"Jorge Cantu had to settle for petting and talking to his quarter horse, Titanic, when he returned to the family ranch in McAllen, Tex., during the All-Star break. Midway through the baseball season, Cantu can't risk a riding accident.

That one-way conversation probably didn't have much to do with baseball, much less where Cantu is likely to finish the campaign.

A free agent after this season, Cantu arguably is the most likely Marlin traded if the current 10-game homestand mirrors the club's first 88 games.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Cantu said. "We'll see if it happens…If I do get traded my main job is going to be to help that team. Excited? I would see by the time I get there. I don't have that feeling to describe if I get traded to a winning team. I respect this team too much. I like the way we play. A lot of things didn't go our way the first half, but hopefully we rebound this homestand and get it going, and play catch up."

The Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! aren't likely to offer Cantu a multi-year deal. Ideally, slick-fielding prospect Matt Dominguez will hit enough in the next year or two to justify a promotion and can lock down the position for the next several seasons. Another incentive to trade Cantu is that the Marlins likely wouldn't offer him arbitration, which is necessary to receive compensation if Cantu qualifies as a Type B free agent and they lose him."