The Florida Marlins avoided arbitration with SP Josh Johnson on Wednesday by signing the 24 year old right hander to a 1yr $1.4 million deal which includes $50,000 in incentives. Johnson had a wonderful rookie season in 2006 when he went 12-7 with a 3.10 ERA. Late in that season however Johnson felt tightness in his forearm on his throwing arm. After Tommy John surgery cost him his 2007 season, Johnson return to the Marlins rotation in 2008 in style.

Johnson was 7-1 in 14 starts in 2008 with a 3.71 ERA. Johnson logged 87 1/3, striking out 77 and walking 27. Johnson made an amazing recovery from his Tommy John surgery and proved he was worth keeping around. With Johnson signed, the Marlins should feel good about their chances in 2009. Johnson, along with Nolasco, is perhaps the key piece of a young and talented pitching rotation that has the potential to lead the Marlins to the post season in 2009.

In signing Johnson, the Marlins avoided going to arbitration with him. That leaves the Marlins with 8 players still arbitration-eligible: Jorge Cantu, Ricky Nolasco, Dan Uggla, Dallas McPherson, Logan Kensing, Jeremy Hermida, Alfredo Amezaga, and Cody Ross.

Last week the Marlins continued to once again change the look of their roster in the offseason as left handed reliever Arthur Rhodes was not resigned by the Marlins, instead chosing to sign a 2yr $4 million deal with the Cincinnati Reds.

Rhodes came to the Marlins from the Seattle Mariners at last season’s trade deadline to bolster the Marlins’ bullpen and add another left handed reliever. Rhodes was everything the Marlins could have asked for as he posted a 2-0 record with a 0.68 ERA in 25 appearances. In the 13 1/3 innings pitched by Rhodes, he allowed only 1 ER while getting 14Ks and allowing 3BBs.

Rhodes’ departure left the Marlins’ roster at 39 men, allowing them to participate in baseball’s Rule 5 draft. The Marlins’ only Major League pick was Zach Kroenke who was taken out of the New York Yankees farm system. Kroenke is a 24 yr old left hander who went 7-0 with a 2.85 ERA last season for the Yankees AA team.

Kroenke will be thrown in the mix come Spring Training with Renyel Pinto, Taylor Tankersley, and Dan Meyer to compete for a spot in the Marlins’ bullpen as a left handed relief specialist. Left handed relievers are a priceless commodity in baseball these days, especially in the NL East where the Marlins face such devastating left handed batters as Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Chipper Jones. Not only is a good lefty reliever important to neutralize these players, but in the case of Beltran and Jones a lefty can even force these guys to the right side of the plate as switch hitters.

All in all, the Marlins have been making good moves in the offseason. Obviously the team hopes Kroenke can have an effect for the Marlins in the near future, but players chosen in the Rule 5 draft rarely turn into superstars. That being said, the Marlins got 2B Dan Uggla in the 2005 Rule 5 draft and look how that turned out.

Baseball’s Winter Meeting is generally a time of great change for the Marlins. Season after season the Marlins come in as shoppers, looking to drop veterans or pricey players in favor of a steal somewhere along the line. This year has been no different really.

Late last week the Marlins decided it was time to part ways with long time C Matt Treanor. Treanor spent 10 years in the minor leagues before getting called up in 2004 by the Marlins. Treanor was always a backup to one catcher or another for the Marlins until the 2008 season. Treanor’s season however was marred by hip injuries and he appeared in only 65 games. At 32 (33 in March 09) the Marlins didn’t feel Treanor would be the catcher to go forward with.

With the departure of Treanor the job, for now, belongs to John Baker who will be backed up by Mike Rabelo. In Baker’s rookie year last season he appeared in 61 games and was an impressive .299 at the plate with 5 HRs and 32 RBIs. Rabelo was less impressive at the plate, but is solid behind the plate.

Nevertheless, as the Winter Meetings drew to a close this weekend the Marlins were still rumored to be seeking a catcher to challenge Baker for the starting job. The top two names on the list are free agent Michael Barrett and Texas Ranger Max Ramirez. Both have been targeted by the Marlins all offseason so far. Barrett is an 11 year veteran who would likely be more of a backup to Baker as he has been less than impressive in the past few seasons. Ramirez is very young and appeared in only 17 games last season, batting .217 with 2 HRs and 9 RBIs.

Baker, barring a very poor outing in Spring Training, is likely to end up as the Marlins’ starting catcher come opening day 2009. Adding Ramirez would leave the Marlins with little depth at catcher as Rabelo, with his 3 season in the Majors, would be the most seasoned. Barrett brings less potential for the future but has more experience behind the plate than Baker and Rabelo combined. All things considered, the Marlins couldn’t go wrong in chosing either Ramirez or Barrett.