Marlins To Select Josh Ekness
The Marlins are selecting the contract of right-hander Josh Ekness from Triple-A Jacksonville, according to SportsGrid’s Craig Mish. Miami only had 39 players on its 40-man roster so Ekness will take that last open slot, and he’ll take the 26-man roster spot of right-hander Cade Gibson, who was optioned to Triple-A after yesterday’s 6-5 loss to the Phillies.
Gibson was charged with four earned runs over just 1 2/3 innings of relief on Friday, plus he threw 50 pitches during that rough outing. He’ll head back to Triple-A while the Marlins bring Ekness’ fresh arm into the bullpen, and Ekness will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in a game.
Ekness’ 5.68 ERA and 10.2% walk rate over 12 2/3 innings for Jacksonville this season are nothing special, though some outlier metrics (like a .400 BABIP and a 59.1% strand rate) are likely to blame for that inflated ERA. The key statistic from the Marlins’ perspective was surely Ekness’ 35.6% strikeout rate, which is a tick above the impressive swing-and-miss numbers he has shown earlier in his minor league career.
A 12th-round pick for the Marlins in the 2023 draft, Ekness ranks 30th on MLB Pipeline’s ranking of Miami’s top 30 prospects. He relies heavily on two plus pitches — a fastball with upper-90s velocity, and a sweeper that sits in the mid-80s. As Mish puts it, Ekness “has closer stuff,” and “profiles as a potential future leverage arm” if he can harness his control.
Miami has gotten pretty good results out of its relief corps this season, despite the struggles of closer Pete Fairbanks. With Fairbanks now on the 15-day injured list due to nerve irritation in his throwing hand, the Marlins’ bullpen is in a bit of flux, which could provide Ekness with an opportunity to stick on the 26-man roster.
Marlins Select Cade Gibson, Ronny Simon
The Marlins announced a series of roster moves this morning. Left-hander Cade Gibson and infielder Ronny Simon were both promoted to the majors. Outfielder Griffin Conine was placed on the 60-day injured list with a dislocated left shoulder, and lefty Patrick Monteverde was designated for assignment. Fish On The Farm first reported Gibson’s call-up, while Mike Rodriguez was first to report Simon’s promotion. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald was the first to report that Conine was headed for the 60-day IL.
Conine’s placement on the shelf is hardly a surprise given that his injury was announced last night. Still, it’s notable that the outfielder will be out for at least the next two months. An exact timetable for his return has not yet been made available, as Jackson reports that while Conine will be out quite a while it’s not yet clear if he’ll require surgery or if his season is in jeopardy. The Marlins are using Javier Sanoja in left field today in Conine’s absence, with Kyle Stowers remaining in right and a platoon of Jesus Sanchez and Dane Myers still handling center field.
Replacing Conine on the roster is Simon, who could theoretically partake in the club’s left field mix alongside Sanoja despite primarily working as an infielder over the years. The 25-year-old initially signed with the Cubs out of the Dominican Republic back in 2018 but was traded to the Diamondbacks during the 2020 season as part of the Andrew Chafin deal. He was then traded to the Rays in a deal that shipped Jordan Luplow to Arizona before reaching minor league free agency and signing with the Marlins on a minor league deal. Now in his fourth organization, Simon has gotten off to a very hot start at Triple-A with a .354/.441/.521 slash line across 15 games and 60 trips to the plate.
That was enough to convince the Marlins to give Simon a shot in the majors. While he’s primarily a second baseman, Simon will bring experience all around the infield and even in the outfield to the Marlins’ bench, offering some valuable versatility for a club that’s struggled to stay healthy early in the year. Simon is also a quality baserunner, with 127 career stolen bases in the minors including two separate 30-steal seasons. Simon could pair with Sanoja in left field while also backing up Otto Lopez, Xavier Edwards, and Connor Norby around the infield dirt.
Meanwhile, the pitching side of things sees Cade Gibson come to the big leagues ahead of his major league debut. The 27-year-old lefty was a tenth-round pick by the Marlins back in 2022, and he turned in excellent results in a swing role while splitting time between the High-A and Double-A levels last year. He struck out just 21.1% of hitters but limited opponents to a 2.45 ERA in 80 2/3 innings of work. That performance earned him a promotion to Triple-A this year, where he’s surrendered a 4.50 ERA in ten frames of multi-inning relief work. Despite that lackluster run prevention, Gibson has struck out 29.8% of opponents this year while walking 10.6%. That intriguing jump in strikeout rate could be the reason that the Marlins have opted to give Gibson a shot in the majors after just four appearances with the club’s Jacksonville affiliate.
Making room for Gibson on the roster is Monteverde, who was promoted to the majors just yesterday. The southpaw was an eighth-rounder by the Marlins back in 2021, and he’s worked as a starter primarily throughout his minor league career before moving to a multi-inning relief role this year. Monteverde threw 3 2/3 innings in his MLB debut during yesterday’s game, but surrendered four runs on nine hits while striking out four and walking one. The Marlins will now have one week to either work out a trade involving Monteverde or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he goes unclaimed by the rest of the league, Miami will have the opportunity to outright him to the minors as non-roster depth.