Marlins upping the ante on Russell Branyan?

by craig on Feb 5, 2010 9:04 AM EST in News and Rumors

According to MLB Daily Dish, the Marlins are in hot pursuit of Russell Branyan.

According to sources, the Marlins are stepping up their pursuits for free agent Russell Branyan.

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The Marlins are believed to be looking to sign Branyan on a one year, incentive-laden contract. If they sign him, it would push Gaby Sanchez back to Triple-A for another season.

I have no idea who their sources are. I guess I could email them and ask. They are a part of the SB Nation so they might tell me. But I don't have the time.

I must admit, I'm not excited about this. If, as the report goes, it would mean that Branyan would be the everyday first baseman, that means the front office believes that Morrison isn't ready. I have no problem with that, but it also means they don't think much of Gaby's talents, and that I have a problem with.

There is no upside to Branyan being an everyday first baseman. The man is 34 years-old, and at that age he is in his declining years as a player. A hitter peaks around age 30. Yes, 30. And then there is a steep decline which kicks in around age 33. Of course, everyone is different, but it happens around that age give or take a year or two. Branyan is past that age and to expect him to even put up the numbers he did last season is expecting too much. Could he? Yeah, I guess. But it isn't the way to bet.

Gaby on the other hand is starting to come into his own, age-wise. And this, "he will never be more than a platoon player in the majors" is far from known. No one knows what he will do in the majors; he has never been given the chance to show his wares. What we do know about Gaby is that he has shown the ability to have plate discipline in the minors and he has also shown signs of being able to hit and field the position neatly.

Personally, I would rather take a chance on the young guy with an upside than the aging veteran with a bad back who is a strikeout machine. Now, if the Marlins just want to add Branyan as a left-handed bat off the bench and to mentor Gaby, I could get behind that, assuming Branyan's walk rate stays the same or increases.

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They don’t want to see another Maybin situation with Gaby, having a very unproductive year starting in the majors and having to drop him. It looks they’d rather let him start in the minors then bring him up mid season, much like they did with Coughlin, Gaby will end up in the majors next year, there’s no doubt in y mind.

by BenTecShe on Feb 5, 2010 9:25 AM EST reply actions

Let's face it, it's Russell Branyan;

He’d play 100 games at most. And I’ll take the under on that.

The man can swing a bat, but the fact that the entirety of MLB has passed on him, even from a one-year perspective, has to give you pause as to his health.

Marlins Stadium: When It's Raining, The Roof Will Happen!

by dan 2.0 on Feb 5, 2010 10:00 AM EST reply actions

If the ESPN Insider thing is true

he may have been holding out for a 3 year, 20-30 million deal up until recently, and is only now coming to the realization he’s only getting a 1 year, incentive-laden deal.

I don’t think it’s likely that Sanchez or Morrison would hit the ground running in 2010, so I’d welcome Branyan on a one year deal. Have Sanchez or Jimenez as main backup if he falters, and stash Morrison in AA/AAA for an extra year. I don’t think age is as much of a factor here since he hasn’t been a regular starter the last decade..a “young” 34, as it were.

by dgriot on Feb 5, 2010 3:27 PM EST up reply actions

but he hasn't been starting because he's always hurt

That would make him an especially old 34.

Marlins Stadium: When It's Raining, The Roof Will Happen!

by dan 2.0 on Feb 5, 2010 4:08 PM EST up reply actions

It seemed like

he had the shoulder surgery in late ‘02, struggled for years to get another legit shot, and then had the herniated disk diagnosis this past season…so a combination of being hurt + trouble catching on? The other minor injuries like the broken wrist seemed more fluky, but maybe you’re right.

Anyway, assuming a deal is tied heavily to ABs/starts incentives, I’m still for it as a decent gamble/insurance policy. If he can stay healthy, he’d likely produce. If not, it was cheap and Gaby gets to start and maybe surprise us all.

Unless this money could be used to sign some similarly risky starter insurance like Pedro/Smoltz/Wang and not have West in the rotation in April, I’m all for it.

by dgriot on Feb 5, 2010 4:57 PM EST up reply actions

It's not just that.

Teams labeled him as strikeout-prone, which comes along with the label “career backup.” That and injuries kept teams from starting him.

That being said, agreed that even if we got Branyan, we’d be playing Sanchez plenty anyway due to injury/resting Branyan.

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by SFiercex4 on Feb 6, 2010 12:02 AM EST up reply actions

Which might be for the best.

I agree that Branyan’s backup — on whatever team he ends up with — should get at least a couple hundred PAs next year. Which, as it happens, would be just about enough to get a sense of what we have in Sanchez. Personally, I don’t believe in the dude, but I’d like to know one way or the other.

Of course, if we end up with Cantu at first, we might be able to manage the same — between games Cantu sits and games he fills in for the third baseman.

It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...

by 3.3seconds on Feb 6, 2010 6:23 AM EST up reply actions

@joefrisaro

#Marlins Time to put the Branyan rumors to Marlins to rest. I was told team “never even spoke with him.”

Marlins Stadium: When It's Raining, The Roof Will Happen!

by dan 2.0 on Feb 5, 2010 6:30 PM EST reply actions

Sanchez is not getting the job.

It’s been apparent for some time the Marlins don’t think of him as their first baseman. And honestly, I don’t see any reason to doubt that assessment — the guy had an .849 OPS in AA last year. Could he improve on that? Maybe. But .849 is a subpar OPS for a first baseman, even if he were doing it in the majors. The fact that he’s doing it at the age of 25 in the minors throws up nothing but red flags.

Meanwhile, the fact that a veteran would be a one-year rental is of no importance whatsoever. Unless something happens to Morrison, ANYONE they could get at that position is a short-term rental. If Morrison doesn’t come through by 2012-13 or so, then okay, we can start shopping for a permanent replacement. But Sanchez is the Morrison who didn’t come through. He’s 26 now, and he can just about get by in AAA.

Whatever decision you’re making, you can cross out Sanchez as a concern. I mean, that’s what the team’s done.

It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...

by 3.3seconds on Feb 5, 2010 11:20 PM EST reply actions

Or to put it differently...

…Branyan’s 2009 stats = Sanchez’s 2009 stats. But one of them was doing that in the majors.

You can say one’s on the decline (he probably is), and the other’s improving (I… can’t rule that out), but they’ve got a long, long way to go before they meet.

It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...

by 3.3seconds on Feb 5, 2010 11:22 PM EST up reply actions

Though I'll tell you this much.

Nick Johnson is getting $5.75 million from the Yankees. If we’re going to have an aging, injury-prone 1B, why couldn’t we have just brought that guy back?

It's a good thing Larry Bird's initials weren't MJ. '80s basketball was confusing enough -- Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Marles Jarkley, Mominique Jilkins... Makeem Jolajuwon...

by 3.3seconds on Feb 5, 2010 11:28 PM EST up reply actions