Jason Marquis: Free Agent Stock Falling?

For some, the postseason is a time to solidify their resume and increase their value on the free agent market. But for Jason Marquis, that's not the case. At least for now:

"Marquis is expected to stay in the bullpen and lose his start in Game 4 to righthander Ubaldo Jimenez, the Game 1 loser, who would be pitching on normal rest. In the final month of the regular season, Tracy pushed back Marquis to keep Jimenez on his usual schedule.

Marquis made the all-star team after going 11-6 with a 3.65 ERA in the first half. He dropped to 4-7 with a 4.56 in the second half overall and 1-4 with a 6.05 ERA in his final seven starts.

Being skipped in the postseason is common for Marquis. He has been with a playoff team in all 10 years of his career but has made only three postseason starts, none since 2004.

"I think the first two-thirds of the season were exceptional," Tracy said of Marquis earlier in the series. "Right now, he's not throwing the ball in the same manner. This is a performance-oriented business."

Amazing. Just four months after pitching himself onto the all-star team, Jason Marquis has reverted back into, well, Jason Marquis. Sure makes me think that the first 4 months of the 2009 season were simply a fluke for Marquis.

If Marquis was able to finish out the season strong and combine that with a decent/strong postseason, then there's no doubt that he would have been one of the top starting pitchers on the market this season. In fact, just a few weeks back, I projected Marquis to be in the 3 year/$24 million dollar range as a free agent this offseason.

Now, when you take into account that Marquis struggled down the stretch and now he's pitching out the bullpen, is it realistic to think that Marquis can still get $8 million per season?

Past history says yes. Marquis somehow got a 3 year/$24 million dollar contract after the 2006 season from the Cubs even though the Cardinals left him and his 6+ ERA off the playoff roster.

But the market has changed drastically from 2006 to now. And unfortunately for Marquis, that might signal that his free agent value will drop further in the coming weeks.

Thoughts?

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