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Marlins Sign Tim Anderson

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TODAY: The Marlins have officially announced Anderson’s signing.  Sandy Alcantara (who will miss all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John surgery) was placed on the 60-day injured list to create a 40-man roster spot for Anderson.

FEBRUARY 22: The Marlins and free agent shortstop Tim Anderson are in agreement on a one-year, $5MM contract, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN. The deal is pending a physical. Anderson is repped by Excel Sports Management.

Anderson, 30, was arguably the best shortstop in a very weak middle infield class. A two-time All-Star and 2019 batting champ, he looked like one of the better shortstops in the majors as recently as a season ago. He’s coming off the worst year of his career, though, as he struggled to a .245/.286/.296 batting line in 524 plate appearances. Anderson connected on just one home run.

While his offensive profile has never been driven primarily by power, he reached double digits in homers each year between 2017-21. That dropped to six homers in a 2022 season cut short by a ligament tear in his left middle finger, although he still managed a .301/.339/.395 slash. His entire offensive profile plummeted last season.

Anderson struck out in 23.3% of his plate appearances, his highest rate since 2018. He put more than three-fifths of his batted balls on the ground, a personal-high clip. That led to his worst average and on-base marks since 2018 in addition to the lowest power production of his career.

That led the White Sox to buy Anderson out for $1MM in lieu of a $14MM club option, ending a strong eight-year run on Chicago’s South Side. General manager Chris Getz has kicked off at least an abbreviated rebuild, bringing in Paul DeJong on a modest $1.75MM free agent deal to solidify the defense.

Anderson has increasingly struggled on that side of the ball as well. By measure of Defensive Runs Saved, he has rated a combined 23 runs below average over the past two seasons. Only Bobby Witt Jr. has a lower total at the position. Statcast’s Outs Above Average metric hasn’t been nearly as bearish, grading Anderson slightly below par in both years. It’s possible that lower body injuries have played a role in that downturn. Over the past three seasons, he has missed time with a left hamstring strain, a right groin strain, and a sprained left knee (in addition to the aforementioned finger injury).

The veteran infielder expressed a willingness to move to the other side of the second base bag. That won’t be necessary in Miami, which has sought shortstop help throughout the winter. The Fish let Joey Wendle depart after a lackluster 2023 campaign. Jon Berti is best suited in a utility role, while none of Xavier Edwards, Jacob Amaya or Vidal Bruján is established at the MLB level.

Miami has a two-time batting champ, Luis Arraez, at the keystone. The up-the-middle pairing of Anderson and Arraez isn’t likely to be a great defensive group, but there’s significant offensive upside if Anderson rebounds. Between 2019-22, Anderson had an excellent .318/.347/.473 line in more than 1600 trips to the plate. Among hitters with at least 2000 plate appearances over the past five seasons, he’s still third in batting average. Arraez leads the way at .326, while only Freddie Freeman (.315) also stands above Anderson, who has hit .300 since 2019.

It’s a fairly inexpensive pickup for the Fish on what is remarkably their first major league free agent deal of the offseason. That means it’s also the first MLB contract for new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, who has presided over a quiet winter in South Florida. Ever present payroll constraints contributed to Miami’s decision to let Jorge Soler walk after a 36-homer season. They haven’t replaced Soler at DH or addressed the rotation in response to Sandy Alcantara’s Tommy John surgery, but Anderson brings a higher ceiling than last year’s collection of shortstops.

Roster Resource calculates the team’s player payroll around $100MM. That’s above last season’s approximate $93MM season-opening mark but still places them firmly in the league’s bottom third in spending. Miami will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move once the signing is finalized, but that’ll likely be accomplished by placing Alcantara on the 60-day injured list.

If Anderson returns to form, he’ll have a shot at a better multi-year deal a year from now. He’ll return to free agency next winter in advance of his age-32 season. Willy Adames headlines what otherwise looks like another weak group of free agent shortstops. Gleyber Torres will be the top second baseman, while Anderson and Amed Rosario (who signed a $1.5MM deal with Tampa Bay this week) are the most interesting rebound candidates.

MLB Trade Rumors Podcast: The Mets’ Front Office, TJ for Alcantara and the D-Backs Extend Their GM

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • What does Atlanta do with Vaughn Grissom? (14:00)
  • Where should the Phillies put Bryce Harper next year? (16:25)
  • What do the White Sox do if they intend to compete next year? (19:10)

Check out our past episodes!

  • Mariners To Spend? Tigers To Contend? And Managerial Vacancies – listen here​
  • Free Agent Pitching Dark Horses, Padres To Cut Payroll, and If The Angels Should Rebuild — listen here
  • Front Office Changes in Boston and New York, and the New Rays Stadium Agreement — listen here

Sandy Alcantara Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

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Marlins star Sandy Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery, he announced on Instagram. The procedure, performed by Dr. Keith Meister, occurred this morning. He’ll miss the entire 2024 season.

“With a heavy heart, I want to let everyone know I had Tommy John surgery today and will miss next season,” the 2022 NL Cy Young winner wrote as part of a statement. “I am most saddened for the great Marlins fans, who were so supportive of me and the team this year. The drive to the playoffs was thrilling for all of us.”

While the Marlins hadn’t indicated that surgery was on the table, it’s not an especially surprising development. Alcantara’s season was cut short last month. He landed on the injured list on September 6 with what the team initially diagnosed as a flexor strain. That was later revised to a UCL sprain, indicating some measure of tearing within the elbow ligament. With the Fish making a playoff push, Alcantara tried to return at season’s end. He threw four innings in a Triple-A rehab outing but reported additional forearm discomfort coming out of that appearance. Miami shut him down at that point.

The Fish were able to get into the postseason even without Alcantara contributing in the last few weeks. After being swept in the Wild Card round by the Phillies, they’ll go into the offseason looking for ways to build off this year’s promise. That’ll be quite a bit more difficult without one of the sport’s preeminent workhorses.

No pitcher has thrown more innings than Alcantara’s 619 over the last three seasons. Only Gerrit Cole has taken a heavier workload going back to the start of 2019. Alcantara handily leads the majors in complete games over the last three years, finishing off 10 starts. No other pitcher has gone the distance more than six times.

The two-time All-Star combines that MLB-best volume with outstanding rate production. He posted a sub-4.00 ERA every year from 2019-22, highlighted by a sterling 2.28 earned runs allowed per nine last season. He was unanimously voted the Senior Circuit’s top pitcher. Alcantara wasn’t as dominant this year, though he turned in another effective season overall. In 28 starts, he worked to a 4.14 ERA behind a 52% grounder rate while averaging over six and a half innings per appearance.

At this time last year, the Marlins had an embarrassment of riches on the mound. That contributed to their decision to deal Pablo López for Luis Arraez in an effort to balance the roster. Miami has to be thrilled with what they received from Arraez in his first season in South Florida. While they still have a good rotation, its depth has taken some notable hits.

Trevor Rogers made just four starts, none after April, because of a left biceps strain and a partial tear in his right (non-throwing) lat muscle. Prospect Jake Eder was dealt midseason for third baseman Jake Burger. Hard-throwing righty Edward Cabrera walked over 15% of major league opponents and was demoted to Triple-A for a month midseason. He managed a 4.24 ERA behind a strong 27.3% strikeout percentage. Miami’s starting staff ranked 9th in the majors in ERA (4.10), an effective yet hardly dominant result.

Left-handers Jesús Luzardo and Braxton Garrett each topped 30 starts with sub-4.00 ERA showings. Top prospect Eury Pérez worked to a 3.15 ERA while striking out nearly 29% of batters faced in 19 outings as a rookie. They project as the top three in next year’s staff, likely followed by Cabrera and Rogers. Former #3 overall pick Max Meyer should be ready for Spring Training after missing all of this year working back from Tommy John surgery of his own.

There’s significant ceiling in that group, but only Luzardo and Garrett have shouldered a full big league workload within the last two seasons. The club could be cautious with innings counts for any of Pérez, Rogers or Meyer. Ryan Weathers and Bryan Hoeing currently stand as the top depth options.

It seems likely Miami will bring in a veteran arm to add some stability to the group. They hoped that last winter’s signing of Johnny Cueto to an $8.5MM free agent deal would lock in serviceable back-of-the-rotation innings. Cueto didn’t meet expectations and is headed back to the open market. GM Kim Ng and her staff could look for a similar addition this time around.

Alcantara will count against the 40-man roster throughout the offseason. Miami can place him on the 60-day injured list at the beginning of Spring Training. As part of the extension he signed in November 2021, he’ll make $9MM next season. Alcantara is under contract for $17MM annually between 2025-26. Miami has a $21MM option or a $2MM buyout for the ’27 season.

Sandy Alcantara Shut Down For Rest Of 2023 Season

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TODAY: Unsurprisingly, Alcantara confirmed today that he won’t pitch again in 2023.  “That’s the thing that broke my heart.  I won’t be able to go out there with my teammates and compete….Hopefully we make it to the playoffs without me. [I’ve] just gotta be here and support them,” Alcantara told Jordan McPherson and Andre C. Fernandez of the Miami Herald.

The Cy Young Award winner said that he and his agent haven’t yet met with Marlins management to discuss what’s next, whether that’s more rehab or whether or not Alcantara might require some kind of surgery.

SEPTEMBER 22: Defending NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara has been on the injured list since September 6. He was diagnosed with a sprain in the UCL of his throwing elbow last week but had still been attempting to make it back for the team’s playoff push.

Alcantara made a rehab outing with Triple-A Jacksonville last night. He got through four scoreless innings but informed the team after the game that he’d experienced renewed forearm tightness (relayed by Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald). He’ll likely be pulled off his rehab stint and rejoin the team this weekend while remaining on the IL.

The club hasn’t announced a timetable or the next steps in Alcantara’s recovery. They’ll surely proceed with caution with the star right-hander, which raises the question of whether they could decide to shut him down for the season. While Alcantara and the team clearly hoped he’d be able to pitch through the injury, the diagnosis of a UCL sprain inherently means there’s some degree of stretching or tearing in that ligament.

Alcantara hasn’t replicated last year’s success, when he threw an MLB-high 228 2/3 innings with a sterling 2.28 ERA. He has still been an effective rotation member for the Fish, allowing 4.14 earned runs per nine across 184 2/3 frames. Alcantara owns a 3.20 ERA since the All-Star Break while averaging nearly 6 2/3 innings per start.

Miami has been without Trevor Rogers for the majority of the season. They’re relying on Jesús Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, highly-touted rookie Eury Pérez and Edward Cabrera in the rotation. They turned to a bullpen game for the final spot in today’s series opener with the Brewers. That hasn’t worked, with Steven Okert and Bryan Hoeing tagged for a combined 12 runs before getting out of the second inning.

A loss tonight will drop the Fish a game behind the Cubs for the last Wild Card spot in the National League. The Reds could jump a half-game ahead of Miami if they beat the Pirates. Miami will turn to Luzardo and Cabrera for the final two games against the Brew Crew. They’re off on Monday before finishing their season with road games in six consecutive days against the Mets and Pirates.

Sandy Alcantara To Make Rehab Start Tonight

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Reigning National League Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara was diagnosed with a UCL sprain earlier this month, but he’s set to make a rehab start in Triple-A Jacksonville tonight, the team announced. Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald, who first reported that Alcantara would start in Jacksonville tonight, tweets that Alcantara has had multiple pain-free bullpen sessions. If things go well in tonight’s rehab appearance, it would seem there’s a real chance that Alcantara could return to the active roster before the end of the season.

It’s surely welcome news for Fish fans, though also perhaps the source of some trepidation. With any injury to the ulnar collateral ligament — the ligament that is replaced in Tommy John surgery — there’s concern of a potential yearlong absence in a worst-case scenario. The majority of UCL injuries tend to result in surgery, though that’s certainly not a universal outcome. Masahiro Tanaka, Ervin Santana, Aaron Nola and Anthony DeSclafani are among the pitchers who have been diagnosed with UCL injuries but avoided surgery. The 28-year-old Alcantara will hope to add his name to that list.

It’s been a tough year for the Miami ace so far. Alcantara has taken the ball 28 times and eaten up 184 2/3 innings, but his 4.14 ERA is nearly two full runs higher than the 2.28 mark that fueled last year’s Cy Young win. Alcantara hasn’t experienced a velocity drop, but his strikeout rate, walk rate, ground-ball rate and home run rate are all worse than in 2022’s career-best season. He’s also given up hard contact at higher levels.

With Alcantara on the shelf, the Marlins have been using Jesus Luzardo, Braxton Garrett, Edward Cabrera and the returning Eury Perez — who’d previously been optioned to the minors to monitor his workload — as their regular starters. Reliever Bryan Hoeing took the ball this past weekend, tossing 4 1/3 innings in his first start since early July. Miami’s starter for tomorrow’s series opener against the Brewers is currently listed as TBD.

The Marlins don’t have any shot at winning the division. The Braves sport MLB’s best record and clinched the NL East some time ago. However, Miami is only a half game out of the third Wild Card spot in the National League. They’re trailing the Cubs for that spot and are one game up on the Reds in the standings. This weekend’s series against the Brewers is a tough task — particularly with Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta lined up to start for Milwaukee — but the Fish close out the season with seven games against the Mets and Pirates, who currently share identical 71-81 records. The Cubs finish with three games in Atlanta and three in Milwaukee. The Reds’ final games will be against the Pirates, Guardians and Cardinals.

Sandy Alcantara Diagnosed With UCL Sprain

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Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara was placed on the injured list a week ago, with his injury described at that time as a right forearm flexor strain. Manager Skip Schumaker today told Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald that an MRI revealed Alcantara has a sprain of his ulnar collateral ligament. It seems the club hasn’t ruled out a return this season from the righty, who played catch today, per McPherson. “Watching him throw is a good thing,” Schumaker said. “It’s a progression. We’re going to watch it every day and go from there.”

The club hasn’t announced the severity of the sprain, though the fact that they are holding out hope of him returning later this year perhaps indicates it is on the mild side. A sprain of the UCL can be a precursor to an extremely significant result like Tommy John surgery, though not in all cases. Phillies prospect Andrew Painter was diagnosed with a UCL sprain earlier this year and did ultimately require Tommy John, though Mason Miller of the Athletics was diagnosed with a mild UCL sprain in May and returned to the A’s about four months later.

It seems that a lot is still to be determined about the steps forward. Earlier today, a report at the Herald from McPherson, Craig Mish and Barry Jackson relayed that the next steps are still being worked out. Alcantara is now apparently pain-free and could return to the club in a week if that continues to be the case. But there’s also another path wherein he would be shut down for four to six weeks and then re-evaluated in October.

It’s difficult to overstate the importance of a pitcher like Alcantara to the Marlins, even though his results have taken a step back from last year’s. He was crowned with the National League Cy Young award after posting a 2.28 earned run average over 228 2/3 innings in 2022. His ERA has ticked up to 4.14 this year, though he’s largely gotten back on track after a rough start, registering a 3.04 ERA since July 3.

In spite of Alcantara not quite being his most dominant self this year, the Marlins are having one of their best seasons in years. They are currently 74-71, putting them a game and a half back of a Wild Card spot in the National League. The last time the Marlins made the playoffs in a full season was 20 years ago, back in 2003.

Without Alcantara, the club’s rotation currently consists of Jesús Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Eury Pérez, Braxton Garrett and Johnny Cueto. There’s a lot of upside in that group but it would naturally be even better with a healthy and effective Alcantara in the mix.

More information will surely be revealed in the weeks to come, with a wide range of outcomes seemingly possible, from Alcantara returning in a week to him being shut down for the year.

Marlins Place Sandy Alcantara, Jorge Soler On IL

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The Marlins announced that they have placed right-hander Sandy Alcantara on the 15-day injured list with a right forearm flexor strain. Also, outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler going on the 10-day injured list due to a right oblique strain and right-hander Geoff Hartlieb has been designated for assignment. Outfielder Dane Myers and right-hander Edward Cabrera have been recalled while left-hander Devin Smeltzer had his contract selected.

It’s a batch of unfortunate and ill-timed news for the Marlins, who are in the thick of a playoff race. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs in a full season since 2003 but have a chance this year, currently just half a game behind the Reds for the final Wild Card spot in the National League. The club hasn’t provided any specifics about the expected absences but it seems possible they might have to undergo the rest of the race without either their best pitcher or their best power hitter.

Alcantara is one of the best pitchers in the sport when at his peak, which he showed last year. He finished 2022 with a 2.28 earned run average over 228 2/3 innings, earning the National League Cy Young in the process. He struck out 23.4% of batters, walked just 5.6% and kept the ball on the ground at a 53.4% rate. Here in 2023, his ERA has jumped to 4.14, but he seemed to have righted the ship after a rough start. He had a 5.08 ERA through June 21 but has a much more palatable 3.13 ERA since then. Soler, meanwhile, is an incredibly inconsistent hitter but is one of the best in the league when on a heater. He has 35 home runs this year and is slashing .240/.329/.513 overall for a wRC+ of 124.

Subtracting that arm from the pitching staff and that bat from the lineup is obviously less than ideal, especially when considering the timing. There’s just over three weeks remaining in the regular season, which doesn’t give either player much time to get healthy before it could be too late. Further updates will undoubtedly come after more tests, but both injuries are worrisome. Oblique strains are notoriously frustrating and can often keep players sidelined for weeks, even in mild cases.

A flexor strain, meanwhile, can be even more serious. Both Dustin May of the Dodgers and Drew Rasmussen of the Rays were diagnosed with flexor strains earlier this year before each required season-ending surgery. That’s not to say that Alcantara is necessarily going to follow the same path, but it shows the potential severity of today’s news.

Looking ahead to the winter, Alcantara won’t be significantly impacted from a financial perspective as he signed an extension that runs through 2026 with a club option for 2027. Soler, on the other hand, has one year and $9MM remaining on his deal but can opt out at season’s end. Assuming he is healthy, he should be able to top that guarantee on the open market based on his strong season and the lack of impact bats available this winter.

For now, it seems as though Cabrera will jump into the rotation to replace Alcantara. The 25-year-old posted a 4.79 ERA in 17 starts earlier this year, with an unsightly 15.4% walk rate, before getting optioned down to the minors. In five Triple-A starts since then, he has a 2.22 ERA with a 10.6% walk rate that’s still high but a marked improvement over his major league results this year.

Hartlieb, 29, signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason and had his contract selected a month ago. He’s only been able to get into two big league games in that time, spending much of it on optional assignment. He has a 3.29 ERA in 38 1/3 Triple-A innings this year, with a 25.3% strikeout rate, 9.3% walk rate and 44.7% ground ball rate. He has less than two years of service time but will be out of options next year. The Marlins will place him on waivers in the coming days. If he were to clear, he would have the right to elect free agency by virtue of having a previous career outright.

Smeltzer, 27, signed a minor league deal with the Marlins in the offseason and has been on and off their roster all year. This is the fourth time the club has selected his contract this season, with each of the previous three instances eventually resulting in him being designated for assignment and accepting an outright assignment. He’s tossed 18 2/3 innings for the club this year with a 5.79 ERA, 18.1% strikeout rate, 4.8% walk rate and 32.8% ground ball rate.

Craig Mish and Jordan McPherson, both of the Miami Herald, relayed the details of these transactions prior to the official club announcement.

Marlins Looking To Add Starting Pitcher

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The Marlins pulled off one of the bigger moves of deadline season last night, acquiring back-end reliever David Robertson for a pair of promising low minors prospects. It’s the first of what is likely to be multiple additions for a Miami club that currently sits just outside the NL Wild Card picture.

Before the Robertson deal, Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reported that adding both a starter and a reliever were Miami’s top priorities. They moved quickly on the latter front but figure to explore the rotation market over the coming days.

It’s surprising to see the Fish looking for rotation help at first glance. For a few seasons, Miami has skewed rotation-heavy and been light on offense. As a result, the Marlins dealt Pablo López to Minnesota for Luis Arraez in an effort to balance the roster.

That said, the Marlins’ rotation has been more good than exceptional in 2023. They rank 11th in starting pitching ERA, allowing 4.11 earned runs per nine innings. They’re third in strikeout rate (25.4%), 11th in walks (7.5%) and third in grounder percentage (45.9%). Starting pitching certainly hasn’t been a weakness, but it hasn’t been quite as effective as last year’s group — which ranked eighth in ERA behind a Cy Young performance from Sandy Alcantara.

Some amount of regression was probably inevitable. The López trade subtracted arguably Miami’s second-best starter. The Marlins rearranged their infield, installing Arraez at second base to push Jazz Chisholm to the outfield. They signed Jean Segura to move to third and dealt away Miguel Rojas while moving Joey Wendle to shortstop. All those transactions were designed to add offense — and the Arraez trade in particular has achieved that — but come with the expected effect of reducing the defensive efficiency behind a ground-ball heavy pitching staff.

That’s among the reasons for Alcantara’s step back, although there are myriad factors whenever a pitcher’s ERA jumps more than two runs (from 2.28 to 4.46). They’re obviously not going to displace Alcantara from the rotation, but his relative down season magnifies some of the other challenges Miami has faced.

Trevor Rogers has been on the injured list since the middle of April; a partial tear in his non-throwing shoulder leaves him with an uncertain return timetable. Free agent pickup Johnny Cueto lost a couple months to injury and was knocked around on his minor league rehab stint. Miami broke him in as a reliever before moving him back into the rotation last weekend.

Top prospect Eury Pérez has had a brilliant start to his MLB career, but he’s back in the minors temporarily as the club keeps an eye on his workload. The 20-year-old has already set a personal high with 86 2/3 innings between Double-A and the majors this season. Bryan Hoeing has gotten six starts but allowed a 6.66 ERA in 24 1/3 frames over that stretch. He’s been much better in a multi-inning relief role.

There have also been signs of promise, of course. Jesús Luzardo has taken another step forward and looks like a #2 caliber starter. Braxton Garrett, who opened the season in the minors, has stepped up with a 4.32 ERA and above-average peripherals through 100 innings. Edward Cabrera is missing plenty of bats and racking up grounders, though he’s walking over 14% of opponents and has an ERA approaching 5.00.

Miami has plenty of high-upside arms who are capable of starting a playoff game if they play into October. They don’t need to shop at the top of the rotation market. There’s some sense in adding a stable back-end starter to ease the workload on some of Miami’s younger arms — in effect playing the role the Marlins envisioned from Cueto when they signed him in January.

While rotation help now seems to be the front office’s priority, Ng and her group will also certainly remain on the lookout for ways to add to the lineup. They’ve been loosely linked to Jeimer Candelario and Tim Anderson within the past week. Rosenthal writes that Miami made a run at first baseman Carlos Santana before the Pirates dealt him to Milwaukee. The Marlins should have a few irons in the fire over the next few days as a somewhat surprising entrant into the rotation market.

NL East Notes: Braves, Marlins, Mets

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Braves fans got some positive injury news yesterday, as manager Brian Snitker told reporters, including Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitutional, that both closer Raisel Iglesias and catcher Travis d’Arnaud are making progress in their rehab processes.

Iglesias, who the Braves acquired from the Angels at last year’s trade deadline, has been on the injured list since the start of the season due to shoulder inflammation. The 33-year-old righty has been among the game’s best closers for several years now, with a 2.75 ERA (160 ERA+) in 448 1/3 innings with a 30.7% strikeout rate and 7.2% walk rate since the start of the 2016 season. Iglesias started his Braves career in particularly dominant fashion, with a microscopic 0.34 ERA in 26 1/3 innings down the stretch following last summer’s trade.

Per Toscano, Iglesias is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Monday, which could indicate that a rehab assignment is a possibility in the near future. A return to action for Iglesias would be fantastic news for the Braves, who are currently relying on A.J. Minter, Dylan Lee, and Jesse Chavez in late inning situations.

Meanwhile, d’Arnaud has been on the 7-day concussion IL since he was involved in a collision at home plate earlier this month. The 34-year-old catcher, who pairs with Sean Murphy to create perhaps the best catching tandem in the sport for the Braves when healthy, was slashing .333/.333/.424 in eight games prior to going on the IL. He took a step forward in his rehab yesterday, catching a bullpen session in addition to hitting. While d’Arnaud has been on the shelf, Chadwick Tromp has backed up Murphy behind the plate.

More from around the NL East…

  • Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara told reporters today, including Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald, that he expects to pitch against Atlanta on Wednesday if everything goes well after skipping his last start due to biceps tendinitis. Before he gets to that point, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner will play catch today and throw a bullpen session tomorrow. Alcantara has struggled to open the season with a 5.47 ERA in 24 2/3 innings and a reduced 19.8% strikeout rate, though with only 43.7% of baserunners stranded to this point in the season, it’s easy to see how the 27-year-old ace has been unlucky in the early going this season, as punctuated by his 3.52 FIP being nearly two runs lower than his ERA.
  • Sticking with 2022 Cy Young Award winners, Mets manager Buck Showalter tells reporters (including The Athletic’s Will Sammon) that ace Justin Verlander is set to throw a live bullpen session today. Verlander, who has been sidelined with a shoulder strain since the start of the season, signed with the Mets this past offseason on a two-year, $86.66MM deal. The Mets rotation has been decimated in the early going this season, with both Jose Quintana and Carlos Carrasco joining Verlander on the injured list, while fellow ace Max Scherzer serves a 10-game suspension for foreign substance use during which the Mets cannot replace him on the active roster. [UPDATE: as per MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo, Verlander threw 43 pitches over his three-inning bullpen session. The Mets plan for Verlander to make a minor league rehab start on Friday, with an eye towards Verlander being activated from the IL to pitch during the Mets’ series in Detroit on May 2-4.]

Sandy Alcantara Skipping Start Due To Right Biceps Tendinitis

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The Marlins have been dealt an injury blow with the news starter Sandy Alcantara will miss today’s start against Cleveland due to right biceps tendinitis, per Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Mish adds that the team doesn’t believe it to be serious, and Alcantara should be ready to go for Miami’s series in Atlanta starting Monday.

Alcantara is off to a disappointing start to the season, working to a 5.47 ERA through his first four starts. Though it’s an ugly ERA, it’s worth noting that the bulk of the damage was done in an ugly nine earned run outing in Philadelphia, with his other starts giving up just three earned runs or less, including one three-hit complete game shutout against the Twins.

While the news appears to be positive at the moment, there is always a bit of concern when the ace of the staff has any sort of injury concern. Alcantara has been one of the best pitchers in baseball in recent years, winning the NL Cy Young award last year on the back of a 228 2/3 inning season of 2.28 ERA ball.

Devin Smeltzer will get the ball in place of Alcantara for the first game of today’s double-header, with Braxton Garrett and Jesus Luzardo to handle the other two starts of the series.

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