A Philosophical Question

News that the Boston Red Sox have agreed in principle to a trade for All Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has me wondering, can we legitimately call Gonzalez a member of the Marlins diaspora? Gonzalez, as you may recall, was the first pick in the 2000 amateur draft by the Florida Marlins, and was traded to the Texas Rangers at the 2003 trade deadline for closer Ugueth Urbina (an iffy move, but the Marlins did win the World Series in 2003, so I never got too worked up about it).* However, Gonzalez did not make his major league debut until 2004 as a Ranger. So I ask, should we include Gonzalez in the Marlins diaspora? He spent more time with the team than Mike Piazza, but never actually played for the big club, save for Spring Training action.

Ted and I usually hold a Fidel-and-Raul grip over the undergirding philosophy of Marlins Diehards, but we are interested in what our readers have to say on this one. Let us know what you think.

*Besides, the truly egregious Adrian Gonzalez trade came in 2006, when Texas traded Gonzalez, Chris Young, and Termel Sledge for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka.