Agent: Nolasco wants trade from gutted Marlins

Pitcher Ricky Nolasco, the highest-paid player left on the Miami Marlins' roster after a series of moves that have gutted the team's payroll, wants to be traded, his agent told ESPN Monday.

NASHVILLE -- Pitcher Ricky Nolasco, the highest-paid player left on the Miami Marlins' roster after a series of moves that have gutted the team's payroll, wants to be traded, his agent told ESPN Monday.

Agent Matt Sosnick said that Nolasco reached the decision after the recent trade that sent Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Jose Reyes, John Buck and Emilio Bonifacio to the Toronto Blue Jays. The deal prompted a major backlash among Marlins fans and subjected owner Jeffrey Loria to widespread criticism from media outlets.

"Ricky and I have spoken a lot since the end of the season," Sosnick said. "Just watching the way the offseason has transpired for the Marlins and the moves they've made, he and I agree that he would probably be better served playing somewhere else. If he had his druthers, he would pitch for somebody other than the Marlins in 2013 and beyond."

Nolasco, who turns 30 later this month, is 76-64 with a 4.49 ERA in parts of seven seasons with the Marlins. He has surpassed 185 innings four times in the past five seasons. With a base salary of $11.5 million next season, Nolasco is easily the team's highest-paid player.

When asked if Nolasco has made a formal request of the team to trade him, Sosnick declined to comment.

Nolasco isn't the only remaining Marlins player to express his disappointment with the team's new direction. Right fielder Giancarlo Stanton sent out a disparaging Tweet after news broke of the Miami-Toronto trade, and expanded upon those comments in a recent interview with the MLB Network's Peter Gammons.

"I do not like this at all," Stanton told Gammons. "This is the 'winning philosophy?' Then to say it's not about money? What is the motivation? There comes a breaking point. I know how I feel. I can't imagine how the city and the fans feel."

After trading Hanley Ramirez, Anibal Sanchez and Omar Infante in July, the Marlins dealt closer Heath Bell to Arizona in October and shed about $150 million in future salary obligations with the Toronto trade. Following the 12-player trade between Miami and the Blue Jays, Buehrle and his agent, Jeff Berry, said Marlins ownership misled them about the team's commitment to winning.

"I'm upset with how things turned out in Miami," Buehrle said in a statement. "Just like the fans in South Florida, I was lied to on multiple occasions. But I'm putting it behind me and looking forward to moving on with my career."