Troubled pitcher Allison still on restricted list

Those hoping for a happy ending to the Jeff Allison saga will have to wait a little longer. The former Peabody High star pitcher, who detailed his drug addiction in a two-part Globe series last December that focused on his rise and fall, will not be reporting to spring training with the Florida Marlins and his current whereabouts remain unknown, even to his family.

"No, we don't know where he is. We haven't heard from him," said his sister, Tracy Allison, yesterday, before hanging up the phone.

The Marlins, who selected Allison with the 16th pick in the first round of the 2003 draft, released a statement Tuesday saying the righthander remained on the restricted list and would not be joining the organization for spring training. Florida placed Allison, 20, on the restricted list last spring, suspending his pay and forcing him to forfeit a portion of his $1.85 million signing bonus.

The Marlins said they'll have no further comment on Allison at this time.

Allison told the Globe the Marlins were aware of his addiction to the powerful painkiller OxyContin and had placed him in a rehabilitation center in Lynn during the offseason. He said the team put him on the restricted list after he tested positive for marijuana during spring training. Allison then returned home to Peabody, where his drug problems worsened. He nearly died of a heroin overdose in July.

In the December story, Allison said he was hoping the Marlins would give him another chance. Allison had been working out four or five times a week since January to ostensibly prepare for his return to the mound, according to Joe Luis, the co-owner of the Extra Innings indoor baseball facility in Middleton. Luis said Allison, the 2003 Baseball America High School Player of the Year, was working out at Extra Innings with another former Peabody High hurler, St. Louis Cardinals farmhand Peter Soteropoulos.

"He was coming pretty faithfully in January and February, working out," said Luis. "The last three weeks he kind of disappeared again. I asked a couple of people if they had seen him and they said they haven't seen him, either. He was in good shape when he left here. He was doing everything the right way."

Luis said Allison told him he was looking forward to resuming his baseball career. "He was totally different, back to the old Jeff you remembered," said Luis.

But then he suddenly stopped showing up and didn't return Soteropoulos's calls to come work out. Soteropoulos said he tried again to reach Allison before he reported to Cardinals spring training earlier this week.

Former Peabody High baseball coach Ed Nizwantowski said he had not spoken with Allison in months. One of Allison's high school friends, Kenny Kolodziej, said he didn't know where Allison was, but could vouch for his safety. "He is safe. He is doing fine," said Kolodziej, who said he has mutual friends of Allison who have spoken with the pitcher recently. "I don't know what it's going to take for it to click and for him to get back to where he was," said Soteropoulos, "but hopefully it happens before it's too late."