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Sixto Sanchez

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 Notes: Reynolds, Hernandez, Bullpen, Neidert, Sixto

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The Marlins were on the hunt for outfield upgrades all winter, eventually culminating in multi-year free agent deals with Avisaíl García and Jorge Soler. Neither player required parting with young talent, but the Fish looked into potential higher-impact acquisitions on the trade market.

Miami has long had interest in prying star center fielder Bryan Reynolds from Pittsburgh, and Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald shed some light on the teams’ discussions. The Bucs and Marlins discussed permutations that would’ve involved top shortstop prospect Kahlil Watson — Miami’s first-round pick last summer — headed back as part of a deal. However, Jackson and Mish write that the Marlins balked at including both Watson and 2020 #3 overall pick Max Meyer in a Reynolds trade.

Baseball America placed both Watson and Meyer among the back half of their Top 100 prospects this winter. Watson, a lefty-hitting shortstop with big bat speed and athleticism, fell to the Marlins at 16th in last year’s draft but signed for the 10th-highest bonus. That better reflected how evaluators viewed him as an amateur prospect, and he’s generally regarded as one of the highest-upside players in the minors. Meyer, meanwhile, has one of the minors’ best fastball-slider combinations and struck out 27.2% of Double-A hitters in his first full pro season. Prospect evaluators have raised some concerns about his size and command consistency, but he boasts a high-octane arsenal and isn’t that far from MLB readiness.

Parting with both Watson and Meyer would’ve been quite a blow to the Miami farm system, but it reflects the huge asking price the Pirates can justifiably set with four years of arbitration control over Reynolds. Reports going back to last summer’s trade deadline have suggested the Bucs preferred to build around him rather than move him. Reynolds told reporters (including Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) this afternoon the Pirates haven’t approached him about an extension this offseason, and they’re set to go to an arbitration hearing to determine his 2022 salary after not agreeing to terms yesterday. Still, the 27-year-old downplayed the notion that a hearing could affect his relationship with the organization. “I’m an adult,” he said. “I can handle it. I don’t care. I have a pretty good idea of what’ll be said and all that. We’ll prepare, and we’ll be fine.”

Jackson and Mish write the Marlins and Pirates may eventually revisit trade talks, although it’ll again be difficult to pry him out of Pittsburgh. The Herald reports the Marlins also had some pre-lockout discussions with the Blue Jays regarding corner outfielder Teoscar Hernández, but those conversations are no longer active. Soler’s signing to play right field would seem to close the door on the possibility of Miami making a run at another corner outfielder/DH option like Hernández.

Speaking with reporters (including Christina De Nicola of MLB.com) this afternoon, general manager Kim Ng expressed her confidence in the Miami outfield. She pointed to García and Bryan De La Cruz as options to see some time in center field, while Jackson and Mish write that Jesús Sánchez could get a look there as well. Ng didn’t expressly rule out the possibility of further moves on the position player side, but she suggested it was more likely they’d look to add another arm to the bullpen.

“As I mentioned, the bat was first and foremost, and making sure that we secured that and what the parameters of that looked like,” Ng said (via De Nicola). “And now we’re definitely focused on relievers. I will say that I’ve gotten some nice reports on some of the guys here, so we might be able to pull from within as well.”

Among those internal possibilities is right-hander Nick Neidert. A well-regarded starting pitching prospect early in his career, Neidert has yet to find success in 44 MLB innings. The Marlins are deep in rotation options, and manager Don Mattingly told reporters today that Neidert will transition to a bullpen role (De Nicola link). Despite his profile as a changeup specialist — which theoretically should aid him against opposite-handed batters — Neidert has been hit at a .314/.444/.500 clip by lefties in the majors. He was similarly ineffective against southpaws in Triple-A last season (.306/.393/.471), and the bullpen role may afford Mattingly the opportunity to deploy him more often with the platoon advantage.

At present, the Marlins look likely to open the year with a starting five of Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo López, Elieser Hernández and Jesús Luzardo. That’s a particularly strong top end, and Miami has high-upside young arms like Meyer, Edward Cabrera and Sixto Sánchez who could factor into the mix at some point.

Sánchez has already had some MLB success, but he missed the entire 2021 season due to injury and will also begin this year on the injured list as he recovers from last July’s shoulder surgery. De Nicola tweets that the fireballing 23-year-old is currently a third of the way through a six-week shutdown period. Given that he won’t even pick up a ball until at least a few weeks into the season, it seems likely he’ll spend a fairly significant amount of time on the IL to open the year.

Marlins Notes: Payroll, Castellanos, Center Field, Sixto

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When the Marlins parted ways with Derek Jeter on March 1, reports in the immediate aftermath suggested that a rift had grown between Jeter and owner Bruce Sherman — in part due to a change in payroll expectation. Sherman, the team’s principal owner, pushed back on that notion in meeting with reporters today, plainly stating that the Marlins have money left to spend and plan to do just that (Twitter link via SportsGrid’s Craig Mish). That’s a subjective statement, of course, but it’ll be telling to see to what extent the Marlins are willing to further bolster the payroll.

Specifically, Jeter’s push to sign Nick Castellanos was reported to be a source of consternation. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported last week that he’d been willing to offer at least five years to bring the Miami native into the fold, but it’s less clear that Castellanos remains a priority post-lockout. Longtime Marlins beat writer Joe Frisaro reports that the Fish remain interested in Castellanos but characterizes them as a “long shot” to win the bidding for his services (Twitter link).

Castellanos would add a much-needed bat to the mix, and Sherman indeed told reporters in his media session: “We need bats” (link via Mish). However, even with the advent of the universal designated hitter, Castellanos is a little bit of an imperfect fit from a roster construction standpoint. Miami already has several corner options, including Avisail Garcia, Jesus Sanchez, Garrett Cooper and Bryan De La Cruz. However, the Marlins don’t have a true everyday center fielder, and general manager Kim Ng said this morning that finding such an option is a priority (Twitter link, with video, via MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola).

Ng acknowledged that Garcia is an option in center field and that they discussed the possibility of him playing center while in the process of negotiating his four-year contract. However, there’s little doubt that Garcia is best suited for corner-outfield work, which is generally the case with all of the Marlins’ in-house options. The free-agent market is rather light on options at the moment, which helps to explain why Miami has repeatedly pursued a trade for Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds. (Reynolds himself is best in a corner but also better defensively in center than Miami’s current options.) Presumably, they’re exploring additional options to roam center field.

Miami’s deep stock of pitching talent positions them nicely to pull of a trade for an outfielder, but their depth has taken at least something of a hit in recent months. Righty Zach Thompson went to the Pirates as part of the package to acquire catcher Jacob Stallings, and lefty Jake Eder underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2021 season. It was also reported recently that righty Sixto Sanchez was behind schedule in his recovery from shoulder surgery, and Ng confirmed as much today (via Mish). Sanchez is currently shut down entirely and does not have a timetable to resume throwing. A recent MRI came back clean, Ng noted, but Sanchez had experienced discomfort when ramping up for the season.

Even still, the Marlins have Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Rogers, Pablo Lopez and Elieser Hernandez penciled into rotation spots, and there ought to be a spirited competition for the fifth starter’s job. Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, Cody Poteet, Nick Neidert, Paul Campbell and Daniel Castano all started games in Miami last year. Ng said today that Cabrera will be late reporting to camp due to visa issues, which could put him a bit behind some of the others in terms of competing for that spot. Luzardo is the on-paper favorite for it, but a lot can change over the course of Spring Training. Injuries and performance can alter the picture, and it’s still possible that the Marlins include Hernandez in a deal to land an outfielder.

Latest On Sixto Sanchez

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Marlins right-hander Sixto Sanchez is “taking a bit longer” to recover from July’s season-ending shoulder surgery, tweets MLB Network’s Jon Heyman, which has pushed back his readiness to appear in a game setting. Obviously, with the entire season in limbo right now, Sanchez won’t be missing any immediate games, but Heyman suggests it’d be midseason before the touted 23-year-old would be ready to return. It’s a change in tone from when Sanchez himself went on record earlier this year to say he felt “100 percent” and expected to be ready to go when the 2022 season rolled around.

Sanchez was a bright spot for the 2020 Marlins, graduating from top prospect status to a successful big league pitcher at just 22 years of age. The centerpiece prospect in the trade that sent J.T. Realmuto to the division-rival Phillies, Sanchez logged 39 innings of 3.46 ERA ball with a 20.9% strikeout rate, a 7.0% walk rate and a massive 58.0% grounder rate. The strikeout rate was perhaps surprisingly low for a pitcher with Sanchez’s combination of pedigree and raw stuff (98.8 mph average on his heater, plus changeup) — but Sanchez was making the jump straight from Double-A to the big leagues. He also turned in a huge 12.8% swinging-strike rate and 38.7% opponents’ chase rate, both of which point to the possibility for more whiffs down the road.

Sanchez missed time early in the 2021 season, first due to a lengthy stay in Covid-19 protocols during Spring Training and later due to shoulder discomfort. The Marlins eventually shut him down until early summer due to that first bout of shoulder pain, and he was shut down again when the discomfort returned between bullpen sessions. Eventually, a small tear in Sanchez’s posterior capsule was discovered, which resulted in an early-July procedure that ended his season.

While there’s no concrete timeline for his return, the broader cause for concern is that a decelerated rehab program only causes further concern regarding Sanchez’s surgically repaired shoulder. It’s already been nearly 18 months since Sanchez pitched in a big league game, and while he couldn’t work out at Marlins facilities anyhow because he’s on the 40-man roster, it doesn’t sound as though he’d be ready to take the mound had Spring Training been underway as originally scheduled. At the time of the surgery, general manager Kim Ng announced that Sanchez would resume throwing in three months’ time but wasn’t likely to pitch in winter ball. That timeline now rather clearly appears to have been pushed back.

Even without Sanchez, the Marlins boast an enviable crop of arms, headlined by newly extended ace Sandy Alcantara, who signed a five-year, $56MM deal prior to the current lockout. He’ll be followed in the rotation by Trevor Rogers, Pablo Lopez, Elieser Hernandez and Jesus Luzardo, though Miami has plenty of arms beyond that top quintet. Righty Edward Cabrera is regarded as one of the game’s most promising pitching prospects and already made his MLB debut in 2021. Flamethrowing righty Max Meyer, the No. 3 overall pick in 2020, is also considered among the game’s best arms and could open the year in Triple-A.

Other depth options on the roster include Braxton Garrett, Nick Neidert, Daniel Castano, Cody Poteet and Paul Campbell — all of whom have pitched in the big leagues. Further down the pipeline are righty Eury Perez and lefty Jake Eder, the latter of whom will miss the ’22 season due to Tommy John surgery but is as highly regarded as any arm in the Miami system.

That deep reserve of pitching talent notwithstanding, Sanchez is a key piece to the Marlins’ future and, had he been healthy, would’ve been viewed as a vital rotation candidate for the upcoming campaign. The team isn’t likely to issue any kind of formal statement on his outlook while the lockout is going on, but his status will be a key storyline to follow for Marlins fans whenever the lockout lifts.

Sixto Sanchez “100 Percent,” Ready To Pitch In 2022

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In an interview posted to the team’s Youtube channel, promising Marlins righty Sixto Sanchez told Marlins broadcaster Kyle Sielaff that he feels “100 percent” roughly four months after undergoing surgery to repair a capsular tear in his right shoulder, which ended his 2021 season before he’d thrown a pitch. This will come as welcome news to Marlins fans, who saw in 2020 the electric stuff that made Sanchez a consensus top prospect ahead of his debut (and, despite the surgery, the current No. 41 per MLB Pipeline).

The centerpiece of the deal that sent J.T. Realmuto to Philadelphia ahead of the 2019 season, Sanchez turned in an excellent (if abbreviated) debut in 2020, posting a 3.46 ERA (3.50 FIP) in 39 innings across seven starts. He also started twice in the playoffs, holding the Cubs scoreless over 5 innings in the Wild Card round before getting knocked around by the Braves in the NLDS. He had been expected to slot in behind two other young (if more established) starters — Sandy Alcantara (whom the Marlins signed to a 5-year, $56MM extension yesterday) and Pablo Lopez — in 2021 before late-spring shoulder discomfort inaugurated a process of failed rehabilitation that ended in surgery. It’s unclear whether or not Sanchez has actually resumed throwing, but the Marlins have made it clear that they expect Sanchez to be ready for spring training.

Though his absence was clearly a disappointment to player and team alike, a return to form in 2022 could portend great things for the Marlins, who would suddenly have something of an embarrassment of riches in rotation. Beyond Alcantara (3.19 ERA in 205 2/3 innings), Lopez (3.07 ERA in 102 2/3 innings), and Sanchez, the Marlins feature 2021 All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Trevor Rogers (2.64 ERA in 133 innings), former Rule 5 selection Elieser Hernandez (4.18 ERA in 51 2/3 innings), and flamethrower Jesus Luzardo, who struggled to a 6.61 ERA across 95 1/3 innings between Oakland and Miami (the A’s traded him for Starling Marte at the deadline) but displayed flashes of brilliance.

The Marlins disappointed in 2021, following a surprise playoff run in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season by finishing 21.5 games out of first, but their abundance of high-end young pitching makes them a threat to turn things around quickly. The 2021 club never really settled on a lineup — only five players had 300 or more plate appearances — and the team ranked 27th in the majors with a wRC+ of 84. GM Kim Ng began to address this shortcoming yesterday, agreeing to terms with outfielder Avisail Garcia on a four-year, $53MM deal — the largest free agent contract handed out by the club in the Bruce Sherman/Derek Jeter ownership era.

Still, while the Marlins feature a solid infield quartet (Jesus Aguilar, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Miguel Rojas, and Brian Anderson), the outfield mix remains unsettled. None of Lewis Brinson, Jesus Sanchez, Bryan De La Cruz, or Monte Harrison has established himself as a productive big-league bat, and it isn’t clear who would start in two outfield spots were the season to start today. Whether or not Ng has more money to spend remains to be seen, but a further upgrade either in the outfield or at catcher could go quite a long way toward making the Marlins a surprise contender in 2022.

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.

Injury Notes: Antone, Rosenthal, Sanchez, Owings

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The Reds announced Friday that they’ve placed righty Tejay Antone on the 10-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm. The team is hopeful that it’ll be a minimum stint for Antone, tweets C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic. Even a 10-day absence for Antone is a blow to the Reds, however, given how excellent he’s been out of the ’pen this season. Antone looked to have put together a breakout year in 2020, but he’s taken things even further in his age-27 campaign this year. The right-hander has tallied 32 innings out of the bullpen and recorded a brilliant 1.41 ERA to go along with a 34.5 percent strikeout rate and a 9.5 percent walk rate. Antone regularly works multiple innings and has picked up three saves to go along with seven holds.

After non-tendering Archie Bradley and dumping Raisel Iglesias’ salary in a deal with the Angels, the Reds have seen their bullpen pitch to an MLB-worst 5.88 ERA. That sky-high mark comes in spite of Antone’s dominance; the Reds’ other relievers have combined for a disastrous 6.58 ERA in 203 2/3 innings so far.

A few more notable injury situations around the league…

  • The Athletics are still hopeful that Trevor Rosenthal will be able to pitch for the team this season, writes Martin Gallegos of MLB.com. Oakland currently has a mid-August target for Rosenthal, who developed thoracic outlet symptoms this spring after signing a surprising one-year, $11MM deal with the A’s. He underwent surgery prior to Opening Day, and while he’s not yet throwing, Rosenthal is progressing through a strength program. The Oakland bullpen has been a middle-of-the-pack unit so far in 2021, pitching to a 3.87 ERA with a 3.79 FIP. A’s relievers have the game’s lowest collective strikeout rate (20.5 percent) but also have one of the best walk rates (8.6 percent). Prior to their deal with Rosenthal, the A’s seemed to target relievers who were underpriced due to sub-par strikeout rates but also thrived in terms of limiting hard contact. To this point, the bullpen’s 34.5 percent hard-hit rate is the third-lowest in MLB.
  • Marlins starter Sixto Sánchez has resumed his rehab program, as he’s now throwing from 60 feet, Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was among those to pass along. Sánchez, who went down with shoulder inflammation in early April, had his throwing program paused last week on account of bursitis. He’s yet to pitch this season after tossing 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball in 2020.
  • Rockies utilityman Chris Owings is expected to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Albuquerque this weekend, manager Bud Black told reporters (including Patrick Saunders of the Denver Post). He’s already progressed to taking batting practice. Owings, who signed a minor league deal over the winter, made the Opening Day roster and got off to a scorching start over his first seven games. Unfortunately, he suffered a left thumb injury that required surgery in mid-April, keeping him out of action for more than two months.

Marlins Notes: Benintendi, Berti, Contreras, Anderson, Sanchez

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Adam Duvall, whom the Marlins signed to a one-year, $5MM deal on February 9, has slotted in as Miami’s primary right fielder this season. Evidently, the front office also discussed the possibility of filling that position via a trade for then-Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi. In early February (presumably before signing Duvall), the Marlins discussed a potential three-team deal, also involving Boston and the Padres, that would’ve sent Benintendi to Miami, report Barry Jackson and Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Utilityman Jon Berti would have gone to San Diego had that deal been finalized, per Jackson and Mish, but the Marlins eventually backed out of the arrangement. Benintendi, whom the Red Sox wound up trading to the Royals instead, has hit a solid .284/.342/.412 in Kansas City. Duvall, on the other hand, is off to a poor .207/.254/.410 start. Given those respective performances, it’s easy to conclude in retrospect the Marlins should’ve pushed harder for Benintendi, although it’s impossible to malign the front office without knowing precisely who else the club would’ve had to part with to push those talks over the finish line.

More out of Miami:

  • Jackson and Mish also shed some light on another set of Marlins offseason trade discussions: their previously-reported pursuit of Cubs catcher Willson Contreras. Any deal sending Contreras to Miami likely would’ve sent Jorge Alfaro the other way, with prospects Peyton Burdick and Zach McCambley among the other players who might’ve gone to Chicago. Ultimately, the Cubs held onto Contreras, who has a .245/.341/.435 line for the current NL Central leaders.
  • Turning to players who are on the roster, Jackson and Mish report that injured third baseman Brian Anderson looks likely to avoid surgery. Placed on the injured list late last month because of a left shoulder subluxation, Anderson has progressed to taking on range of motion drills and could return before the end of June. One of Miami’s best players between 2018-20, Anderson has come out of the gates a little slower in 2021, hitting .250/.316/.371 over his first 136 plate appearances.
  • Miami has been without prized righty Sixto Sánchez all season on account of shoulder problems. Sánchez’s throwing program was shut down last week after he suffered a setback, although general manager Kim Ng tells reporters (including Mish) that issue was unrelated to Sánchez’s initial inflammation. Rather, the flamethrowing 22-year-old is now suffering from bursitis. It’s still not clear when the Marlins can expect Sánchez back, a disappointing development after he began his MLB career with 39 innings of 3.46 ERA/4.18 SIERA ball in 2020.

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.

Miguel Rojas Has Fractured Finger; Marlins Pause Sixto Sanchez’s Throwing Program Again

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The Marlins provided a series of injury updates Tuesday (Twitter link via the Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson), most notably revealing a pair of unfortunate announcements for fans. Imaging showed a fractured finger in shortstop Miguel Rojas’ hand, while touted young right-hander Sixto Sanchez has once again had his throwing program shut down — this time after feeling discomfort between bullpen sessions.

Rojas landed on the 10-day injured list over the weekend, and while the hope was that he could return in relatively short order from what was then termed a dislocated left index finger, it now seems likely that he’ll miss more time than that after the fracture was revealed. It’s a tough blow for the Marlins, given Rojas’ outstanding glovework and the step forward he’s taken at the plate since Opening Day 2020. Rojas is hitting .275/.354/.433 through 192 plate appearances in 2021 and .287/.370/.459 dating back to last season.

With Rojas sidelined for a to-be-determined period, the Marlins can turn to the youthful combination of Jazz Chisholm and Isan Diaz in the middle infield. Jose Devers presents another young option. The 23-yea-old Chisholm, thus far, has looked like the foundational piece the Fish hoped they were acquiring when trading starter Zac Gallen to the D-backs in a rare prospect-for-prospect swap of significance. Neither Diaz nor Devers has provided much at the plate yet, however.

Chisholm has missed some time recently but avoided the IL stint to this point, and he suggested this morning on Instagram that he’d be returning to the lineup. Manager Don Mattingly effectively confirmed as much, telling McPherson and others that Chisholm is “expected” to play tonight, so long as he gets through his pregame running drills without issue.

The injury to Rojas is of particular note given his contractual status. He’d trigger a $5.5MM vesting option for the 2021 season in the event that he reaches 500 plate appearances this season and finishes the year healthy. With just 308 plate appearances to go, there’s still time for him to hit that mark even if he misses a few weeks, but a lengthier absence will obviously call that clause’s viability into question.

Turning to Sanchez, the latest setback is yet another disheartening development in the promising young righty’s season. The Marlins hoped to have Sanchez early in the year, but he was optioned to their alternate site after missing more than half of Spring Training in Covid protocols.

While building up toward what was expected to be a mid-April debut, Sanchez experienced shoulder discomfort that led the club to shut him down indefinitely. Recent reports that he’d progressed to mound work gave optimism for an early-summer debut, but a second setback has muddied his outlook. Recurring shoulder troubles of any sort are worrisome for a pitcher, particularly for one as talented as Sanchez. The consensus top prospect made his MLB debut last summer and gave Miami 39 innings of 3.46 ERA ball over the life of seven starts at just 22 years of age.

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