Marlins making Chris Sampson a starting pitcher, again

If you will remember, the Marlins signed Chris Sampson to a minor league contract. According to this report, the Marlins envision him as a starter.

Veteran right-hander Chris Sampson officially signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins on Monday upon passing his physical.

Florida instantly assigned him to extended Spring Training in Jupiter, Fla., where Sampson will spend the next week or two building up his pitch count and arm stamina in order to make the transition back into being a starting pitcher after spending the last two seasons working as a middle reliever for the Houston Astros.

From there, the Marlins plan to put Sampson in the starting rotation at Triple-A New Orleans, and if he performs well, a potential call-up to the big leagues could be in his future this season.

You never know what will happen, but if the starting pitchers avoid injury, and granted, that is a big if, he will never see South Florida as a Marlin.

Sampson is basically an insurance policy, but not a bad one. If he can show his shoulder is good to go, he will be a nice backup plan, should the team feel its needs a veteran presence as a relief starter. However, should something go wrong with the big club, I doubt he will get the first call.

If you read the whole article, he is very happy to be with the Marlins. And that kind of attitude is always endearing.