sudden breaks out to have a career in 2010 is worth a three-year, $18 million deal. It sure sounds like Buck had an “Adrian Beltre” year to me.

Marlin catchers hit a combined .226/.289/.338 with nine HR’s last season, so the addition of Buck based on last year’s numbers appears to be a serious upgrade. However, it seems to me that the Marlins are paying Buck for what he did in the past and not what he is likely to do in the future.

What Buck is likely to do is have a year that resembles his average prior to his 2010 season. All of a sudden that .235/.301/.404 Buck has put up in years past doesn’t look like much of an upgrade.

With the addition of Buck, here is what the Marlins’ starting lineup could look like come Opening Day:

Chris Coghlan, 3B

Omar Infante, 2B

Hanley Ramirez, SS

Mike Stanton, RF

Gaby Sanchez, 1B

Logan Morrison, LF

John Buck, C

Emilio Bonifacio, CF

The “keys” to that lineup as I would say are Coghlan, Morrison and Buck. If Coghlan can bounce back, Morrison continue to develop into the star he is going to be, and Buck has the year he had in 2010, all of a sudden that Marlins’ lineup looks really good.

But I don’t think Buck has the year he had last year, and at the end of his second year, this will look like a pretty bad deal for the Marlins.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg

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