Marlins’ offense puts on a show in final exhibition before opening day

The Opening Day roster remains unsettled for the Marlins. But it gained a bit more clarity Tuesday.

President of baseball operations Michael Hill said that the Marlins would recall the contracts of outfielder Braxton Lee and pitchers Dillon Peters and Jarlin Garcia.

Peters, who started for the Marlins in their 22-2 win over the University of Miami in Tuesday’s exhibition, will start Sunday’s game against the Cubs. He joins three other confirmed starters: Jose Urena, Caleb Smith and Odrisamer Despaigne.

But the Marlins still have not announced a fifth starter, who could be rookie Trevor Richards.

Part of the problem for the Marlins is they have only one open spot on their 40-man roster and need to clear space for those not on it.

Richards is one of those. So, too, are pitcher Jacob Turner, backup infielder Yadiel Rivera and catcher Bryan Holaday. Some, or all of those players could be added to help complete the 25-man Opening Day roster.

Hill also announced that seven players would start the season on the disabled list: Wei-Yin Chen, Martin Prado, J.T. Realmuto, JT Riddle, Brett Graves, Eleiser Hernandez and Dan Straily.

Manager Don Mattingly announced that Smith would start Friday against the Cubs, with Despaigne going on Saturday. Urena will take the mound for Miami in the season-opener.

▪ The Marlins optioned reliever Brian Ellington and outfielder Magneuris Sierra to Triple A New Orleans.

▪ The Marlins announced that Mayor of Miami-Dade County Carlos A. Giménez and City of Miami Mayor Francis Suarez will jointly throw out the ceremonial first pitch on Opening Day.

This story was originally published March 27, 2018 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Marlins’ offense puts on a show in final exhibition before opening day."