Alou First Marlin to Go; Miller Gets Oriole Job

Two weeks after winning the World Series, the Florida Marlins began their fire sale.

The Marlins started gutting their high-priced roster Tuesday, trading Moises Alou to the Houston Astros for two minor league pitchers and a player to be named.

“Experience teaches you when this happens, the perception is that it’s not a good deal,” Marlin General Manager Dave Dombrowski said after the first of what promises to be many deals. “It’s not what you prefer to do.”

Alou signed a five-year, $25-million contract last December but spent only one season in Florida. He led the wild-card Marlins with 23 home runs and 115 runs batted in and was a key contributor in the World Series victory over the Cleveland Indians.

Owner Wayne Huizenga wants to ditch expensive stars as fast as he signed them after last season, when he committed $89 million to free agents.

Gary Sheffield, Bobby Bonilla, Alex Fernandez, Kevin Brown, Al Leiter and Devon White are candidates to be traded.

Alou, 31, was thought by many to be the most valuable player of the World Series, an award that was given to Marlin pitcher Livan Hernandez. Alou hit .321 with two doubles, three homers and nine RBIs in Florida’s seven-game victory over Cleveland after hitting .292 during the regular season.

“Moises Alou obviously is one of the premier players in the game today,” Astro General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said. “It’s unusual that anybody can acquire a player of this magnitude. Adding him to our lineup makes us a force to be reckoned with.”

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Ray Miller became the fourth Baltimore Oriole manager in five years, six days after American League Manager of the Year Davey Johnson ended a running quarrel with owner Peter Angelos by resigning.

“Mr. Angelos guaranteed he would do everything in the world to keep this club competitive and in a position to win,” Miller said. “If we’re short of something, I’m sure ownership will go out and get it.”

As Johnson’s pitching coach, Miller was instrumental in helping the Orioles win 98 games before advancing to the AL championship series. Baltimore had the league’s best earned-run average and had three 15-game winners for the first time in 15 seasons.

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The San Francisco Giants, who traded their way to an NL West title, acquired third baseman Charlie Hayes from the New York Yankees for two minor leaguers.

As part of the deal, the Yankees will pay the Giants $1.6 million to cover Hayes’ entire salary in 1998, according to a baseball executive who spoke on the condition he not be identified.

Hayes, who would not have been protected in next week’s expansion draft by the Yankees, annoyed teammates and Manager Joe Torre in August by claiming umpire John Hirschbeck shouted ethnic slurs at New York pitcher Hideki Irabu.

No other Yankees verified Hayes’ accusations, and Torre said he heard nothing inappropriate from Hirschbeck. Owner George Steinbrenner also was said to be displeased with Hayes.

Hayes, who hit .258 last season with 11 home runs and 53 RBIs, will be used by the Giants as a backup to third baseman Bill Mueller and first baseman J.T. Snow and as a right-handed pitch-hitter.

The Yankees acquired outfielder Chris Singleton and left-hander Alberto Castillo.

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Baseball’s two newest teams started building their rosters by making trades with the game’s oldest professional team. The Cincinnati Reds sent outfielder Mike Kelly to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and right-hander Felix Rodriguez to the Arizona Diamondbacks for players to be named. . . . Injured Florida pitcher Alex Fernandez was among five players who waived no-trade clauses and were left unprotected for the expansion draft. Only one player who waived his no-trade can possibly receive money. St. Louis catcher Tom Pagnozzi would get $250,000 if he’s taken by an expansion team and then dealt to another team. The Phillies’ Gregg Jefferies and Lenny Dykstra and the Indians’ Eric Plunk also waived no-trade clauses, two baseball officials said on the condition they not be identified. . . . Marlin left-hander starter Al Leiter underwent surgery on his right knee. . . . Red Sox first baseman Mo Vaughn, who earlier complained of unfair treatment during contract negotiations and said he would leave Boston if not offered a favorable deal, apparently has changed his mind. “I plan on being back. I’m too old to start . . . somewhere else,” he told the Providence Journal-Bulletin.

Hall of Fame member George Brett and Kansas City Chief owner Lamar Hunt have submitted applications to major league baseball to become owners of the Kansas City Royals. . . . A businesswoman in Dayton, Ohio, is scrapping plans to bring a minor league team to the city, and intends to sue major league baseball for discriminating against her. Sherrie Myers accused Jimmie Lee Solomon, executive director of minor league baseball, of saying he did not intend to approve any application for Dayton if it did not include a minority-group member as majority owner.