Marlins Likely to Keep Cantu

by GameFish on Nov 23, 2009 2:55 PM EST in News and Rumors

Cantu fans, rejoice. Mlb.com is reporting that Jorge Cantu is likely to remain a Marlin in 2010, despite his $5 million+ price tag:

MLB.com has learned that it is "almost 100 percent" certain that Cantu will be a Marlin in 2010. The 27-year-old is entering his final season of arbitration. He made $3.5 million in '09, and he ended up with 100 RBIs, hitting cleanup behind Hanley Ramirez.

Cantu's salary should be above $5 million, a price the team appears willing to pay to keep one of its steadiest performers.

Now, the Marlins may consider a trade if they are presented with an offer they feel can't be passed up. But the club isn't actively shopping him.

Of course, "almost" 100% is not 100%. And usually about twelve minutes after a story like this is posted, the player in question is traded. But as of now, it looks like we could see Jorge back at first or third next season. Which is fine by me. (Not that anybody asked me, but just in case you were curious as to where I stood on the matter...)

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Is this the guy we want to spend $5 million on, though?

As a first baseman, he’s a subpar hitter at best. (Of the 23 first baseman who had enough at-bats to qualify, Cantu was 21st in OPS… .043 behind the next guy up. Who, by the way, was Nick Johnson… though of course Nick is an on-base specialist, not a power hitter.)

As a third baseman, he’s… well, he’s not a third baseman. (Also, of the 20 third basemen who qualified last year, 11 of them had a better OPS than Cantu. So it’s not even like he’s an above-average hitter for that position. He’s just a regular guy who can’t field.)

Now, I’m not saying we have to be, or even can be, above average at every position. Every team has at least a couple guys who you stick in there because you need eight players, and they’re marginally above replacement level. But generally, you don’t offer those guys one-seventh of your projected payroll. (Especially when they have no long-term future with the club.)

He's currently two-thirds man, one-third amazing. Which, let's face it, is still a pretty good ratio.

by 3.3seconds on Nov 24, 2009 4:13 PM EST reply actions