Marlins roster carousel to soon restart as players impacted by COVID-19 begin working out
Marlins manager Don Mattingly is focused on the task in front of him, specifically keeping Miami atop the National League East as it begins a four-game series against the New York Mets starting Monday at Marlins Park.
But about 80 miles north at the Marlins’ alternate training site in Jupiter, Mattingly knows developments are brewing that will impact the rest of this shortened season.
All 18 players who are on the COVID-19 injured list have been cleared to begin workouts, which is the next step to returning to the active roster.
“It’s good to have them back working out,” Mattingly said, “and knowing that they’re at least healthy virus-wise and they’ve gotten past that.”
Mattingly said the timetable for players to start returning will depend on “how long it takes to get them back into baseball shape.” It’s unlikely that any will return for this series against the Mets.
However, it’s worth noting that the Marlins start a seven-day, eight-game road trip after they finish with the Mets. This means players from the COVID-19 injured list will have to be on the active roster or the five-man taxi squad in order to play on that road trip.
And that means the start of the latest round of roster management when it starts adding players to the team again.
Who are the players on the COVID-19 IL?
The Marlins have 17 players from their 40-man roster who are on the COVID-19 IL: Starting pitchers Sandy Alcantara, Caleb Smith and Jose Urena; relievers Jeff Brigham, Adam Conley, Robert Dugger, Yimi Garcia, Jordan Holloway, Nick Neidert, Ryne Tanek and Alex Vesia; catchers Jorge Alfaro and Chad Wallach; shortstop Miguel Rojas; first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper; outfielder Harold Ramirez; and utility infielder Sean Rodriguez.
An 18th player not on the team’s 40-man roster but was part of the team’s taxi squad for the Phillies series is also on the COVID-19 IL.
What does the 40-man roster situation look like?
Heading into Monday, the Marlins have 38 players counting toward their 40-man roster. That does not include any of the players on the COVID-19 injured list, nor does it include second baseman Isan Diaz (on the restricted list after opting out) or reliever Drew Steckenrider (on the 60-day IL with right triceps tendonitis).
This group of 38 includes the 28 players on the active roster, two relievers on the 10-day IL (Richard Bleier and Mike Morin), outfielder Corey Dickerson (on the bereavement list) and seven prospects (pitchers Edward Cabrera, Jorge Guzman, Humberto Mejia, Sixto Sanchez and Jesus Tinoco; shortstop Jazz Chisholm; and outfielder Jesus Sanchez).
So what does this mean? In simplest terms, it means the Marlins will be able to bring as many as two players back from the COVID-19 IL before they have to start opening up spots on their 40-man roster for the rest of the eventual returning players.
Outside of placement on the COVID-19 IL, teams have eight ways they can remove players from the 40-man roster: Trade, waiver claim, returning a Rule 5 selection, release, outright assignment, designation for assignment, placement on the 60-day IL or placement on one of several additional lists (including suspended, military, voluntarily retired, restricted, disqualified or ineligible).
Another thing to remember: Being added to the 40-man roster doesn’t automatically put a player back on the active roster, which is capped at 28 players (29 for doubleheaders). That means getting players from the COVID-19 IL to the active roster will also require players to be removed from the active roster. This can be done by optioning players to Jupiter (if they have minor-league options remaining), which keeps the optioned player on the 40-man roster, or by any removing a player on the active roster from the 40-man roster by one of the processes in the above paragraph.
Which players could be at risk of losing their roster spot?
The Marlins’ roster moves will really depend on which players come off the COVID-19 IL. In the ideal scenario, position players will replace position players and pitchers will replace pitchers.
One note: The Marlins would be hesitant to remove top prospects from the 40-man roster, which would allow other teams to pick them up.
Also, it’s not a guarantee that the Marlins add every player from the COVID-19 IL to the active roster or the 40-man roster.
With that said, there are a few spots that look like simple swaps.
At catcher, the Marlins will likely remove Ryan Lavarnway when of Alfaro or Wallach returns. Rojas will replace an infielder (most likely Logan Forsythe).
The outfielder situation will be interesting to watch unfold when Cooper and Ramirez return. Dickerson, Matt Joyce and utilityman Jon Berti should be locks to stay on the roster. Same with Magneuris Sierra, considering his early success and the fact he is out of minor-league options.
Monte Harrison and Lewis Brinson could be optioned unless they increase their production (Harrison is hitting .130 with 13 strikeouts in 23 at-bats; Brinson is hitting .118 with six strikeouts in 17 at-bats).
And then there’s the pitching staff, which saw the most turnover.
The Marlins added seven during the week they were in quarantine: Morin, Bleier, Brian Moran, Pat Venditte, Justin Shafer, Josh D. Smith and James Hoyt.
They also added Daniel Castano, Nick Vincent and Josh A. Smith to the 40-man roster from Jupiter.
It will be interesting to see the pecking order in which the Marlins swap out pitchers and how the order in which pitchers return impact the decisions.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 4:55 PM.
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