Allison to join Single A team

MIAMI -- Righthander Jeff Allison, the Florida Marlins' first-round draft choice in 2003 who has battled drug problems, will join the team's Single A affiliate in Greensboro, N.C.

The Peabody, Mass., native was placed on the team's temporarily inactive list yesterday, according to a statement released by the Marlins. He was not immediately available for comment, nor were any other Marlins officials.

Allison was the 16th overall pick in the 2003 draft after a standout career at Peabody High School, where he went 8-0 and didn't allow an earned run in 63 1/3 innings during his senior year. He signed for a $1.85 million bonus.

In 2004, he reported five weeks late to the Marlins' minor league training camp, then left in May without permission and was placed on the restricted list. He later acknowledged abusing the painkiller OxyContin, and was hospitalized for three days last summer after nearly overdosing on heroin.

Allison went 24-3 in his high school career with 378 strikeouts in 199 1/3 innings. He pitched just nine innings in the Gulf Coast League in 2003 before being sidelined with what the team said was tendinitis.