Uggla to Atlanta

The Florida Marlins have traded star second baseman Dan Uggla to the Atlanda Braves in exchange for utility player Omar Infante and lefty reliever Mike Dunn.

Uggla and the Marlins could not agree on a contract extension, so the Marlins traded him. (I talked about why in this post: "Why are the Florida Marlins in a bad situation with Dan Uggla? The Arizona Diamondbacks".) The Marlins reportedly offered Uggla a 4-year, 48 million dollar extension, but Uggla and his agent wanted a 5-year, 71 million dollar deal. The Braves will most likely give Uggla what he wants. Uggla had a great year in '10, hitting .287 with 31 doubles, 33 homers, 105 RBI, and a .369 OBP in 159 games, and winning the NL Silver Slugger Award at second base. He posted a below-average .976 Fld% at second base with below average range, but I remember him making a few web gems. He's not a good defensive player, but his offense certainly makes up for it. But, as I said in my previous post, Uggla will be 31 in March. The Marlins didn't want to give him an extension that would take him to him 36th birthday, when he certainly would be beginning to decline. In contrast to the Marlins, who are rebuilding, the Braves are in win-now mode. They acquired Uggla in an attempt to make a World Series within a few years.

Infante is a very interesting player. He's a .300 hitter who plays everywhere. He has played over 340, 225, and 101 games respectively at second base, third base, and shortstop. He has also played 57 games in LF, 32 games in CF, and 15 games in RF. He has never played first base or catcher, and surprisingly, he has never pitched. Still, he's a very valuable player. In '10, he hit .321 with 15 doubles, 8 homers, 47 RBI, 7 steals, and a .359 OBP in 134 games. The .321 BA was third in the NL. He started 63 games at second, 18 at SS. 12 games at third, 8 games in LF, and 5 in RF. His great versatility even earned him an All-Star selection (he didn't play). For the Marlins, Infante could basically by a stop-gap at any position they need him to be until their top prospect at that position is ready. It's always nice to have a player like Infante. He can be the starter at third base now (with Chris Coghlan playing second base, his natural position), and then move into a utility role when top third base prospect Matt Dominguez makes it to the majors. Infante will help the team now as a starting infielder, while they're rebuilding, and could potentially help the team as a utility-man if they become a contender.

Dunn will be playing for his third team in 3 years. Either everyone wants him, or no one wants him. Dunn apparently has a promising future as a lefty specialist. In '10 for the Braves, he went 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and 27 K's in 25 relief appearances and 19 IP. He shuts down lefties, holding them to a .211 BA. But, he holds righties to a .212 BA apparently showing that he could be a setup man shutting down both lefties and righties. Really, Dunn is much better against lefties. Although lefties were only .001 worse against him, his K/BB against them was 3.00: 18 K's versus 6 walks in 44 plate appearances. But, against the righties, his K/BB was just 0.82: 11 K's versus 12 walks. He's clearly much more comfortable against lefties. Even as just a lefty specialist, Dunn will be a valuable part of the Marlins' bullpen.