John Buck signs with the Florida Marlins
Free-agent catcher John Buck signed a three-year contract with the Florida Marlins on Tuesday 16 November. The terms were not disclosed, but according to FOXSports.com it’s an $18m contract.
Buck had a breakout year for the Toronto Blue Jays last season, but ended up being the odd man out on a club that is deep at the catching position. The Blue Jays have a young up and coming catcher in J.P.
Arencibia that will need significant playing time in 2011, and they have veteran Jose Molina on the roster.
Last season Buck hit .281 with 20 homeruns and 66 RBIs, all career highs, in 118 games. Those numbers helped him make his first All-Star team in 2010. After such a great season, he understandably didn’t
want to fight with Arencibia and Molina for playing time in Toronto.
The Marlins were the polar opposite of the Blue Jays at the catching position. John Baker is coming off Tommy John surgery and Ronnie Paulion received a 50-game suspension for performance-enhancing substances
late last season. The addition of Buck should bring stability behind the plate for Florida.
The Marlins traded All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla to the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday, a move that freed up enough money to sign Buck.
Buck entered the League in 2004 with the Kansas City Royals. The 30-year-old played in Kansas City for six seasons before moving to Toronto in 2010. Buck has a career batting average of .243, 90 home runs
and 325 RBIs in 2322 at bats. He has thrown out 26 per cent of base runners trying to steal on him in 426 attempts.
Last season the Marlins finished with an 80-82 record, 17 games behind the Philadelphia Phillies for top spot in the NL East and 11 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the Wild Card spot.
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