The Marlins will sign infielder Placido Polanco to a one-year, $2.75 million contract if he passes medical tests, reports the Miami Herald.

Polanco, 37, hit .257 with two home runs and 19 RBIs in 90 games with the Phillies last season. The 15-year veteran first played with the Phillies from 2002 to 2005. He was traded to the Tigers in June 2005 for infielder Ramon Martinez and pitcher Ugueth Urbina. In 2009, the Phillies signed Polanco to a three-year, $18 million contract with a $5.5 million option for 2013. The Phillies declined the option, choosing instead to pay Polanco a $1 million buyout in October.

Polanco has won three Gold Gloves (at second base in 2007 and 2009 and at third base in 2011) and was voted in as a starter for the All-Star Game in 2007 and 2011. He was the 2006 ALCS MVP with the Tigers. Polanco has a career .299 batting average with 103 homers and 700 RBIs.

Polanco will fill the Marlins’ hole at third base:

Marlins had been looking all over for a 3B—
  (@DKnobler) December 20, 2012

Polanco heading to #marlins. Makes sense. Need a 3b.—
Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) December 20, 2012

Mike Redmond, a former catcher for the Marlins, was named as the team’s new manager according to a report. Redmond received a three-year contract. (Eliot J. Schechter/Getty Images)

The Marlins have hired Mike Redmond to replace Ozzie Guillen as the team’s manager, according to a CBS Sports report. Redmond received a three-year contract, and a press conference to announce the news is planned for Friday. Others who were said to have interviewed for the job include Larry Bowa, Luis Gonzalez, Lloyd McClendon and Bryan Price.

Redmond was a catcher in the major leagues and played for the Marlins from 1998 to 2004. He hit .287 and had 13 home runs and 243 RBIs over the course of his 13-year career. He was known for hardly ever making an error and had only 18 total in the majors. Redmond is said to be “beloved” in the Marlins organization, and received several endorsements.

“He is going to be very good, he’s a former catcher who was paying attention,” says a former boss with another team. “He’s really good with players and understands pitching well.”

Says another, “He did a great job in A ball the last couple years. The only question is experience.”

Redmond, 41, managed the Dunedin Blue Jays, Toronto’s high Single-A affiliate. The Marlins job will be his first major league head coaching experience.

Former All-Star pitcher Dontrelle Willis, who burst onto the scene as a rookie with the Florida Marlins in 2003 and gained attention for his unusual delivery, will retire from baseball, reports MASNsports.com‘s Roch Kubatko on Twitter.

#orioles just confirmed Dontrelle Willis has announced his retirement. The D-Train is off the tracks.

—
Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) July 02, 2012

Kubatko had reported earlier Monday that Willis would miss his next start because he was considering retirement.

Willis, 30, struggled with the Baltimore Orioles’ Triple-A affiliate this season. He has an 8.53 ERA in four appearances in the minors.

Willis won Rookie of the Year honors after going 14-10 in 2003. His career hit its peak two seasons later, in 2005, when he went 22-10 with a 2.63 ERA and finished second in Cy Young voting.

But then Willis’ pitching took a downward turn. His ERA increased to 5.17 in 2007, his last season with the Marlins, and never dropped below 5.00 for a full season again. He failed to get back on track with the Detroit Tigers in more than two seasons with the team. He last appeared in the big leagues in 2011 with the Cincinnati Reds, going 1-6 for the season.

Willis was released by the Philadelphia Phillies in spring training and tried to work his way on to the Orioles. In April, Willis briefly left the team in a dispute over whether he would be a starter or reliever in the minor leagues. He eventually dropped a grievance claim against the team.

The Marlins have already made a huge splash this offseason, adding Hanley Ramirez and Mark Buehrle in free agency. Now, according to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, they appear close to another blockbuster move.

Sources: #Marlins close to acquiring Carlos Zambrano from #Cubs. #MLB

—
Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 04, 2012

Zambrano, 30, has pitched his entire 11-year major league career with the Cubs to date. He had a bad year in 2011, putting up a career-worst 4.82 ERA. He battled minor injuries and also clashed with the Cubs’ organization off the field, even threatening at one point to retire. The team shut him down for the season on Sept. 2.

If they want to move Zambrano and his $91.5 million contract, the Cubs must first get the hefty hurler to waive his no-trade clause. He would likely do so, Rosenthal reports, to play for Marlins manager Ozzie Guillen, a fellow Venezuelan.

In not-entirely-unexpected news, according to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports, sources are saying that the Florida (soon to be Miami) Marlins “have made substantial offers to” big-ticket free agents Albert Pujols and Jose Reyes.

The Marlins are expected by many to be big spenders this offseason, as part of a makeover that includes the new name, new logo, and — not incidentally — a new stadium that they would like to fill.

New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes and Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle met Wednesday with the Florida Marlins in Miami, according to the team’s president David Samson.

Both players toured the stadium Tuesday, and Reyes was treated to lunch as well.

The Marlins will unveil their new logo and uniform at the stadium Friday, when they will officially become the Miami Marlins, according to the Associated Press. Samson doesn’t expect to sign Reyes prior to that event.