11.11.08

Marlins make a move.

"The Marlins moved two players in a salary dump, trading Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Nationals, who are in a perfect position to roll the dice on left-hander Olsen while receiving a big upgrade offensively from outfielder Willingham. It's an easy win for Washington, but Florida's only major gain may be salary relief"-Keith Law

The move is obviously just a salary dump, but that is not a surprise. Olsen's attitude probably hurt his value, as he regained his 93-94 mph fastball at the end of the season. He was the fourth starter on this team.

Josh Willingham is a bigger loss to me. He is probably undervalued because he strikes out a lot, and hits for a low average. However he is patient and puts up a good OBP, and hits with some decent power. He is slow in left field but steady. He is at least solid average to slightly above average when he is healthy.

I don't know anything about the kids we got, but nobody seems to be real high on the big league promise of them, anytime soon atleast. However this deal does have it's advantages. It allows Cody Ross to shift to left field where he will be a plus defender and rookie Cameron Maybin to play in CF which will improve run prevention as well. Ross had a good year and Maybin has tons of talent, if he can get some plate discipline. It also allows us more financial freedom to work with when thinking about important arbitration eligible guys like Dan Uggla and Josh Johnson.

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