It was reported recently that the Miami Marlins would non-tender Juan Carlos Oviedo in the wake of the team's recent Heath Bell signing, but Marlins president Larry Beinfest told Joe Capozzi of the Palm Beach Post that the team does in fact plan to tender Oviedo a contract for the 2012 season.
Oviedo, 29, was formerly known as Leo Nunez, and is currently facing legal charges in his native Dominican Republic for falsifying personal information. He had spent the previous three seasons as the closer for the Marlins, converting 92 of 113 save opportunities for an 81 percent rate.
While his ERA figures have been in the 3.5-4.1 range, his FIP marks have been all over the place. In 2010, he struck out nearly 10 guys per 9 innings while posting a 54 percent groundball rate, but in 2011 he struck out just 7.7 guys per 9 innings while posting a 32 percent groundball rate. The negative changes can likely be partially explained by Oviedo's change in pitch selection, as he traded a significant number of change-ups for fastballs in 2011.
It was expected that Oviedo would be non-tendered after the Marlins signed Heath Bell to take over as closer, but it appears that the Marlins are content to stack up their bullpen and use Oviedo as a set-up man. He'll be a somewhat pricey one, though, as MLBTR projects him to make roughly $5.8 million through arbitration for next season.