There are times where a player plays himself out of being traded; by playing inconsistently or plain bad.
There are exceptions to the rule, like Byrd being shipped to Boston with a .071 batting average. But the Red Sox had a desperate need for a starting OF with three outfielders hurt. The trade helped Byrd get to .300 in AL. The only reason Byrd got dealt was that the Cubs ate most of the salary.
But Cubs closer Marmol is a different story. His mechanics continue to be bad. He has serious control problems, aggravated by his falling off the mound to first base. His slider is erratic and when he uses a fastball, he cannot find the corners of the plate for strikes. Early American filmmakers used to set up cameras on single tracks to capture head on train wrecks. Marmol is a slow motion train wreck in progress. Even yesterday's five run lead was not safe when Marmol took the mound in the 9th.
After trading Marshall for minor leaguers, there was no reliever on the squad that could take the closer's role away from Marmol. However, Dolis seemed to be the one guy pitching coach Bosio is willing to take a gander at: Dolis got his first major league victory and save last week. The big, burley right hander may not put the Lee Smith style fear of god in batters, but he does have a good enough fastball if his control is good.
Garza threw another good game. Garza and Marmol are the remaining the two potential trade candidates when spring training broke camp. Trade a veteran with a team with need near the trade deadline for a bunch of prospects who can help in 2014.
If Marmol was pitching lights out, then there would be some team who would see value in a shut-down closer (after many contenders have lost their closers to arm injuries). One or more could actually take Marmol and his $7 million contract for high quality prospect or two. But as of today, there are no takers for Marmol in the open market. Even if the Cubs eat most of Marmol's contract, most GMs would be wary of what kind of pitcher they are getting in return.
So Marmol is the perfect Catch-22. He has played badly enough not to be traded, but no bad enough to be demoted or sent to the minors.
