Marlins first baseman/corner outfielder Garrett Cooper has been diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left elbow, reports Craig Mish of the Miami Herald (Twitter link). He’ll undergo season-ending surgery to correct the issue. Mish suggests it’s the same procedure Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins underwent last October. Hoskins was ready for the start of the 2021 season, so Cooper (who’ll go under the knife two months earlier in the year) should have no trouble being at full health for 2022.
That said, losing Cooper for the rest of this season is still a difficult blow. While Miami isn’t going to the postseason this year, the right-handed hitting Cooper had played well enough to be a plausible trade candidate. He’ll wrap up the campaign with a .284/.380/.465 line over 250 plate appearances. Cooper has always performed well when healthy, but he’s been plagued by a series of injuries over the course of his career.
With Cooper on the 60-day IL, Miami selected the contracts of outfielder Corey Bird and reliever Preston Guilmet, relays Christina de Nicola of MLB.com (Twitter link). Guilmet has been on and off the Miami roster a few times this season but didn’t get into a game until tonight. He tossed a scoreless inning of relief in Miami’s loss to the Orioles.
Bird is in line to make his major league debut. The 25-year-old has hit a productive .270/.362/.444 with six homers over 224 plate appearances with Triple-A Jacksonville this season. Miami’s seventh-round draft choice in 2016 out of Marshall, the lefty-hitting Bird has a .253/.325/.328 line across five minor league seasons and can cover all three outfield positions.
With Starling Marte traded to the A’s this afternoon, Bird could see some time in center field over the coming weeks. Miami’s known to be looking for a longer-term answer at the position, though, and general manager Kim Ng and her front office figure to continue to be active before Friday afternoon’s trade deadline.
Lefty reliever Richard Bleier is generating interest, Mish hears, and could wind up on the move. Corner outfielder Adam Duvall and first baseman Jesús Aguilar are other potential trade candidates. The Braves, who employed Duvall last season, made a push for him to address their corner outfield issues but were rebuffed, reports Jon Heyman of MLB Network (Twitter link).
Aguilar has drawn some attention from contenders as well. He’s controllable through 2022 via arbitration, though, and the front office has given some consideration to offering him an extension that could tack on an additional year of control, Mish reports (Twitter link).
Gonna be a lot of new faces in Miami in the next couple weeks……
Dang.
You called?
finally hopefully Guilmet can play in a game
Death, Taxes, and yearly season ending injury to Cooper.
Hopefully next year the NL gets the DH, slot Cooper there, trade Aguilar prior to the deadline and give the Lewin Diaz the much needed AB’s the rest of the year at 1B.
You dont consider that take a little outlandish, considering most of his injuries are freak accidents? Like how is it his fault he has been injured by multiple HBPs, and b/c Alfaro has such a cannon, that instead of letting a ball go foul, he made a crazy play and a strong throw, where a baserunner took out his elbow?
Also, the DH is trash, and the idea of having it in the National League, in addition to all the other clown rules Eob Manfred has thrown in there is just another attempt to hurt the game by a commissioner that hates baseball
Who cares how he gets hurt the dude finds a way and that’s a fact. You can’t say the injury doesn’t count because of how it happened.
Honestly his defense sucks, always injured. Solid bat. Needs to be in the AL. he is always injured at the trade deadline…so miami can’t get rid of the guy.
The man made of glass strikes again. Coop enjoying more time on the major league IL. He’s been on the IL more than time on the field
Ya b/c it’s his fault…
formerlyz is code for Garrett Cooper. Did you hit all the other rumor website message boards to defend Cooper or just this one?
Rofl what are you even saying?
Hopefully Preston Guilmet can make an appearance before he gets DFA’d again
Cooper hit well during the last month, glad he is not being traded.
Does anyone have a prediction where Adam Duvall is going? To the NL West?
Only place that has been associated with his name is Atlanta. But Ng buffed their offer.
Duvall sucks. Total feast or famine. Dude hit 10 HR in 58 ABs last year and struck out or weakly grounded out most of the rest of last year. Getting hurt in his first playoff AB was pretty awesome too.
Yes he is feast or famine, but who isn’t? It’s what they pay them to do. Is there a true lead off hitter anymore, a Vice Coleman or Henderson? If Acuna would show a little more discipline like he was doing at first of year, he would be awesome, and if someone would show Albies tape of Tommy Herr (from the 80’s Cardinals) he would be perfect #2 hitter. Freeman #3, Duvall, Riley, Swanson, nCaatcher, CF, Pitcher/DH
Have to agree on the Albies take. He is so frustrating to watch knowing how much talent he has. He is not very selective, and he is hitting so poorly from the left hand side that his confidence is shot and he swings protectively. So many weak rollers.
If I were the Braves I would shut that left-handed stuff down and tell him to just bat right handed. His is overly aggressive right-handed, but he makes up for like of patience by hitting every ball with extreme prejudice. I mean, he hits nothing weak when he hits right handed, just rockets.
Freeman was feast or famine for a while this year. Swanson is feast or famine a few times a year, so is Albies. It all depends on when you get hot. Who’s to say Duvall wouldn’t get hot playoff time? Or anyone.
At least Ross Atkins won’t be able to trade for him…
Braves go get another bat. Duval please.
Send Pache and Wright to Pitts. for Byran Reynolds. Get Duvall. How just those two would stretch the lineup.