The Marlins have yet to make any formal announcement, but their coaching staff is just about set.

The new outfield/first base coach is expected to be Dave Collins, who played from 1975-90.

Florida's new pitching coach will be Randy St. Claire, formerly with the Nationals. The new infield/third base coach will be Josue Espada, the organizations Minor League infield coordinator. Reid Cornelius is lined up to be the bullpen coach. Cornelius was the pitching coach at Double-A Jacksonville.

Returning to the staff are bench coach Carlos Tosca, hitting coach Jim Presley and bullpen coordinator Pierre Arsenault.

-- Joe Frisaro

If you're looking for a sleeper to emerge and be a big contributor for the 2010 Marlins, keep an eye on Gaby Sanchez.

Author and baseball stats expert Bill James certainly is.

In the recently-released Bill James Handbook 2010, Sanchez is projected to have a strong season.

"In any season, the vast majority of players play in a manner that seems a natural extension of what they had done before," James said in the book. "When that happens, our projection should be reasonably accurate."

Sanchez played mostly first base at Triple-A New Orleans this year, and he finished with a .289 batting average with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs. He appeared in 21 games with the Marlins, and had 21 at-bats with two home runs.

If the Marlins don't bring back Nick Johnson and Jorge Cantu, that would be a sign they are leaning toward either Sanchez or left-handed hitting Logan Morrison to win the first base job.

In James' book, he projects these numbers for Sanchez: .279 batting average, with 15 home runs and 59 RBIs.

James also has some forecasts for a few other Marlins. Here are some other projections:

* Hanley Ramirez: .315 average, 27 home runs, 86 RBIs, 117 runs scored, 31 stolen bases, .926 OPS
* Chris Coghlan: .310 average, 10 HRs, 66 RBIs, 92 runs, 20 steals, .840 OPS
* Dan Uggla: .252 average, 30 HRs, 90 RBIs, 97 runs, three steals, .815 OPS
* Cody Ross: .269 average, 23 HRs, 80 RBIs, 70 runs, five steals, .801 OPS

-- Joe Frisaro

The Rays are shopping Akinori Iwamura.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay faces a deadline to avoid picking up a $4.85 million option for the 30-year-old second baseman.

The Times, citing an industry source, said the Rays are weighing trade options. But the potential suitor is not the Cubs or Dodgers, two teams that have reportedly been linked to Iwamura.

Would the Marlins have interest? Indications are, yes, but the team wouldn't take on $4.85 million.

As part of Iwamura's contract, the Rays have until one day after the World Series ends to pick up the option or pay a $550,000 buyout, which would make Iwamura a free agent.

Iwamura batted .290 in an injury-plagued 2009. A severe knee injury limited him to 69 games and 231 at-bats this year. Since coming over from Japan, Iwamura has a career batting average of .281 in three seasons.

The Times added that the Rays may be trying to pull off a sign-and-trade deal.

The upcoming general managers meetings promise to be interesting, because that's when trade talks really heat up.

The Marlins are expected to deal Dan Uggla this offseason. If they could secure someone like Iwamura, it would increase the likelihood of Chris Coghlan staying in left field.

-- Joe Frisaro
 

A couple of potential future stars -- or at least big league contributors -- will be showcased on Saturday night in the Arizona Fall League.

Third baseman Matt Dominguez and outfielder Bryan Petersen have been selected to the East squad in the Rising Stars Showcase, which will be played at Surprise Stadium in Arizona.

The game, which starts at 8:15 p.m. ET, will be televised on the MLB Network. A live video feed also will be available on MLB.com.

In all 50 prospects will be on the two rosters.

All the Marlins prospects in Arizona are playing for the Mesa team.

Dominguez, 20, was the Marlins first-round pick in 2007. Petersen was selected in the fourth round that year.

Dominguez and Petersen were part of Double-A Jacksonville's Southern League championship squad. Most likely, both will be in Spring Training with the Marlins.

Nationals prize prospect, Stephen Strasburg, the No. 1 overall pick in 2009, will also be on the East team.

The compete rosters are here:

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/winterleagues/rising_stars.jsp

-- Joe Frisaro

In 2002, the Marlins selected Josh Johnson in the fourth-round of the First-Year Player Draft.

The 6-foot-7 Oklahoma resident made his big league debut as a September callup in 2005. 

This season, the 25-year-old had a breakout season. Emerging as the team's ace, Johnson finished 15-5 with a 3.23 ERA, and he was selected to the National League All-Star team.

Drafted and groomed in the Marlins system, the organization would like to keep the right-hander around for a long time. Johnson is in his second year of arbitration, but the Marlins are hoping to sign him to a multi-year contract in the upcoming weeks.

Team officials internally are discussing signing Johnson for at least four seasons. But at this point, no offers -- even preliminary -- have been made.

In 2009, Johnson earned $1.4 million, plus another $50,000 in incentives because he reached 33 starts.

Indications are it will take more than $40 million over four years to get the deal done. That figure could rise to about $45 million, or even more.

Kansas City ace Zack Greinke signed a four-year, $38 million contract for 2009-12.

To sign Johnson, it appears the Marlins would have to top that.

The Marlins open their new ballpark in 2012 and the team would like to have Johnson anchoring their rotation. The only Florida players signed for 2010 are All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez and veteran infielder/pinch-hitter Wes Helms.

-- Joe Frisaro

The Marlins are in the process of filling their coaching staff. Teams typically don't make announcements during the playoffs. So after the World Series, the club is expected to make their moves official.

On Monday, the Marlins hired Randy St. Claire as their new pitching coach.

A few other positions currently are unfilled, including first base, third base and bullpen coach.  A name that has surfaced to fill a position on the staff is Jamie Quirk, who played 18 years in the big leagues. A former first-round pick of the Royals in 1972, Quirk retired as a player in 1992.

He also has coached 15 years in the big leagues. Quirk has played and coached in the World Series.

Quirk was the Rockies bench coach in 2007, the year they lost to the Red Sox in the Fall Classic. Since 2008, he's been a scout for the Reds.

This year Quirk was the third base coach for the United States World Cup team.

As a player, he was used all over. His primary position was catcher, but he also played third base, first base and the outfield. He also very limited action at shortstop and second base.

If hired, Quirk could fill any number of positions, including working with the infielders or outfielders.

He played on the Royals 1985 World Series championship team.

St. Claire, meanwhile, is replacing Mark Wiley. After relieving Wiley of his pitching coach duties, the Marlins offered him the opportunity to remain with the organization in another capacity. Indications are Wiley will stay on with the Marlins.

Before joining the Marlins as pitching coach in 2008, Wiley was a special assistant for the Rockies, where he did a great deal of scouting.

-- Joe Frisaro
 

Speculation continues to run high that the Marlins will trade outfielder Jeremy Hermida this offseason.

The 25-year-old former first-round pick in 2002, came off a rough season, batting .259 with 13 home runs and 47 RBIs. A strained right oblique on Sept. 2, limited him to one pinch-hit appearance in the final weeks of the season.

Hermida will be entering his second season of arbitration. He made $2.25 million this year, and by the nature of the system, he'd be in line for a raise.

The Marlins are hopeful Cameron Maybin will win the center field position, and Cody Ross is expected to return. Ross, also in his second season of arbitration, could be earmarked for right field, making Hermida expendable.

Some teams believed to be interested in Hermida are the Mariners, Rays, Mets and Blue Jays. The Cubs also could have interest.

Even though Hermida has yet to perform as so many envisioned, he does have value on the open market. He still would be a more affordable option than many soon-to-be free agent outfielders. Also, in arbitration, a team could control his rights for two seasons.

Several scouts feel Hermida may be one of those players who benefits by a change of scenery.

-- Joe Frisaro

Hanley Ramirez is up for another honor.

The Marlins All-Star shortstop is a finalist for the Players Choice Award, which is selected by the MLB players.

The MLB Players Association announced on Thursday that Ramirez is a Player of the Year finalist, along with Minnesota's Joe Mauer and St. Louis' Albert Pujols.

Ramirez in 2009, became the first Marlin ever to win the batting title, posting a .342 average. Mauer won the American League batting title with a .365 batting average. Pujols belted 47 homers to go along with a .327 batting average and 135 RBIs.

Winners will be announced in a series of segments on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike in the Morning (6-10 a.m. ET). The announcements will begin on Monday and continue through Friday.

-- Joe Frisaro

With so many outfield prospects in their system, Alejandro De Aza got caught in a numbers game.

The Marlins didn't have a priority to retain the 25-year-old, who now will be getting an opportunity to play elsewhere.

The White Sox on Wednesday claimed De Aza off waivers.

At Triple-A New Orleans, De Aza batted .300 with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. He also appeared in 22 games for the Marlins, and he had 20 at-bats, batting .250 with a double and three RBIs.

Injuries hurt De Aza in recent years.

De Aza won the starting center field job in Spring Training of 2007, but early in the season he suffered an ankle injury that limited him to 45 games that year. He missed all of 2008 due to injury.

The Marlins are projecting Cameron Maybin will be their Opening Day center fielder. The team also has Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Coghlan in left field.

The Marlins also have outfield prospects John Raynor, Scott Cousins, Jai Miller and Bryan Petersen, who is in the Arizona Fall League.

Florida's top prospect is outfielder Michael Stanton, a 19-year-old also getting some extra work this fall in Arizona.

-- Joe Frisaro

Throughout the playoffs, we've seen late-inning heroics and thrilling comeback victories.

On Monday, both games were decided by comebacks. Jimmy Rollins provided some two-out, walk-off drama in the ninth inning to rally the Phillies past the Dodgers in Game 4. Rollins lined a two-run double off Jonathan Broxton to lift his team to a 5-4 win.

Earlier in the day, the Angels overcame a three-run deficit and beat the Yankees, also 5-4, in 11 innings when Jeff Mathis came through with a walk-off double.

The Yankees certainly have had their share of clutch hits in the playoffs. In the A.L. Division Series, Alex Rodriguez had a ninth inning homer off Joe Nathan to help rally his team. And A-Rod also went deep in the ninth inning off Brian Fuentes of the Angels to pull the Yankees even in the A.L. Championship Series.

Resiliency, obviously, is a characteristic of a championship-caliber team. That's why it isn't shocking that the four teams in their respective League Championshp Series also are the teams that paced the Major Leagues in comeback wins during the regular season.

What many people probably don't know is the Marlins were fifth in the big leagues in rallying to wins.

The Marlins didn't wind up in the playoffs, but they did win 87 games. In 41 of those victories, they trailed at some point.

The top five comeback teams in 2009 were:

* Yankees, 51
* Angels, 47
* Phillies, 43
* Dodgers, 42
* Marlins, 41

The Marlins 41 comeback victories is two behind their franchise record.

Florida's top comeback seasons are:

* 43 in 2008
* 43 in 1997
* 42 in 2007
* 41 in 2009
* 41 in 2000.

The 1997 Marlins, of course, won the World Series, and the 2008 squad finished with 84 wins.

-- Joe Frisaro