12/21/24
November 18, 2010
Marlins Trade Uggla to Braves: The Florida Marlins traded two-time All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla Tuesday to the Atlanta Braves for pitcher Mike Dunn and infielder Omar Infante. Uggla, 30, leads all second basemen in home runs since he broke in with the Marlins four years ago. He could be eligible for free agency after 2011.
What were the Marlins thinking with that trade? Is Infante and a middle reliever really the best they could get for one of the best hitting second basemen in the game?
Not to mention they traded him to a team in their own division.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 01:31 PM on November 17, 2010
What were the Marlins thinking with that trade?
Friends of mine that are Braves fans are pretty stoked about this trade.
posted by NoMich at 02:42 PM on November 17, 2010
There is a not-so-small chance that the Marlins were worried that Uggla could follow the path of other good/great 2B (like Alomar, Sandberg, Knoblauch) and just crash to earth after crossing the age 30 line (although it could be another year or two).
I agree, the haul wasn't that great.
As well, it's seems odd when paired with the overpay for John Buck.
posted by grum@work at 03:47 PM on November 17, 2010
I also am surprised that Uggla did not fetch more for the Marlins, but who really knows what the market is/was. It's worth noting that Uggla is under contract for one more year only, and was seeking something on the order of 5 years/$70MM from Florida to buy out his last year of arbitration and first four years of free agency. So perhaps this is really just a one-year rental for the Braves, but this still seems like a very paltry haul for Florida even taking into account those factors.
posted by holden at 04:33 PM on November 17, 2010
It's worth noting that Uggla is under contract for one more year only, and was seeking something on the order of 5 years/$70MM from Florida to buy out his last year of arbitration and first four years of free agency.
It's no real surprise to me. The Marlins have a history of dumping talent instead of paying long term for it. That's why the fire sales after their World Series wins. Too many players have had better careers after their time with the Fish, like Beckett, Burnett, Derrick Lee, Jeff Conine (the only player on both Florida's World Series rosters), not to mention a few others. There may be other factors in getting rid of good players, but there's a definitive pattern of cost cutting.
posted by NerfballPro at 05:33 PM on November 18, 2010
John Buck is taking his talents to South Beach Dan Uggla traded to Atlanta.