Piniella Wants Marquis Gone

Although Cubs pitcher Jason Marquis turned out a good year for the Cubs after finishing 14-16 with a 6.02 ERA the year before, Lou Piniella lost all confidence in him and wants him traded. Marquis was 12-9 with a 4.60 ERA and 109 K, but was 7-5 with a 5.65 ERA with 62 earned runs in the final three months of the season. You could see Piniella's frustration after he let Marquis go just 8.1 innings in his final three starts combined. He started very strong for the Cubs which make me think they might hold on to him, especially becuase the sale of the Cubs will slow down free agent signings. Where could he go if they did shop him? The Padres, who are looking to improve their rotation might take a look. Kevin Towers and Jim Hendry are good trading partners and could work something out. The Indians are looking to improve their pitching and may take a chance. The Marlins, who have reported adolescent behavior may look to a veteran pitcher to lead some of these young guys. He has the stuff to compete, but has zero confidence which only hurts the team. But if they were to trade him, what would the rotation look like? They have Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, and Rich Hill as lock ins. Making Ryan Dempster a starter again would be a mistake, and would probably hurt his arm. Not only that, but he can't seem to close out any game with perfection. They have Kevin Hart and Sean Marshall who will get a shot at Spring Training, along with Donnie Veal and Sean Gallagher. Koji Uehara, from Japan, is a free agent and they could take a chance on him. Maybe even Kyle Lohse, but the pending sale will definitely effect cost, especially if he is looking for a Marquis type deal. Jim Hendry is known for making trades that benefit the Cubs completely, so trading Marquis might be hard if he follows that philosophy.