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Marlins Place Adeiny Hechavarria On DL, Designate Joe Gunkel For Assignment

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The Marlins announced that they’ve placed shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria on the 10-day disabled list due to a left oblique strain. In his place, they’ve selected the contract of Stephen Lombardozzi from Triple-A New Orleans. Right-hander Joe Gunkel has been designated for assignment in order to clear a roster spot for Lombardozzi.

It’s been a rough week for the Marlins’ infield, as they’ve now lost both of the starters on the left side of the infield and their primary utility option to the DL. A hamstring strain sent Martin Prado to the 10-day DL on Monday, while a fractured thumb will cost Miguel Rojas several months of the season.

With Hechavarria, Prado and Rojas all sidelined, it seems that the Marlins will utilize Derek Dietrich at third base, J.T. Riddle at shortstop and Lombardozzi in a utility role. Though Hechavarria doesn’t offer much with the bat, his stellar glovework at shortstop will be missed during his absence. Miami hasn’t provided any type of timeline for Hechavarria to return to action, but oblique injuries can often keep players out of action for a month or more.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

For Lombardozzi, this will mark his first big league action since a brief 12-game stretch with the 2015 Pirates. The former Nationals farmhand was once regarded as one of the better prospects in Washington’s minor league ranks, though he’s never cemented himself as a regular bench option in the Majors. A second-generation big leaguer — his father, also named Steve, spent parts of six seasons in the Majors — Lombardozzi is a career .263/.294/.336 hitter in 840 plate appearances. He can play second base, third base, shortstop and in the outfield corners.

Gunkel has bounced around the league quite a bit in the past month or so, going from the Orioles to the Dodgers to the Marlins in a series of minor transactions. Miami will hope that he’s able to clear waivers, but given that Gunkel is an upper-level starter with minor league options remaining, he could certainly be appealing to a team in need of rotation depth.

The 25-year-old Gunkel has not yet made his Major League debut but has a solid minor league track record. He’s posted a 2.99 ERA in 150 1/3 career innings at the Double-A level and a 4.07 ERA in the exact same number of Triple-A innings. While he doesn’t miss many bats (6.0 K/9 in Triple-A), Gunkel has excellent control (1.1 BB/9) and keeps the ball on the ground at a roughly 40 percent clip.

Wei-Yin Chen Not Progressing As Hoped

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  • The Marlins may be without lefty Wei-Yin Chen a bit longer than had been anticipated, as Craig Davis of the Sun Sentinel reports. When he went to the DL with an elbow issue, the hope was he’d only miss one outing. But skipper Don Mattingly said today that Chen’s elbow “seems to have taken a little bit of a back turn.” It remains to be seen just how long Chen will be out, but it’s certainly not promising to hear that his condition did not progress as hoped.

Miguel Rojas Diagnosed With Broken Thumb

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The Marlins will be without utility infielder Miguel Rojas for several months, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro reports on Twitter. He has been diagnosed with a broken thumb that will require a cast.

That news comes at a particularly inopportune time for the Fish, who also just lost third baseman Martin Prado to the DL. It’s likely that Rojas would have helped cover at the hot corner along with Derek Dietrich, while continuing to fill in at short and second base. Instead, the club will be forced to lean on rookie J.T. Riddle for quite a bit longer than had been hoped when Rojas was hurt yesterday.

Rojas has somewhat quietly played a notable reserve role for Miami over the past few years. But his importance to the club has grown substantially early in the current season. Rojas has already taken 73 plate appearances — more than both Dietrich and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria — and provided a useful .338/.389/.400 slash line with just eight strikeouts.

While there’s not much reason to think that Rojas’s high-contact, power-less approach will ever allow him to be even an average hitter over the long haul, that doesn’t mean he can’t be a useful player. Metrics have graded him as a positive around the infield, and perhaps he can do enough offensively to hang on as a solid utility piece if he can hold onto his current increase in walk rate (up to 8.2%).

Marlins Place Martin Prado On Disabled List

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The Marlins announced today that third baseman Martin Prado, who missed the bulk of the season’s first month due to a hamstring strain, has been placed back on the 10-day disabled list with another hamstring strain. Infielder J.T. Riddle has been recalled from Triple-A New Orleans to fill his spot on the roster.

[Related: Updated Miami Marlins Depth Chart]

There’s been no timetable given by the Marlins just yet, though Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel provided some context on the injury last night. Healey, who notes that Prado appears to have injured a different portion of the same hamstring, was able to walk on the injury after suffering a Grade 1 strain in the World Baseball Classic. This time, however, Prado told reporters that walking on the injury was more difficult. Prado was out through April 17 with the first hamstring strain.

In Prado’s previous absence, Derek Dietrich shouldered the workload at third base, and that’s likely to be the arrangement for the Marlins once again. Riddle could see some time at third base as well, although like Dietrich, he’s a left-handed bat, so there’s no opportunity for a platoon setup. To this point in the season, Prado had batted .290/.315/.406 in 73 plate appearances, whereas Dietrich has hit .224/.348/.293 in roughly the same sample size.

Could New Owners Impact Marcell Ozuna's Future With Marlins?

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New ownership would obviously lead to many changes for the Marlins, though it’s too early to speculate on what a possible sale of the team would mean for Marcell Ozuna’s long-term future in Miami, MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro writes as part of a reader mailbag.  It seemed as if Ozuna had fallen out of favor with Jeffrey Loria two years ago, though Ozuna wasn’t dealt in the 2015-16 offseason after much speculation.  Ozuna delivered a solid season in 2016 and is off to a great start this year, hitting .319/.380/.595 with nine homers in his first 129 PA.  Since Ozuna isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2019 campaign, his future isn’t a pressing concern for whomever ends up running the Marlins, though an extension could be unlikely regardless since Ozuna is represented by Scott Boras.  At the very least, the outfielder is lining himself up for a massive raise in his second year of arbitration eligibility after agreeing to a $3.5MM salary for 2017.

Marlins To Sign Mike Aviles To Minors Contract

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The Marlins have agreed to sign veteran infielder Mike Aviles to a minor league deal, Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports.  The deal will become official once Aviles passes a physical, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald tweets.

Aviles hit .210/.258/.269 over 181 PA for the Tigers last season and was traded to the Braves as part of the deal that brought Erick Aybar to Detroit last August.  Aviles was released just a few days later without ever playing a game for Atlanta, and he hasn’t caught on with a big league organization since, though he did play for Puerto Rico during the World Baseball Classic.  Healey reports that Aviles is working out at the Marlins’ extended Spring Training camp (undoubtedly to get back into full playing shape after missing out on regular spring work) and will see some action there before heading to Triple-A.

The Marlins’ infield situation received a pair of blows on Sunday with the news that Martin Prado is likely headed back to the DL with another hamstring injury, while Miguel Rojas may also require a 10-day DL stint due to an injured thumb.  Aviles isn’t expected to step into the big league roster, however, but rather to provide depth at Triple-A in place of J.T. Riddle, who is likely to be called up as Prado’s replacement.

Aviles has seen extensive action at shortstop, second and third base over his 11-year career, not to mention even some starts at all three outfield positions.  This versatility and a well-regarded clubhouse presence has helped Aviles sustain a memorable career, despite a lack of production (a career .262/.295/.378 slash line in 3137 PA) at the plate.

Martin Prado Likely Headed Back To DL

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  • Marlins third baseman Martin Prado missed a sizable portion of April with a right hamstring strain, and he left the team’s game Sunday with a similar issue. As a result, Marlins manager Don Mattingly expects Prado to head back to the disabled list, tweets Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. What’s more, another of the Marlins’ third base choices, Miguel Rojas, suffered a right thumb injury Sunday and could also require a DL stint. Fortunately for the Fish, they have another capable hot corner option in Derek Dietrich, though he has started slowly this year (.224/.348/.293 in 69 plate appearances).

Marlins Sign Chris O'Grady To Minors Deal

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  • The Marlins have signed left-handed swingman Chris O’Grady to a minor league contract. A 10th-round pick in 2012, the now-27-year-old spent his first five professional seasons with the Angels but never reached the majors as a member of the organization. In 34 2/3 Triple-A innings a year ago (22 appearances, two starts), O’Grady recorded a 4.15 ERA, 6.23 K/9 against 3.12 BB/9, and a 42.6 percent ground-ball rate.

Alex Rodriguez Passed On Joining Potential Marlins Ownership Team

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Retired slugger Alex Rodriguez passed on a chance to join the Tagg Romney/Tom Glavine/Dave Stewart group that’s attempting to purchase the Marlins, reports FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal. Rodriguez was intrigued enough to meet Wednesday in Los Angeles with members of the Romney faction, but the Miami resident didn’t feel it was the right time to pursue an ownership stake, sources told Rosenthal. Had Rodriguez decided differently, he’d have had to compete against longtime Yankees teammate Derek Jeter, who’s part of a potential Marlins ownership team that includes former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Rodriguez, who made upward of $441MM in salaries during his playing career (per Baseball Reference), now works as a FOX baseball analyst and serves as a special advisor to Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner. He also runs his own corporation, A-Rod Corp., notes Rosenthal, who writes that Rodriguez dreams of one day becoming a big league owner.

Marlins Place Wei-Yin Chen On 10-Day DL With Tired Arm

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The Marlins have placed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on the 10-day DL with what the club is describing as a tired arm, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel’s Tim Healey and others reported.  Chen is expected to miss just one start (his scheduled outing today), as an MRI didn’t reveal anything serious.  Righty Odrisamer Despaigne has been called up from Triple-A in a corresponding move in order to start today’s game.

[Updated Marlins depth chart at Roster Resource]

As Healey reported two weeks ago, Chen has been pitching through a slight UCL tear, so the uneventful MRI is certainly a good sign for both the pitcher and the team.  The downside, of course, is that the Marlins are suddenly facing an even larger short-term rotation deficit, as Edinson Volquez was placed on the DL earlier this week due to a blister issue.  Both Chen and Volquez aren’t expected to miss much time, though manager Don Mattingly said that rehabbing southpaw Jeff Locke will be stretched out to give Miami more rotation depth.

Chen has a 4.33 ERA, 6.7 K/9 and 2.22 K/BB rate over 27 innings for the Fish this season.  The lefty is looking to rebound from an injury-shortened first season in Miami (his first year of a five-year, $80MM contract) that saw him post a 4.96 ERA over 123 1/3 innings.  Chen can opt out of his contract this winter, though he’d be leaving $52MM of his guaranteed on the table, which could be a risky proposition for a pitcher already dealing with some UCL damage.

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