Plan A is some type of trade scenario (still in the works)

Plan B was Josh Hamilton in the Rule V Draft but The Reds turned that plan into dust

looks like we're going with plan C then

With the Rockies recently acquiring Willy Taveras in the Jennings trade, I am expecting the Marlins to make some kind of play for Cory Sullivan. I have been expecting that for some time, but with Taveras on the Rockies now it seems even more likely.

Plan A is some type of trade scenario (still in the works)

Plan B was Josh Hamilton in the Rule V Draft but The Reds turned that plan into dust

looks like we're going with plan C then

They haven't quit on plan A yet

They haven't quit on plan A yet

I wouldn't hold my breath on a big trade happening either though. None have happened, and I don't expect any blockbusters will unless a stadium deal comes before ST.

Sanchez worth risk for Marlins

By Joe Capozzi

 

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

 

Saturday, December 09, 2006

 

Desperate for an affordable but experienced center fielder, the Marlins are taking a chance on the first player disciplined in 2005 under baseball's toughened steroids rules.

 

Alex Sanchez, a career .297 hitter with speed but questionable defense, will compete for the center field spot in spring training after signing a minor-league deal Friday.

 

Sanchez, 30, a native of Cuba who came to the United States on a rickety raft 12 years ago, was suspended April 3, 2005, for 10 days for violating baseball's new policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

 

At the time, he was the first player publicly identified through the major leagues' tougher rules, and it surprised the baseball world. While the use of performance-enhancing drugs is associated with home-run sluggers, Sanchez had just four career home runs in 1,351 at-bats when he failed the drug test.

 

"I'm surprised because look at what kind of player I am. I'm a leadoff hitter. I never hit any home runs,'' Sanchez said at the time, blaming the positive test on something he bought over the counter.

 

"I know I did nothing incorrect. ... I take stuff I buy over the counter. Multivitamins, protein shakes, muscle relaxants. That kind of stuff.''

 

The Marlins hope Sanchez can revive a career that showed promise in five seasons with Milwaukee, Detroit, Tampa Bay and San Francisco.

 

The left-handed hitter's best year was 2003, when he hit .287 and stole 52 bases with the Brewers and Tigers. Of that total, 44 were with Detroit, which placed him second in the American League.

 

With his speed and penchant for bunting, Sanchez offers Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez the option of putting him in the leadoff spot and moving Hanley Ramirez lower in the batting order.

 

Ramirez was the NL Rookie of the Year last season while batting mostly leadoff. The Marlins have said they envision him hitting lower in the order.

 

This week, Gonzalez said the top of the batting order probably would look like last season, with Ramirez leading off, followed by Dan Uggla, Miguel Cabrera and Josh Willingham.

 

The Marlins won 78 games in 2006, better than expected, despite a glaring weakness in center. Rookies Eric Reed and Reggie Abercrombie never blossomed. Alfredo Amezaga, a veteran utility infielder who never played outfield before 2006, wound up being the team's most productive center fielder. Amezaga could return to center next season if the Sanchez experiment doesn't work out.

 

Sanchez left Cuba in 1994 when he was 18, leaving his family behind. He and his companions spent three days at sea before the U.S. Coast Guard picked them up. For the next 16 months, he was detained at Guantanamo Bay, where he played baseball with U.S. soldiers.

 

Sanchez eventually settled in Miami and was drafted in 1996 by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He was Milwaukee's starting center fielder in 2002 but he was traded because of erratic defense and a poor attitude in the clubhouse.

 

Sanchez signed a minor-league contract with the Reds last March but was released in June after hitting .225 in 38 games with Class AAA Louisville.

 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/marlins/conte...rlins_1209.html