Marlins' options with Uggla
The Florida Marlins still have three options when it comes to Dan Uggla.
With Hot Stove activity likely pick up next week, they are expected to choose one soon.
They could sign him to a long-term contract extension.
He recently turned down their offer of a four-year, $48 million contract. Major-league sources say that a fifth year – at a comparable average annual value – would entice Uggla to accept.
They could trade him.
Sources say that the Detroit Tigers, looking everywhere for a power bat, have contacted the Marlins to express their interest.
They could offer him arbitration one final time, before the 30-year-old becomes a free agent after the 2011 season.
This is the least exciting – and probably least likely – of the choices. The Marlins rarely let premium talent leave via free agency, preferring instead to obtain younger, cheaper talent.
The Tigers have made switch-hitting catcher Victor Martinez their priority among free-agent hitters, sources say. Adam Dunn, also a free agent, was a target of theirs at the July trading deadline.
Uggla is a below-average defender at second base, but he has rare power for that position. He batted .287 with 33 home runs and 105 RBIs this year.
The Tigers would prefer to add a left-handed hitter. Uggla bats right.
– Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal
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It was reported here in San Francisco that Cody Ross is trying to get Uggla to consider coming to the Giants.
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Conventional wisdom has it that middle infielders tend to decline rapidly as they approach their mid-thirties, but that is only true of those whose game is based on speed. If the Marlins sign Uggla for 5 years, he would only be 35 when the contract expires. 12 mil for a power guy like him (particularly given that he has learned patience at the plate since he has matured) is a major bargain in this day and age. Especially with the Fish moving into their new stadium in 2012, they would be foolish (to put it politely) not to make such an offer.
