Peabody's Jeff Allison, the former first-round draft pick of the Florida Marlins, inched closer to a return to professional baseball after reporting to the Marlins' minor league complex in Jupiter, Fla., recently.
Allison has been placed on the inactive list of the organization's team in the Class A South Atlantic League, the Greensboro Grasshoppers. This comes after he had spent more than a year on the Marlins' restricted list.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound, right-handed pitcher was drafted by Florida as the 16th pick in the 2003 Major League Baseball amateur draft but has battled drug addiction since breaking into professional baseball.
The former Peabody High School star admitted an addiction to the painkiller OxyContin has suffered two heroin overdoses and was arrested in two separate incidents on consecutive days in October while living in North Carolina.
Allison moved back to the North Shore shortly after his arrest and told The Salem News last month that he had been clean for six months.
It appears now that Allison is getting another shot with the Marlins - most likely beginning with the Gulf Coast Marlins Rookie League team.
When reached last night, Allison was unsure of what he could say. After some consideration, he declined to comment.
Allison has not pitched in pro baseball since he made 17 starts on the mound for the Grasshoppers in 2005. He finished that season with a 5-4 record and a 4.18 ERA. He also led the pitching staff in strikeouts with 83. The next spring, he left the minor league camp and was placed on the restricted list, where the Marlins retained his rights but did not have to pay him.
Allison began working at Extra Innings in Tewksbury earlier this year, providing pitching lessons to children. However, that job wasn't entirely without controversy: Allison at one point disappeared with his boss's car, a probation violation, early last month. However, his boss said the incident was a misunderstanding.
Last month, Allison referred to Cincinnati Reds rookie outfielder Josh Hamilton as a source of inspiration. Hamilton was a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who has overcome drug addiction to have a strong season with the Reds. In doing so, he has become a candidate for the National League's Rookie of the Year Award.
Allison has been placed on the inactive list of the organization's team in the Class A South Atlantic League, the Greensboro Grasshoppers. This comes after he had spent more than a year on the Marlins' restricted list.
The 6-foot-2, 210-pound, right-handed pitcher was drafted by Florida as the 16th pick in the 2003 Major League Baseball amateur draft but has battled drug addiction since breaking into professional baseball.
The former Peabody High School star admitted an addiction to the painkiller OxyContin has suffered two heroin overdoses and was arrested in two separate incidents on consecutive days in October while living in North Carolina.
Allison moved back to the North Shore shortly after his arrest and told The Salem News last month that he had been clean for six months.
It appears now that Allison is getting another shot with the Marlins - most likely beginning with the Gulf Coast Marlins Rookie League team.
When reached last night, Allison was unsure of what he could say. After some consideration, he declined to comment.
Allison has not pitched in pro baseball since he made 17 starts on the mound for the Grasshoppers in 2005. He finished that season with a 5-4 record and a 4.18 ERA. He also led the pitching staff in strikeouts with 83. The next spring, he left the minor league camp and was placed on the restricted list, where the Marlins retained his rights but did not have to pay him.
Allison began working at Extra Innings in Tewksbury earlier this year, providing pitching lessons to children. However, that job wasn't entirely without controversy: Allison at one point disappeared with his boss's car, a probation violation, early last month. However, his boss said the incident was a misunderstanding.
Last month, Allison referred to Cincinnati Reds rookie outfielder Josh Hamilton as a source of inspiration. Hamilton was a former first-round pick of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, who has overcome drug addiction to have a strong season with the Reds. In doing so, he has become a candidate for the National League's Rookie of the Year Award.
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