Marlins’ Elieser Hernandez should be fine despite forearm contusion in spring finale
Elieser Hernandez hopes he avoided the worst.
The right-handed pitcher left the Miami Marlins’ Grapefruit League finale Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals after one inning with a right forearm contusion after being hit by a line drive three batters into his outing.
The ball went off Cardinals left fielder Tyler O’Neill’s bat at 105.4 mph and ricocheted off Hernandez. Third baseman Brian Anderson scooped up the ball and made the throw to Garrett Cooper at first base for the final out of the inning. Hernandez squatted down just beyond the pitcher’s mound and was evaluated by a trainer. After about a minute, he left the game with the trainer by his side.
But the pain didn’t last long, Hernandez said.
“The pain was instantly when you get hit,” Hernandez said, “but five minutes later it just went away.”
That’s good news for the Marlins. Hernandez is projected to be either Miami’s No. 3 or No. 4 starter in the rotation when the season begins Friday against the San Francisco Giants. Hernandez underwent tests and treatment for his arm.
“Hopefully, Elieser kind of dodges a bullet today,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said, adding “hopefully we can keep the swelling out of there and he’s just ready to go.”
The 26-year-old is coming off a shaky 2021 season that was marred by injury. He landed on the 60-day injured list twice, first with right biceps inflammation following his first start of the season and then with a right quad strain in his first start after that initial IL stint that he suffered running the bases. He made 11 total starts, pitching to a 4.18 ERA with 53 strikeouts against 14 walks in 51 2/3 innings.
Hernandez was scheduled to throw five innings or 75 pitches on Tuesday.
If cleared to pitch in the first turn of Miami’s rotation, Hernandez would likely be capped to those numbers in his first start.
This and that
▪ The Marlins and first baseman Jesus Aguilar agreed to a one-year deal with a mutual option for the 2023 season, avoiding arbitration. Aguilar will make $7.3 million for 2022 and there is a $200,000 buyout on mutual option, as first reported by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.
This leaves three arbitration-eligible Marlins players whose salaries for the 2022 season are unsettled: pitcher Pablo Lopez, catcher Jacob Stallings and infielder Joey Wendle.
▪ Outfielder Jorge Soler had two hits in as many at-bats Tuesday and finished Grapefruit League play with multiple hits in three of his five appearances after signing with the Marlins.
▪ Trevor Rogers threw 4 2/3 innings in his final spring outing, getting up to 77 pitches. He said his slider, the pitch he has been working on the most in camp, was at its best on Tuesday.
This story was originally published April 5, 2022 at 11:24 AM.
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