Top prospect Gaby Sanchez and veteran Jorge Cantu are the leading contenders to replace first baseman Mike Jacobs, who was traded Oct. 30 to the Kansas City Royals for right-hander Leo Nunez.
Jacobs hit a career-best 32 home runs in 2008, but the team considered him a defensive liability who was out of their price range for 2009. Jacobs is due to collect between $2.5 million and $3.5 million through arbitration. In return, Florida bolstered its bullpen. Nunez, 25, was 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 45 relief appearances for the Royals in 2008. He throws a fastball in the low- to mid-90s and also has a slider and a changeup.
Right-handed batters hit .230 (23-for-100) against him. Overall, he gave up just two home runs and was scored on in one of his last 13 appearances.
Going into the annual general managers meetings that start Nov. 3, the team is leaning toward keeping second baseman Dan Uggla. But the team is expected to trade right-hander Kevin Gregg, which would pave the way for right-hander Matt Lindstrom to become the closer. Nunez could become the setup man.
Sanchez hit .314 with 17 homers and 92 RBIs for Class AA Carolina. He was the Southern League's Most Valuable Player.
If the team doesn't believe Sanchez is ready, Cantu -- who played mostly third base in 2008 -- could be moved to first, with Dallas McPherson going to third.
"We believe Gaby Sanchez and McPherson are big-league-ready, and they can both play first base if needed," baseball operations president Larry Beinfest said. "We know that Cantu can play first if needed, and we know that Logan Morrison is coming along very quickly in our system."
