The buzz on how long key Marlins will be out and insight on the trouble replacing them
What we’re hearing on the Miami Marlins’ injury situation, the players’ potential returns and how the team has replaced them:
Outfielder Starling Marte remains out with a nondisplaced fracture in his 12th rib (left side), and the expectation internally is that he will be out for more than a month, potentially until early June, according to a source briefed on the situation.
Marte, who hasn’t played since April 18, could be back in late May if his recovery goes well. But he’s still experiencing discomfort and won’t resume baseball activities until that subsides.
He likely will need a minor-league rehabilitation stint to get at-bats after a long layoff; the minor-league season begins May 1.
The Marlins won’t rush Marte back for two reasons:
They will need him for a second-half push if they can tread water in May.
If he were to re-aggravate the injury, it would severely diminish the trade value of a player who could be the top available hitter at the trade deadline.
Dealing Marte this summer likely would be considered only if the Marlins are out of contention or merely on the fringes of wild-card contention.
The Marlins’ offense has struggled without him before breaking out in Monday’s 8-0 win at Milwaukee. Miami is seventh in the 15-team National League in batting average, eighth in runs and 11th in slugging percentage.
The Marlins also remain without third baseman Brian Anderson, who was placed on the 10-day injured list last Thursday with a left oblique strain.
According to a source, Anderson — barring a setback — is expected to return when first eligible this weekend in Washington or early next week. The Marlins are off Monday and begin a home series against Arizona next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, catcher Jorge Alfaro remains out indefinitely with a hamstring injury; the Marlins aren’t sure when he will be able to play.
The Marlins’ inability to replace the injured players with capable experienced veterans is a byproduct of the team’s decision to stock its alternate site in Jacksonville primarily with young players instead of veteran journeymen, with catcher Sandy Leon being the exception.
Last season, the Marlins at times opted for more of those types of veteran journeymen, such as Logan Forsythe and Sean Rodriguez. But there are fewer of those types of players available at the Jacksonville site this year.
When Marte was injured, the Marlins’ only outfield options were young players who have struggled so far at the big-league level or haven’t appeared in a big-league game, and Miami opted for Lewis Brinson, who will be out of minor league options after this season. Brinson, as usual, has struggled to hit for average (.125, 3 for 24).
Brinson was likely the best of the poor available options, because outfield prospect Monte Harrison — who is training at the Jacksonville alternate site — has not proven he can hit big-league pitching.
Harrison is 8 for 47 (.170) in his brief big-league experience, with 26 strikeouts. The other outfielders at the alternate training site are Brian Miller, JJ Bleday and Jerar Encarnacion, who have no big-league experience.
When Anderson went on the IL, the promotion of middle infielder Jose Devers — who has never played above Single A — was curious because the more experienced Isan Diaz was available. Devers began his Marlins career in San Francisco with three strikeouts in three at-bats.
So why not promote Diaz? For starters, Devers already was with the team in San Francisco as a member of the taxi squad; Diaz wasn’t. And the Marlins didn’t decide to put Anderson on the injured list until after they flew to the Bay Area.
“I think the timing of it got us,” manager Don Mattingly said. “We thought Andy was going to be able [to play]. We didn’t have Isan on the taxi; we wanted him to keep playing. Andy, we thought was the possibility of being [out] a day, maybe two. And obviously, it was more than that. And then obviously we’re on the road. The timing of that kind of got us in a bind.”
Should Diaz be on the taxi squad moving forward?
“The taxi is tough, because when guys come, they don’t play for 10 days,” Mattingly said. “It’s an 11-day trip. You bring a pitcher, he’s not working in games. He’s not staying ready. Same with a [position] player. If he’s on the trip, he takes batting practice but he doesn’t play in games. You try to balance that taxi with keeping these guys playing. If there is a serious injury, you want a guy that’s ready to go that has been getting at-bats. Taxi is more like an emergency situation, a temporary type thing.”
Another more experienced alternative to Devers would have been middle infielder Joe Dunand, who hit .242 with five homers and 42 RBI in 130 games at Double A Jacksonville in 2019. At 25, Dunand is four years older than Devers.
Dunand is not on the 40-man roster, so promoting him instead of Diaz would have required clearing a roster spot, something that could have been achieved by placing pitcher Jorge Guzman on the 60-day disabled list. Creating a spot on the 40-man roster also would have been necessary if the Marlins had promoted career minor-league infielder Eddy Alvarez, who hit .189 (7 for 37) in his MLB debut for the Marlins last year.
PITCHING WATCH
The Marlins attended veteran right-hander Anibal Sanchez’s recent workout for teams but did not try to sign him in the aftermath.
For now, the Marlins are content going with only young pitching, even with Sixto Sanchez, Elieser Hernandez, Edward Cabrera and Guzman still dealing with injuries.
Why hasn’t young left-hander Braxton Garrett been promoted yet this season?
According to a source, the Marlins consider Garrett solid rotation depth as opposed to a front line starter. On some other clubs with fewer quality arms in their rotation, Garrett could potentially be in the big leagues now.
Miami’s hesitance to force the issue with the former first-round pick is that he could be a very attractive trade piece come July, or even this offseason.
Conversely, Nick Neidert’s trade value is now minimal, given his small sample of inconsistent results.
Because of that trade value dynamic, it would be somewhat of a risk promoting Garrett unless absolutely necessary, if they do intend to upgrade their offense by using pitching as leverage.
There is no thought whatsoever to trading 2020 draft picks Max Meyer or Dax Fulton; both starters are viewed as front line rotation pieces.
A trade could be the the most viable route to upgrade the offense barring a significant payroll increase. And Garrett could emerge as the most realistic pitching prospect to deal in a package for offensive help.
▪ The Marlins have been encouraged by the recent work of Rule 5 right-hander Zach Pop, who did not allow a hit, walk or run in four innings against the Giants last weekend while striking out seven, albeit against a team that is 24th in batting average (.215) and 25th in runs.
Barring a major regression, it’s a safe bet that Pop will stick around this season.
There’s less certainty if the Marlins will keep Paul Campbell all season; if they don’t, they would be required to offer him back to Tampa Bay.
Follow Barry Jackson on Twitter at @flasportsbuzz. Follow Miami Herald senior baseball correspondent Craig Mish on Twitter at @CraigMish
This story was originally published April 27, 2021 at 1:52 PM.
