Starting pitcher injuries are ‘frustrating’ for Miami Marlins and testing their depth
As much as he tries to avoid it, Trevor Rogers can feel the pressure ticking up a little bit.
He has watched as several of his fellow Miami Marlins starting pitchers have been sidelined or slowed down by injuries. First Braxton Garrett with shoulder soreness. Then Edward Cabrera with a shoulder impingement. And now Eury Perez with a broken fingernail and a sore elbow. And that’s not to mention Sandy Alcantara being out for the year while recovering from Tommy John surgery.
Rogers, who is coming off an injury-riddled 2023 season of his own that limited him to just 18 innings last year, knows he will be relied on to handle a larger role than maybe anticipated as recently as a week ago as Miami’s starting pitching depth gets tested early in the season.
“I would definitely say there’s a little bit [of pressure] to that,” Rogers said. “It’s tough. You don’t want to see any of your guys go down, but if they’re gonna go down rather it happened in camp before the season starts. I’m confident all of our guys will be back, but it kinda gives me a little bit extra motivation to really keep my mind in a good spot and help this team win.”
The Marlins’ rotation to begin the season, to put it nicely, is in a state of flux.
The uncertainty doesn’t necessarily come from a talent perspective.
But outside of Opening Day starter Jesus Luzardo, the pitchers projected to round out the five-man group are either about to embark on being a starting pitcher for the first time in a full season, are returning from an injury or are unproven at the MLB level.
“It is frustrating,” Marlins pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said about the rash of injuries to Miami’s starting pitchers. “I know other clubs are going through a lot of the same things, [but] you’re talking about some really important rotation pieces, and that part hurts.
“It’s a long season,” Stottlemyre added. “We’ve got to remind ourselves of that. ... It’s not a time to panic and push. We have to be smart on the front end.”
Projecting the Miami Marlins’ rotation
So while the Marlins wait for Garrett, Cabrera and Perez to return, what might the rotation look like behind Luzardo?
The first three names are obvious: A.J. Puk, Ryan Weathers and Rogers.
Puk, who was one of Miami’s high-leverage relievers last season, is transitioning to being a starter for the first time at the MLB level. The 28-year-old lefty has impressed while adding a splitter, cutter and two-seam fastball to his arsenal that already included a four-seam fastball and sweeper. His pure stuff is tantalizing, but the main question is if he will be durable enough to pitch the whole season.
Weathers, acquired at the trade deadline last season from the San Diego Padres for first baseman Garrett Cooper and pitcher prospect Sean Reynolds, spent the offseason diving into analytics and using TrackMan to help him better understand how to best utilize his pitches.
The results, and his confidence, have been noticeable during spring training. Weathers gave up just two runs across 13 2/3 innings through his first four Grapefruit League outings before one rough inning spoiled his fifth outing on Friday (four earned runs over 4 1/3 innings)
Rogers, who is trying to return to his 2021 form when he was runner-up for National League Rookie of the Year, has held his own throughout spring as well, striking out 10 over 8 2/3 innings and allowing just three runs in his first three spring outings.
As for the fifth spot? That’s where things get interesting.
Miami could bump up one of their swingmen — most likely Bryan Hoeing but also potentially George Soriano — from a multi-inning bullpen role to being a spot starter. Max Meyer, the team’s No. 3 prospect who missed all of 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and has already been optioned to the minor leagues, could factor in as well. Or the Marlins could add one of their non-roster invitees like Yonny Chirinos, Vladimir Gutierrez or Devin Smeltzer to temporarily round out the rotation.
“I think everyone’s on the table,” manager Skip Schumaker said.
How are the injured starters doing?
As of Sunday, the Marlins still had no true update on Perez, who informed the team of his elbow soreness on Thursday. He visited surgeon Keith Meister, who performed Alcantara’s Tommy John surgery, and the team is awaiting results to have a better idea of how to move forward.
Things seem a little more promising for the other two pitchers.
Garrett threw a live batting practice session on Sunday, facing center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. and third baseman Jake Burger and said the next step is to start his five-day starting program (which will include a bullpen before facing hitters again, either in live batting practice or an intrasquad game).
Cabrera has played catch each of the past three days and could ramp up his intensity in the next few days if things continue to go well.
“We feel really good about where Brax is at,” Schumaker said. “I don’t feel like he’s going to miss more than a couple of weeks of the regular season the way he’s trending. Cabrera is throwing. We don’t have guys that are shut down the whole year, which is nice. They’ve had some injuries early in spring where we’ve figured it out. We still are relying on our depth right now.”
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