New Marlins look to make early impact

MIAMI -- The text message from New York Yankees pitcher Joba Chamberlain seemed downright wrong."He sent me a text calling me a Marlin," outfielder Cameron Maybin said Monday at an annual media luncheon sponsored by the team. "I was like, 'Surely I didn't get traded.'"

Think again.

The highly rated prospect, who wears braces and is still too young to buy a beer at a bar, was shipped to the Florida Marlins along with five other players in the December trade with the Detroit Tigers. In the process, the Marlins lost the faces of their franchise - All-Stars Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera.

"The fans might expect somebody to be a replacement for those two guys," said left-hander Andrew Miller, who was sent to the Marlins as part of the trade. "It's hard to do. Those two guys are such good players, it's going to be hard to replace them. We're just going to have to do our best."

Willis and Cabrera were popular among fans of the Marlins, who finished last in the majors in attendance this past season. In five seasons with Florida, Cabrera compiled a .313 batting average. Last year Willis was 10-15 with a 5.17 ERA.

"I knew going in that there was always the possibility of trading those two guys," Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We got a good bunch of guys back from Detroit, and we still have a good nucleus of players here. ... We just keep going forward."

He declined to specifically address Florida's preliminary agreement with free-agent outfielder Luis Gonzalez, which was reported Thursday.

Gonzalez, 40, has spent most of his career in left field and will likely be Florida's fourth outfielder. He hit .278 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs last season for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Gonzalez played in 139 games but became a part-time player in the second half of the season.

"You need that in a locker room, a veteran guy," Gonzalez said. "I think it would be a plus."

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