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player ready...Florida Marlins pitcher Alex Fernandez hopes to return from off-season shoulder surgery by the summer, but knows it may be to showcase himself for a trade.
Fernandez, in the second year of a five-year contract that guarantees him $7 million a season, is one of four players targeted for a trade in a recent memo from team President Don Smiley, who is seeking investors to buy the team.
The memo said the Marlins would try to trade Fernandez, Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla and Charles Johnson to trim the payroll from $33 million to $16 million next year.
If he can meet his projected return timetable, Fernandez could draw interest from playoff contenders.
Fernandez has a partial no-trade clause in his contract stipulating he can be dealt to one of seven teams–the White Sox, Atlanta, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Texas. “But I want to stay a Marlin,” Fernandez said.