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Marlins Place Pablo Lopez On 10-Day Injured List

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The Marlins have placed right-hander Pablo Lopez on the 10-day injured list due to a right rotator cuff strain.  The placement is retroactive to July 14.  Right-hander John Curtiss has been reinstated from the 10-day IL to take Lopez’s spot on the active roster, while righty Jordan Holloway was optioned back to Triple-A after serving as the 27th man for yesterday’s doubleheader with the Phillies.

Lopez heads to the IL in the aftermath of a history-making achievement, as his last start on July 11 saw Lopez become the first MLB pitcher to ever strike out his first nine batters faced in a game.  That entry into the record books has been the highlight of an overall strong season for the righty, who has a 3.03 ERA/3.48 SIERA over 101 innings for Miami and above-average strikeout (27.1%) and walk (6.1%) rates, to go along with a 47.3% grounder rate.

Lopez’s 2020 numbers were also good, and the 25-year-old is now looking like a nice building block within a Marlins pitching mix that has plenty of intriguing arms.  As Man On Second’s Joe Frisaro notes, however, several of these pitchers are already nearing career highs in innings pitched, so particularly in the wake of the shortened 2020 season, it remains to be seen how the Marlins will manage their rotation innings the rest of the way.

In Lopez’s case, his previous career high was 145 1/3 IP in A-ball back in 2017, so this 10-day IL stint might act as something of a natural rest point that allows him to pitch regularly the rest of the season, assuming a relatively quick return.  That said, Lopez has also had shoulder issues in the past, and the Marlins will undoubtedly carefully monitor his condition to prevent any further injury.  Depending on the severity of his rotator cuff strain, it’s possible Lopez could be shut down entirely for the season, considering that Miami already seems to be looking ahead to 2022.

If the Marlins opted for a starter-by-committee or an opener/bulk pitcher approach to fill Lopez’s rotation spot, Curtiss might be in line for more “starts,” after receiving a few opener assignments with the Rays and Marlins over the last two years.  Curtiss was placed on the 10-day IL due to neck stiffness back on July 4, and he has pitched well in his first season as a Marlin — a 2.67 ERA over 33 2/3 innings, despite some lackluster hard-hit ball numbers.  Curtiss is controlled through the 2025 season, so the Marlins are probably less likely to move him before other relievers in potential deals prior to the July 30 trade deadline.

COVID Notes: 7/16/21

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The latest coronavirus-related news around baseball:

  • Before this afternoon’s doubleheader agains the Phillies, the Marlins placed outfielder Jesús Sánchez on the COVID-19 injured list. It’s not clear whether he tested positive for the virus; players can also land on the IL for experiencing symptoms or for viral exposure. Sánchez is hitting a solid .265/.315/.434 through 89 plate appearances this season.
  • The Phillies reinstated reliever Bailey Falter from the COVID-19 injured list this afternoon. The southpaw landed on the IL as part of contact tracing efforts last weekend after third baseman Alec Bohm tested positive for the coronavirus. Falter has tallied 17 2/3 innings of multi-inning relief across eight appearances this season.

Marlins Activate Jorge Guzman

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The Marlins have activated right-hander Jorge Guzman from the 60-day injured list, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to relay. He has been optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville. Miami already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, which is now full.

Guzman, a hard-throwing pitching prospect, made his MLB debut with Miami last season. He began this year with Jacksonville, making four appearances before going down with elbow inflammation. A starting pitcher for much of his minor league career, he’d been working out of the bullpen with the Jumbo Shrimp this season. That’s generally been the expected outcome for the 25-year-old. Entering the year, Baseball America ranked Guzman the #22 prospect in the organization, writing that he could be a productive reliever if he develops adequate control.

Additionally, the Marlins outrighted a pair of hurlers who had recently been designated for assignment: lefty Shawn Morimando and righty Preston Guilmet. Both pitchers made one-day cameos on the roster last weekend. Morimando tossed five innings of scoreless relief, while Guilmet was designated without having made an appearance. Both pitchers have been outrighted before, giving them the right to elect free agency in lieu of assignment to Jacksonville.

A Potential First Base/Corner Outfield Upgrade For Contending Clubs

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The Marlins are generally expected to move some players off the big league roster in advance of the July 30 trade deadline. They’re in last place in the National League East at 39-50, and FanGraphs gives the Fish just a 0.2% chance of reaching the postseason. Indeed, the Marlins already began selling last month, when they sent corner outfielder Corey Dickerson and reliever Adam Cimber to the Blue Jays.

Miami’s biggest decision over the coming weeks will be whether to trade star center fielder Starling Marte. The two sides are reportedly discussing an extension, with the expectation that Marte will be moved if they don’t agree on a long-term deal. But there’s another Miami hitter who should intrigue contenders, one whose production has flown a little more under the radar: Garrett Cooper.

Cooper wasn’t a top prospect coming up in the Brewers or Yankees farm systems, and he’s never been a name familiar to most casual fans. Since breaking into the majors, he’s always performed when given the opportunity though. Miami acquired Cooper from the Yankees before the 2018 season, but he spent most of that year on the injured list. He returned to play fairly well in 2019 but again missed time with injury, and he lost a month of the 2020 season amidst the Marlins’ team-wide COVID-19 outbreak last summer.

Upon being reinstated from the COVID IL last August, Cooper mashed down the stretch to help lead the Marlins to a postseason berth. He’s improved upon that production this season, putting up a .291/.387/.481 line over 238 plate appearances. He’s sporting a .288/.375/.488 mark since the start of 2020, and he owns a .284/.355/.457 line (122 wRC+) over 875 trips to the dish at the major league level.

Cooper’s had his share of health troubles, but there’s little question he’s a quality offensive player when healthy. His bottom line results are strong, and his underlying batted ball metrics are plus. Cooper’s in the 75th percentile or better this in average exit velocity, barrel rate and hard contact rate. His peak exit velocity (114 MPH) is in the 92nd percentile, a reflection of his high-end raw power.

Unsurprisingly, the right-handed hitting Cooper has been a bit better against left-handed pitching than right-handers over the course of his career. He’s far from a platoon player, though, owning a productive .280/.362/.434 mark against same-handed hurlers. Cooper does strike out a fair amount and shouldn’t be expected to sustain this season’s .383 batting average on balls in play. But he makes consistent hard contact and uses the entire field, so it’s fair to expect he’ll continue to have his fair share of hits fall in. Even if Cooper’s BABIP dips toward his .337 figure from last year, he should remain a well above-average hitter based on his quality of contact and decent plate discipline.

The bat is the calling card for Cooper, who’s best suited at first base. With Jesús Aguilar at first in South Florida, he’s seen more time in the corner outfield than at his natural position in recent seasons. He’s not a disaster in the grass, but defensive metrics all agree he’s below-average, which isn’t surprising for a player listed at 6’5″, 235 pounds.

It’s worth noting that the Marlins needn’t move Cooper this summer if they’re so disinclined. He’s controllable via arbitration for two seasons beyond this one, and the Marlins could keep him around in hopes of making a run in 2022. There was some speculation about Miami moving Cooper last offseason after they signed Adam Duvall. There was no indication the Marlins came all that close to pulling the trigger on a deal, but it stands to reason clubs will again be in contact with general manager Kim Ng to gauge his potential availability over the coming weeks.

If Miami is willing to move Cooper, there are a handful of teams who look like strong fits on paper. The Dodgers and Padres were among the clubs interested in Cooper over the winter, and they’re amidst a tight race with one another and the division-leading Giants in the NL West. (Padres general manager A.J. Preller expressed interest over the weekend in upgrading his lineup). The Red Sox and Mariners have gotten very little from their first basemen, and Seattle’s Evan White might not return from a hip injury this year. The Braves could use corner outfield help.

Even perennially low-payroll teams could inquire on Cooper, who’s making just $1.9MM (with less than half of that sum still owed). The A’s and Rays could use more production out of the designated hitter spot. Indians first basemen have been among the worst in the league; while Cleveland might be falling out of position to buy for this season, they could acquire him with an eye towards 2022.

Cooper might not have the name recognition or long track record of some of this summer’s other trade candidates. He’s a quality hitter, though, the kind of player who would upgrade most teams’ lineups. Between his production and affordability, Cooper should pique the interest of a handful of contenders over the coming weeks.

Marlins Designate Preston Guilmet For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated right-hander Preston Guilmet for assignment, according to the MLB.com transactions tracker. Outfielder Monte Harrison has been recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville to take his spot on the active roster.

Guilmet has been selected to the Miami roster a few times this year, but he hasn’t made it into a game. The 33-year-old has otherwise spent the year with Jacksonville, tossing 25 1/3 innings of 3.55 ERA ball with very strong strikeout and walk rates (34.3% and 6.1%, respectively).

The right-hander has appeared in parts of four major league seasons (2013-15, 2018). Altogether, he’s made 27 appearances at the highest level and thrown 33 innings with a 9.27 ERA and a 4.28 SIERA.

Marlins Select Preston Guilmet, Designate Shawn Morimando For Assignment

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The Marlins have designated Shawn Morimando for assignment and selected the contract of Preston Guilmet, per Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (via Twitter).

Guilmet first appeared in the Majors back in 2013 as a 25 year old for the Indians. Since then, he’s dressed for the Orioles, Rays, Brewers, Cardinals, and Blue Jays for a total 33 innings across 27 appearances. He has not, however, appeared in the Majors since 2018, and he currently owns a 9.27 ERA/6.61 FIP for his career. Now 33, Guilmet has a 3.55 ERA in 12 games for Triple-A Jacksonville this season.

Morimando, 28, was a 19th round draft pick of the Indians back in 2011. He did eventually make his Major League debut in Cleveland, but with just two appearances in 2016.

His next two appearances in the Majors came this year with the Marlins. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits and five walks while striking out five over 5 2/3 innings. The southpaw doesn’t have great numbers in Triple-A the past few seasons, though he has worked almost exclusively as a starter, so it’s possible he could find new life as a reliever somewhere. That said, it certainly means something that none of the three organizations he’s been a part of have viewed him as an asset in that capacity.

Marlins Select Shawn Morimando

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The Marlins announced they’ve selected the contract of left-hander Shawn Morimando. Right-hander Nick Neidert was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville to create active roster space, while lefty Daniel Castano was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open a spot on the 40-man roster.

It’s the second time Morimando has been selected to the big league roster this season. He was added in late May but designated for assignment and ultimately passed through waivers not long thereafter. He’s spent the bulk of the campaign in Jacksonville, where he’s made nine starts. Across 44 1/3 innings, Morimando has pitched to a 4.87 ERA with worse than average strikeout and walk rates (20.5% and 10.3%, respectively). He has, however, racked up ground balls at a lofty 53.4% clip with the Jumbo Shrimp.

In addition to his one appearance with the Marlins this year, he pitched in a pair of big league games with the 2016 Indians. Morimando will be on hand as a potential multi-inning relief option tonight. The Fish were originally scheduled to hand the ball to Zach Thompson. Manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including Craig Mish of SportsGrid) that the righty fell under the weather, forcing Miami into an impromptu bullpen game.

Castano landed on the 10-day IL on June 8 with a left shoulder impingement. Today’s transfer rules him out for sixty days from that date, so he won’t be eligible to return until early August. The 26-year-old has made four starts for the Marlins this season, tossing 17 1/3 innings of 5.19 ERA/5.60 SIERA ball.

Marlins Pick Up Don Mattingly’s Option For 2022 Season

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Don Mattingly will return as the Marlins’ manager in 2022. General manager Kim Ng announced on today’s broadcast that Mattingly’s mutual option for the 2022 campaign has been picked up by both parties (Twitter link, with video, via Bally Sports Florida).

Don Mattingly } Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

“Donnie’s been steady at the helm,” Ng said when asked about the job Mattingly has done. “I think that’s one of his greatest attributes. He’s incredibly patient. I think he’s got a great way with the young players. He’s very positive with them.”

The 2022 season will be Mattingly’s seventh as the Marlins’ manager. He joined the Fish in 2016 on the heels of a five-year run as the Dodgers’ skipper and has since managed the team to a 345-446 record. Of course, the manager of a club that has gone through yet another broad-reaching fire sale, turned over its front office and gone through an ownership change can’t be judged solely on wins and losses. Mattingly has stuck with the club through all of those sweeping changes, convincing multiple front offices and ownership groups alike that he’s the right person to be leading an up-and-coming Marlins club.

Mattingly’s Marlins made a surprise postseason bid last year in the expanded format and did so in spite of a Covid outbreak that gutted the roster and left him with a host of replacement players for several weeks. That unexpected playoff berth contributed to Mattingly’s first NL Manager of the Year win. His club toppled the NL Central champion Cubs in the Wild Card round of play before falling to the Braves in the NLDS.

The 2021 season hasn’t gone exactly according to plan for the Marlins, who’ve fallen into a prolonged stretch of losses and dropped to 38-47 in the standings. The loss of touted young right-hander Sixto Sanchez due to shoulder surgery has been a particularly tough hit for Miami, and they’ve also been without third baseman Brian Anderson and promising righty Elieser Hernandez for much of the 2021 campaign as well.

Still, there are some important pieces in place for the franchise moving forward. Jazz Chisholm is enjoying a nice season in the middle infield, and the Marlins’ rotation has the makings of an impressive group, headlined by Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and 2021 Rookie of the Year candidate Trevor Rogers. Miami has several interesting prospects just breaking into the Majors or on the cusp of doing so, including outfielders Jesus Sanchez and JJ Bleday. Last year’s first-round pick, righty Max Meyer, has utterly dominated the Double-A level and could be a quick-to-the-Majors arm.

Mattingly will get the chance to work with that upcoming wave of talent, and if all goes according to plan next season, it wouldn’t at all be a surprise to see Ng, principal owner Bruce Sherman and CEO Derek Jeter extend Mattingly beyond the 2022 campaign.

Sixto Sanchez To Undergo Shoulder Surgery

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TODAY: Marlins general manager Kim Ng provided some more detail on Sanchez’s timeline, telling MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the team is hopeful Sanchez will be able to resume throwing in three months.  Pitching in winter ball, however, is “probably not in his cards,” Ng said.

JULY 5: The Marlins announced Monday that right-hander Sixto Sanchez will undergo season-ending surgery after an MRI revealed a small tear in the posterior capsule of his right shoulder. The hope is that he’ll be ready for Spring Training 2022.

It’s an awful development for the Marlins and for Sanchez himself, who has long been touted as one of the game’s most promising young arms. That potential was on full display in 2020, when the Fish called Sanchez up for his MLB debut and he turned in a 3.46 ERA through his first seven big league starts — despite having just turned 22 years of age.

Sanchez averaged 98.8 mph on his power sinker, and while he didn’t rack up strikeouts at the level some might’ve hoped (20.9 percent), he showed above-average control (seven percent walk rate) and ranked seventh among 158 MLB starting pitchers (min. 30 innings) with a 58 percent ground-ball rate. There was certainly some hope for more missed bats down the line, too. Sanchez’s 12.8 percent swinging-strike rate was quite sound for a starting pitcher, and his 38.7 percent chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone ranked fourth in that same set of 158 starters.

Unfortunately, Sanchez won’t end up throwing a single pitch for the Marlins in 2021. His start this spring was delayed due to Covid protocols, and the Marlins optioned him late in camp after he threw just 8 1/3 innings in Spring Training. While many immediately jumped to the service time argument, it was clear that wasn’t the case. Sanchez would’ve needed to be held down until the end of this month in order to push back his free agency, and there’s no chance that’d have happened had he been healthy. (They also had no qualms about top prospect Jazz Chisholm breaking camp as the everyday second baseman, even though it’d have been far easier to delay his free agency than that of Sanchez.)

The target for Sanchez was a mid-April 2021 debut, but he cut a workout at the team’s alternate site short in early April after complaining of shoulder discomfort. His throwing program was paused for more than a month. Upon restarting, Sanchez again quickly pushed pause, although this time general manager Kim Ng (in retrospect, somewhat ominously) indicated that the new discomfort Sanchez had felt was unrelated to the initial inflammation with which he was diagnosed back in April.

The end result of the entire sequence, unfortunately for Sanchez, is that he won’t accrue big league service time in 2021. If he indeed sustained his injury while throwing on the minor league side, that would seem to boil down to little more than awful timing. The Miami Herald’s Craig Mish tweets, however, now suggests that a tear was discovered in Sanchez back in March, but rehab was recommended. Sanchez was optioned to the team’s alternate site on March 29. If there’s some form of documentation indicating that a tear was discovered prior to being optioned, that sort of situation is the type that will often result in a service-time grievance.

It should be noted that it’s still possible for Sanchez to reach a full year of MLB service in 2021, however. He entered the season with 103 days of service time, meaning he’d only need 69 days on the MLB roster in order to pass one full year of service and remain on track for free agency after the 2026 campaign. If the Marlins were to call Sanchez to the MLB roster and place him on the 60-day IL in order to open a 40-man roster spot, he’d receive service time for any days spent on the Major League injured list. Were such a move to happen on or before July 26, he’d still end up with a year-plus of service time (though his camp could conceivably still push for retroactive service to secure MLB pay for the season’s first few months).

To be clear, none of this is to imply any nefarious plot on the Marlins’ part. The team, after all, called Sanchez up in the first place last year when it could’ve at least defensibly kept him at the alternate site. The aforementioned Chisholm promotion is another example of forgoing service time manipulation when an opportunity otherwise presented itself.

The timing of the tear’s discovery, relative to the timing of Sanchez being optioned out of big league camp, will prove crucial. So, too, will the timing of a theoretical placement on the MLB 60-day IL — if the Marlins go that route at all. Opting not to do so would be tantamount to finishing out the season with a 39-man roster, however, so it’s in their interest to make such a move at some point. The question is just whether it’s made in time for Sanchez to reach one-plus years of service in 2021.

Marlins Have Made Extension Offer To Starling Marte

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The Marlins have presented a multi-year extension offer to star center fielder Starling Marte, report Jordan McPherson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Terms of the offer are unknown, although McPherson and Mish hear Marte and his representatives at Rep 1 Baseball are seeking a “three- or four-year deal in the $50 million range.”

Marte, who is playing out the season on a $12.5MM contract, is slated to hit free agency at the end of the year. Last month, he expressed a desire to work out a long-term deal to stay with Miami rather than test the market. Theoretically, the two sides have until the conclusion of the season to work out an extension, although McPherson and Mish suggest the July 30 trade deadline could function as a de facto extension deadline as well. If the Marlins and Marte don’t work out a long-term deal in the next few weeks, the 35-47 Marlins are expected to trade him, according to the Herald duo.

The Fish could also hold onto Marte through the end of the year and make him a qualifying offer going into the offseason. He’d almost certainly reject the QO, entitling Miami to 2022 draft pick compensation were he to sign elsewhere. However, Marte is playing well enough this season that a contender would likely offer the Marlins a prospect package more valuable than the compensatory pick they’d receive if he turned down a QO.

While a rib fracture cost Marte a month of action earlier in the year, he’s arguably playing at a career-best level when healthy. The right-handed hitter has slashed .294/.401/.453 across 202 plate appearances. His resulting 143 wRC+ (which suggests he’s been 43 percentage points better than the average hitter after park-adjustments) is the best mark of his ten-year career. That’s driven primarily by a demonstrably more patient approach, as Marte is walking at a 13.4% clip that’s nearly triple the 4.9% career walk percentage he carried into the season.

Considering Marte’s performance this year, his reported preference for a deal in the $50MM range seems more than reasonable. He’s set to turn 33 years old in October, which will cap the deal’s length. Still, he’s tracking as the unquestionable top center fielder on the market and has been among the top performers regardless of position.

Among position players scheduled to hit free agency, only Carlos Correa, Marcus Semien and Nick Castellanos (who’s almost certain to opt out of the final two years of his deal) have an fWAR greater than Marte’s 2.8. Castellanos, Correa, Nelson Cruz and J.D. Martinez (who has a player option) are the only members of that group (minimum 100 plate appearances) to have outhit Marte this season.

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