--OF Jay Gibbons signed a minor league deal with the Marlins, according to the Baltimore Sun. Gibbons, 31, spent most of last season in the Brewers' farm system after playing seven years in the majors with the Orioles. A .260 career hitter with some power (three 20-plus homer seasons), he could turn into a solid outfield reserve for Florida.
--RHP Matt Lindstrom has accepted an invitation to pitch for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic. Lindstrom will head into spring training as the Marlins' new closer after going 3-3 with a 3.14 ERA in 57 1/3 innings last year in the setup role. --RHP Logan Kensing signed a one-year, $660,000 contract, reducing the number of the team's arbitration-eligible players to seven. Kensing went 3-1 with a 4.23 ERA in 48 games (55 1/3 innings) in 2008, his first full season after having Tommy John surgery.
--OF Brett Carroll has been working out in Knoxville, Tenn., with trainer Charles Petrone, whose clients include Miami Dolphins QB Chad Pennington. Carroll hopes to have a comeback season as strong as Pennington's. Carroll is recovering from a broken hand suffered in the Dominican winter league but expects to be ready to compete for an outfield spot in spring training.
--With free agent RHP Carl Pavano signing with Cleveland, the Marlins will go to camp with a probable rotation of RHP Josh Johnson, RHP Ricky Nolasco, RHP Chris Volstad, RHP Anibal Sanchez and LHP Andrew Miller. The team has indicated that Miller, who struggled last year, will have to earn his spot this spring or he would wind up in the bullpen.
--The team is ready to retain 2B Dan Uggla for 2009, but Uggla's future with the team will depend in part on how well Chris Coghlan performs this season.
Coghlan hit .298 with seven home runs and 74 RBIs in 132 games for Class AA Carolina in 2008. He'll probably start the 2009 season in Class AAA New Orleans and could make the big-league club sometime during the season.
--C Kyle Skipworth, the organization's top draft pick in 2008, struggled in his first year of pro ball, but the team expects him to make strides in 2009, when he'll start the season in low Class A.
Skipworth hit .208 with five home runs and 21 RBIs in 159 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League in 2008. He also struck out 46 times and drew just 13 walks.
"Skipworth started off real rough," Marlins assistant GM Jim Fleming said. "He wanted to really show us and really press. He tried to do things he didn't need to do. Then we sat him down and talked to him and then he really did well. He has made good strides catching."
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 -- Arbitration-eligible players on the team.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Scott brings experience to our staff and provides us with depth at the back of the bullpen. He gives us another live arm to help finish games." -- Baseball operations president Larry Beinfest, on the signing of RHP Scott Proctor.
