Marlins Send Four Players Down

[Juanky]

Four more Marlins prospects were sent down to the Minor Leagues on Monday morning.

The team optioned right-handed pitchers Eulogio De La Cruz and Scott Nestor to Triple-A Albuquerque. Outfielder Jai Miller also was optioned to the Isotopes.

Additionally, second baseman Chris Coghlan was reassigned to Minor League camp.

The transactions trim the roster to 56.

All four players are highly regarded prospects within the organization. Coghlan, 22, was a sandwich first-round Draft pick in 2002.

The second baseman likely will wind up at either Class A Jupiter or Double-A Carolina, and he is regarded as being a year or less away from reaching the big leagues.

A left-handed hitter who grew up in the Tampa area, Coghlan had a limited number of Grapefruit League at-bats, going 1-for-13 with an RBI. He batted .325 in 81 games at low Class A Greensboro last season, before he finished up with 34 games at Class A Jupiter.

At the big league level, Coghlan is blocked by second baseman Dan Uggla. There is some speculation that a year from now, Coghlan could be at second and Uggla moved to third.

De La Cruz, a hard-throwing reliever, was acquired by the Marlins in December as part of the deal that sent Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera to Detroit. He is battling issues of command right now, but the organization believes he could be called up sometime during the season.

Nestor may wind up as the closer at Triple-A. And Miller, who has tremendous raw potential, can play all three outfield spots.

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