MARLINS WANT MORALES

 

The Marlins plan to pursue Cuban defector Kendry Morales, who claimed Thursday he has established residency in the Dominican Republic, the first step toward being declared a free agent.

 

''I'll be working on it immediately,'' said Fred Ferreira, the Marlins' director of international operations.

 

However, Patrick Courtney, a spokesman for Major League Baseball, said Morales' status has not been cleared by the commissioner's office and a memo was sent to all 30 clubs advising them not to talk to Morales' representatives until that is resolved.

 

''We haven't received anything,'' Courtney said. ``It's not going to be a problem . . . as long as he gets the paperwork in.''

 

Morales, a switch-hitter who can play both corner infield and both corner outfield spots, left Cuba in June, arriving in Miami. After a bidding war reportedly involving as many as four agents, Morales, 21, agreed to be represented by John D. Mano and David Valdes, who held a media conference Thursday in Santo Domingo.

 

''I just want to play baseball, something that I couldn't do in Cuba in recent times,'' Morales, who was suspended by Cuban officials in December for planning to defect, told The Associated Press. ``In Cuba, I never dreamed of the possibility of playing in the big leagues. My dreams were to play in the national series and on the national team.''

 

Morales, the best young position player in Cuba in more than a generation, set seven rookie records in Cuban League play, banging out 114 hits, 21 homers and driving in 82 runs in his first year with Havana's Industriales. In last year's Serie Nacional, Morales led the league with 44 hits and 12 doubles while batting .361 with two homers and 17 RBI before being suspended.

Source: Miami Herald

Already posted.

Good stuff nonetheless...