Marlins nip Nationals 2-1 as Jose Fernandez braces for return Saturday
The Marlins and Jose Fernandez want to avoid a Matt Harvey situation in 2016 and intend to map out a workload plan for the pitcher before the start of next season.
“Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out, and we’ll all try to be on the same page,” Fernandez said. “In the offseason, I feel pretty comfortable we’ll all have a meeting with the team, the doctor, [agent] Scott Boras and myself. I don’t think it will be hard at all.”
Both Fernandez and Harvey returned from Tommy John surgery this season, though the Mets pitcher did so at the start. And, like Harvey, Fernandez is represented by Boras, who raised questions recently about an innings cap for Harvey, creating an end-of-season controversy with the Mets. Fernandez would not talk specifically about Harvey.
“I prefer not to comment on it,” said Fernandez, who will start Saturday for the Marlins for the first time since sustaining a biceps strain. “A lot of things go into it. But I’m staying out of it.”
What Fernandez would acknowledge is that he intends to devise a mutual usage strategy with the Marlins beforehand to address any questions about how much he’ll pitch in 2016.
“I think we’re going to be careful,” Fernandez said without going into specifics about a potential innings limit. “I think we’re going to try to be careful, because it’s a long run, and you want to make sure you stay healthy and you stay good as much as you can.”
Fernandez, who returned on July 2 after a 13-month absence, said he and the Marlins had a usage plan in place this season if the team was contending in September.
“We kind of had a plan for this year if we would have made it to the playoffs,” Fernandez said. “We talked about it in spring training. So we had it planned out — the team, the doctor, the agent, myself — [that] everybody could feel comfortable with. We were going to [implement] it if we were closer [in the race]. After the All-Star break, we were going to sit down, see where we’re at and go from there. But there would have been a plan.”
marlins edge nats
The Marlins drove one more nail into the Nationals’ fading playoff hopes with a 2-1 victory on Friday night at Marlins Park.
Miguel Rojas broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh with a shallow sacrifice fly that scored J.T. Realmuto, and the Marlins held on for their eighth win in their past 10 games. Jarred Cosart started and delivered five scoreless innings before the Marlins’ bullpen took over and held the Nationals to one unearned run.
“I’m just trying to show them that last year wasn’t a fluke,” said Cosart, who spent most of this season on the disabled list.
The Nationals, coming off a demoralizing three-game sweep at the hands of the New York Mets, have lost four in a row and trail the Mets by 81/2 games in the NL East.
▪ The Phillies have interest in Marlins manager Dan Jennings for their open general manager’s position, according to sources. Jennings has been given the option to return to the Marlins after the season as their general manager, but he is weighing the decision.
▪ Two Winter League teams from the Dominican Republic and two from Venezuela will take part in the first Serie de las Americas, a two-day tournament at Marlins Park on Nov.21-22.
COMING UP
▪ Saturday: Marlins RHP Fernandez (4-0, 2.30 ERA) vs. Washington Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (4-4, 4.41), 7:10 p.m., Marlins Park.
▪ Sunday: Marlins LHP Brad Hand (4-5, 5.20) vs. Nationals RHP Max Scherzer (11-11, 3.03), 1:10 p.m., Marlins Park.
This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 11:21 PM with the headline "Marlins nip Nationals 2-1 as Jose Fernandez braces for return Saturday."