Lest you begin to envy the Phillies and their blockbuster Halladay deal, keep in mind that the Fish were doing a little dealing of their own yesterday. (Emphasis on "little.")

The Marlins on Monday reached agreement on a Minor League deal with right-hander Clay Hensley, who was 8-4 with a 3.24 ERA at Triple-A New Orleans this year.

Additionally, the club signed four players to Minor League contracts with Spring Training invitations. Infielders Brian Barden and Donnie Murphy signed, as did right-handers Scott Strickland and Matt Peterson.

Hensley has 106 games of big league experience. His last stint in the Majors was in 2008 with the Padres. The 30-year-old right-hander opened this year with Houston's Round Rock Triple-A team, before he was picked up by the Marlins. He made 19 starts at New Orleans.

Still envying the Phillies? Didn't think so. 

Matt Capps was non-tendered by the Pirates Saturday, and the Marlins are rumored to be one of the many teams interested in signing him.

Leo Nunez may have some competition for the closer’s job this spring, after all.

The Marlins are among teams interested in reliever Matt Capps, who was non-tendered by the Pirates on Saturday. The Marlins tried to trade for Capps this past summer, dangling RF Jeremy Hermida to Pittsburgh. Capps made $2.425 million in 2009, and he’s believed to be asking for about the same.

Capps posted career lows in 2009, going 4-8 with a 5.80 ERA and 27 saves in 32 opportunities.

Capps has made it clear he still wants the chance to close, and right now the Nationals appear to be his team of preference. Based on the amount of interest in him, and the fact that he wants a multi-year deal, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting to see if he'll be in teal and black next season. But while you're breathing normally, if you're interested, fangraphs has picked apart what was behind Matt's ineffectiveness in 2009. 

Another weekend has come and gone, and so it's back to the daily grind. For Craig and I, that means our day jobs kicked us squarely in the pants today and prevented any exciting Fish news from being posted (not that there was much excitement to speak of). For you, that means that it's time for your Monday Chum Bucket.

This would be the place to discuss whatever happens to be weighing heavily on your mind-- be it the super thrilling moves the Marlins have been making the last few days, David Samson's smashing acting debut at the New Theatre in Coral Gables yesterday, or some topic completely unrelated to the Fish.

The good news? You're about as far from next Monday as one can hope to get.

Talk amongst yourselves. I'm going to sleep.

The Winter Meetings are underway, and here at FishStripes the goal is to keep you as informed as possible on anything and everything that could be in the works for the Marlins. Yes, even the super ridiculous rumors that swirl about that we all know have about a .001% chance of actually happening. (We're all about the facts here at FishStripes.) Until the meetings end, just consider Craig and I the Sal Masekela and Catt Sadler of the baseball world. Except, you know, Craig's dreds aren't as long as Sal's, and I won't be wearing a micro-minidress or contorting my body into an extremely awkward/unnatural supermodel pose as I blog.

Check back often, as we'll be updating as the information comes in each day. Here is the latest:

[UPDATE] Matt Lindstrom has been traded to the Houston Astros for RHP Robert Bono and SS Luis Bryan.

JoeFrisaro: Heard don't put much stock into Cantu to Rangers reports. At this point, Cantu is expected back in Fla. Always subject to change

JoeFrisaro: Don't rule out Uggla winding up in San Fran. There is still smoke. Also, heard Marlins never asked for Bumgarner in return.

Grit 2 has signed with the Philths:

Word spread late tonight at the Winter Meetings in Indianapolis that the Phillies had signed free agent outfielder Ross Gload. A baseball source said it was a two-year contract.

Both the Giants and the Orioles appear to be cooling off on Uggla:

JoeFrisaro: Uncertainty of how Uggla can handle 3B seems to be limiting his market. O's may be cooling.

The Giants are looking to add thump to their lineup, but not if it leads to more clanks in their infield. So they haven't amplified efforts to acquire Florida Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who might be the surest run-producing infielder available via trade or free agency.

mlbtraderumor: Rangers Interested In Jorge Cantu http://bit.ly/7M3tV8

JoeFrisaro: A lot of interest on Pinto. Nothing imminent. 

JoeFrisaro: The Dodgers are inquiring about Alfredo Amezaga.

Taylor Tankersley is mending nicely after elbow surgery, and should be ready to compete for a spot in the bullpen come February:

The 26-year-old had screws inserted into his left elbow on April 17 to repair a stress fracture in his throwing arm. The procedure was performed in Fort Worth, Texas, by Dr. John Conway.

By the end of July, Tankersley was cleared to begin throwing. Since then, he's built up to tossing off a mound at the Marlins complex in Jupiter, Fla.

---

"I'll be ready for Spring Training," said the former University of Alabama lefty, who last pitched in the big leagues in 2008. "I've listened to the doctors and the trainers. I took their approach to get back. My arm is solid now. I threw bullpens leading up to Thanksgiving.

"I threw a month's worth of bullpens with no setbacks. They went well. I was throwing all my pitches there at the end. My arm is fine and well. I'm excited. Come Feb. 20, I'll be ready to go."

With the Marlins looking to deal Renyel Pinto, they could use a healthy Taylor Tankersley in the bullpen next season. That is, provided they get the '06 version of the Tank, and not the 2008 version. 

It's Thursday once again, and a mere 24 hours from now, we'll be basking in the glow of another weekend. Until then, though, we've got some time to kill, so we're breaking out your Thursday Chum Bucket.

The big question that is undoubtedly at the forefront of everyone's mind tonight is, "OMG, who will play Ohio State in the Rose Bowl?! Will it be Oregon or Oregon State?" Feel free to weigh in as the game progresses.

If college football and basketball aren't your thing, the Heat are in Denver tonight to take on the Nuggets, the Jets are losing to the Bills, the Panthers have just been demolished by the Capitals, and The Office is all new on NBC.

As always, the Chum Bucket is an open thread, so go ahead and discuss whatever you'd like. Just be forewarned that if the words "tiger" or "woods" are typed anywhere in your comment, I have set the site's spam blocker to permanently delete you from FishStripes. (So if you were just chased through the forest by a giant orange and black striped cat and want to tell us all about it, choose your words carefully.)

Have a lovely night.

I've never actually seen a full episode of the Discovery Channel show Dirty Jobs (since 30 seconds of  the show is enough to make me want to dry heave for an hour), but I do know a few people who are glued to the screen whenever it's on.

Marlins Ballpark Development Coordinator Karl Ebert must be a fan of the program, because he left this comment on Discovery.com's Dirty Jobs Show Ideas forum Monday:

I work at the construction site for the Florida Marlins New Ballpark, and yesterday I was walking around the site and saw 3 divers in the whitest water you have ever seen, and they were guiding storm sewer pipes in the ground.

I thought this would be a great thing for Mike to do. Plus we would let you get to see all of the construction site and maybe get you to a game, during the season. I hope this can work out. 

The idea involves sewage, which seems to be a favorite of DJ host Mike Rowe, so that should be a plus for the Marlins. But honestly, having seen a few clips of the show, I have my doubts that installing storm sewer pipes is grimy enough to make the cut. 

It's time for your very first Chum Bucket of December, folks, and if you're like me, there is only one thing to discuss: it is at long last socially acceptable for you to listen to holiday music! Those stressful months of discreetly hiding your iPod screen as you rock out to Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer--and general feelings of guilt and shame--are finally over. Ahhh.

Then again, if the holidays (or songs about overweight old guys in red suits) aren't your thing, feel free to discuss anything you please. A favorite topic here on FishStripes is the Florida Marlins, who, as expected, didn't offer arbitration to Kiko Calero, Nick Johnson, Brendan Donnelly or Ross Gload today.

Otherwise, just use the open thread for anything that tickles your fancy-- posting your holiday wish list, exchanging meatloaf recipes, discussing what outfit you plan to wear to Mermaid tryouts next month... Get to it.

Have a great night! 

It's Thanksgiving Eve, and as the world mentally prepares for tomorrow's feast of turkey and pumpkin pie (or sweet potato, if your tastebuds are as out of whack as Chris Coghlan's), it is time for your nightly Chum Bucket. If you have something to say, this would be the place to say it. 

Considering the fact that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, you could always use tonight's Chum Bucket to take a little time out of your evening to list the things you are thankful for this year. Things such as the game of baseball, the Florida Marlins, our brand new stadium, the Phillies losing the World Series... you know, the important things in life.

Or maybe you don't have time for lists, since you're spending an extra 3 hours in the gym tonight in effort to burn off a few thousand extra calories in preparation for all the stuffing and gravy you plan to consume tomorrow. That's perfectly acceptable as well.

Have a great night!