Posts tagged Cameron Maybin at FanHouse

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2009.

When the Marlins dealt Miguel Cabrera last winter, it was assumed that they would battle the Nationals for the cellar in the National League East. That made their 84-77 record one of the most pleasant surprises of the season.

Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla led an offense that finished second in the NL in home runs, the preferred method of scoring for an offense that didn't get on base with much regularity. Chris Volstad looked like a future ace in 14 starts. Volstad, Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson and Andrew Miller are a very young rotation, but potentially a very good one if they're healthy and consistent in 2009.

Almost any team would envy the young, talented roster the Marlins possess, but building on their 2008 successes will be contingent on which players return next season. As always, the Marlins are dealing with monetary issues that often trump diamond ones. How they manage those two sides will decide how far they go next season.

The National League shapes up a lot differently today than it did yesterday. Burly Indians left-hander CC Sabathia, none other than the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, will make his first start for the Brewers tonight.

As difference-makers go, Sabathia is virtually impossible to top. Milwaukee's NL rivals simply can't do any better than the southpaw. Here are the gruesome details for the Cubs, Cardinals, Mets, Phillies and Marlins: On April 16, Sabathia's ERA was 13.50, since then he's made 14 starts, posting a 2.16 ERA and getting through the sixth inning in every single turn.

And of course, he's moving to the weaker National League and moving to a team where he won't be expected to be a savior - not with Ben Sheets and Manny Parra already in the rotation.

Milwaukee still has some work to do. As of Tuesday morning, the Brewers sit four games back of the Cubs in the standings and a 1/2 game behind the Cardinals, but Sabathia is replacing Jeff Suppan and his 4.71 ERA in the rotation. The expectation here is that they'll be able to make up that ground just by placing him in the rotation for the second half.

So the question for the Brewers' National League rivals becomes how to react to Milwaukee's coup. The answer is simple: concentrate on what you can control, and forget trying to better Brewers GM Doug Melvin.

Since the Tigers have had to trade prospects like Cameron Maybin and Gorkys Hernandez (I love that name.) this offseason to get guys like Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis in Tigers jerseys, it's left a bit of a hole in their farm system out in centerfield. It's not really a problem for the team right now because they currently have Curtis Granderson roaming the vast expanse of Comerica Park's outfield.

Of course, it also means that the Tigers would be smart to lock up Granderson for a few years so it doesn't become a problem, and according to the Detroit Free Press, that's exactly what they're trying to do.

The Tigers have initiated talks with centerfielder Curtis Granderson on a long-term contract extension, according to one person with knowledge of the discussions.

A conversation this month between the team and agent Matt Brown was preliminary, the person said, and did not address contract length or salary.

Granderson, 26, is not scheduled to enter free agency until after the 2011 season. He made $410,000 last year. The team could tender him a similar contract for the upcoming season, since he is not eligible for salary arbitration.

Granderson's 2007 season made him the second player in Major League history to hit at least 30 doubles, 20 triples, and 20 home runs while stealing at least 20 stolen bases, so it's obvious players of his all-around talent don't come around too often. Signing him to an extension now would probably end up saving the Tigers money in the long run, because I wouldn't be surprised if Grandy puts up those kinds of numbers for years to come.

There's one aspect of the ginormous Marlins/Tigers trade that became official today: by ditching Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis's potentially high salaries for the low cost controlled salaries of Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin, the Marlins could have one of the lowest payrolls in recent history. I'll let David Pinto at Baseball Musings explain:

With the trade of Willis and Cabrera to the Tigers, the Marlins are going to come close to the minimum payroll required by baseball, 25 men at the league minimum salary. The might average $500,000 per player. Even with low attendance, the Marlins probably make enough off tickets and local TV and radio to cover the cost of the team, allowing revenue sharing money to be pure profit.

If you check out the Marlins page at the invaluable Cot's Baseball Contracts you'll see that it's entirely possible that the player that Marlins send the most money to next year will be Carlos Delgado, you know, the guy that plays first base for the Mets. Miguel Olivo might be the only Marlin who makes more than a million dollars next year. As Pinto points out, the big money teams in baseball are sending Jeffrey Loria a TON of money to pay his team next to nothing. People are not going to be happy about this.

Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap. I don't even know how to quantify this, but Peter Gammons just broke the news on ESPN's Winter Meetings blog: Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis are going to Detroit for Cameron Maybin, Andrew Miller, a catcher, and three minor leaguers. Calling this huge isn't even close to covering it: this trade is ginormous.

First up you've got Cabrera. He's 24-years-old and while a lot is made about his weight, check out his Baseball-Reference page and the age similarity comps. Yeah. I know. Fact of the matter is, he could be one of those players that only come along every twenty years or so at the plate, and he's joining a lineup that's already got Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez, Curtis Granderson, Carlos Guillen, Edgar Renteria, and Placido Polanco. Yikes. I'm not nearly as high on Wilils, but at the age of 25, he's only two years removed from finishing second in the NL Cy Young balloting. He's tailed off since then, but he's still worth taking a flyer on.

In return, the Marlins have extracted a king's ransom. Miller was the Tigers' top pick in the 2006 draft and he's flown through the minors. He's really a top shelf pitching prospect and has mostly dominated in the minors. He's struggled a bit in some brief appearances with the big club in Detroit, but remember he's only a year and a half from being drafted. Maybin is every bit as good of a prospect. He's flown through the minors since being drafted out of high school in the first round of 2005's draft. The Marlins couldn't ask for two higher ceiling players.

Two-big time prospects for two young stars. Trades simply don't get bigger than this.

The Tigers shored up their outfield on Monday following the acquisition of Jacque Jones from the Cubs in exchange for Omar Infante. Nothing is official, but it seems likely that Jones will see the bulk of the duties in left field platoon. From Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press:

"I'll play that by ear," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said during a telephone interview Monday afternoon, when asked if he envisioned a platoon between Jones and [Marcus] Thames. "We face so many right-handers that Jacque is going to play a lot, but I can't forget about Marcus."

Jones' splits weren't all that pronounced last season (.295 vs. lefties; .283 vs. righties), but that's likely a fluke due to sample size. Over his career, he's hit just .233 against lefties and .294 against righties. He did suffer a huge power drought last season, going from 27 home runs in 2006 to just five in 2007, but the Tigers are probably hoping that a return to the American League will get him back on track.

In any case, Infante was expendable, especially with Edgar Renteria in the fold. And the Cubs are throwing in some money to defray the cost of Jones' $5.5 million salary, so this was pretty much too good to pass up. Jones will be a free agent at the end of the year, but barring the unexpected he'll likely just be a one-year fix until uber-prospect Cameron Maybin proves that he's ready for regular duty in the big show.

We've all dealt with the Tigers' designation of Craig Monroe for assignment in different ways. Some may not have even noticed, going about their day as if it was any other. Some may have felt sadness, but realized in the end Cameron Maybin is the future. And others, like Monroe fans who have ample access to highlight clips and photos, put together a video montage of him set to Sarah McLachlan's "I Will Remember You," provided for you above.

I can only hope when FanHouse kicks me to the curb my fellow bloggers will provide video highlights of me typing away at some of my finer blog posts set to Paula Cole's "I Don't Want to Wait."

Because really, that's the only way to go out.

After the jump, a Monroe video highlight the YouTube montage overlooked.

Just about everybody in baseball is interested in improving their bullpen. It's why if any team is interested in trading for a guy like Eric Gagne or Brad Lidge, they're going to have to come up with an enticing package.

With the loss of Joel Zumaya, the release of Jose Mesa, and the inconsistency of everybody else in their bullpen, the Tigers are definetely one of those teams interested in improving the bullpen.

"These aren't threats to anybody," a fired-up manager Jim Leyland said. "We don't really have any intentions of making any moves right now. But the fact to the matter is, at some point, we have to have a better idea of what's coming out of there (the bullpen) on a consistent basis. And if we don't, at some point, you look to make changes. It's that simple."

Don't be fooled by that winning record the Tigers have. Their bullpen has tried to blow a lot of those wins. They won 8-7 on Saturday, but not until the pen allowed the Mets to creep back up from an 8-3 deficit. It's the type of thing that's been happening a lot in Detroit recently, and with the way Cleveland is playing, it's going to have to stop if Detroit wants to win the Central Division.

So if they want to get a Lidge or a Gagne, they're going to have to get rid of at least one established player. With the abundancy of starters already within the organization, and the return of Kenny Rogers coming up, that means Mike Maroth might not be in Detroit much longer.

If they can deal Maroth in a package for a reliever, they might actually be dealing from one of their weaknesses for a strength. Of course, they'll have to include a top prospect or two. I'm not sure they'd be willing to deal a player like Cameron Maybin, but they can be sure his name will be brought up by any team they talk to. I don't think it's Maroth's name that will earn the attention.

Previously at The Fanhouse:
Kenny Rogers Could Be Just 10 Days Away From Returning
The Tigers Could Be Interested In Eric Gagne
Jose Mesa Is Old, Unemployed