Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
It is certainly sad to see Miami Marlins starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco, who spent his entire big league career with the organization, leave town. With that being said, it was definitely the right move by the Marlins as Nolasco has stated numerous times that he is not interested in being a part of Miami’s rebuilding process.
After Miami’s fire sale prior to the 2013 Major League Baseball season, Nolasco realized he was the only big named starter left on the roster. It was clear the Marlins were going back to the drawing board, but the right-hander had no interest in being a part of that. At 30 years old, he wants to play for a contender and pitch in the postseason.
Miami was smart to trade Nolasco to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three Minor League pitching prospects. Obviously, the organization is happy to get anything for a disgruntled pitcher. The Marlins are hoping Los Angeles’ No. 8 prospect Angel Sanchez, Steve Ames and Josh Wall will one day help ease the rebuilding process.
As far as Nolasco is concerned, there is no question he is ecstatic about joining the Dodgers. Even though Los Angeles is currently four and a half games out of first place in the National League West, Nolasco is just happy that he will be suiting up for a team that is capable of getting into the mix down the stretch.
“I’m definitely excited,” Nolasco told MLB.com. “It’s L.A., the team that I grew up going to the games as a kid and stuff. It’s kind of surreal now, until I’m actually there. It will take time to sink in, but I’m definitely excited. My whole family couldn’t be happier. I’ll try to blend in as quickly as I can.”
The seven-year veteran is 5-8 with a 3.85 earned run average and 90 strikeouts in 112 1/3 innings this season.
