Jake to Kansas City
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/sfl-jacobs103008,0,3845768.storyThe Florida Marlins Get your Marlins Tickets now! traded power-hitting first basemen Mike Jacobs to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Leo Nunez Thursday, according to the team.
Jacobs, coming off a career-best 32-homer season, had been deemed expendable due to his poor defense at first and an arbitration-fed salary bump that could put him over $2 million next season.
Former University of Miami standout Gaby Sanchez, who spent last season in Double-A, is the frontrunner to replace Jacobs.
Nunez, 25, was 4-1, 2.98 in 45 relief appearances with the Royals in 2008. He held right-handed hitters to a .230 average, while opposing batters hit just .249 with two home runs off him overall. He was scored on in just one of his last 13 appearances and had a stretch of 21 consecutive batters retired Sept. 13-26.
Jacobs, 27, was acquired by the Marlins in a 2005 trade with the Mets. He hit .247 and drove in 93 RBI in 141 games last year as the Marlins became the first team ever to have all four infielders hit 25 or more home runs.
The Blue Jays and Mariners also inquired about Jacobs, but the power-starved Royals were the most aggressive suitor.