8:30pm: Choate confirmed to Marc Topkin of The St. Petersburg Times that he is in fact in talks with the Marlins, as well as three other teams that he declined to name.
11:17am: Looking to bolster their bullpen, the Marlins are "working to sign" Randy Choate, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (via Twitter).
Choate, 35, spent his last two seasons in Tampa Bay, and appeared in over half of the Rays' games in 2010. The left-hander pitched just 44 2/3 innings in his 85 appearances, recording a 4.23 ERA and striking out 8.1 batters per nine innings. He's best used as a one- or two-out pitcher against left-handed batters, as exhibited by his 2010 splits – lefties posted a .529 OPS against him, while righties hit at a 1.162 clip.
Choate declined an arbitration offer from the Rays, so as a Type B free agent, he'd net Tampa Bay a supplemental round draft pick if he signs elsewhere.
