‘Cancer does not have me’: Miami Marlins reliever announces Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis
Miami Marlins right-handed relief pitcher Nic Enright, the No. 24 prospect in the organization according to MLB Pipeline, announced Monday on his personal Instagram account that he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in late December.
The diagnosis came a few weeks after Miami selected him in the Rule 5 Draft.
“Hearing the word cancer was one of the most frightening experiences for me and my loved ones, just as it is for countless other households this disease affects,” Enright, who was on the back fields of the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex for the Marlins’ first workout on Monday, wrote in the post. “I have completed my first round of treatments, and I know I wouldn’t have been able to get through them without the support of my fiance, my family and friends, and the Marlins organization.”
Enright told MLB.com that he has done four rounds of immunotherapy, one round every Thursday, via a port that was inserted into his chest in December.
His final cycle for this set of treatments came last week. He is scheduled to begin his next round of treatments on July 10, according to MLB.com.
Enright, in his Instagram statement, went on to say he will use his platform “to provide hope and inspiration to others who fight their battles with cancer.”
“I’m going to continue to tackle this challenge with the same perseverance that I do baseball — and I can’t wait to return to the mound and the game I love,” he wrote. “I might have cancer, but cancer does not have me!”
Enright, who turned 26 on Jan. 8, was originally a 20th-round pick by Cleveland in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Virginia Tech. He finished the 2022 season with Cleveland’s Triple A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. In 37 innings over 29 appearances with the Clippers, Enright posted a 2.68 ERA with 50 strikeouts against just six walks while holding opponents to a .216 batting average.
For his career, he has pitched 141 2/3 innings in the minors and has a 2.80 ERA with 201 strikeouts against 35 walks.
Baseball America called Enright “one of the most polished available relievers in this year’s Rule 5 class” and called him “a relatively low-risk addition to a big league bullpen as a Rule 5 pick.”
He is a fastball-slider pitcher. His fastball while only having a velocity in the low-90s has “some of the best carry in the minors, which makes it a bat-misser that he can dot the zone with,” according to Baseball America. As for his slider, it “generates plenty of swings and misses as well, and serves as an excellent chase pitch when he gets ahead in counts.”
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