As Johnny Cueto nears return from IL, how could it impact Miami Marlins’ rotation?
Veteran right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto is slated to return to the Miami Marlins’ roster in the near future, perhaps as soon as Saturday — the first day he is eligible to be activated off the injured list — after being sidelined due to a viral infection.
When he does return, whose spot in the starting rotation will Cueto take?
Well, he might not have to take anyone’s.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said Tuesday the club is considering employing a six-man rotation of some sort during the final month of the season. Doing that would provide Schumaker with flexibility with younger starters like Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett and Eury Perez (plus the potential return of Edward Cabrera) who have all already gone well past their career highs in innings pitched.
Additionally, since rosters expand to 28 players for the rest of the regular season starting Friday, Cueto won’t have to take the spot of a player currently on the roster once he returns either, which keeps Miami from having to drop a player from its bullpen.
“It’s definitely possible,” Schumaker said of the six-man rotation idea. “There’s talks. We haven’t come to a conclusion just yet. Pushing Sandy [Alcantara] to every six days doesn’t make much sense, so if it does become a six-man, I don’t envision him missing starts or anything like that. But we do have to navigate carefully with all these guys’ innings to make sure they’re healthy. We’re still trying to win, but making sure they’re healthy for their careers as well.”
Where Cueto stands
Cueto threw a 39-pitch live batting practice session pregame Tuesday, marking the first time he faced hitters since going on the injured list. He mixed in all of his pitches but was still working on “the finish on the pitches, the details and preciseness of the command,” according to pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
“He has to have them all,” Stottlemyre said. “He’s a guy that adds and subtracts and avoids patterns and is creative out there so he needs all [his pitches]. They all need to be spot on.”
The Marlins signed Cueto this offseason to a one-year deal with a club option for 2024 with the hopes he would be a veteran presence at the bottom of the rotation.
The results have been lackluster so far.
He pitched just one inning in the first half of the season before being sidelined first with right biceps tightness and then a rolled ankle. When he returned following the All-Star Break, he pitched to a 4.60 ERA (16 earned runs in 31 1/3 innings) in six appearances (five starts) before the viral infection sidelined him again.
“I’m very anxious,” Cueto said. “I want to get out there and pitch, help in any way I can as you guys know. But I feel great. I’m 100 percent healthy. I’m ready. Maybe Saturday will be the day I’ll get back on the mound.”
Innings racking up for younger pitchers
It’s also worth remembering where Miami’s younger pitchers are at this point of the season.
Luzardo entered his start on Wednesday against the Rays having already thrown 143 1/3 innings this season, far exceeding his single-season career-high of 100 1/3 innings set in 2022. Luzardo got three extra days of rest between starts this turn, with Miami taking advantage of two off days and flipping him and Alcantara during the Rays series to give Luzardo extra rest.
Perez has already thrown 106 2/3 innings combined between MLB and the minor leagues. His 74 innings in the big leagues alone nearly match his previous single season career high of 78 set in his first professional season in 2021. Miami sent him to the minor leagues for a month following an 11-start MLB stint to monitor his workload, and the plan with how they’ll use him the rest of the season remains fluid.
And Garrett has also already far exceeded his most innings pitched in a season, having thrown 134 innings this year after not going more than 88 in a year prior to 2023.
“We know what [Cueto] brings: Experience,” Stottlemyre said. “He takes the rubber, never turns down taking the ball. He’s always ready. Bringing that to the rotation is important. We are in a position to where our younger starters, there’s obviously some limitations and we have to watch recovery and hard pitches with those guys. So the importance of having Johnny in there is much needed.”
Jorge Soler update
Outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler is day-to-day after leaving Tuesday’s loss to the Rays with right hip tightness.
Soler felt the hip tighten up after fouling off a pitch during his seventh-inning at-bat against the Rays’ Erasmo Ramirez. Soler dropped his bat and began walking away from the plate. He was replaced mid at-bat by Jesus Sanchez.
“He felt something on the swing,” Schumaker said. “It was 8-2 at the time. I didn’t really want to push it. I know he wanted to stay in the game, but I didn’t feel like [possibly] losing him for a couple weeks made much sense at that point in the game.”
Soler, a first-time All-Star this season, leads the Marlins in home runs (35), RBI (71) and runs scored (70).
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