Dethroned closer Matt Lindstrom is heading to the Houston Astros (literally, he is on his way to Houston for a physical). Will update once we hear who the Marlins got in return.

Update: Peter Gammons is reporting that the Marlins received two minor leaguers and a player to be named later.

Update 2: Minor leaguers coming back to the Marlins are RHP Robert Bono and SS Luis Bryan.

The Marlins have traded Jeremy Hermida to the Boston Red Sox for left-handed pitchers Hunter Jones and Jose Alvarez.

Hermida was never able to live up to high expectations batting .259 last season with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. Now that he is in Boston, the Yankees/Red Sox obsessed national baseball media will fawn over his talent and potential. For Hermida’s sake, we hope the change of scenery will help.

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.

With Spring Training winding down, the Marlins traded Robert Andino, who was out of options, to the Baltimore Orioles for right-handed reliever Hayden Penn. Penn hasn’t had a stellar career:

Penn reached the big leagues with the Orioles in 2005, and he’s appeared in seven Grapefruit League games this spring. The right-hander is 0-3 with a 10.06 ERA in 17 innings.

The 24-year-old Penn was 0-4 with a 15.10 ERA in six starts last year, logging 19 2/3 innings.

Additionally, the Fish found a left-handed hitter to come off the bench. The Marlins acquired 33-year old Ross Gload and cash from the Kansas City Royals for a player to be named later.

Apparently not satisfied with their catching depth, the Marlins have acquired Ronny Paulino from the giants for minor league right-handed pitcher Hector Correa.

Paulino, 27, was traded to the Giants from Philadelphia for left-handed pitcher Jack Taschner Friday night prior to being traded to Florida. He was previously traded to the Phillies from Pittsburgh on December 10, 2008 in exchange for catcher Jason Jaramillo. He had spent his entire career with the Pirates, posting a career average of .278 (284×1021) with 49 doubles, 19 home runs and 128 RBI in 304 Major League games.

The Santo Domingo, DR native appeared in just 40 games with Pittsburgh last season while battling a right ankle sprain. For his career Paulino has thrown out 51 of 165 (24%) of runners attempting to steal. A right-handed hitter, he owns a career .355 (92×259) average against left-handed pitchers. Paulino was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Pittsburgh Pirates on December 29, 1997.

I guess Mike Rabelo is still not good enough for the big leagues.

Update: The Marlins didn’t wait long. Mike Rabelo and Brett Hayes were sent down to AAA.

The Marlins have traded Kevin Gregg to the Cubs for 21-year old AA pitcher Jose Ceda. Despite having a decent season (7-8 with 29 saves and a 3.41 ERA), Gregg will be remembered for blowing several critical saves in August and September.

Update: The Sun-Sentinel says that Jose Ceda may actually be a pretty good prospect:

The Marlins got a near major league-ready power arm in return. Entering last season, Baseball America rated Ceda the fourth-best prospect in the Cubs system.

A native of the Dominican Republic, Ceda, who turns 22 in January, did nothing in 2008 to damage his projection as a future late-inning reliever.

He split time between high Class A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee, going a combined 4-3 with a 3.83 ERA, 42 walks, 95 strikeouts and 67 hits allowed in 84 2/3 innings. Ceda was a starter in the Florida State League, but where he excelled was as a reliever in the Southern League.

In 22 appearances for the Smokies, Ceda had a 2.08 ERA with 14 walks, 42 strikeouts and a .234 opponents’ batting average in 30 1/3 innings. Two seasons ago for low Class A Peoria, he held opponents hitless over his final 15 appearances (23 1/3 innings).

Mike Berardino of the Sun-Sentinel provides some thoughts and insights on the Olsen/Hammer deal:

About that payroll dump so far:

the Fish have removed roughly $7 million from their books for 2009.

On what we got in return:

In return, they have brought in a cheap young setup man (Leo Nunez), a light-hitting second baseman with Gold Glove potential (Emilio Bonifacio) and a couple of decent low-level prospects who just finished their first full pro seasons (RHP P.J. Dean and IF Jake Smolinski).

What happens to Dan Uggla?

What about Dan Uggla and his $5 million projection? Juan Rodriguez was assured again Monday night — as I have been recently — that the Marlins have made it clear Uggla stays into next season.

What will happen to Bonifacio?

For now, look for Bonifacio to be sent down to Triple-A for a little more seasoning as the speedy switch-hitter in the Luis Castillo mode tries to get his bat going.

And on what to expect:

Something tells me, though, the Marlins aren’t quite done, that there will be an interesting addition or two at the end of this salary-shedding process.

Maybe a veteran catcher to handle all that fine young pitching? (Alas, it WON’T be Pudge Rodriguez, I’ve been told.) Maybe a proven corner outfielder with some sock? Maybe even a one-year closer to take the burden off Matt Lindstrom.

Peter Gammons and Ken Rosenthal are reporting that the Marlins have sent Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Washington Nationals for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, right-hander P.J. Dean and outfielder Jake Smolinski.

We are quite surprised by this trade because I always assumed the Marlins would get more for Olsen (for some reason we feel like Willingham is a throw-in).

Rosenthal adds:

The addition of Bonifacio will enable the team to move Dan Uggla to third base. Smolinski, 19, is coming off reconstructive knee surgery. He was the Nationals’ second-round pick in the 2007 draft and Dean was their seventh rounder out of New Caney (Texas) High School that same year.

I guess Bonifacio brings speed and defense but he’s still a career .240 hitter so I wonder how the Marlins plan to make up for his offense. Also, if Dan Uggla ends up at third does it mean that Jorge Cantu will end up at first base with Dallas McPherson and Wes Helms coming off the bench?

Whenever the Marlins make a trade that doesn’t seem to make sense, we always close our eyes, take a deep breath and say: “In Larry We Trust”

Update: It’s official.

Update 2: More info on the players we received.

ESPN’s Keith Law has a very strong view on the Jacobs trade:

First:

Jason (NJ): Thoughts on the Jacobs for Nunez trade?

Keith Law: I am officially off the Dayton Moore train. Mike Jacobs stinks. A .299 OBP from an everyday corner infielder? They gave up a decent relief arm AND they’re going to pay Jacobs arb salaries when Kile Ka’aihue (of whom I am no huge fan) is sitting right there and could provide equal or better production for free. To say nothing of Shealy or the out-of-favor Billy Butler. It’s just a bad move for KC, and hey, a free reliever for Florida.

Then:

I addressed this briefly in chat Thursday, but it’s worth reiterating: The Royals’ trade for Mike Jacobs was a profoundly wrongheaded move.

Jacobs should not get regular playing time from a major league club, period. The fact that the Royals looked at him and thought, “Wow, everyday first baseman!” is terrifying, because it’s so wrong.

Dave Cameron of FanGraphs adds:

The Marlins, always in cost-cutting mode, weren’t particularly interested in taking Jacobs to arbitration this winter, and with a team full of bad defenders, opening up first base to hide one of them seems like a pretty good idea.

He runs some numbers:

But from the other perspective, why on earth does Kansas City want Jacobs? Yes, his power is appealing, and he’s better than his .299 OBP in 2008 would suggest, but even as a .270/.330/.490 guy (which is basically what Marcel has him projected at for 2009), he’s just barely better than a legue average hitter. If we call him +5 runs offensively, then subtract 10 runs for the position adjustment, he’d be a -5 run player if he played league average defense. But he doesn’t – he’s one of the worst defensive first baseman in the game, racking up +/- ratings of -12, -10, and -27 the last three years. Even if we consider 2008 to be an outlier, we’d have to estimate his defensive value at around -10 runs compared to an average first baseman, which we then add to his previous -5 rating, and all of the sudden, Jacobs is about 15 runs worse than a league average first baseman.

And, he also suggests:

Nunez’s sparkly 2.98 ERA and 94 MPH fastball have them thinking that he could be a potential late inning reliever. Even though they’re wrong on that count (Nunez’s combination of lots of fly balls and no strikeouts make him a pretty lousy reliever), moving Jacobs before he costs them too much money makes sense for Florida.

MLB sources tell both The Kansas City Star and Joe Frisaro of MLB.com that the Marlins are on the verge of sending Mike Jacobs to the Kansas City Royals for right-handed reliever Leo Nunez.

According to a league source, the Marlins are close to trading first baseman Mike Jacobs to the Royals for right-handed reliever Leo Nunez.

The source said on Wednesday night that players have been agreed upon, and the deal could be consummated in the next few days.

The Marlins wanted minor league prospect Carlos Rosa but his health was a major concern so they seemed to have settled on Nunez, who has a decent track record:

The Marlins are looking for bullpen help, and Nunez is a 25-year-old from the Dominican Republic who appeared in 45 games during the ‘08 season. Nunez posted a 4-1 record with a 2.98 ERA while logging 48 1/3 innings.

Nunez could end up as the setup man in the 7th or 8th inning.

Update: It’s now official.