Edward Cabrera

Marlins Activate Edward Cabrera From 60-Day IL

By Nick Deeds | July 7, 2024 at 10:09am CDT

The Marlins announced this morning that they’ve activated right-hander Edward Cabrera from the 60-day injured list ahead of his start against the White Sox this afternoon. To make room for Cabrera on the club’s active and 40-man rosters, Miami has designated right-hander Matt Andriese for assignment.

Cabrera, 26, was placed on the injured list in early May due to a shoulder impingement. It was the righty’s second trip to the IL of the year due to the issue, as he opened the season on the shelf but was activated in mid-April. The lingering shoulder woes may have contributed to the righty’s struggles on the mound across five starts this year, as he posted a 7.17 ERA (38% worse than league average by ERA+) across five starts despite a decent 4.20 FIP and an impressive 32% strikeout rate. Prior to his injury-marred 2024 campaign, Cabrera appeared to be an exciting up-and-coming rotation piece for the Marlins in recent years. The righty made 36 appearances (34 starts) for Miami between 2022 and 2023, and in those starts impressed with a 3.73 ERA and 4.50 FIP in 171 1/3 innings of work. While he struck out a strong 26.6% of batters faced during that time, his work also featured notable struggles with control as the righty walked 13.7% of batters faced during that time, including 15.2% of opponents last year.

Those control problems haven’t stopped Cabrera from commanding plenty of interest on the trade market when healthy, and it’s certainly possible that the righty could continue to attract the attention of buyers ahead of the trade deadline later this month if he can show that his injury woes are behind him in the coming weeks. The righty’s youth and length of team control as a player who won’t become a free agent until after the 2028 campaign make him an unusual trade candidate, but the Marlins have made clear that they have virtually no untouchable players as they look to rebuild under new president of baseball operations Peter Bendix.

That same youth and team control makes it easy to understand why teams would have interest in Cabrera, even with the control and injury concerns. Cabrera’s minimum salary this year and length of team control could make him a plausible trade target even for clubs just coming out of their own rebuilds or teams operating under tight budget restrictions. The Pirates, Reds, Brewers, and Guardians are among the teams that fit one or both of those descriptions and could benefit from the addition of a starting pitcher this summer, with Pittsburgh even having been connected to Cabrera this past winter. Of course, the right-hander would have to prove himself healthy and effective before he becomes a realistic trade candidate. He’ll get a relatively soft landing as he returns from the IL and attempts to do so, with his first start back coming against the White Sox at home later this afternoon.

As for Andriese, the 34-year-old journeyman was selected to the roster earlier this week. The righty has a 6.00 ERA across six innings of work with the Marlins this year, and the club will now have one week to either work out a trade involving the righty or attempt to pass him through waivers. If he clears waivers, Miami could outright him to the minors as non-roster depth, although Andriese would have the right to reject such an assignment in favor of free agency. The veteran has pitched in parts of eight majors league seasons and also spent the 2022 campaign pitching in Japan of Nippon Professional Baseball’s Yoimuri Giants. In 221 career games in the big leagues, Andriese has posted a 4.65 ERA and 4.23 FIP in 515 innings of work.

Marlins Place Braxton Garrett On 15-Day Injured List With Forearm Flexor Strain

By Nick Deeds | June 23, 2024 at 10:42am CDT

The Marlins announced several roster moves this morning, headlined by the club placing left-hander Braxton Garrett on the 15-Day injured list with a left forearm flexor strain. The club also optioned right-hander Shaun Anderson to Triple-A. Taking Garrett and Anderson’s spots on the club’s active roster will be right-hander Kyle Tyler and left-hander Kent Emanuel, both of whom had their contracts selected. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo and right-hander Edward Cabrera were both transferred to the 60-day injured list to clear space for the duo on the 40-man roster.

Garrett’s placement on the injured list isn’t necessarily a surprise, as the club had already scratched him from today’s start due to elbow soreness yesterday. With that being said, the diagnosis of a forearm flexor strain is a concerning one that suggests Garrett could be in for a lengthy absence, though details about his exact timeline are not yet available. For Marlins fans, it surely brings to mind September of last year, when the Marlins provided the same diagnosis for right-hander Sandy Alcantara before the ace ultimately required Tommy John surgery.

Fortunately, not all forearm strains require such drastic treatment. Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray suffered a similarly-termed strain back in April that ultimately proved to be purely muscular without damage to the UCL. Gray is currently on a rehab assignment and could factor into the Nationals’ pitching plans prior to the All Star break, roughly three months after the initial injury. A similar timeline could see Cabrera return sometime in September, prior to the end of the 2024 campaign.

Regardless of when Cabrera winds up being able to return to the club, however, the Marlins figure to be in a bit of a pickle as they look to piece together their rotation mix. Miami currently has seven starters on the injured list, leaving them with lefty Trevor Rogers, righty Roddery Munoz, and righty Yonny Chirinos as their only three established starting pitchers. That trio will be joined by Tyler, who is slated to start today’s game against the Mariners. A 20th-round pick by the Angels in the 2018 draft, the righty has made eight multi-inning relief appearances in the big leagues since he first made his MLB debut back in 2021, though he’s never started a game at the big league level.

He’s pitched fairly well in his limited opportunities in the majors with a 2.45 ERA and 4.36 FIP in 18 1/3 innings of work. That includes a single appearance with the Marlins earlier this year where he allowed one run in two frames where he allowed one hit and no walks with one strikeout. It’s unclear if Tyler will continue to pitch as part of the club’s rotation after today or if this is a spot start for the 27-year-old. Also joining Tyler on the active roster is the lefty Emanuel, who has been shuttling between the 40-man roster and the minor leagues all throughout the 2024 campaign for the Marlins. In 8 1/3 innings of work for the club this year across four appearances, Emanuel has struggled to a 7.56 ERA with an 8.19 FIP. Nonetheless, the southpaw will provide the club with a multi-inning option out of the bullpen who could piggyback with the right-handed Tyler if necessary this afternoon.

As for Luzardo and Cabrerea, the 60-day IL placements come as a mild surprise for both players. In Luzardo’s case, the lefty was placed on the IL just yesterday with a lumbar stress reaction, and manager Skip Schumaker suggested that injury typically has a 4-6 week timeline. Now that Luzardo is out for at least the next two months, it’s safe to say the Marlins believe he’ll be out for longer than that general timeline. He’ll first be eligible to return from the shelf in late August. Cabrera’s placement also somewhat surprising given the fact that he’s already built up to the 50-pitch range on a rehab assignment, though given the fact that the righty would be eligible to be activated from the shelf in just two weeks it could be a purely procedural transaction.

Marlins Place Edward Cabrera On Injured List

By Darragh McDonald | May 8, 2024 at 2:30pm CDT

The Marlins announced today that right-hander Edward Cabrera has been placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right shoulder impingement. Left-hander Braxton Garrett was reinstated from the IL in a corresponding move.

Though the Marlins once had a rotation surplus, they have been struggling to keep their starting staff together this year. Pablo López and prospect Jake Eder were each traded last year. Sandy Alcántara required Tommy John surgery at the end of last season and Eury Pérez required the same procedure early in the 2024 campaign. Garrett has also been on the IL all season due to a shoulder impingement. A.J. Puk and Jesús Luzardo have also gone on the injured list recently, due to shoulder fatigue and elbow tightness, respectively. The club is planning to move Puk back to the bullpen once he’s healthy.

Max Meyer made three good starts for the club earlier in the year but was optioned to the minors as the Marlins look to monitor his workload. He missed all of 2023 due to his own Tommy John surgery and will be facing limitations this year. His three big league starts went five, six and six innings but his Triple-A starts have been three, four and three. Roddery Muñoz had a couple of decent starts at the big league level but allowed six runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Dodgers on Monday before getting optioned.

Manager Skip Schumaker recently said that Garrett and Luzardo were likely to return to pitch May 11 and 12, per Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. Those two give the club four healthy starters for now, alongside Ryan Weathers and Trevor Rogers. The club has an off-day tomorrow but will need a fifth starter by Tuesday of next week with Cabrera no longer available.

Sixto Sánchez could perhaps be an option, since he has started his last three outings, getting up to four innings pitched in the last two. George Soriano is also on the roster and capable of pitching multiple innings, logging three frames his last time out. Yonny Chirinos, Kyle Tyler and Kent Emanuel are throwing multiple innings in Triple-A, though none of that trio is currently on the 40-man roster. Since Muñoz was just optioned, he can’t be recalled for 15 days unless it’s for someone else going on the IL.

As an organization, the Marlins are clearly more focused on the future than on the present. They spent their offseason doing little to upgrade the roster, seemingly devoting more resources to their scouting and player development. Their slow start has spurred them to get a jump start on a midseason selloff, as they have already flipped Luis Arráez to the Padres for prospects.

It seems fair to expect any other player on the roster could be attainable this summer as well. Now that Garrett is healthy, he could be on the table if he’s in good form in the coming months. He tossed 247 2/3 innings over 2022 and 2023 with a 3.63 ERA, 23.8% strikeout rate and 5.1% walk rate. He’ll reach arbitration this winter and can be retained for four more seasons.

Cabrera would also be a trade candidate if he can get back on the mound in the coming months. He has a 4.32 ERA in his career with strong strikeout and ground ball rates of 26.8% and 49.4% respectively, though his 14% walk rate shows a problematic lack of command. Like Garrett, he’s on track for Super Two status this winter with four additional seasons of club control.

Who Could The Marlins Trade This Summer?

By Anthony Franco | April 29, 2024 at 2:10pm CDT

A team can’t cement a playoff spot in April, but they can certainly play their way out of the mix. Such is the case with the Marlins. Miami blew a 7-0 lead against the Nationals yesterday to fall to an MLB-worst 6-23 start. Whatever slim hope they had of competing for a playoff spot entering the season is gone. They’re going to be deadline sellers. It’s just a matter of when they start moving players and who will go.

New president of baseball operations Peter Bendix figures to be broadly open to dealing anyone beyond Eury Pérez and Sandy Alcantara, both of whom are rehabbing Tommy John surgeries anyhow. Much of the roster was assembled before he was hired last November, so he probably doesn’t have a ton of attachment to this group.

Bendix also joined Miami after a long stint with the Rays, a front office that was never afraid to move established players as they navigated payroll limitations. Tampa Bay occasionally made key deals at atypical times on the schedule, including trading Austin Meadows just before Opening Day in 2022 and swapping Willy Adames for Drew Rasmussen and J.P. Feyereisen the previous May.

The Fish are more likely to deal some players than others, of course, so let’s run through a few of the top possibilities:

Trevor Rogers

Rogers was an All-Star and the NL Rookie of the Year runner-up in 2021. He was ineffective in 2022 and limited to four starts last season by injury. The 6’5″ southpaw is one of the rare Miami pitchers who hasn’t been impacted by health concerns early this year. Rogers isn’t back to his early-career peak, but he has looked the part of a capable mid-rotation arm through five starts. He owns a 4.10 ERA in 26 1/3 innings.

The former first-rounder’s velocity is sitting around 92 MPH — down from the 94-95 he was pumping as a rookie — and his strikeout rate sits at a personal-low 20.6%. He’s getting ground-balls at a near-52% clip, though, and he’s done a solid job throwing strikes. Even if Rogers might not be the top-end arm he seemed three years ago, he’s an affordable mid-rotation starter who is under arbitration control for two seasons beyond this one. He’s making just $1.53MM this year, as the injuries prevented him from building much of a résumé going into his arb window.

Jesús Luzardo

Entering the season, Luzardo was the left-hander more teams were probably monitoring. He could certainly still be a coveted deadline target, but he’ll need to rebound from a rough couple weeks. Luzardo has been rocked for a 6.58 ERA with elevated walk and home run rates through his first 26 innings. He went on the 15-day injured list late last week with elbow tightness. It’s still not clear how serious that is.

If Luzardo returns to health and looks more like his 2023 self, he’d be one of the top upside plays on the market. He was an upper mid-rotation starter last season, turning in 178 2/3 innings of 3.58 ERA ball. Luzardo’s fastball velocity was sitting in its customary 97 MPH range before he went on the IL and he continued to miss plenty of bats. He and the Fish agreed to a $5.5MM salary to avoid arbitration last winter. Like Rogers, he’s under team control for two more years.

Braxton Garrett

Garrett, 26, was a quietly effective rotation piece a year ago. The control artist turned in his second straight sub-4.00 ERA showing over 159 2/3 frames. He fanned an above-average 23.7% of opponents and kept the ball on the ground nearly half the time batters made contact.

The former #7 overall pick hasn’t pitched in the majors in 2024. He opened the year on the IL with a shoulder impingement. He had a brief setback when he experienced dead arm after a throwing session, but it’s not believed to be serious. He threw three innings in a rehab start last Friday. Garrett is making around the league minimum and will be go through arbitration four times after this season. He doesn’t have eye-popping velocity, but he misses bats with his offspeed stuff and has a career 3.86 ERA with peripherals to match. The Fish should get plenty of calls on him in July if he’s healthy.

Edward Cabrera

Cabrera rounds out the quartet of potentially desirable rotation pieces. He may be the hardest of the group to evaluate. The former top prospect has huge stuff. His fastball sits in the high-90s. Cabrera can miss bats and generate plenty of grounders with all three of his secondary pitches (changeup, curveball, slider). At 26, it’s still not out of the question that he blossoms into a top-of-the-rotation starter.

Yet the Dominican-born righty has never thrown 100 innings in a major league season (although he fell one out shy of that arbitrary cutoff last year). That’s partially because he has a few arm-related injured list stints, including a two-week stay to open this season resulting from a shoulder impingement. He’s also nearly as wild a starter as there is in MLB. Cabrera walked 15.2% of batters faced last year and has issued free passes at a near-14% clip in his big league career.

The Marlins won’t feel obligated to move Cabrera for whatever they can get. He’s under control for four years after this, though he’ll qualify for early arbitration as a Super Two player next winter. The Fish considered trade possibilities over the offseason, so he’s unlikely to be off the table, but a team will need to meet a lofty asking price.

Luis Arraez

Of Miami’s hitters, Arraez is the biggest name. A defending two-time batting champ, he’s probably the best pure contact hitter in the sport. His .305 average through his first 129 plate appearances would be the second-lowest of his career. Arraez is going to reach base at a high clip, but he offers minimal power — career-high 10 homers, zero in 2024 — and plays a well below-average second base.

Arraez will still draw interest, but his trade value isn’t as high as one might assume based solely on the batting average. In addition to his defensive limitations, his control window is shrinking. Arraez is playing this season on a $10.6MM salary and will go through the arbitration process once more before getting to free agency. He’d likely earn something in the $13-15MM range next season, which could motivate the Marlins to deal him this summer.

Jazz Chisholm Jr.

Chisholm hasn’t quite developed into the franchise player that he seemed he might become early in his career. He has been a solid regular with flashes beyond that, though. The switch-hitter connected on 19 homers and stole 22 bases in just 97 games last season, albeit with a modest .304 on-base percentage. He has dramatically increased his walk rate in the early going this year, running a .245/.342/.382 slash through his first 117 plate appearances.

Injuries have been a recurring problem. Chisholm missed a good portion of 2022 to a back issue. He lost chunks of the ’23 campaign with toe and oblique woes. If he stays healthy through this season’s first half, Chisholm could be one of the more intriguing trade candidates of deadline season. He has a tantalizing power/speed combination and can play center field, albeit with differing reviews from public metrics on his glove. Chisholm is making $2.65MM this year and has two more seasons of arbitration control.

Lefty Relief Trio

Each of Tanner Scott, A.J. Puk and Andrew Nardi could be attractive left-handed relief options. They’ve all been hit hard in the early going but have high-octane stuff and performed well last season. The Marlins unsuccessfully auditioned Puk in the rotation but will move him back to relief once he recovers from shoulder fatigue.

Nardi is the least well-known of the group, but he’s controllable for four-plus seasons and won’t be eligible for arbitration until 2026. He has a career strikeout rate north of 30% in 83 2/3 innings. Scott is an impending free agent who has worked the ninth inning for Miami over the last couple seasons. He hasn’t been able to find the strike zone this year, a disappointing start after he issued walks at a career-low 7.8% clip in 2023. Scott is playing this season on a $5.7MM salary. Puk is making $1.8MM and will go through arbitration twice more.

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A few others could draw attention, although they’re probably less likely than the players listed above to move. Many teams would love to land Max Meyer, but it’d take a Godfather offer for the Marlins to move him.

Ryan Weathers leads the team in innings thus far. He’s a former top 10 pick who has pushed his average fastball to 96 MPH and is getting plenty of whiffs on his breaking ball. It’s conceivable teams could have interest, but Weathers has a career 5.67 ERA with subpar strikeout and walk numbers. Anthony Bender has returned from Tommy John surgery to post excellent strikeout and walk rates through his first 11 innings. His ERA is atrocious because of an elevated average on balls in play, but that should normalize well before the deadline.

The Marlins aren’t likely to find a taker for any portion of the Avisaíl García contract. That’d also be the case for Josh Bell unless he has a dramatic turnaround at the plate. He’s hitting .176/.270/.287 and playing on a $16.5MM salary. Neither Nick Fortes nor Christian Bethancourt has contributed anything offensively.

The Fish took a $5MM rebound flier on Tim Anderson over the offseason. That was likely with an eye towards a midseason trade, but he’s out to a .223/.270/.255 start after hitting .245/.286/.296 in his final year with the White Sox. He’ll need to perform significantly better to draw any kind of interest. Bryan De La Cruz, Jesús Sánchez and Jake Burger are low-OBP corner bats. They’d each have modest value if the Marlins wanted to deal them.

Marlins To Place Jake Burger On Injured List, Activate Edward Cabrera

By Steve Adams | April 15, 2024 at 9:55am CDT

The Marlins are placing third baseman Jake Burger on the 10-day injured list due to a left oblique injury, tweets Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. She adds that Burger likened the discomfort he experienced to a 2023 oblique injury where he only missed the 10-day minimum. The team hasn’t provided a timetable for his return just yet. The Fish will recall utilityman Otto Lopez, whom they claimed off waivers from the Giants earlier this season, to take Burger’s spot on the roster.

Burger, 28, is tied for the Marlins’ team lead with three homers and is currently pacing the club with 15 runs knocked in. His overall .228/.281/.421 batting line is still well shy of league-average production (86 wRC+), but he’s been one of the better hitters in a dismal Marlins lineup — particularly with runners on base. Even a short-term absence figures to be a notable hit to a Marlins lineup that has mustered a collective .209/.273/.316 slash to begin the season.

The injury to Burger is exacerbated by the fact that utilityman Vidal Brujan is also banged up at the moment. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald tweets that Brujan is dealing with a right knee injury and is currently considered day-to-day. The Marlins are still in the process of evaluating that injury, and it’s possible he’ll wind up missing some time as well.

As such, the Marlins’ top options at third base right now are Emmanuel Rivera — acquired from the D-backs for cash following his DFA earlier this month — and Lopez. Rivera hit .261/.314/.358 in 283 plate appearances with Arizona last season but is out to a 3-for-17 start (all singles) in his time with the Marlins. Lopez is hitting .485/.528/.788 in a tiny sample of 36 Triple-A plate appearances this season and carries a career .288/.354/.401 slash in parts of four Triple-A campaigns overall. He’s spent far more time at both middle infield slots than at the hot corner, but he does have 205 career innings at third base.

It’s not all bad news for the Marlins. They’re expected to reinstate right-hander Edward Cabrera from the injured list to make his season debut tonight, reports Kevin Barral of Fish On First. De Nicola tweets that left-hander A.J. Puk had been slated to take the ball, but he’ll be pushed back a couple days due to an illness that’s been making the rounds in the Miami clubhouse and is currently impacting him. The Marlins will need to make a second roster move to open space for Cabrera’s return.

Cabrera, 26, has spent the first two-plus weeks of the season on the injured list due to a shoulder impingement. However, he’s made three Triple-A rehab starts now, allowing just one run in 12 2/3 innings. He walked seven batters over seven innings in his first two appearances, showing a bit of rust, but Cabrera punched out nine batters and walked just one over 5 2/3 frames in his most recent outing — yielding only an unearned run along the way. He’s pitched 171 1/3 innings over the past two seasons for the Marlins, working to a 3.73 ERA with a strong 26.6% strikeout rate but a dismal 13.7% walk rate that’s in need of further refinement.

NL Notes: Pham, Contreras, Cabrera, Garrett, Uhlman

By Mark Polishuk | April 4, 2024 at 11:17pm CDT

Multiple reports over the offseason indicated that the Padres had interest in signing Tommy Pham, with the most recent of these items coming in mid-March, when USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote that San Diego had interest in Pham on a one-year deal worth around $3MM or $4MM. Opening Day has now come and gone with Pham still a free agent, but Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports that the Padres still have interest, though they are wary that signing Pham wouldn’t leave much flexibility for future in-season moves while still remaining under the luxury tax threshold.

RosterResource projects a current tax number of around $223.6MM for San Diego, while Cot’s Baseball Contracts has a notably higher projection of $231MM. It is important to note that these sites and others are only making estimates, while teams have their own internal mechanisms for calculating a luxury tax figure (and the league its own set of calculations to determine the final number at the end of the season). The Padres seem intent on resetting their tax payor status and staying under the $237MM threshold, so if they have reservations about signing Pham for $3-4MM, that perhaps might indicate their internal number is closer to Cot’s figure than RR’s figure. That said, it could also be a negotiating tactic on the Padres’ part to seek out a larger bargain on Pham, as the outfielder is undoubtedly eager to get onto the field.

Injury Notes: Lodolo, Cabrera, Garrett, Perez, Means, Bradish

By Mark Polishuk | March 31, 2024 at 2:38pm CDT

Nick Lodolo looked sharp today in the first of two planned Triple-A rehab starts. The Reds southpaw allowed one run in five innings and 77 pitches of work, while striking out eight and allowing two hits and three walks. After missing most of the 2023 season due to a stress reaction in his left tibia, Lodolo was still feeling some leg soreness this spring, so the Reds started him on the 15-day injured list in order to better ease Lodolo’s path back to action. Assuming he is feeling healthy after today’s outing and his next rehab start, Lodolo is slated to make his season debut for the Reds on April 10.

More on other pitchers working towards getting healthy….

Edward Cabrera also began the season on the 15-day IL, as the Marlins righty was sidelined with an impingement in his throwing shoulder. As noted by MLB.com, Cabrera threw 39 pitches in a intrasquad scrimmage game earlier this week and a 20-pitch bullpen session on Friday, so the next step is a minor league rehab assignment that begins with a Triple-A start today. It isn’t yet known how many rehab outings Cabrera might need before he is activated, though of the Marlins’ multiple injured starters, he appears closest to a return. Braxton Garrett is slated to throw a bullpen session today as he works his way back from his own shoulder impingement, and Garrett intends to be back in action before the end of April. El Extra Base’s Daniel Alvarez-Montes (X link) notes that Eury Perez threw 20 pitches in a bullpen session today, with Perez on the road to recovery after being waylaid by elbow soreness in Spring Training.
While rehab starts are about getting comfortable and working out pitches rather than pure results, John Means had a shaky showing in first rehab start today with Triple-A Norfolk. The Baltimore Sun’s Matt Weyrich was among those to relay the news that Means gave up seven runs on six hits and a walk over the 32-pitch outing. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko and other reporters yesterday that Means’ is “going to be close to 30 days” in Norfolk, as in the maximum length for rehab assignments. Means missed almost all of the 2022 and 2023 seasons recovering from Tommy John surgery, and the O’s didn’t include him on their playoff roster due to what was reported as elbow soreness at the time. As Kubatko notes, the Orioles are now referring to the injury as a left forearm strain, which only adds to the extreme caution Means and the O’s are taking in slowly ramping up the southpaw’s workload.
A sprain in Kyle Bradish’s right UCL created concerns that Bradish might also miss an extended amount of time, but the Orioles right-hander seems to be making good progress as he is also taking a careful approach to his rehab. As relayed to Kubatko and other media, Bradish threw all of his pitches over a 35-pitch bullpen session yesterday. While he “feels really good” in the aftermath of this bullpen, Bradish and Hyde didn’t commit to any kind of timeline about when Bradish will start building towards a return to the active roster.

Edward Cabrera Diagnosed With Right Shoulder Impingement

By Darragh McDonald | March 12, 2024 at 9:25am CDT

March 12: Cabrera has been diagnosed with an impingement in his right shoulder and is day-to-day for the time being, Schumaker revealed to the Marlins beat this morning (X link via Issac Azout of Fish On First). Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald adds that he’ll be evaluated further today, and the team will determine his next steps thereafter.

March 11: Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera will undergo an MRI on his right shoulder, manager Skip Schumaker tells Christina De Nicola of MLB.com. The righty’s strength tests evidently came back fine but there’s still enough concern that the club would like some more information.

It was reported that Cabrera didn’t make his scheduled start yesterday due to some tightness in his throwing shoulder. Though his scratch was presented as precautionary and Cabrera said he was “already starting to feel better” a few hours later, the concern from the club is enough that some imaging is now planned.

Cabrera has shown a strong ability to get strikeouts and ground balls thus far in his career, though with some concerns about his lack of control. He has thrown 197 2/3 innings over the past three years with a 4.01 earned run average. He has punched out 26.2% of hitters in that time while keeping 49.4% of balls in play on the ground, but he’s also given out free passes to 14% of opponents that he has faced.

Now out of options, Cabrera seemed a lock for a rotation spot in Miami to open the year, especially with some injury questions in the starting group. Sandy Alcántara underwent Tommy John surgery late last year and won’t be an option for the club in 2024. Lefty Braxton Garrett is dealing with some shoulder soreness here in spring and is questionable for Opening Day.

Garrett’s injury seemed to open the door for A.J. Puk to break camp in the rotation, as he looks to move from the bullpen to a starting role. Puk would slot in next to Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez and Cabrera, with one spot available for someone like Trevor Rogers or Ryan Weathers. If Cabrera’s shoulder tightness requires him to miss some time, perhaps both of Rogers and Weathers need to open the season in the rotation.

Rogers and Weathers have each been posting good results here in spring but it would be less than ideal for the Marlins to be relying on them early on. Rogers only tossed 18 innings last year due to biceps and lat injuries. Weathers, meanwhile, struggled badly last year and finished with a 6.55 ERA. It would also put them in a spot where their top depth options could be Max Meyer or Bryan Hoeing. Meyer is a talented prospect but missed all of 2023 recovering from Tommy John surgery. Hoeing has just 83 1/3 innings of major league experience with a 6.48 ERA. Pitchers like Roddery Muñoz and Darren McCaughan are also on the 40-man roster but Muñoz hasn’t yet made his MLB debut and McCaughan has just 14 big league innings.

That would put the Fish far away from past years, when they had so much depth that there were persistent rumors about them using it to bolster other parts of the roster. They did make one such trade when they flipped Pablo López and a couple of prospects for Luis Arráez, but that trade and the Alcántara surgery have thinned out the group in a hurry.

The club will obviously be hoping for good news in the coming weeks on both Garrett and Cabrera. Free agency still has some arms available but the Marlins have been keeping the purse strings tight this offseason. Their $5MM deal for Tim Anderson is the only major league deal they’ve given out to a free agent. That makes it hard to imagine them signing someone like Blake Snell or Jordan Montgomery, or even Michael Lorenzen. Pitchers like Jake Odorizzi or Noah Syndergaard could perhaps be signed for a modest amounts, though the Marlins may not feel that necessary if Cabrera and/or Garrett end up feeling better in the coming days.

East Notes: Casas, Cabrera, Marsh

By Nick Deeds | March 10, 2024 at 10:23pm CDT

The Red Sox recently signed right-hander Brayan Bello to a six-year, $55MM extension that extends their team control over the youngster by two years. That deal isn’t the only possible extension for a young potential cornerstone that Boston has pursued this winter, however, as first baseman Triston Casas confirmed to reporters that he and the Red Sox have discussed a possible extension as well. At the time, Casas indicated that while he would love to spend his entire career in Boston, the club had yet to present him with anything “enticing” to that point. In the wake of Bello’s extension, Casas recently discussed his own extension negotiations with the Red Sox, as relayed by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

In his comments, Casas reiterating that he hopes to play in Boston for “the rest of [his] career” while also providing an update on the discussions he’s had with Red Sox brass. Per Casas, the sides are still talking but there’s been “no numerical values” discussed to this point and that “nothing has really accelerated” to this point. Even as the 24-year-old makes clear he hopes to spend his entire career in Boston, it doesn’t seem as though he feels much urgency to get a deal done anytime soon.

“I think I have a lot of work to do before I feel like I can say I deserve that contract extension to be the long-term first baseman for the Boston Red Sox,” Casas said, as relayed by Speier. “…So if I don’t get that offer, I’m not upset at anybody in the organization. I’m not upset with myself.”

Although Casas claims to have not yet performed at a level that would warrant the extension he’s looking for, he certainly turned in a strong performance in his first full big league season last year. In 132 games with the Red Sox, Casas slashed an impressive .263/.367/.490 (129 wRC+) in 502 trips to the plate. That strong overall performance was bolstered by a torrid second half that saw Casas slash an incredible .317/.417/.617 in 54 games with a 175 wRC+ that was the fifth-best figure among all hitters with at least 200 plate appearances down the stretch, bested by only Shohei Ohtani, Matt Olson, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mookie Betts. If the sides are unable to come to an agreement this spring, a 2024 campaign that even comes close to resembling his second half last year would surely improve Casas’s earning power considerably.

More from MLB’s East divisions…

Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera was removed from his start against the Cardinals today before throwing a pitch, with Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald noting that Cabrera experienced a bout of tightness in his right shoulder while warming up for the game. McPherson adds that Cabrera’s removal from the game was precautionary, per Miami, and that Cabrera told reporters a few hours after being removed from the game that he was “already starting to feel better.” While both club and player are indicating that the issue isn’t a particularly severe issue, it’s worth noting that Cabrera was sidelined by a shoulder impingement in June of last year and missed a month of action. Should Cabrera manage to avoid a trip to the injured list to open the season, he figures to Jesus Luzardo and Eury Perez in the rotation. Southpaws A.J. Puk, Trevor Rogers, and Ryan Weathers figure to compete for the final two spots in the club’s rotation, though Braxton Garrett figures to join the rotation once he’s recovered from his own shoulder woes.
Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh has yet to appear in a game this spring while rehabbing from arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in early February. While the initial timeline for his return to action was three-to-four weeks following the surgery, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer indicates that Marsh is not quite ready to return to game action at this point. Coffey adds that club manager Rob Thomson recently indicated that Marsh is “on track” with regards to his rehab and could get into a Grapefruit League game by the end of the week. Marsh, 26, slashed a strong .277/.372/.458 in 133 games for the Phillies last year and figures to be a regular fixture in the club’s outfield mix this season alongside Nick Castellanos and Johan Rojas.

Pirates’ Trade Talks For Rotation Help Have Slowed

By Steve Adams | March 6, 2024 at 1:20pm CDT

Throughout the late stages of the offseason, the Pirates have reportedly been exploring the trade market for rotation help, with the Marlins (specifically, right-hander Edward Cabrera) being the team most frequently suggested as a potential trade partner. However, while the Bucs talked with the Fish and surely several other clubs about deals to bolster the rotation, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that talks have “lost steam” and that GM Ben Cherington now says he’s increasingly focused on the arms in house.

“If there are things we can do to make the team better, we’re gonna stay on that,” Cherington tells Mackey. “No guarantee those things happen. We’re mostly focused on the guys who are here.”

The Pirates have three slam-dunk members of their Opening Day rotation: Mitch Keller, Martin Perez and Marco Gonzales. Keller, who recently signed a five-year contract extension, will get the Opening Day nod. There are still a pair of open rotation jobs, however, and Cherington suggested there are six or seven options vying for those two opportunities.

The names currently competing include a mix of young prospects, rebound candidates coming off a down 2023 showing, and veterans hoping to win a spot. While the Pirates have already informed 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick Paul Skenes that he won’t make the Opening Day roster, fellow top prospect Jared Jones (No. 74 on Baseball America’s top 100 list) is firmly in the mix. Jones may not have the same ceiling as Skenes, but Skenes pitched just 6 2/3 innings last year following the draft. Jones, on the other hand, logged a combined 3.85 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate in 126 1/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A in ’23. He’s pitched 4 2/3 shutout innings in camp.

Jones, 22, was specifically called out by manager Derek Shelton as a candidate for a spot in the Opening Day rotation (X link via Alex Stumpf of MLB.com). He’d need to be added to the 40-man roster, which could potentially work against him. That’s not true of Roansy Contreras, Quinn Priester, Luis Ortiz, Bailey Falter and Kyle Nicolas, each of whom is on the 40-man roster. (Lefty Jackson Wolf is as well, but the Pirates already optioned him to Double-A in their first wave of spring cuts).

Contreras and Falter have the most experience of the bunch. Both are looking to rebound from ugly 2023 showings. Contreras looked like a potential rotation staple as recently as 2022, when he pitched 95 innings of 3.79 ERA ball with passable, if unspectacular, strikeout and walk rates (21.1%, 9.6%). However, he lost more than a mile off his heater in ’23 and took a step back in virtually every rate category of note. He’s still only 24 years old and is just two years removed from being a top-100 prospect himself, so there’s ample time for him to figure things out. He’s out of minor league options, meaning he’ll make the roster one way or another — be it in the rotation or in the bullpen. Pirates fans will want to check out Mackey’s piece in full, as it more fully details some of the gains Contreras has shown thus far in camp.

Falter was acquired at the 2022 trade deadline in a swap sending utilityman Rodolfo Castro to the Phillies. The 26-year-old was never as touted a prospect as Contreras was, but the two followed relatively similar arcs otherwise: brief MLB debut in 2021, solid back-of-the-rotation results in 2022, poor showing in 2023. Falter tossed 84 innings with a 3.86 ERA as the Phillies’ fifth starter in ’22, fanning 21.2% of his opponents against an exceptional 4.9% walk rate. Like Contreras, he saw his strikeout, walk, swinging-strike and home run rates all back up in 2023 as he finished out the season with a 5.36 ERA in 80 2/3 frames. Also like Contreras, he’s out of minor league options and will need to make the roster or else be traded or exposed to waivers.

Priester, Ortiz and Nicolas all have minor league options remaining and have all made their big league debuts (in quite brief fashion, for Nicolas). They all ranked within the organization’s top 15 prospects at Baseball America as recently as 2023. Priester and Ortiz both drew top-100 fanfare prior to their debuts. None of the three has established himself on the roster, however. Priester has the best minor league numbers of the group but has been hit harder than Ortiz in the big leagues. Ortiz throws the hardest but has displayed shakier command than Priester. Nicolas still hasn’t had much success above Double-A, so he seems likely ticketed for Triple-A Indianapolis to begin the year, particularly since he’s already been hit hard in camp.

The Bucs also have a pair of veterans who could compete for a job. Lefty Josh Fleming is on the 40-man roster after signing a split deal late in the winter. He’s out of options and can’t be sent down, but he’s spent the bulk of his MLB career as a swingman with the Rays and could be headed for a similar spot in Pittsburgh. Righty Chase Anderson is in camp on a non-roster deal. The 36-year-old hasn’t posted a sub-5.00 ERA in the big leagues since being traded by the Brewers following the 2019 season but has shown decently in Triple-A while bouncing around the league since then.

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