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.

The Marlins have acquired 1B Nick Johnson from the Washington Nationals for minor league pitcher Aaron Thompson. Despite earlier rumors that the deal was dead after the Nats rejected Ryan Tucker, it’s amazing that the Fish were able to close the deal for only Thompson. This is bad news for Emilio Bonifacio who will likely move into a utility role while Jorge Cantu returns to 3B.

Update: Beinfest and Hill clearly out maneuvered the Nats. Not only did they complete the trade for a lesser prospect, they also convinced the Nats to cover Johnson’s remaining $1.8 million salary.

Congratulations to Jorge Cantu on being named the NL Player of the Week. He is the second Fish to win the award already (Josh Johnson won it last month). Unfortunately, Cantu’s .346 average with 4 HR and 15 RBI wasn’t enough to earn the fish more than 3 wins last week.

Gaby Sanchez was the favorite to take over at first base but after a weak spring, he is heading to AAA. This likely means Jorge Cantu will move to first base and Emilio Bonifacio will take over third.

Our very own Jorge Cantu is one of four stars featured in ESPN’s promotion of the World Baseball Classic. Here is the ad:

Bugs and Cranks has a good take on this promotion here.

Marlins avoided arbitration with both Jorge Cantu and Jeremy Hermida:

Cantu’s deal is for $3.5 million, and it comes after he made $600,000, including $100,000 in incentives, last year. Hermida’s deal is for $2.25 million with a chance to earn another $50,000 in incentives.

In case you were wondering, Jorge Cantu finished 4th in the voting for the 2008 National League Comeback Player of the Year.