Dan Haren tells Marlins he wants to stay close to home

Former Dodgers pitcher Dan Haren has informed his new team, the Marlins, that his preference remains to pitch out west with a team that has spring training in Arizona, per Joe Frisaro of MLB.com.

Haren was traded to the Marlins on Dec. 10 in a seven-player trade, but has said he might retire if he was traded by the Dodgers, a stance he has held since during the season.

"My strong desire to remain in southern California has been well-documented," Haren said in a statement upon learning of his trade to Miami. "I will have to evaluate my options carefully before making any decisions."

The 34-year-old right-hander lives in Irvine.

Whether Haren pitches for the Marlins doesn't affect the terms of the trade. The Dodgers agreed to pay the Marlins $10 million to cover Haren's 2015 salary. If he retires Haren won't get paid, and the Marlins would get to keep the cash.

"That's between the Marlins and Haren," Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said at the time of the trade.