By Jim Callis
July 11, 2003

The Marlins may have trailed the Phillies and Diamonbacks by 4½ games in the National League wild-card race, sitting back in a pack of with five other hopefuls. Nevertheless, Florida paid a huge price on Friday to fortify its bullpen and make a playoff run. The Marlins added closer Ugueth Urbina by sending former No. 1 overall pick Adrian Gonzalez and fellow Double-A prospects Will Smith and Ryan Snare to the Rangers.

Texas will pick up much of the remaining $4.5 million on Urbina's 2003 contract, yet the price it extracted seems overwhelming compared to what the Mets got for Roberto Alomar 10 days earlier: a quality relief prospect (Royce Ring), a struggling one (Edwin Almonte) and a low Class A spare part (Andrew Salvo). And considering that the Marlins went after Armando Benitez with a similar package to what Urbina cost them, it's surprising that the Mets didn't try to close that deal.

Urbina, a 29-year-old righthander, was an American League all-star last season and had 40 saves for the Red Sox. Signed to a one-year free-agent deal by the Rangers, he has saved 26 of Texas' 38 victories in 2003—though that obscures his 4.19 ERA, which would be his career worst for a full season. In 39 innings, he has posted a 41-18 strikeout-walk ratio and limited opponents to a .232 average. He primarily uses a plus fastball and slider. In 415 games over nine seasons, he has a 32-37, 3.46 record with 200 saves and 624 whiffs in 525 innings.

Gonzalez was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2000 draft, one of the weakest in recent memory. The California high school product's willingness to accept a below-market $3 million bonus played a part in Florida's decision, but he is one of the best batting prospects in the minors. However, the presence of slugger Jason Stokes in the Marlins system helped make Gonzalez expendable. He struggled through a .216-1-18 start in 39 games at Triple-A Albuquerque, in large part the result of surgery to repair torn cartilage in his wrist last December. The 21-year-old first baseman was hitting .307-1-16 in 36 games at Double-A Carolina before the trade. He's still very young for that level, and has been compared to a young Rafael Palmeiro for his line-drive stroke and fielding prowess. Gonzalez has yet to show much home run pop, with just 36 longballs in 401 minor league games, though Palmeiro's power also developed late. Some scouts have said that Gonzalez' bat speed has decreased in 2003, but again that could be attributed to his wrist. The Rangers now have three corner infielders with exceptionally high ceilings, as Gonzalez joins big leaguers Hank Blalock and Mark Teixeira.

Smith, a 21-year-old outfielder, was a sixth-round pick in the same Marlins draft that yielded Gonzalez and Stokes. He set the Arizona high school career home run record, and entered this season with a career .302 average and .461 slugging percentage. Smith has one of the more unorthodox stances in the minors, but it hasn't held him back. He hasn't hit for as much power this year, batting .293-1-13 in 34 games at Carolina, but a wrist injury is also the culprit with him. Smith broke his hamate bone in April. His bat is his main tool, as neither his arm nor his range stand out in left field. Offensively, he needs to regain the strength in his wrist and to draw more walks.

Snare, a 24-year-old lefthander, also was a 2000 draft pick. Taken in the second round out of the University of North Carolina by the Reds, he was traded to the Marlins exactly one year ago for Ryan Dempster. Snare's fastball is solid average at best, but he has a dastardly curveball and isn't afraid to work inside against righthanders. He has gone 26-13 in the minors, including a 5-4, 3.67 record in 18 starts this year at Carolina. He had a 77-37 K-BB ratio and a .253 opponent average in 103 innings.