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The Marlins had a lot of problems this year. So far they don't seem to have solved any of them ...
The Marlins are re-signing infielder/pinch-hitter Greg Dobbs, who was due to become a free agent. He said a deal was struck between his agent and owner Jeffrey Loria.
Dobbs, whose two-year, $3 million contract is expiring, is batting .229 this season but hit .275 and .285 in his previous two years with the Marlins.
Analysis! Pay no attention to that terrible batting average this season, because the batting averages were non-terrible before!
Look, I don't want to pick on Greg Dobbs. He's probably a tremendous fellow in the clubhouse, and in a world of 30-man rosters would probably be worth his relatively paltry salary. Unfortunately for Marlins fans, we don't live in that world. We live in a world of 25-man rosters and seven-man bullpens, which means non-pitcher roster spots are precious. Especially in the National League, where you might need two or three pinch-hitters in a single game.
When it comes to Greg Dobbs, we don't suffer from a surfeit of evidence. Over the last five years, Dobbs has a .301 on-base percentage, .364 slugging percentage. In a world where Greg Dobbs plays a nifty shortstop, those numbers would be decent enough. Unfortunately for Marlins fans, we don't live in that world. We live in a world where Greg Dobbs mostly plays first base, with occasionally a bit of third base or right field mixed in. We live in a world where Miami's first baseman are going to finish this season with an OPS near 650, worse than everybody in the majors except the Brewers who shouldn't really count because Yuniesky Betancourt.
But hey, if somebody wants to pay him ...
Greg Dobbs agreed to the $1.7M marlins extension in june. greg* is correct spelling. #fish
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) September 26, 2013
Oh. Somebody's wanted to pay him since June. I guess that would make at least a little bit of sense, if he was hitting in June.
Halfway through June, Dobbs was hitting .213/.284/.284. Huh.
Sometimes it's probably better if the owner isn't making roster decisions. And sometimes it's probably better if the owner isn't the owner at all.