Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla raised eyebrows around baseball when he turned down a four-year, $48 million contract offer last week. After getting over their shock, the Marlins have now begun talks with other teams to see if they’d be interested in trading for Uggla.
Bless You Boys soon predicted that the Detroit Tigers would be one of the teams interested in Uggla. That turned out to be an astute hunch.
FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports that the Tigers have indeed contacted the Marlins about making a potential trade. Detroit is looking for a run producer to put in the middle of its lineup. And they arguably have an opening at second base, with the relatively unproven Scott Sizemore and Will Rhymes slated to split time there next season.
Uggla would certainly be a proven power bat. This past season was the best of his career. He batted .287/.369/.508 with 33 home runs and 105 RBIs in 674 plate appearances. 30 homers and 90 RBIs have been standard numbers for Uggla during his five-year major league career.
According to MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro, the Marlins are seeking relief pitching in return for Uggla. They’ve already gotten three relievers in the past two days, in trading former Tigers prospects Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin. (Does that Miguel Cabrera trade look even better for the Tigers now?) But if there’s one resource Detroit’s minor league system is rich in, it’s relief pitching, so this could be a good match.
Frisaro also reports two National League teams have expressed interest in Uggla. Those teams weren’t identified, but a guess is that one of them is the New York Mets.