The Marlins are never shy to trade away players at their peak value, especially when they are extremely overvalued, just look at the recent trade of Kevin Gregg to the Cubs for a solid pitching prospect Jose Ceda. With that said there are rumors of the Giants and now the White Sox taking a look at Jorge Cantu. This just doesn't seem like a bright idea for either team.
To start the story.... Jorge Cantu came up in 2004 and had a promising 173 at bats as a 22 year old for the Devil Rays (I know they are the Rays now, but they were with the Devil back then). The next year he broke out hitting .286 with 28 HR and 117 RBI. Quite a great year although a closer look at the numbers told a little different story his .311 OBP left a little to be desired, and although he hit 28 homers, his .497 SLG% meant that he wasn't as great a power hitter as maybe expected. To a few fantasy managers chagrin, Cantu stumbled in 2006 batting .249/.295/.404 in 413 ABs. In 2007 he couldn't even make the Devil Rays roster to start the year and in July was traded to Cincinnati. Already having a successful reclamation project with former a former top 2b prospect Brandon Phillips they tried it again with Cantu. And in 57 ABs it looked quasi promising with him posting a .298/.382/.491 line, although he was released that offseason. Then the Marlins did what they do best, picked up a guy on the scrap heap and gave him playing time to see what he's got. They did it with Kevin Gregg picking him up in 2006 and letting him close games in 2007 and 2008 inflating his value and shipping him off for a good prospect. In 2008 on a minor league contract Cantu won the 3b battle in Florida and hit .277 with 29 HR and 95 RBI. Trading Miguel Cabrera in the offseason, the Marlins had a hole at third, and could afford to play a guy like Cantu, something other teams couldn't try.
Now, the Giants and the White Sox are reported to have looked into acquiring Cantu, a guy who wasn't good enough for the Rays and released by the Reds. Bill James predicts Cantu to hit .268/.315/.467, not numbers that you want to trade for, unless you are the Royals and want some more Mike Jacobses. Those are numbers Josh Fields can put up for Chicago sitting there in their farm system, Marcel projects .247/.315/.446 for him, pretty similar production to Cantu but at no cost to trade.
Jorge Cantu isn't a bad player, he has a career ops+ of 102, and he's done well in the two years he has played full time. But there is that little thing where for some years teams don't want him on their major league roster. That's not to say that doesn't happen in baseball, both Raul Ibanez and Jose Guillen were moved around quite a bit before settling in later in their careers. But after one above average year with the Marlins, is Cantu a player worth trading for, for any team let alone the Giants or White Sox? The Giants are trying to stay somewhat competitive landing a couple relievers (Affeldt, Howry) and Renteria (maybe I was a little too harsh on signging Renteria) without sacrificing the future , so how does trading for Cantu fit into that plan? The White Sox are in a little rebuilding mode after trading Vazquez and Swisher this offseason and with a competent comparable to Cantu in the minors why trade for Cantu? Would anyone be surprised if Cantu started off 2009 like he did in 2006 following his breakout year?
For all the flack the Marlins get, they're a damn good franchise. Maybe not the best team for a fan since they may build the team up and immediately take it down, but they don't hang on to players too long, trading them at peak value. Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis, the jury may still be out because they are still young, but it looks like a good deal now don't it? They can't afford to keep a guy too long and they don't, and the ones that are worth keeping they keep, see Hanley Ramirez's extension. I wonder if the White Sox and Giants are actively looking at Cantu, or if the Marlins are trying their best to shop him with those teams being the ones who called back interested. His value won't be any higher than it is now, and it'd be hard to expect a repeat performance next year, so if the Marlins could trade him this offseason it would have to be considered a win for them, and for what it's worth probably a loss for the other team.
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