The Marlins are placing third baseman Jake Burger on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique injury, tweets Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. She adds that Burger likened the discomfort he experienced to a 2023 oblique injury where he only missed the 10-day minimum. The team hasn’t provided a timetable for his return just yet. The Fish will recall utilityman Otto Lopez, whom they claimed off waivers from the Giants earlier this season, to take Burger’s spot on the roster.
Burger, 28, is tied for the Marlins’ team lead with three homers and is currently pacing the club with 15 runs knocked in. His overall .228/.281/.421 batting line is still well shy of league-average production (86 wRC+), but he’s been one of the better hitters in a dismal Marlins lineup — particularly with runners on base. Even a short-term absence figures to be a notable hit to a Marlins lineup that has mustered a collective .209/.273/.316 slash to begin the season.
The injury to Burger is exacerbated by the fact that utilityman Vidal Brujan is also banged up at the moment. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweets that Brujan is dealing with a right knee injury and is currently considered day-to-day. The Marlins are still in the process of evaluating that injury, and it’s possible he’ll wind up missing some time as well.
As such, the Marlins’ top options at third base right now are Emmanuel Rivera — acquired from the D-backs for cash following his DFA earlier this month — and Lopez. Rivera hit .261/.314/.358 in 283 plate appearances with Arizona last season but is out to a 3-for-17 start (all singles) in his time with the Marlins. Lopez is hitting .485/.528/.788 in a tiny sample of 36 Triple-A plate appearances this season and carries a career .288/.354/.401 slash in parts of four Triple-A campaigns overall. He’s spent far more time at both middle infield slots than at the hot corner, but he does have 205 career innings at third base.
It’s not all bad news for the Marlins. They’re expected to reinstate right-hander Edward Cabrera from the injured list to make his season debut tonight, reports Kevin Barral of Fish On First. De Nicola tweets that left-hander A.J. Puk had been slated to take the ball, but he’ll be pushed back a couple days due to an illness that’s been making the rounds in the Miami clubhouse and is currently impacting him. The Marlins will need to make a second roster move to open space for Cabrera’s return.
Cabrera, 26, has spent the first two-plus weeks of the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement. However, he’s made three Triple-A rehab starts now, allowing just one run in 12 2/3 innings. He walked seven batters over seven innings in his first two appearances, showing a bit of rust, but Cabrera punched out nine batters and walked just one over 5 2/3 frames in his most recent outing — yielding only an unearned run along the way. He’s pitched 171 1/3 innings over the past two seasons for the Marlins, working to a 3.73 ERA with a strong 26.6% strikeout rate but a dismal 13.7% walk rate that’s in need of further refinement.
Not Jake! The player the incompetent White Sox gave up even though he hit 30 HR at the time of the trade and is controlled through 2027? Another theory (years of control mattering) shot to hell.
Burger in a pickle
lol, is this Jake burger? You aren’t that good. You didn’t have 30 home runs at the time of the trade, maybe total in your career but not on the season. It was only 25. He is a defensive catastrophe and the white sox had a roster full of players with a similar profile.
Too early to judge the trade but I don’t hate it considering the lack of pitching depth the white sox had.
They traded Burger knowing they were rebuilding. They picked up a lefty pitcher in Jake Eder who the White Sox like a lot. White Sox are not winning games, but they have added nicely to the farm system. We will look to add elite talent with extremely high draft picks over the next couple of years.
Eder has completely fallen apart. There was a time when he was considered by serious scouts to be one of the highest ceiling starting pitchers in the minors. He now can’t get anyone out. It’s a good reminder that TJ surgery isn’t ALWAYS 100% effective. But Burger’s not a major league regular either. It was a fair nothingburger (pun intended) trade.
How long until Edward Cabrera needs TJS?
16 innings
I hear Jean Segura is available…..
The Marlins should sign Brandon Belt.
Burger King is down, leaving Taco Bell by himself in the lineup.
Marlin position players – all of them – need to start swinging the bats. Everyone has to contribute. Our pitching is a mixed bag right now, but the offense is consistently dreadful. Has been since 2018. It’s an ongoing situation that needs to be addressed.
Man compare Arraez to this time last year. What a difference a year makes! They were carried last year by him, a couple career years by Soler and Josh Bell, and a crazy burner by Burger after the trade. All that is gone at the moment. Worst hitting team in the majors in years and years.
Is hitting singles carrying a team?
Hey Marlins fans-What would it take from the Padres to get Arraez?
@RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
Another Arraez trade? OK. How about Graham Pauley and Jackson Merrill for Arraez and Victor Mesa Jr.?
Merrill’s untouchable. Pauley and a mid top 30 prospect would probably get it done.
@RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
I understand about Merrill. He’s an elite talent. I want him anyway, along w. Pauley – for Arraez, Mesa Jr., Jazz Chisholm and 3B/1B prospect Jacob Berry. What say you?
Vidal Brujan — 4 years of nothingness in MLB and rather average player in AAA. Miami since they got nothing to lose why not play him everyday for awhile so they can remove all doubt he is not a MLB player and fortify the knowledge he is lousy (of course when he is not injured which is hard to find)
@Datashark
If what you say about Brujan turns out to be accurate, the Marlins will just place him on waivers and bring in the next contestant – Emmanuel Rivera, Otto Lopez, Tristan Grey or Jonah Bride. I’m not sure about any of these guys. To me, the players who really deserve a legit shot at a full time roster spot are Troy Johnston, Dane Myers and Xavier Edwards.
They could have signed JDM but passed. Tommy Pham is still out there. There have been players available for decent $ if they wanted to spend. The opportunity to improve the offense was definitely there. Ownership is not willing to spend.
They don’t have any budget for long term signings, as they have to plan for re-signing Alcantara etc, and they’re probably the lowest revenue team in baseball after the A’s.
@n2thecards
What you’re saying is valid as far as it goes. But as for the reason Bruce Sherman & Co. are unwilling, my gut tells me they refuse to throw good money after bad while the team is in a state of flux with virtually no homegrown position player talent. In other words, no solid core, no foundation. With a new front office in place, that situation may improve, and Sherman would then be more willing to open his wallet for extensions/FA acquisitions. I think that’ll eventually happen. Although for this season, I’m not holding my breath. My friends might start calling me Mr. Blue.
Tommy Pham signed with the White Sox on Sunday