All the news that fits this blog.

Chris Coghlan and John Baker are on Twitter updating their followers on their time visiting the troops in Iraq. Coghlan can be found @Cogz4Christ and Baker is known as @manbearwolf. Baker is also providing detailed updates on his website http://manbearwolf.blogspot.com/.

The Marlins have agreed to one year deals with Jorge Cantu and Leo Nunez. Cantu will earn $6MM this coming season while Nunez will earn $2MM. Cody Ross, on the other hand, appears to be headed to arbitration as the sides were unable to come to terms.

Anibal Sanchez has agreed to a 1-year $1.25MM deal with a $100K bonus based on games started. Renyel Pinto also agreed to a 1-year deal with terms TBA.

In another reminder why it’s good that the Marlins are moving into their own ballpark, we learn today that Joe Robbie/Pro Player/Dolphin/Landshark Stadium will now be known as Sun Life Stadium. The Dolphins have signed a 5-year deal with Sun Life Financial at an average of $7.5MM per year. Let’s hope this deal actually lasts the two years the Fish have in the Stadium.

The Marlins and Josh Johnson have agreed to a 4-year $39MM deal which buys out his first two years of free agency. The deal matches JJ’s original demand of a Greinke-like deal (4 years at $38MM) which suggests the Marlins relented after the recent pressure from MLB and MLBPA.

From ESPN:

“I’m excited,” Johnson said. “It sets up me and my family for life. One of the best parts is knowing where I’m going to be the next four years. I won’t have to hear about any trade rumors or anything like that. I’m happy to be in South Florida.”

The contract buys out the final two years of salary arbitration eligibility and the first two years of free agency for Johnson, who has a 34-16 record and a 3.40 ERA in parts of five seasons with the Marlins.

With Hanley Ramirez anchoring the offense, Josh Johnson now becomes the long-term ace of the pitching staff as the Fish make another run to the playoffs and as they look towards opening the new ballpark in 2012.

Update: A few more details. JJ will earn a mere $3.75 million in 2010, $7.75 million in 2011 and $13.75 million in 2012 and 2013. Incentives include $50K for making the All-Star team, $500K for wining the Cy Young and $1MM for World Series MVP.

Andre Dawson has finally been elected to the baseball Hall of Fame.

“The Hawk”, who finished out his career with the marlins in 1995 and 1996 and is currently a member of the Marlins front office is a former NL MVP and ROY. He was an eight-time all star, retired with 438 home runs and 1,591 RBI.

A Miami native, Dawson becomes the first Marlins player inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Update: Dawson received 77.9% of the vote.

The transformation from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins is beginning to take shape.

Except for the “F” logo on the baseball caps, the 2010 Marlins uniforms will no longer contain references to Florida. The most noticeable difference will be on the road uniforms where “Florida” will be replaced with “Marlins” as it appears in the home uniform. Additionally, the uniform sleeves will no longer have the “F” logo patch.

More details on the Marlins website.

Ross Gload is heading to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Marlins had hoped to bring back Gload but the defending NL champs capitalized on the opportunity and signed him to a two year deal. Big loss for the Fish as he was a reliable pinch hitter and a good defensive first baseman.

ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick is reporting that negotiations between the Marlins and Josh Johnson have reached an impasse.

Agent Matt Sosnick told ESPN.com that negotiations between the Marlins and Johnson have reached an “impasse,” and Johnson expects to play under a one-year deal in 2010. Johnson will be eligible for free agency after the 2011 season, and a failure to reach agreement on a multiyear contract would probably force the Marlins to explore a trade before then.

“Based on our conversations, there’s no chance of doing a long-term deal with the Marlins,” Sosnick said. “We made it clear that it was going to be this year or it wasn’t going to happen. It was now or never. And the Marlins agreed.”

Apparently JJ wanted a 4-year deal but the Marlins were only willing to go up to 3 years meaning they would only buy out one of his free agency years. Let’s hope this is just early posturing by both sides.

According to local reports, Marlins reliever Renyel Pinto is in a bit of trouble with the law and apparently there is a warrant out for his arrest.

On May 30, the Venezuelan pitcher was tooling his white 2007 Infiniti SUV, pimped-out with gigantic subwoofers in the trunk, through Hallandale when cops pulled him over and discovered he didn’t have a valid driver’s license. He was ordered to appear in Broward County court on June 16, but when you spend as much time flipping off the camera while lying in hammocks as Pinto does, you really can’t be be expected to alter your schedule. When he didn’t show up, his driving privileges were suspended and a warrant was issued for his arrest, with a $2,000 bond. He hasn’t been nabbed yet.

And Renyel never paid his management team:

According to a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade County on September 4, the reliever breached his contract with Coral Springs-based Pro-Management Resources Inc. when he “failed to pay” a one-and-a-half-percent cut of his $400,000 salary.

Pinto’s name has appeared in recent trade conversations and even before this news, the Marlins shouldn’t expect to get much in return.

Links:

• Moron of the Week: Bird-Flippin’, Agent-Jiltin’, County-Evadin’ Marlins Reliever Renyel Pinto
• Renyel Pinto is Running Tacky