Marlins Designate Aneurys Zabala For Assignment

The Marlins have designated reliever Aneurys Zabala for assignment, tweets Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The move clears roster space for first baseman Garrett Cooper, who has been reinstated from the COVID-19 injured list.

It’s the reversal of a transaction from just a couple days ago, as Zabala was selected when Cooper hit the IL on Saturday. That the latter’s absence was so brief implies his stay away from the club was merely related to virus-like symptoms. Cooper, who is hitting an excellent .315/.389/.473 on the season, figures to reassume a middle-of-the-order role. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams explored this afternoon, the right-handed hitter has quietly emerged as one of the game’s more productive bats in recent seasons.

Zabala loses his roster spot after making one MLB appearance, which was his big league debut. The 25-year-old had spent time in the farm systems of the Mariners, Dodgers, Reds and Phillies before finally getting his first crack against major league hitters. Zabala recorded two outs, including a strikeout of Kyle Tucker, during yesterday’s loss to the Astros. The 6’3″ hurler averaged a blistering 99.5 MPH on his fastball during that look, according to Statcast.

The Marlins will presumably try to run Zabala through waivers in the next few days. Assuming he goes unclaimed, he’ll likely return to Triple-A Jacksonville on outright assignment. He’s allowed ten runs with 13 walks and 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings with the Jumbo Shrimp this season.