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.