Mark DeRosa: Why the Marlins Missed the Boat

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Mark DeRosa is a guy with a quality bat who can play multiple infield positions. His .270 average, 13 home runs, and 50 RBI (at the time of his trade) would be welcome in many lineups.

Yet, he was traded for a relief pitcher with an ERA north of five and a player to be named.

That got me wondering—why didn't the Marlins go after this guy?

Now that the Marlins have found a leadoff man in Chris Coghlan, there is no longer a need for Emilio Bonifacio in the everyday lineup. If the Marlins had replaced Bonifacio with DeRosa, their lineup would have gotten exponentially better.

DeRosa can hit for average, and he can hit for power. DeRosa would have been great hitting between Coghlan and Ramirez—but I guess it is too late for that now.

Here is how the Marlins lineup could have looked if they acquired DeRosa.

1. LF Chris Coghlan .359 OBP

2. 3B Mark DeRosa

3. SS Hanley Ramirez .339 avg., 12 HRs, 52 RBI

4. 1B Jorge Cantu .280 avg., 9 HRs, 46 RBI

5. CF Cody Ross .273 avg., 13 HRs, 46 RBI

6. RF Brett Carroll .333 avg. against lefties; Ross Gload .295 avg. against righties

7. C Ronny Paulino .288 avg. against lefties; John Baker .256 avg. against righties

8. 2B Dan Uggla .334 OBP, 15 HRs, 45 RBI

This lineup assumes a few things.

First, it assumes the Marlins had acquired DeRosa, which they obviously did not.

It also assumes that manager Fredi Gonzalez corrects his current lineup, which has Uggla batting fifth, Ross batting sixth, and Carroll/Gload batting eight.

The changes I made were based on the fact that Ross has been on a tear as of late, and putting him behind Cantu would not only increase Ross' opportunities, but also Cantu's.

It is time that Uggla is dropped in the lineup, as no pitcher who can throw off-speed pitches is afraid to face a guy batting .223. In the eight-spot, Uggla could serve as a second cleanup guy.

It is also time that Jeremy Hermida is removed from the Marlins lineup for good, as Carroll and Gload have both been more productive in right field—not to mention both are defensive improvements over Hermida.

Looking at how Hermida could have been removed from the team without much effect, the Marlins should have tried to use him to bring DeRosa in from Cleveland.

Hopefully, the Marlins will use Hermida in the near future to acquire someone to replace Bonifacio in the lineup.

Uggla could also be used to trade for a third baseman or outfielder, as Coghlan could easily make the move to his natural second base position.

I'll save the Uggla/Hermida talks for another article.

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