We've already had two future Hall of Fame pitchers in John Smoltz and Trevor Hoffman (OK, maybe I'm projecting a bit with Hoffman) sign with weirdly different teams in the past week, so I guess Pedro Martinez would be next on the list. Given his recent arm problems (he's hasn't thrown 200 innings in a season since 2005) and the recent decline in his performance due in part to those injuries, there hasn't been a lot of interest in him thus far.
Still, the free-agent market is slowly starting to dry up and that means we're probably going to hear Pedro's name quite a bit in the next couple weeks. We can start with the report today from MLB.com that Pedro is negotiating with the Florida Marlins. Yes, THOSE Florida Marlins. I guess it makes some sense for Pedro, since he has a house in Miami and he wouldn't have to leave the NL East, but I barely got used to seeing the guy in a Mets uniform. A Marlins uniform would probably blow my mind.
I guess the Marlins have to be hoping Martinez comes cheaply because I'm just not certain how good or durable he is at this stage of his career. It's unlikely anything is going to happen right away -- the article mentions that he wants to talk to the Mets and see what other teams are interested. That's probably good because can you really imagine John Smoltz as a Red Sox, Trevor Hoffman as a Brewer, and Pedro Martinez as a Marlin all at the same time? I'm not sure I want to.
UPDATE: The Miami Herald has a report today saying that while the Marlins may be Pedro's first choice, there haven't been any negotiations between the two sides to this point.
Pedro Martinez Negotating With ... the Marlins? originally appeared on MLB FanHouse on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 12:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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