The Marlins reassigned Logan Morrison to minor league camp this morning, which makes certain what has been pretty much a given for more than a week: Gaby Sanchez will be the Marlins' first baseman.
Statistically, it was a no-brainer.
Sanchez has hit .409 this spring (compared to .244 for Morrison), to go with a .460 on-base percentage and .659 slugging percentage. Add that up, and it comes to a very nice OPS of 1.119 -- best on the club this spring among players with at least 30 at bats.
The Marlins also reassigned right-handed reliever Scott Strickland to minor league camp, leaving 33 players on the spring training roster. That means eight more cuts need to be made to get to the 25-man roster for Opening Day.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez will likely bat Sanchez in the eighth spot.
The bullpen picture remains fuzzy, with a handful of contenders vying for basically one spot. The cast of hopefuls includes Tim Wood, Rick VandenHurk, Seth McClung and Hayden Penn. Just a hunch, but I think it comes down to Wood and VandenHurk, who quietly pitched a scoreless ninth inning Sunday against the Astros.
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