The Marlins announced a handful of roster moves ahead of Monday’s game. Right-handers Zach Brzykcy (pronounced “brick-see”) and Tyler Zuber had their contracts selected from Triple-A Jacksonville and will be with the major league club tonight for their road game against the Nationals. To make room on the active roster, Miami optioned righty Josh White and placed righty Josh Ekness on the 15-day injured list with a calf strain. To create 40-man space for Brzykcy and Zuber, the Fish transferred left-hander Andrew Nardi and first baseman/outfielder Griffin Conine to the 60-day injured list.
Brzykcy, 26, will be facing off against the team that originally signed him and gave him his major league debut if he gets into a game this series. He’s pitched in parts of two seasons with the Nats and been tagged for an unsightly 10.05 ERA in 28 2/3 frames. He’s pitched 22 1/3 innings with Jacksonville since signing a minor league deal over the winter and has a 5.24 ERA with a strong 26.3% strikeout rate against a problematic 12.1% walk rate. Nine of the 13 earned runs he’s yielded have come across two of his most recent outings. Through Brzykcy’s first 15 1/3 innings this season, he allowed only one run on seven hits and eight walks with 18 punchouts.
The 30-year-old Zuber has a similarly nondescript big league track record with big minor league strikeout numbers. He’s pitched in parts of four major league seasons and surrendered a 6.26 ERA in 64 2/3 frames. He’s set down just under one quarter of his opponents on strikes but walked 15.2% of the batters he’s faced. This season in Triple-A, Zuber has a gaudy 33.9% strikeout rate in 27 2/3 innings but also a 12.6% walk rate. His fastball velocity is only a bit above average, but Zuber piles up swings and misses on a slider he’s been throwing at extreme levels (57.2%) in Triple-A so far.
Nardi hit the injured list recently due to a stress reaction in his ribcage. Manager Clayton McCullough said at the time of his 15-day IL placement that he could miss several months, so the quick shift to the 60-day IL comes as no surprise. He’s pitched to a 5.16 ERA in 22 2/3 innings this season.
Conine suffered a hamstring strain in early April, necessitating surgery. He was given a timetable of six to eight weeks for recovery, though the process has played out a bit more slowly. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reported over the weekend that Conine was probably still a week or two from going out on a rehab assignment. Given that he’s been on the IL since April 11, he wasn’t going to make it back to the roster within 60 days anyhow. His shift to the lengthier injured list is merely a formality, then. A return at some point later this month still seems to be in play.