Marlins Deal Former Top Prospect Logan Morrison To The Rangers
Reports said that Morrison got into a fight with the Marlins management team. Hopefully the former Marlin can finally find his big league stride.
Once a proud prospect in the Marlins farm system, the sky was the limit for Logan Morrison. However after a few rough years, Morrison was dealt today to the Rangers for a couple of prospects. The deal also has the Marlins sending pitcher Wade LeBlanc to the Rangers for hitting prospects Mike Olt (ranked 66th overall by MLB.com) and Ronald Guzman along with pitching prospect Cody Buckel.
While most people saw Morrison's tweet earlier this week, it was obvious he wasn't happy where the Marlins where headed. While, the Rangers lost most of their line-up production from last year, Morrison should step up at the first base role. Morrison hit .230 last year with 11 homeruns and 37 RBIs. However, the once highly touted prospect, has only hit above .250 in his rookie year. Also, he is widely known as being a bad influence in the clubhouse and his crazy twitter posts. Morrison should have a nice advantage in Texas though, as he is almost a perfect fit in their ballpark. Wade LeBlanc is projected to start the year in AAA for the Rangers, but he could be an insurance starter for them in the future. LeBlanc went 1-2 for the Marlins last year with a 3.72 ERA. It should be interesting to see how these players fit in for the Rangers this year and the future.
Olt could play a huge role in his first year with the Marlins.On the Marlins side of the deal, they get more high risk-high potential prospect. Rudd made an interesting trade, for his first career trade in his young GM career. While it was sure Morrison didn't want to play for him, they Olt should fit right in the lineup for the Marlins. Mike Olt is the best player the Marlins got in the deal, and he should be starting off the year in the majors. While Olt did get called up last year, he only hit .152 with 2 homeruns and 11 RBIs. While Olt has some issues with his inconsistants at the plate, he is a superb defender at the hot corner. Another hitting prospect acquired in the deal was Ronald Guzman. Guzman played solid last year in the Rangers farm system, and hitting over .320 with 1 homerun and 33 RBIs, but has a few issues on his defense in the outfield. He projects as future 4th outfield at this rate in his progression. Cody Buckell, the only pitching prospect the Marlins acquired in the deal, was once a top 100 prospect, before he battled injuries last year. Buckell went 10-7 in the minors with a 3.36 ERA in the minors, but will be projected to start in AA for the Marlins. Buckell has the potential to be a top of the rotation starter, but will need to stay off of the DL.
03-07-2013, 07:38 PM
