2012 MLB Free Agents: Florida Marlins Foolish to Spend Like New York Yankees

The Florida Marlins (soon to be the Miami Marlins) have never been known for making prudent baseball decisions, which makes their New York Yankees-like pursuit of big-money free agents, from Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran to Mark Buehrle and Cuban outfielder Yoennis Cespedes, all too familiar.

In short, the Marlins are doing everything they can to win a World Series as soon as possible. They're set to move into a brand-new stadium in downtown, on the same site where the famed Orange Bowl once stood, and, as such, owner Jeffrey Loria wants to make sure the seats are nice and full to justify his investment and, in part, that made by the city.

That will be no easy task, considering the team's perennially poor attendance numbers, even during their run to a World Series title in 2003. Miami has never quite been a baseball town, per se, not with the Dolphins, the Heat and the Hurricanes hogging the sports spotlight over the years.

In that sense, then, the team's rationale for making a big splash in the 2012 MLB free-agent market is certainly understandable. The Marlins have some solid pieces in place—Hanley Ramirez, Mike Stanton, Logan Morrison, Josh Johnson and Anibal Sanchez, to name a few.

They need  another veteran or two to really compete with the aging Philadelphia Phillies, the up-and-down Atlanta Braves and the improving Washington Nationals in what is sure to be a highly competitive National League East division.

Spending lavishly on the likes of Reyes and Beltran is a different story, though. Both have been plagued by injuries in recent years, Beltran by knee problems and Reyes by a perpetually gimpy hamstring. Both are terrific players when healthy, but their poor track record makes signing them to long-term deals a huge risk, especially for a franchise as historically frugal as the Marlins.

Mark Buehrle would be a solid signing—a veteran, innings-eating presence to anchor a young pitching staff—but seems unlikely to leave the Midwest for the hustle and bustle of South Beach. Even if Buehrle did, at 32, his best days as a starting pitcher may already be well behind him.

As for Cespedes, he presents the organization with an intriguing conundrum. On the one hand, he's a tremendous, five-tool talent whose heritage would draw the interest (and the ticket sales) of the large Cuban community in Miami.

On the other hand, Cespedes is an unknown. The guy's never had a single at bat in the Major Leagues but still figures to command a contract in excess of the six-year, $30.25 million deal given to fellow Cuban defector Aroldis Chapman in 2010.

None of these moves would come close to guaranteeing the Marlins a shot at their third title. If anything, the vast sums of money that may be sunk into these players would only serve to weigh down a franchise that would be best served by building from within and hanging onto its homegrown talent, rather than trading it away at a moment's notice.

Not to mention how difficult it will be for the Marlins to get to the postseason out of the NL East. If GM Larry Beinfest is smart about it, he'll save his boss' pennies for savvy, affordable veterans to fill out his roster and, perhaps, sign one big name to a bloated deal just to drum up some excitement.

Otherwise, the franchise could be saddled with the salaries of injury-prone and/or ineffective players for years to come, thereby keeping the team in the doldrums of baseball and on the back burner of Miami's sports conscience for even longer.