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Carlos Marmol’s 2011 campaign was a disaster. His 2012 season was equally awful.

Why would the Cubs stick with Marmol as their closer?

Marmol has one year left on his three-year contract ($9.8 million) with the Cubs. While fans may want him gone now, his trade value is virtually nonexistent. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Marmol thought he was already traded to the Angels last year. He would have worked in the bullpen rather than as the closer with the Angels, however.

If the Cubs want Marmol to have trade value as a closer, they need him to perform in 2013. If it seemed he wouldn’t produce, then they wouldn’t trot him out there again. All signs point to a better season though.

Manager Dale Sveum said Marmol is “throwing the ball way better than last spring training.” He also suggested that Marmol has developed better control with his fastball (via ESPN).

The Cubs need to hope so because Marmol’s 1.54 WHIP last year belies how awful his control was. Marmol’s great 2008 season was the only time his WHIP was under 1.10.

Sveum seems to have confidence Marmol will rebound. He isn’t playing Marmol because the Cubs lack an alternative.

Kyuji Fujikawa was brought to Chicago from Japan, where he had success as a closer for the Hanshin Tigers.

Fujikawa is only a few years older than Marmol, and he has the same overwhelming stuff. Their fastballs have similar velocity (around 94 MPH), and their career K/9 rates are similar (11.7 for Marmol, 12.4 for Fujikawa). The primary difference is in their off-speed repertoire and their fastball control. Fujikawa’s career WHIP is 0.86.

Shouldn’t that mean that Fujikawa is the obvious choice for closer?

The Cubs are in rebuilding mode, and they want to acquire the best prospects they can. If Marmol shows he can close early on, he becomes even more enticing trade bait.

Sveum could easily plug Fujikawa in after that, while easing him into American baseball with the setup role.

While Marmol blew a preposterous 10 saves in 2011, his 2007 and 2008 seasons showed his potential. If other teams see a renaissance they may be willing to deal a quality prospect for him at the deadline. Admittedly, his first 2013 spring training appearance was typical Marmol (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 ER and 1 SO). It’s still early though.

Professional sports are a business, and Sveum knows that. He’s going with Marmol to build his trade value. It’s an obvious choice. The Cubs wouldn’t win the World Series this year with Marmol or Fujikawa or even a young Mariano Rivera. It’s irrelevant.

However, if Chicago keeps stockpiling prospects to combine with the young core in place, they could contend in years to come.

*All season & career stats came from Baseball-Reference.com

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A huge factor in the success of the San Francisco Giants over the last four seasons has been their ability to turn minor league free agents in to key contributors.

During spring training in 2009, the Giants struck gold with three minor league free agents who would help them win their first World Series in San Francisco one season later in Juan Uribe, Andres Torres and Santiago Casilla. Two years later, they found an All-Star starting pitcher in journeyman Ryan Vogelsong. Last year, they turned up two more contributors in Joaquin Arias and Gregor Blanco, who is now the team’s starting left fielder.

This spring there are plenty of candidates in camp to be the next Uribe, Torres, Casilla, Blanco or Arias. However, the one candidate that has arguably the best chance to make an impact on this year’s team is outfielder Cole Gillespie.

The 28-year-old left fielder has only received 120 career plate appearances in the big leagues, and he’s hit only .236 in his limited opportunities. However, in seven minor league seasons, he’s hit .290. Last year at Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks system, he hit .308/.390/.494 with 35 doubles and 13 home runs.

Gillespie brings several things to the table that the Giants can use this year. The Giants’ left field combination of Blanco and Torres offers plenty of speed and defense, but neither guy is much of a threat with the bat.

Enter Gillespie, who is a lifetime .290 hitter in the minor leagues with an outstanding .393 on-base percentage boosted by his 13.5 percent walk rate. Gillespie has also shown better contact skills and more power in the minor leagues than the strikeout prone, powerless duo of Blanco and Torres. 

The Giants also don’t have much offense coming off of the bench. Last year, they finished just 12th in the National League with a .218 batting average in pinch-hitting situations. Torres, Arias and backup catcher Hector Sanchez are basically assured of roster spots, leaving two openings on the bench for another outfielder and infielder. Thus, the opportunity is there for Gillespie to earn a job and boost the Giants’ late-inning options off of the bench. 

Early in spring training, Gillespie is taking advantage of his opportunities. He’s gone 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored, while also playing good defense in the outfield to make himself an early front-runner for a bench spot. Gillespie will have to continue his hot start to hold off Brett Pill, Roger Kieschnick and Francisco Peguero for the fifth outfielder job.

Last spring, Blanco entered camp as just a lifetime .258 hitter over parts of three seasons in the big leagues. He was also coming off of a disappointing season at Triple-A in which he hit just .201 and didn’t earn a promotion back to the big leagues. Usually, 27-year-old outfielders that can barely crack the Mendoza Line in the minor leagues are on their way out of the game rather than headed for a starting gig on the World Series champs.

However, the Giants scouts saw things they liked in Blanco that led them to believe he was worth a gamble. Pro scouting director Jeremy Shelley told Baseball America that the Giants looked past Blanco‘s poor batting average at Triple-A to see a player who could eventually start for them:

Our scouts liked him and thought he could compete for a starting role. We saw a guy with a .360 career OBP, who could defend up the middle, who could run and swing the bat. We also had followed him in Venezuela in winter ball, and [big league hitting coach] Hensley Meulens and our minor league infield rover, Jose Alguacil, helped recruit him to sign with us.

We also saw that he hadn’t had much luck; his average on balls in play was low, and we thought that played a part in his low average last year. Even when he didn’t hit, he still had a .350 OBP. So he was at the top of our list last offseason. There’s no question it was a group effort with a lot of people involved in acquiring him.

Blanco still had to produce during spring training to earn a job with the Giants, and he did just that by hitting .333/.395/.423 with 13 stolen bases. As with Blanco, Gillespie has been overlooked, despite having the aforementioned qualities that can help a big league team.

The Giants have had four straight winning seasons, and they’ve won two of the last three World Series titles. Stars like Matt Cain, Buster Posey, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner and Pablo Sandoval are obvious players to credit.

However, all 25 roster spots are important, even if they aren’t all created equally. Minor league free agency has been a key roster-building route for the Giants, and that trend will continue this spring.

Early in camp, Gillespie looks like the best candidate to be the next minor league free agent to make an impact for the Giants.

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The Boston Red Sox dropped their first official matchup of the spring Saturday afternoon to the Tampa Bay Rays—overall, Boston didn’t play half bad.

Boston’s 4-3 loss came two days after the Red Sox defeated a pair of college programs, Boston College and Northeastern University, in exhibition games. Tampa Bay got their runs on a Ryan Roberts sacrifice fly in the first inning, an error on Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the third and a two-run home run from Leslie Anderson in the eighth.

The Red Sox were down 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth and were able to cut the deficit to one run, but Daniel Nava struck out looking to end the game. For a full recap of the game, I compiled a live blog of the afternoon’s events.

But it’s time to go into a little more depth about what was good and bad in Saturday’s action.  

John Lackey is Healthy, Pitches Fine

The Boston Red Sox haven’t had John Lackey take the mound for in-game action since 2011. He missed all of 2012 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and enters 2013 with a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

As he told Tim Britton of The Providence Journal, “I took a second before I went on the mound and reflected on the past year and a half. It’s been a lot of work.”

Lackey pitched the first inning against the Rays, just trying to get some work in. Ben Zobrist drew a walk, Desmond Jennings singled and Matt Joyce was hit by a pitch to start the afternoon, and before he knew it, the Rays had the bases loaded and no one out.

Jack Cust struck out swinging, but Roberts hit a sacrifice fly to Shane Victorino in right field and Tampa Bay scored its first run of the game. A Sean Rodriguez fly out to Victorino ended the inning for the Red Sox and the outing for Lackey.

After he exited, Lackey told Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston, “I was excited. It was fun. I missed playing baseball for sure. And I didn’t feel any pain in my elbow.”

It was relatively obvious that Lackey had some nerves once taking the mound, but those subsided with each batter. He found his command and was able to escape further damage. Going forward, Lackey should be fine. He’s much slimmer and just needs to keep throwing.

Jose Iglesias a Hitter?

Throughout Jose Igelsias’ entire career, he’s been known as a defensive mastermind who couldn’t hit. Well if you’d never seen Iglesias play, you would’ve thought the opposite if tuning in on Saturday.

Iglesias fielded a routine ground ball by Ty Morrison in the top of the sixth inning and made a nonchalant throw to Daniel Nava, who was getting some experience at first base. The erratic throw pulled Nava off the bag, Morrison reached and Iglesias was credited with an error.

Iglesias made up for it in the bottom half of the frame, though, as he crushed a pitch to left field for a two-run home run, tying the game at 2-2.

To say that the Iglesias home run was rare would be a major understatement. In nearly 1,000 career at-bats in the minor leagues, Iglesias only has two hits that went over the fence. Yes, in three years in Boston’s system, Iglesias has hit two home runs. He does, however, have another, coming last season with the Red Sox.

But to call Iglesias a power hitter would be a mistake. He’s still developing his play with the bat—hopefully it can compliment his glove sometime in the near future.

Iglesias would have been the starting shortstop this season if the Red Sox felt that his bat was going to get better over the offseason. Instead, Boston signed Stephen Drew, who started Saturday, and now Iglesias will likely start the season back with Triple-A Pawtucket.

But if Iglesias can keep hitting consistently and with power, who knows what will happen come Opening Day.

Shane Victorino Off to a Slow Start

When the Red Sox decided to trade Carl Crawford last season and let Cody Ross walk in free agency this past winter, they had two outfield holes to fill. Shane Victorino was one of the players Boston brought in to potentially improve on last season’s disappointing result.

Boston signed Victorino to a three-year, $39 million deal, hoping that he’d be able to hit around .295 with some power like he had done previously in his career. Over the last three seasons, Victorino has hit .264/.334/.432 with an average of 15 home runs and 62 RBI per year.

Victorino got his first chance to dawn a Red Sox uniform Saturday, hitting third and starting in right field. Although he played well defensively, he was a disaster offensively.

After Jacoby Ellsbury walked in the first and Dustin Pedroia struck out, Victorino stepped into the box looking to make an early mark on the game. Instead, he grounded into a double play that ended the inning.

The next time Victorino came up, he grounded out to second base. In his third at bad, he grounded into another double play. Going 0-for-3, grounding into a pair of double plays and leaving three men on base probably isn’t the start he was looking for.

But, of course, this was just the first of many games that Victorino will play this spring. There’s plenty of time for him to bounce back offensively after a poor first game. It’s much too early to judge his contract; it’s only been one game.

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Spring training is here, and while some fans may be content to stick to college hoops and hockey until Opening Day arrives, others are going to want to get a closer look at all 30 teams before the season begins.

Whether you prefer the Cactus League or the Grapefruit League, this spring has plenty in store for serious MLB fans.

Below we’ll highlight a trio of upcoming preseason matchups that fans won’t want to miss.

*For the entire 2013 spring training schedule, visit MLB.com.

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles: Monday, Feb. 25, at 1:05 p.m. ET

The New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles last met in the American League Division Series this past fall, with the Yankees taking the series in five hard-fought games.

The series went back and forth with neither team winning two games in a row.

Plus, both teams are American League East rivals, which should make for some early fun. With tons more Yankees-Orioles matchups during the regular season to come, each side will no doubt be looking to pick up on a few things this spring.

Also, keep an eye out for first-year Yankee Kevin Youkilis, who will be trying to find his rhythm with his third different team in the last year. 

Los Angeles Angels vs. Los Angeles Dodgers: Thursday, Feb. 28, 3:05 p.m. ET

Both L.A.-based franchises will square off on Thursday in a battle for bragging rights in Hollywood.

The two teams are both in the Cactus League and will want to get off to a strong start in spring training after each narrowly missed the playoffs last October.

Mike Trout and Albert Pujols could possibly star for the Angels, while home run master Matt Kemp will likely be out for the Dodgers, as he hopes to return to action as soon as March 1.

Whether you’re a West Coast baseball fan or you simply enjoy preseason rivalries, Thursday afternoon’s battle for L.A. promises to satisfy your thirst for baseball.

Be on the lookout for starting lineups ahead of time, though, as you rarely know for sure who is and isn’t going to play in spring training.

San Francisco Giants vs. Oakland Athletics: Friday, March 1, 3:05 p.m. ET

The reigning World Series champion San Francisco Giants will be one of the most watched teams during spring training as many are wondering whether Bruce Bochy’s squad is capable of repeating in 2013.

Having won two of the last three World Series titles, it’s certainly not out of the cards. 

But on Friday, in addition to getting an up close look at the champs, baseball fans can check out the defending American League West winners, the Oakland Athletics. The two Bay Area teams show a lot of promise coming into this season, and like with the previous two matchups, this one should at least be competitive.

These teams come from different leagues and rarely see each other during the regular season. Like Angels-Dodgers, this showdown doesn’t come around often, and you have to catch it while you can.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter. 

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The Tampa Bay Rays took advantage of some inconsistent Boston Red Sox pitching as they took the first game of spring training, 4-3.

John Lackey took the mound for the first time since 2011 for the Red Sox, allowing one run in one inning of work. He struggled early in the inning, but got more comfortable with each batter and got out the first without further damage.

Down 2-0 in the seventh inning, Jose Iglesias launched a ball into the replica Green Monster seats to tie the game. Iglesias, who also had an error in the game, is trying to prove the Red Sox front office wrong. Boston signed Stephen Drew, who went 0-for-1 with a walk, this winter that will likely send Iglesias to Triple-A Pawtucket to start the season.

Oscar Villareal allowed a two-run home run to Leslie Anderson in the eighth inning, putting Boston against the wall late.

Xander Bogaerts, the team’s top prospect, hit an RBI single in the bottom of the night to cut the Rays’ lead to 4-3, but Daniel Nava struck out looking to end the game with him on first base.

None of the Red Sox starters were that impressive offensively and aside from the shaky first from Lackey, a couple of poor innings from Drake Britton and the home run allowed by Villareal, the pitching wasn’t too bad.

The Red Sox travel to take on the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m. ET.

Final: Rays 4, Red Sox 3

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When the Atlanta Braves traded Martin Prado the Arizona Diamondbacks, most thought the Braves got a good deal in return.

After all, the Braves received Justin Upton and Chris Johnson in a deal that saw the Braves give up a bunch of prospects in addition to Prado.

However, with the loss of Prado, there is one question on many people’s mind—who becomes the new super utility guy for the Braves?

The biggest advantage to having Prado was he could play anywhere on the field except for pitcher and catcher.

Since becoming a full-time player in 2009, Prado has played 235 innings at first base, 1,438 innings at second base, 92.1 innings at shortstop, 1,119 innings at third base and 1,841.2 innings in the outfield.

That versatility is what allowed the Braves to be successful when injuries to Chipper Jones, Andrelton Simmons and Tyler Pastornicky happened, as well as the time Dan Uggla was benched for being unproductive.

Prado provided a lot in terms of defense. Now, the Braves must look elsewhere for that super-utility guy.

So, who are the candidates to be that for the Braves?

Tyler Pastornicky

Pastornicky seems to be the favorite to take over the super-utility role, according to Fox Sports writer Cory McCartney.

Last year’s opening-day starter at shortstop, Pastornicky is getting used to the idea of playing all over the field, including the outfield, which he noted he’s never played before.

I don’t think I’ve ever played an inning in the outfield my whole life, so it’s definitely an adjustment, he said. But all the drills and stuff have been going well and it’s one of those things where I’m an athletic kid, so if the ball’s hit in the air, go and catch it. Don’t overthink the situation and don’t do too much with it.

Having never played the outfield will be a definite adjustment for Pastornicky. But, it’s a necessary one if he hopes to make the roster.

Joe Terdoslavich

Terdoslavich struggled when he made the jump from High-A to Triple-A last year.

In 53 games at Gwinnett in 2012, Terdoslavich batted .180 with four home runs and 20 RBI. Not to mention he had 22 errors at third base in 50 games.

Because of his struggles offensively and defensively, Terdoslavich was demoted to Double-A, where he only played six games at third, while playing 68 games at first.

Now, he is learning how to play the outfield, according to mlb.com writer Mark Bowman.

The decision to move him across the diamond to first base seemed to reduce some stress and focus on his offensive approach. Now, he will increase his defensive options by learning to play the outfield.

Until Terdoslavich can learn how to play third base at a high level, it seems the super-utility role will be his best fit if he wants to make the big-league roster.

Evan Gattis

Most people wouldn’t think of Gattis as being a candidate for the super-utility spot, but his experience at three positions will only help his cause.

Last year, Gattis played 37 games in left field and 27 games at catcher across three levels.

While the other two players have more experience at higher levels than Gattis, he has shown to have some pop in his bat.

In 2011, Gattis hit .322 with 22 home runs and 71 RBI at Class-A Rome. Last year, he hit .305 with 18 home runs and 67 RBI.

The one knock on Gattis is that he’s never played more than 88 games in a season. For a guy entering his fourth year of professional baseball, that’s not a good sign.

Will there even be a super-utility?

It’s impossible to predict if any of these three will make the big-league roster.

Currently, there is a bench spot taken up with the platoon of Chris Johnson and Juan Francisco at third base. Then, there’s the spot guaranteed to fourth outfielder Reed Johnson and backup shortstop Paul Janish. Throw in infield utility man Ramiro Pena and there might not be a spot for any of these three.

It’s still very early in spring training, so only time will tell if the Braves will have a super-utility player in 2013.

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Spring training isn’t just about players getting ready for the regular season. It’s also about the sunshine in Florida and Arizona while most of the United States is still getting snow.

Several teams have magnificent spring facilities that include batting cages, practice fields and, of course, the actual stadium.

Creating a comfortable environment for fans to watch the rising stars of each organization is important to every club. That’s shown in the time and money the teams put into these complexes.

Spring training is a time when players and fans are closest together. Once Opening Day rolls around, it’s all business all the time.

So while teams are still basking in the warm weather, let’s take a look at the 10 best spring-training stadiums.

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Due to both the volume and caliber of players confirmed to participate in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, teams are in a unique position to offer their top prospects additional playing time over the course of the spring. However, despite the additional opportunities, it’s still extremely doubtful that any of baseball’s top prospects will make an Opening Day roster. 

Now, I’ll be the first to admit that, over the course of a full season, there are certain prospect promotions that seem arbitrary and even unnecessary. In reality, though, there is almost always a specific plan in place for how to handle the long-term development of a top prospect.

On Thursday afternoon, Ben Nicholson-Smith of MLB Trade Rumors discussed the importance of considering service time when attempting to determine a prospect’s timeline to the major leagues.

In fact, unless the promotion is reactionary or rooted in necessity—such as when the Nationals summoned Bryce Harper from Triple-A in late April and less than 24 hours after Jayson Werth landed on the disabled list with a broken wrist—service time is arguably the most important factor in planning a well-timed big-league debut.

So, why exactly is a prospect’s service time such a big deal?

If an organization is able to resist all urges and hold their prospect in the minor leagues past a specified date, they will be granted an extra year of team control for that specific player. Furthermore, holding an impact prospect in the minor leagues for an even longer time period will also reduce the likelihood of that player gaining “Super-Two” status and an additional year of arbitration.

To supplement his thorough explanation, Nicholson-Smith also posted a chart with every top-ranked prospects’—only players with a realistic chance to contribute next season—key service time dates.  

After perusing the entire list, there are only a few players, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Bruce Rondon, namely, who should be a lock on the Opening Day roster. Beyond those two pitchers, there’s a large number of prospects who will be competing for a vacant roster spot, and, if all goes as planned, there could be a few names added to that list.

But what about top prospects like Jurickson Profar, Dylan Bundy, Oscar Taveras, Wil Myers, Gerrit Cole and Zack Wheeler? More specifically, how can each player’s respective team justify the decision to keep a potential impact player in the minor leagues for an extended period of time?

In the cases of Profar and Bundy, both players lack a clear route to playing time in the major leagues—at least initially. Therefore, unless necessity dictates a change of plans along the way, it may make more sense for both the Rangers and Orioles to retain their prized prospects in the high minors.

As for those prospects with the potential to be promoted over first few months of the 2013 season, it’s conceivable that several players, such as Shelby Miller, Adam Eaton and Chris Archer, will debut prior to their service-time cutoff dates, and possibly as a result of a deficiency at the major-league level.

And although the urge to promote prospects like Wil Myers, Zack Wheeler, Billy Hamilton and Travis d’Arnaud may be overwhelming at times, it seems more and more likely that each player will be kept in the minor leagues to avoid “Super Two” status. After all, if those players produce in the majors as expected, then the Rays, Mets and Reds could be on the line for several expensive years of arbitration.

Of course, there will be a few organizations that throw all service time-related concerns out the window and ultimately elect to promote a prospect to the major leagues ahead of schedule. Considering that exhibition games only began Friday, it’s difficult to predict which teams and prospects could fall into this category.

However, for the sake of predictions, it’s possible that some of the better offensive prospects, such as Oscar Taveras, Jedd Gyorko and Mike Zunino, will be expedited to the major leagues early in the season. The potential for a legitimate hit tool in the major leagues can sway even the most stubborn front office personnel.

As the 2013 season unfolds, it will be interesting to compare the circumstances surrounding each player’s call-up relative to how it was presented on paper heading into spring training.

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The Seattle Mariners have finally started playing baseball. They did drop their spring training opener (via MLB.com) by a score of 9-3 to the San Diego Padres, but it is good to finally get things started.

Position battles have begun, and it was not a good start for Hector Noesi. It is only one game, but Noesi surrendered six runs and a grand slam in the first inning. He only retired two batters before being pulled, and he was rewarded with a 54.00 ERA for his efforts.

Not exactly a good first impression for a guy that will be likely be battling for the fifth spot in the Seattle rotation.

Greg Johns of MLB.com tweeted the summary:

Hector Noesi hit hard in 2/3 inning, allows 6R, 4H, 4BB and one sun error on Ibanez in LF, lifted with bases still full after 11 batters.

— Greg Johns (@GregJohnsMLB) February 22, 2013

Based on his performance in 2012, Noesi was going to be facing a tough battle anyway. Noesi finished 2012 with a dismal 2-14 record and an ERA of 5.82 for the year. He had a WAR of -1.1 last season.

Not exactly overwhelming statistics.

Obviously this is one game. Noesi will pitch again, and there is no guarantee that everyone else will dazzle.

Blake Beavan may be unspectacular as well as he fights for a spot in the rotation. Erasmo Ramirez may not continue to show the promise that he displayed at the end of 2012. Jon Garland and Jeremy Bonderman may prove to have nothing left in the tank. The hot young prospects may be sent to Tacoma for a bit more seasoning.

Lots of maybes.

This is just the start, but it is fair to say that Noesi did not impress the people around the table at his first interview. For the sake of argument, it may be fair to suggest that Noesi will have to look pretty sharp in his next outing. He will at least have to show a good deal of improvement.

As noted by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times, “He was already facing a steep, steep climb trying to make this rotation and did not do himself any early favors here.”

Noesi may be the first name penciled onto the cut list in manager Eric Wedge’s head.

Starting pitcher is not the only position battle in camps. The other big battle will be in the outfield, and Casper Wells got out to an early lead with a two-run home run in the ninth inning. Again it is early, but every at-bat counts in the spring.

Perhaps Noesi could find a spot in the bullpen, but there are a number of young, talented throwers who will likely be ahead of him. He may be left without a chair when the music stops.

Maybe this was Hector Noesi’s one chance to prove that he deserves to be on this team. If so, his prospects are not looking good.

The good news is that baseball has finally begun. Hope springs eternal.

Follow @tpheifer

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