With Chris Coghlan and his repaired knee heading into new territory in center field, the Florida Marlins have made their move in assuring they will have a backup plan in case it doesn’t pan out.
The Marlins have signed outfielder DeWayne Wise to a minor league contract.
Back in December, prior to the Winter Meetings, I mentioned that Wise was a solid candidate for their fourth outfielder role and as a bench player.
As we all know, Wise kept a Mark Buehrle perfect game intact back in 2009 by making a leaping catch over the center field wall at U.S. Cellular Field to rob the Rays’ Gabe Kapler of a sure home run.
While Coghlan is the better hitter, should Wise play exceptionally well with the bat and Matt Dominguez struggle, look for Wise to become the team’s starting center fielder with Coghlan sliding back to his original position at second base.
Wise logged 239.2 innings (44 games) as an outfielder in 2010 and committed no errors, not a single one, and had a total of three outfield assists. In his career, Wise has only committed four errors (.991 fielding percentage) dating back to 2000.
Wise hit .250 with three home runs, 14 RBI and four stolen bases in 118 plate appearances (52 games) last season with the Toronto Blue Jays, where he was teammates with current Marlin catcher John Buck.
However, should Wise fail to stay in the Major Leagues, other outfield insurance policies include spring training invitee Chris Lubansk and outfielders John Raynor and Scott Cousins. Cousins made his debut last season with the Marlins, hitting .297 with two RBI in 38 plate appearances (27 games).
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