DE Aza makes a strong return

August 9, 200718 yr

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basebal...0,5159404.story

De Aza returns strong

BY JUAN C. RODRIGUEZ

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

August 9, 2007

PHILADELPHIA Alejandro De Aza walked into manager Fredi Gonzalez's office before Wednesday's game and gave him a hug. Gonzalez advised him he was playing.

"That's what I came for," De Aza said.

In attendance at Double-A Carolina's game Tuesday against West Tennessee, General Manager Admin Beinfest and assistant GM Michael Hill gave De Aza the news of his promotion afterward. De Aza has been on the disabled list since April 16 with a fractured ankle.

He batted .459 during a 37 at-bat rehab stint with the Gulf Coast League Marlins, Class A Jupiter and the Mudcats.

"I was surprised because I didn't think I would react that way," De Aza said of his torrid hitting. "I was four months without playing. Once I started I felt like I still had my timing. At first I had a spark of fear [about the ankle] the first two or three games in rookie ball. After five or six games, I lost the fear and started running, stealing bases and told myself, 'I'm fine.'"

The Marlins resisted the urge to acquire another young center fielder while De Aza was hurt. Their evaluation of him over the next two months will largely determine their offseason outfield plans.

De Aza had a double and single in four at-bats Wednesday in his first game back with the Marlins.

"It's a vote of confidence for me," De Aza said. "They left me that opportunity. It's a second chance for me. I have to take advantage of it to the max."

READY FOR ANYTHING

Designated for assignment Tuesday to accommodate De Aza on the roster, Joe Borchard returned to South Florida to clean out his apartment before driving to his Charlotte residence.

Gonzalez said Borchard took the news like "the ultimate professional." The move wasn't completely unexpected, considering Borchard hadn't made a start since June 30 and totaled just 17 at-bats over the Marlins' past 32 games.

"If you want to read into, it looked like that," said Borchard, who batted .196 with a .600 on-base plus slugging percentage in 179 at-bats. "I certainly can't blame them for it."

The Marlins have 10 days to trade Borchard, release him or outright him to the minors if he clears waivers. They may not want to keep him in the organization, considering they just traded Chad Hermansen to alleviate a crowded outfield at Triple-A Albuquerque.

"There are advantages to all those scenarios," he said. "It's a matter of picking the one that works best for me. I'm not opposed to anything. I need to get some at-bats."

ROTATION CHANGE

The Marlins will use a spot starter from the minors Friday against the Mets in New York instead of Saturday. Gonzalez figured the team might be better off with a more seasoned pitcher in Scott Olsen going Saturday between a newly promoted pitcher and rookie Rick VandenHurk, who hasn't been getting deep into games.

Daniel Barone and Gaby Hernandez are in line to pitch Friday for Triple-A Albuquerque and Double-A Carolina, respectively.

MARTINEZ OPTIONED

After two appearances, the Marlins optioned right-hander Carlos Martinez to get steadier work at Albuquerque. Tuesday, Martinez gave up back-to-back homers to Ryan Howard and Aaron Rowand. His velocity still isn't at its pre-elbow surgery level.

After Wednesday's game, the Marlins called up right-hander Ross Wolf from Albuquerque to replace Martinez.

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