The Miami Marlins have a new first baseman, and Carlos Lee has a new team.
Lee's old club, the Houston Astros, had agreed to a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, but when Lee took a few days to decide whether to waive his no-trade clause and join LA, the Dodgers backed out. But now it's official: Carlos Lee is the Miami Marlins' new first baseman.
The Marlins were desperate to get production at first base, as incumbant first-sacker Gaby Sanchez hit .202 with just three home runs and 17 RBIs this season. Sanchez has been optioned to the minior leagues to make room for Lee, and Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen didn't sugar coat anything when they made the move.
"He should blame himself," Guillen said of Sanchez. "We gave him plenty of opportunities."
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Lee isn't exactly on a torrid pace thus far, either, but he's a clear upgrade. The 36-year-old hit .287 with five home runs and 29 RBIs for the bottom-dwelling Astros. He now joins a Marlins team that has struggled recently, falling nine games behind the NL East-leading Nationals, at 39-42.
Unless Washington continues to run away with the division - which is possible but not probable - the NL East is still a fairly open competition. The second-place Mets continue to defy the odds with a 44-38 mark (4.5 games behind Washington), and the Braves sit just behind in third place. But conventional wisdom says the upstart Mets will fade in the second half, and the Braves have been so snakebit with injuries and pitching issues that Atlanta doesn't look like a long-term contender, either.
Which is all to say that the Marlins, even at nine games back, still have time to strike, and should really benefit from Lee's bat in the lineup every day.
The NL East promises to be one of the more interesting divisions in baseball in the second half.
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