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Cody Poteet

Marlins Make Three Roster Moves

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The Marlins announced a trio of roster moves this morning, including the reinstatement of Avisail Garcia from the COVID-related injured list.  Miami also designated infielder Joe Dunand for assignment to create a 40-man roster space, while right-hander Cody Poteet was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a muscle injury in his right elbow.

Garcia returns after just a two-day absence, indicating that his placement on the COVID-IL was precautionary or due to virus symptoms, but not an actual positive test.  The outfielder will return from his brief break and look to get his season turned around, as Garcia has slashed a meager .207/.237/.290 over his first 152 plate appearances in a Marlins uniform.

Pitching in his second MLB season, Poteet has a 2.42 ERA and 55.7% grounder rate over 26 innings in 2022.  Most of that work has come out of the bullpen as a long reliever, but two of Poteet’s last three outings were starts, as Miami has needed a replacement for the injured Jesus Luzardo.  Poteet’s last appearance on May 25 didn’t go well, as the Rays tagged him for five runs over three innings of work in a 5-4 Marlins loss.

With Poteet now sidelined for at least the next 15 days, there will be more speculation about which of the Marlins’ promising young arms could be called up to the big league rotation.  Since top prospect Max Meyer is recovering from ulnar nerve irritation, Edward Cabrera could be the logical candidate, as Cabrera last pitched on May 26.  Between a visa issue in Spring Training and then a biceps injury, Cabrera didn’t pitch until April 27, but he has since banked six minor league starts and a combined 3.90 ERA over 27 2/3 innings.

As for Luzardo himself, it isn’t yet clear when the southpaw could return from his forearm strain.  Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters (including MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola) today that Luzardo’s recovery is “not as good as we would’ve liked,” as the left-hander has yet to begin throwing.  Luzuardo’s IL stint is backdated to May 12, so he is already beyond the 15-day minimum period.

Dunand made his MLB debut this season, appearing in three games with the Marlins and delivering a 1.064 OPS over his 11 plate appearances.  The Miami native doesn’t have a standout minor league track record, so the Marlins could be betting that another team won’t put in a waiver claim on the 26-year-old Dunand.  That said, Dunand also has a lot of experience as a third baseman and shortstop plus a few games at the other two infield positions, so a club in need of infield depth might check him out on the DFA wire.

Marlins Notes: Poteet, Meyer, Sanchez

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The Marlins’ rotation took a hit over the weekend when left-hander Jesús Luzardo landed on the injured list due to a forearm strain. That leaves a vacancy alongside the top four of Pablo López, Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers and Elieser Hernández, and the long-term plans still appear to be up in the air.

The team announced yesterday that long reliever Cody Poteet would step into Luzardo’s spot for tomorrow’s game against the Nationals. General manager Kim Ng didn’t commit to the righty making more than one start, however, noting only that the team “will be flexible after that” (via Daniel Álvarez Montes of El Extrabase). Poteet started seven games for the Fish last season, so he could probably handle a rotation spot with Luzardo out, but that’d thin the bullpen mix.

Of course, Miami’s organizational strength is their controllable pitching, and the Fish have some young arms whom they hope will be rotation stalwarts over the long-term. 2020 #3 overall pick Max Meyer reached Triple-A Jacksonville at the end of his first full professional season, and he opened this year there as well. The right-hander has overpowered opponents, pitching to a 2.97 ERA with excellent peripherals in seven starts. Meyer has a lofty 29.5% strikeout rate, has only walked 6.8% of batters faced and has induced grounders on over half the batted balls against him.

That’s a continuation of very strong high minors work for Meyer, who was equally dominant in 101 Double-A innings last year. As he’s continued to tear up the minors, there’s been speculation the University of Minnesota product could be on the radar for a big league call. The Luzardo injury won’t be the immediate catalyst for his first MLB promotion; Craig Mish of SportsGrid tweeted this afternoon that Meyer will start for Jacksonville on Tuesday.

Still, Ng’s nebulous statement about being “flexible” with the vacant rotation spot long-term doesn’t figure to quell any speculation among the fanbase about the possibility of Meyer heading to Miami at some point in the relatively near future. Mish and Barry Jackson at the Miami Herald wrote earlier this month there’d been some “internal discussion” about whether to promote Meyer for relief work before Luzardo’s injury. Meanwhile, Hernández’s continued struggles with home runs may eventually put him in jeopardy of losing his hold on a rotation spot.

Another of Miami’s exciting young arms, Sixto Sánchez, reached the big leagues for the first time in 2020. The fireballing righty made seven strong starts as a 22-year-old, but he missed all of last season battling shoulder concerns. Sánchez landed back on the injured list to start this year, but the team informed reporters he’s progressed to throwing from 90 feet (via Jordan McPherson of the Herald). There’s obviously still a long way to go in his rehab process, but that he’s throwing is a promising development. Sánchez spent the first few weeks of the season in a shutdown period after he battled continued soreness during the spring.

Marlins Select Austin Pruitt

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The Marlins are selecting Austin Pruitt back to the big league roster, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). Pruitt had been designated for assignment and passed through outright waivers earlier this month. Righty Nick Neidert was optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville to clear an active roster spot, while the club transferred starter Cody Poteet from the 10-day to the 60-day injured list to open room on the 40-man roster.

Miami acquired Pruitt alongside Bryan de la Cruz in the trade that sent Yimi García to the Astros just before the trade deadline. Pruitt made just one appearance for the Fish before being waived, but he’s now back in the majors after a couple weeks in Jacksonville, where he made three scoreless relief appearances. If he sticks on the Marlins’ 40-man roster this time around, Pruitt can be controlled for the next few seasons via arbitration.

Pruitt worked as a swingman with the Rays between 2017-19, and Houston acquired him heading into the 2020 season as a potential option for the back of the rotation. Unfortunately, he missed all of 2020 and the first half of this season because of an elbow injury that eventually required surgery. His time as an Astro consisted of just 2 2/3 innings of relief, during which he allowed a pair of home runs. Houston designated him for assignment thereafter before including him in the García deal.

Poteet has been out since June 28 due to a right knee sprain. Today’s transfer only rules him out for sixty days from that date, so he could theoretically return by next week. The right-hander was recently shut down from his rehab assignment due to recurring inflammation in the joint, though, so it’s not clear when he’ll be healthy enough to make it back to the mound.

Marlins Place Cody Poteet On 10-Day IL, Elieser Hernandez Moved To 60-Day IL

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The Marlins announced a series of moves this afternoon, including the placement of right-hander Cody Poteet on the 10-day injured list due to a right MCL sprain.  (The Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson was among those to report the news.)  Right-hander Zach Thompson’s contract was selected from Triple-A to take Poteet’s spot on the active roster, and a 40-man roster spot was created when Elieser Hernandez was moved to the 60-day injured list.

Hernandez went to the 10-day IL just yesterday because of a right quad strain, though the Marlins specified today that Hernandez’s injury was “severe” in nature.  Hernandez will now be out of action until at least early August, and given the apparent seriousness of the injury, it is fair to speculate whether or not the right-hander could possibly be out of action for the remainder of the season.

Poteet’s injury only adds to an increasingly short-handed pitching situation for Miami.  Due to the absence of Hernandez and Sixto Sanchez, Poteet got an opportunity for his MLB debut and was making the most of it, with a 3.75 ERA/4.42 SIERA over five starts and 24 innings.  Despite a below-average 22.1% strikeout rate, Poteet was using some elite curveball spin to outperform his overall middling Statcast numbers.  At the very least, Poteet was doing enough to doing enough to solidify his spot in the rotation before injury struck yesterday, and he was forced out of the 9-2 loss to the Pirates after only 2 2/3 innings.

Trevor Rogers, Sandy Alcantara, and Pablo Lopez have been a solid top three for the Marlins’ rotation, but there is now a major void with both Poteet and Hernandez out of action.  Braxton Garrett and Daniel Castano are both at Triple-A and might be the most logical options for the moment, considering that many of Miami’s top starting candidates are still recovering from injury.

Jordan Holloway might not be too far away, as he is expected to begin a Triple-A rehab assignment tonight.  A groin injury sent Holloway to the 10-day IL on May 22, and he has already made two starts in a piggyback capacity this season.  Marlins manager Don Mattingly told MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola and other reporters that the plan is to build Holloway’s workload up to 75-90 pitches so he can potentially be used as a starter when his rehab assignment is over.

Given all this rotation uncertainty, it isn’t surprising that the Marlins are looking for some external pitching help, pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. told McPherson (Twitter links) and other reporters.  The team would prefer to add an experienced arm rather than prematurely force their pitching prospects up to the majors for fill-in duty.

Sanchez has yet to pitch this season due to shoulder discomfort, and his rehab was recently halted after he felt discomfort between bullpen sessions.  Stottlemyre didn’t shed much light on when Sanchez might continue on the road to recovery, saying, “Some of the things that he was doing before got better, but there’s still a stall in his program.  I’m not going to tell you he’s hurt, but it’s not time to move forward with rehab starts yet.”

Thompson was a starter earlier in his minor league career, but considering he hasn’t started a game since 2017, it’s safe to assume the righty will head to Miami’s bullpen as he seems set to make his Major League debut.  A fifth-round pick for the White Sox in the 2014 draft, Thompson has a 4.11 ERA over 519 career frames in the minors, which includes a 6.60 ERA over 15 innings at Triple-A Jacksonville this season.  Thompson has allowed four homers in those 15 innings to inflate his ERA, and his other peripherals (21 strikeouts and two walks) are otherwise quite impressive.

Marlins Select Cody Poteet, Designate Luis Madero

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The Marlins have selected the contract of right-hander Cody Poteet, relays Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald. To create 40-man roster space, Miami designated righty Luís Madero for assignment. Poteet will start tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks.

Poteet, 26, is now in line to make his MLB debut. Miami’s fourth-round pick out of UCLA in 2015, he’s pitched to a 3.84 ERA over six minor-league seasons. Poteet carved up the low minors but has only managed a 4.02 ERA with an underwhelming 18.6% strikeout rate in 203 2/3 Double-A frames. He has a 5.28 ERA with a similar strikeout percentage in eleven Triple-A starts. While Poteet hasn’t overpowered minor-league hitters, he does have a solid track record of throwing strikes, with a 7.4% walk rate in the minors.

Madero will lose his 40-man spot to accommodate Poteet’s selection. The 24-year-old was himself just selected to the roster last weekend. Madero has tossed his first three MLB innings this season, allowing five runs on six hits with a strikeout and walk apiece. The Marlins will have a week to trade him, place him on outright waivers, or release him. As a player who has previously been outrighted in his career, Madero has the right to refuse a minor-league assignment if he clears waivers.

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