September 18: The Marlins announced that left-hander Ryan Weathers has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Right-hander Jeff Lindgren has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Weathers was putting together a nice season before landing on the IL. He tossed 71 innings over 13 starts, allowing 3.55 earned runs per nine. He combined a 22.5% strikeout rate with a 6.7% walk rate and 51.5% ground ball rate. Unfortunately, a finger strain put him on the shelf in June and he’s only now returning.

The Marlins are well out of contention at this point but the lefty can get a few more starts under his belt and hopefully go into the offseason healthy. He can still be retained for four seasons after this one and could become a key part of the Miami rotation going forward if he can carry his strong results into next year.

To open a spot for Weathers, the Marlins have bumped off Lindgren. He was just added to the roster last week and got to celebrate his 28th birthday yesterday while in the big leagues, but he didn’t get into a game during his brief time on the 40-man. He does have a sliver of major league experience, having made three appearances for the Fish last year.

The righty has spent the majority of this year on the farm, serving in a swing role at multiple levels. He has thrown 48 1/3 innings at Double-A with a 5.21 ERA as well as 27 1/3 Triple-A innings with a 7.90 ERA. The Marlins will put him on waivers in the coming days. Since he has been previously outrighted in his career, he would have the right to elect free agency if he were to pass through unclaimed.

With the departures completed, here is the list of players joining Miami’s active roster.  Righty Anthony Bender was reinstated from the 15-day IL, and right-handers George Soriano and Lake Bachar were called up from Triple-A.  Also up from Jacksonville are left-hander Jonathan Bermudez and utilityman Javier Sanoja, whose contracts selected to the big league roster.  Daniel Alvarez-Montes of El Extra Base reported (via X) earlier today that Sanoja was being promoted for his Major League debut, while Isaac Azout of Fish On First initially reported (links to X) that Meyer was headed to the IL and that Bermudez and Bachar were being promoted.

Meyer had been scheduled to start Sunday, but he’ll now hit the IL in the latest of a seemingly unending parade of injuries to Miami starters.  While more will be known about Meyer’s situation later today, it stands to reason that the Marlins could shut down the 25-year-old both due to this injury concern, and the club’s overall plan to limit Meyer’s workload this season.  Between 57 innings in the majors and 58 innings in the minors, Meyer had done a pretty good job of rebuilding his arm strength after missing all of 2023 due to a Tommy John surgery.

In terms of on-field results, Meyer has a 5.68 ERA over his 57 frames in the Show.  His 50% grounder rate is very strong and his 7.7% walk rate is around league average, but has allowed a ton of hard contact and struck out only 18.5% of opposing batters.  Such struggles aren’t unexpected for a player in his first extended taste of MLB action, as Meyer’s only big league experience prior this season was a two-game cup of coffee in 2022 prior to his TJ procedure.

In addition to Meyer, it is worth speculating if Faucher or Hill might also be shut down for the remainder of 2024, given the late date on the calendar.  The Marlins turned in this direction with Nardi, who only went to the 15-day IL a couple of weeks ago, and manager Skip Schumaker seemed optimistic at the time of the 15-day placement about the chances of Nardi returning before the end of September.  Instead, Nardi’s season is done after posting a 5.07 ERA over 49 2/3 innings, though a set of impressive Statcast metrics and a 2.79 SIERA indicates that Nardi was among the more unlucky pitchers in the league.

Faucher has been one of the few bright spots for Miami this season, as the righty has overcome a .345 BABIP and a lot of walks to post a 3.19 ERA and 26.8% strikeout rate in 53 2/3 relief innings.  The Marlins opted against trading Faucher amidst their many moves at the trade deadline, and instead installed him at closer after Tanner Scott was dealt to the Padres.

Soriano’s one save makes him the only player on Miami’s active roster with any saves this season, so the Marlins could turn to a committee to handle the ninth inning for the rest of the season.  Bender (in only his third MLB season) has the most experience of anyone in Miami’s bullpen and might be the favorite to close games now that he has recovered from the shoulder impingement that has sidelined him for the last four weeks.  Bender has a 49.2% grounder rate and above-average strikeout and walk rates, and is another Marlins pitcher whose real ERA (4.00) isn’t quite as reflective of how well he has pitched in 2024.

Bermudez returns to the big leagues after he was designated for assignment and then outrighted just within the last week.  He’ll take over the 40-man roster spot left open by Kitchen, who is also heading to the DFA wire for the second time this season.  The southpaw was designated by the Rockies in June and then quickly snapped up by Miami on a waiver claim.

Kitchen made his Major League debut on July 30 and thus far has only a 14.14 ERA to show for his seven innings and four games as a big leaguer.  Six of his 11 earned runs allowed came just yesterday in Miami’s 16-2 loss to the Phillies, as Kitchen had to make a short-notice start when Edward Cabrera was a late scratch due to migraine-like symptoms.  Kitchen is a grounder specialist with good control, and while he has pitched pretty well in the minors, his lack of strikeouts could put a ceiling on his effectiveness against MLB hitters.

Hill has hit .238/.262/.427 over 151 plate appearances with the Marlins, Giants, and Rangers this season, with the 151 PA representing a new career high over Hill’s five seasons in the Show.  Beginning the year on minors deal with Texas, he then went to the Giants for a brief stint after one waiver claim, and Miami again claimed him off waivers just over a month ago.  The Marlins had plenty of holes to fill in the outfield after their trade deadline selloff, and Hill took advantage with some regular work in center field and a few appearances in left.

Sanoja was an international signing for the Marlins in July 2019, and over four minor league seasons has emerged as an extreme contact hitter, with only 136 strikeouts in 1783 PA in Miami’s farm system.  A lack of power has limited what Sanoja has done with that contact, but between his speed and his knack for getting the bat on the ball, he has hit .291/.354/.431 over 492 Triple-A PA in 2024.  Sanoja has stolen 83 bases in 126 attempts in the minors, so there is some extra baserunning potential there if Sanoja can become more efficient with his steals rate.  Defensively, Sanoja is considered to fit best as a second baseman, but he is a decent enough fielder that he can play all over the diamond, so this versatility gives him more of a chance to stick in the Show.

The Marlins figure to use Sanoja at multiple positions during his time on the roster, though the team probably wishes he could pitch, given their larger needs on the mound.  Some reinforcements might be coming before the season is over, as Ryan Weathers and Braxton Garrett have each started minor league rehab assignments.  Neither hurler has pitched since June, as Weathers has been dealing with a finger sprain and Garrett with a flexor strain in his left forearm.

McCaughan, 28, was a 12th-round pick by the Mariners back in 2017 and has pitched in parts of three big league seasons since making his debut in Seattle back in 2021. He hasn’t found much success in the majors to this point with a 9.12 ERA and nearly matching 9.02 FIP across 24 2/3 innings of work in the big leagues, and his minor league numbers (including a 5.25 career ERA at the Triple-A level) do little to inspire confidence in the righty’s abilities either. While many of those innings of work were pitched in the inflated offensive environment of the Pacific Coast League, McCaughan’s struggles continued with Cleveland’s International League affiliate as he posted a 5.06 ERA in 32 innings at the level with the club this year.

The move actually marks McCaughan’s second stint in the Marlins organization. The righty was acquired by the club in a cash deal with the Mariners back in February and spent the early part of the season with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Jacksonville before the club dealt him to Cleveland in a second cash trade in early May. McCaughan even made an appearance at the big league level with the Marlins during his brief stint with the club, allowing eight runs in 4 2/3 innings of work in one appearance for the club. He’ll likely serve in a similar depth role for the Marlins going forward, acting an innings-eating spot starter or multi-inning reliever as necessary.

As for Weathers, the southpaw has been on the injured list since early June due to a strained index finger. Manager Skip Schumaker told reporters (including those at MLB.com) that Weathers’s placement on the 60-day IL wasn’t a setback, exactly, but that the lefty was still dealing with swelling and figured to be another four to six weeks away from a return to action. That makes the transaction more procedural than anything else, although the news is surely still frustrating for fans in Miami. After all, Weathers has emerged as perhaps the club’s most reliable arm this year before going down with injury, as MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald discussed back in June. In 13 starts with the Marlins this year, Weathers has posted a 3.55 ERA with a 3.93 FIP.

An IL trip seemed imminent after Weather made an early exit from his start in last night’s game, as the left-hander lasted into only the third inning on 40 pitches before departing.  As manager Skip Schumaker told MLB.com and other media, Weathers “just said he couldn’t feel the ball anymore with his left index finger, so once I heard that, that was enough.” Some more details on Weathers’ status and a possible recovery timeline could be available when Schumaker meets with reporters earlier today, though a lack of feeling in the finger might hint at some kind of nerve issue.

It was just two days ago that MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald profiled Weathers’ strong start to the season, highlighting how the former top prospect has enjoyed a breakout in his fourth MLB campaign.  Even with Friday’s abbreviated start on his record, Weathers still has a 3.55 ERA and an excellent 51.5% grounder rate over 71 innings and 13 starts for Miami this year.  A .272 BABIP has helped limit the damage since Weathers allows a lot of hard contact, yet his 6.7% walk rate is above the league average — a major improvement given how control problems plagued the southpaw earlier in his MLB career.

Beyond just the solid results, Weathers’ greatest asset has probably been simply his availability, but he has now fallen prey to the injury bug that has ravaged the Marlins’ rotation.  Every member of Miami’s starting five has now been on the IL or is currently on the IL, as Weathers joins Eury Perez and Sandy Alcantara (both gone for the season due to Tommy John surgeries), Edward Cabrera (10-day IL due to shoulder impingement) and Sixto Sanchez (on the 10-day shoulder inflammation).

Munoz’s promotion was already in the works for today, as he was stepping in for Sanchez’s spot in the rotation.  An off-day on Monday will give the Marlins a bit of time to reset, but now yet another depth arm will be needed to slot in behind Jesus Luzardo, Trevor Rogers, Braxton Garrett, and Munoz.  The recently-acquired Shaun Anderson is probably likeliest to be the next man up, and while he has plenty of starting experience in the minors, Anderson’s last big league start came in 2019.  Max Meyer excelled in his brief time on the MLB roster earlier this season, but since the Marlins are trying to manage Meyer’s innings and aren’t trying to win in 2024 anyway, the team isn’t likely to disrupt their plan for Meyer’s development unless circumstances get really dire with the rotation.

Trades of star players like Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer stole the headlines at the time, while other notable players like Paul Sewald, Jeimer Candelario and Mark Canha also changed teams. Even within Miami, the acquisitions of Jake Burger and Josh Bell garnered far more attention than the Weathers deal, and that was fairly understandable back then. Burger and Bell immediately joined the big league club and helped them reach the playoffs, their first full-season postseason appearance in 20 years.

Cooper has been a decent hitter at times but has also been frequently hurt and was an impending free agent at the time. Reynolds was a 25-year-old who had only recently converted to pitching after spending his earlier professional seasons as a first baseman and outfielder.

Weathers had been a big name a few years prior. The former No. 7 overall pick was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 84 prospect in the league going into 2021, but Weathers hadn’t been impressing prior to the deal. He had thrown 143 big league innings for the Padres before becoming a Marlin, allowing 5.73 earned runs per nine frames.

Even in the minors, Weathers wasn’t exactly mowing opponents down. He had a 6.73 ERA in 123 innings for Triple-A El Paso in 2022. That club plays in the notoriously hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, but Weathers had subpar strikeout and walk rates of 15.6% and 10.1%. With El Paso in 2023, he lowered his ERA to 4.20 and struck out 29.2% of batters faced but was still giving out walks at an ugly 13.5% rate. The Padres called him up for 44 2/3 innings in the majors last year, but he had a 6.25 ERA in that time, striking out just 14.8% of opponents. The fact that the Padres were willing to let him go for a pretty limited package suggests that they considered his stock way down relative to when he was a top-10 pick and top-100 prospect.

Weathers was largely an afterthought coming into this year. Even with Sandy Alcántara undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, Miami’s rotation mix projected to include Jesús Luzardo, Eury Pérez, Edward Cabrera, Braxton Garrett, Max Meyer and Trevor Rogers. Reliever A.J. Puk was going to be stretched out, giving the club another potential starter. Since Weathers still has an option year left, it seemed like he would have to start 2024 in the minors and earn his way into a big league job.

That’s not the way things have played out thus far. Garrett, Cabrera and Pérez all started the season on the injured list due to injuries, with Pérez ultimately requiring Tommy John surgery. Luzardo and Puk eventually hit the IL during the season, with the latter moved back to a relief role when the starting experiment failed. Meyer made three good starts but was optioned to the minors so the club could monitor his workload as he ramps back up from 2022 Tommy John surgery.

Amid all of that, Weathers has been the club’s best and most consistent starter this year. He has taken the ball 12 times and logged 68 2/3 innings, while no one else has topped 57. On top of the quantity, Weathers has also provided quality with a 3.41 ERA. His 22.1% strikeout rate is close to average, but his 6.9% walk rate is strong and his 51.5% ground ball rate is very good.

Manager Skip Schumaker recently appeared on MLB Network Radio and discussed the breakout from Weathers (X link, with audio). The skipper talked about how he had seen Weathers up close earlier in his career, as Schumaker was employed by the Padres through the 2021 season. Schumaker spoke about how Weathers managed to rise to the majors quickly due to his fastball but that hitters started to adjust. That prompted Weathers to spend the most recent offseason working to improve the other pitches in his arsenal, which seems to be paying off so far this year.

“He bought a TrackMan and different things and created kind of his own pitching lab back home,” Schumaker said, “and figured out how to spin the ball better and really manipulate the changeup into a way where he can throw it for strikes and to throw it strike-to-ball when he needed as well to get swing-and-miss.”

Weathers threw his four-seam fastball more than 50% of the time in each of his first three big league seasons, according to Statcast, but that number is down 40.2% in 2024. He’s going to the changeup 26.1% of the time but also throwing a sweeper at a 20.4% rate, a sinker at a 12.2% clip and a smattering of sliders as well. Opponents are hitting .174 against the changeup with a .349 slugging percentage, while those numbers are just .132 and .211 against the sweeper. The changeup has a 40.1% whiff rate and 36.8% hard hit rate, with the sweeper getting whiffs on 55.2% of swings and hit hard (95 mph or greater) just 11.8% of the time hitters make contact.

This is still a small sample size of just 12 starts, but Weathers was previously a touted prospect and has made a concerted effort to evolve. Since he charged so quickly to the majors, his struggles occurred at an age when many pitchers are still in college or climbing the minor league ladder. He’s still only 24 years old despite this technically being his fourth season in the majors.

Perhaps the Marlins have found a solid piece for their rotation from that small trade last year, which would be significant for them. Weathers came into this season with one year and 66 days of major league service time. That means he won’t qualify for arbitration until after 2025 and can be controlled through 2028.

Though they once seemed to be overloaded with starting pitching options, the group has been thinned out recently. They traded Pablo López and Jake Eder in recent years. Alcantara and Pere had Tommy John surgery this year. Well-regarded prospect Dax Fulton had a UCL repair (not a full Tommy John surgery) last summer and has yet to pitch this season. Sixto Sanchez has been consistently hobbled by shoulder injuries. And, Miami’s poor performance this year could lead to further selling, with Luzardo and Rogers speculative possibilities.

Even if those arms do end up being traded — Luzardo, in particular, seems likely — it’s possible to imagine the Marlins having a strong rotation consisting of Weathers, Alcántara, Pérez, Meyer, Cabrera and Garrett by late 2025, with all of those names controllable through at least 2027. Trades of Luzardo and others on the roster could bring in further rotation candidates as well. Plans rarely go that smoothly, as injuries and changes in performance will undoubtedly occur, but the continued evolution of Weathers is a huge bright spot during a season that’s otherwise been bleak in Miami.

Puk will turn 29 in April. He’s never made a big league start but has started 42 games in the minors — most coming early in his tenure. The former No. 6 overall draft pick (2016) moved to the bullpen in 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery the year prior. Puk took well to that relief role, debuting in the majors with 11 1/3 innings late in 2019. He held opponents to four runs on ten hits and five walks with 13 strikeouts — good for a 3.18 ERA. He looked to have locked up a spot on the 2020 roster, but Puk experienced shoulder pain the following spring and wound up missing the season due to an eventual debridement surgery.

The 2021 season was a rough one for Puk, though that’s not entirely surprising for a pitcher who’d undergone Tommy John surgery and shoulder surgery within 24 months of each other. He split the year between Triple-A and the big leagues, posting an ERA north of 6.00 in both settings. The 2022 campaign finally brought a breakout for the talented but snakebitten southpaw; he pitched 66 1/3 innings out of the Oakland bullpen and worked to a 3.12 ERA with a 27% strikeout rate, 8.2% walk rate and 43.4% ground-ball rate.

The A’s, by then in the midst of a complete rebuild, traded Puk to the Marlins in exchange for outfielder JJ Bleday — another former top-10 overall pick (No. 4) who’d not yet lived up to the expectations associated with that lofty draft status. It worked out nicely for the Fish. In 56 2/3 frames, Puk logged a 3.97 ERA with far more encouraging secondary marks: 32.2% strikeout rate, 5.4% walk rate, 15.1% swinging-strike rate, 2.66 SIERA. Puk wound up leading the Marlins with 15 saves.

Clearly encouraged by the per-inning strength of those results, the Marlins will now try to maximize Puk’s workload by moving him into a starting role. Much has been made of the Marlins’ enviable pitching depth over the years, but Puk’s move to the rotation is in part due to the fact that Miami’s stash of promising young arms is no longer as deep as it once was.

Sandy Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2024 season. Pablo Lopez was traded to the Twins in exchange for Luis Arraez. Braxton Garrett is behind schedule in camp due to a shoulder issue and is unlikely to be ready for Opening Day. Top prospects Sixto Sanchez and Max Meyer have been slowed by injuries. Sanchez, in particular, hasn’t pitched since 2020. Another touted arm, Jake Eder, was traded to the White Sox for Jake Burger. Southpaw Trevor Rogers has struggled through injuries and poor results since his second-place finish in the 2021 NL Rookie of the Year voting.

If Puk is able to successfully move back into a starting role, it’d obviously be a boon for the Fish. It’s a move that could reap long-term benefits, too, as Puk is controllable through the 2026 season. The Marlins will presumably be careful with his workload after the lefty pitched just 59 1/3 innings last year between the majors and a brief minor league rehab assignment following a nerve issue in his elbow. But if he can progress to pitching 100-plus innings this year, it’s easier to envision any restrictions being removed for the 2025 campaign.

There’s some risk to the move, of course. Puk has a lengthy injury history and is no guarantee to hold up with a full rotation workload. By moving him to the starting staff, Miami is also notably weakening its relief corps. The Puk transition bodes well for Tanner Scott, who’ll likely spend his entire platform season before free agency as the Marlins’ closer. But beyond Scott, the Fish will rely on a series of arms with short track records and/or notable injury histories. Andrew Nardi, Anthony Bender, JT Chargois and George Soriano all have had big league success but have all yet to establish themselves as consistent, year-to-year performers.

Assuming the Marlins indeed stick with this plan, Puk will slot into the rotation behind Jesus Luzardo, Eury Perez and Edward Cabrera. The aforementioned Rogers and fellow lefty Ryan Weathers are the leading candidates for the fifth spot, Jackson notes, with Rogers a likelier fit than Weathers. Sanchez, once viewed as a rotation building block, is out of minor league options but figures to head to the bullpen if he’s healthy enough to make the roster. Whoever grabs the fifth spot will essentially be a placeholder for Garrett anyhow. That said, given workload concerns for Puk and the general frequency with which pitchers get injured, it’s likely that all of Puk, Rogers, Garrett and Weathers will wind up starting a fair share of games in South Florida this season.

It’s been a strange season for Moore, who signed a one-year, $7.55MM deal with the Angels this past offseason on the heels of a 2022 campaign that saw him post a 1.95 ERA across 74 innings of work for the Rangers. While Moore wasn’t quite that dominant in 2023, the lefty was still one of the better set-up arms in the game. In 51 2/3 innings of work this year, Moore has posted a 2.56 ERA with a 27.5% strikeout rate against a walk rate of 6.9%.

Despite those strong numbers, Moore has been placed on waivers twice over the past few months. The first time was by the Angels in August alongside the likes of Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez as a cost-cutting measure once the club was firmly out of postseason contention. He was claimed alongside Giolito and Lopez by the Guardians, who at the time were still fighting to stay alive in the AL Central race. While Giolito and Lopez remained with the Guardians down the stretch, however, Cleveland opted to place Moore on waivers once again in mid-September, once their chances at the postseason became remote.

That unusual sequence of events brought Moore to the Marlins, for whom he posted four scoreless innings as they fought to clinch a spot in the postseason. They did so with last night’s win over the Pirates, during which Moore struck out one while allowing a hit and hitting a batter during his scoreless inning of work.

As for Weathers, the young left-hander joined the Marlins at the trade deadline in a deal that sent first baseman Garrett Cooper to the Padres. In two games with the big league club in Miami, Weathers has struggled badly, allowing eleven runs in just seven innings of work while allowing as many walks as strikeouts (9). The lefty figures to help the Marlins cover innings and keep the pitchers they plan to carry into the Wild Card series on Tuesday fresh in today’s final game of the season. Looking ahead to 2024, Weathers could be an interesting multi-inning or even starting option for the Marlins, as the 23-year-old has posted a solid 2.54 ERA across seven starts at the Triple-A level since joining the organization.

Nance, 32, began the season on the injured list due to a strain in his throwing shoulder, an injury that has kept him away from the major league team until today. Now that he’s back, he’ll look to build off a solid showing last year. He tossed 43 2/3 innings for the Marlins, allowing 4.33 earned runs per nine frames. He issued walks at a high rate of 10.7% but also struck out 29.1% of batters faced and kept the ball on the ground at a 46.4% clip.

For Garcia, 32, this continues an incredible frustrating season. He’s only been able to play 37 games this year, missing almost all of the May-July portion of the season due to a back injury. When healthy enough to take the field, he’s hit just .185/.241/.315. It’s the second straight disappointing season for the outfielder since signing a four-year, $53MM contract with the Marlins, as he hit .224/.266/.317 in 2022 while being limited by various injuries to 98 games. He still has another two years and $29MM left on that contract.

The move brings a fresh arm into Miami’s bullpen, as Weathers threw 3 2/3 innings of relief on Saturday and was hit hard, allowing six earned runs against the powerful Texas lineup.  It is possible Hartlieb’s stint in the majors lasts for only a day until the Marlins need a roster spot to bring Eury Perez back to the Show, but Hartlieb pitched an inning against the Rangers, marking his first MLB appearance since 2021.

Hartlieb signed a minor league deal with Miami during the winter and has spent the entire season in Jacksonville, though injuries kept him on the shelf until May.  This late start might’ve cost the right-hander an earlier look on the big league roster, as Hartlieb has a 3.18 ERA over 34 relief innings and some solid peripherals (25.5% strikeout rate, 9.2% walk rate, 47.2% grounder rate).

A 29th-rounder for Pittsburgh in the 2016 draft, Hartlieb tossed 66 1/3 innings over 57 games with the Pirates and Mets from 2019-2021, posting a 7.46 ERA.  The Red Sox acquired him via waiver claim in September 2021 but he didn’t receive any Major League action in over a year in the organization, as Hartlieb had a 5.16 ERA over 61 innings for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate in 2022.

This is the third time that Smeltzer has been DFA’ed this season, so it is possible that he’ll once again clear waivers and accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Jacksonville.  He does have the ability to reject an outright and become a free agent, though Smeltzer might not mind shuttling back and forth as one of the Marlins’ go-to depth options.

The numbers also aren’t in Smeltzer’s favor this season, as he has a 5.79 ERA over 18 2/3 innings with the Marlins and a 5.95 ERA over 65 frames at the Triple-A level.  The home run problems that arose for Smeltzer with the Twins in 2022 have continued this year, as he has allowed 20 homers over his 83 2/3 combined innings at both levels.  Smeltzer has started all 14 of his games in Jacksonville but he has only started one of his eight appearances with the Marlins, as Miami has mostly utilized him as a long reliever.

Chargois is dealing with a strain in his right rib cage, marking his second IL stint of the season after he missed about five weeks earlier this year with a right oblique strain.  When he has been able to play, Chargois has been a solid member of Miami’s bullpen, posting a 3.68 ERA/4.09 SIERA over 29 1/3 innings.  Despite a 96.3mph fastball, Chargois isn’t a big strikeout pitcher, instead relying on soft contact and keeping the ball on the ground.  The right-hander has a 59.3% grounder rate this season, and a .259 BABIP has further enhanced his success.

It isn’t great news for the Marlins to lose a pretty reliable reliever during their playoff push, especially after the club made a point of adding to its bullpen at the deadline.  The reinforcements from Jacksonville might help, as Brazoban has also been back and forth from Triple-A a couple of times this season, while Weathers is now set to make his Marlins debut.  The Fish acquired Weathers from the Padres in exchange for Garrett Cooper and Sean Reynolds in a deadline deal on Tuesday, and Weathers will look to get on track in a new environment after posting a 6.25 ERA over 44 2/3 innings with San Diego this season.

Cooper, 32, will give the Padres a seasoned bench bat with a productive track record at the big league level. He’s picked up five-plus years of MLB service to this point in his career, making him a free agent at season’s end and a pure rental for San Diego, but one who has more often than not been a quietly strong offensive performer.

Although Cooper’s .256/.296/.426 batting line in 2023 doesn’t stand out, it’s only narrowly been worse than league average, by measure of wRC+ (97). Moreover, Cooper’s bat has picked up as the season has worn on. Dating back to June 1, he’s posted a far more palatable .276/.319/.468 batting line with eight big flies and six doubles. That’s good for a 115 wRC+ (i.e. about 15% better than league-average production, after weighting for home park) — which is right in line with Cooper’s career output.

Since making his MLB debut with the Yankees back in 2017, Cooper owns a .271/.338/.437 batting line in nearly 1700 trips to the plate. He’s been particularly productive with the Marlins in the past few seasons, batting .271/.352/.443 from 2020-22. Cooper has never had massive over-the-fence power but hits plenty of doubles and from 2018-22 drew walks at a healthy 9% clip.

Perhaps “healthy” is a dicey word to use in any regard when describing Cooper, as the primary knock against him as been a penchant to land on the injured list. Since 2018, Cooper has been on the injured list due to a wrist sprain, a calf strain, a lumbar strain, an elbow sprain, a concussion and an inner ear infection, among other maladies. Productive as his bat has been, he’s never logged more than 119 games or 469 plate appearances in a single season.

Cooper is healthy right now, however, and the Padres have gotten little to no production out of their bench this year. Veterans Rougned Odor (recently released), Nelson Cruz (released) and Matt Carpenter have provided no help, and the Friars have relied on a combination of journeymen and organizational depth pieces (e.g. Brandon Dixon, Matthew Batten, Taylor Kohlwey) in the other spots. Cooper’s above-average track record at the dish will be a significant boost, and he can slide in at first base if the Padres need to push Jake Cronenworth to second base to accommodate Ha-Seong Kim’s recent injury.

In addition to Cooper, the Padres will pick up the 25-year-old Reynolds — a 2016 fourth-round pick and converted first baseman/outfielder who’s emerged as an interesting bullpen prospect. The 25-year-old Reynolds made the move to the mound full time in 2021 and has found a good bit of success in the upper minors. Through 48 2/3 innings between Double-A and Triple-A this season, the 6’8″ left-hander has pitched to a 2.77 ERA with a 26% strikeout rate, 11.2% walk rate and just two homers allowed. Reynolds features a four-seamer in the mid-to-upper 90s, a mid-80s slider and a changeup.

In exchange for the final couple months of Cooper’s services and a potential six seasons of control over Reynolds, the Marlins will pick up the 23-year-old Weathers — a former first-round pick and top Padres prospect who’s long looked like a change-of-scenery candidate. He’s seen action in each of the past three seasons, but other than his rookie campaign when injuries forced him to the Majors as a 21-year-old, Weathers has never received a particularly long look.

In 143 big league innings, Weathers has a 5.73 ERA. He’s fanned just 16.8% of his opponents but sports a respectable 8.3% walk rate and 42.9% ground-ball rate in that time. He’s also pitched decently in 40 2/3 Triple-A innings this season — 4.20 ERA, 29.2% strikeout rate, 13.5% walk rate in eight starts — and has a minor league option remaining beyond the current year. The Marlins’ vaunted pitching depth has been thinned out by the trades of Pablo Lopez and (earlier today) Jake Eder, as well as injuries to Trevor Rogers, Max Meyer and Sixto Sanchez. Weathers will add a former No. 7 overall pick to the stockpile, and the Marlins can take this year and next to try to coax some better performance out of the lefty.

As for the 33-year-old Tucker, he’ll lose his 40-man spot before appearing in a big league game with the Padres. The older brother of Astros star Kyle Tucker, Preston was once a well-regarded prospect himself but has never found sustained success in the minor leagues. He had a nice three-year run with the Kia Tigers of the Korea Baseball Organization from 2019-21 and has a career .274/.353/.471 slash in parts of eight Triple-A seasons — including a .293/.433/.565 showing so far in 2023.

However, the elder Tucker brother carries just a .222/.281/.403 slash in parts of three Major League seasons, and the Padres’ acquisitions of Cooper and Ji-Man Choi have beefed up their reserve options a bit. That left Tucker without a clear role moving forward. Normally, players who are designated for assignment have a week to be traded, placed on outright waivers or released. But, since the trade deadline has now passed and Tucker has been on a 40-man roster this year, he’s ineligible to be moved. He’ll hit waivers within the next week and be available to all 29 other clubs. Even if he clears, he’d have the right to reject an outright assignment in favor of free agency.

Craig Mish of SportsGrid and the Miami Herald first reported the trade.

Quintana is in for an extended rehab process. He’ll need to build up arm strength and progress to throwing live batting practice sessions before a minor league rehab stint that’s sure to encompass multiple starts. During the spring, the Mets provided a July estimate for Quintana’s return to major league action. There’s no indication that timetable has changed, but it’s a positive development his recovery is going as anticipated.

New York has had one of the least productive rotations thus far. They entered play Friday with a 5.29 rotation ERA that ranks 25th leaguewide. That should improve with Justin Verlander back from an early-season injured list stint and Max Scherzer unlikely to carry a 4.88 ERA all season. Still, with Carlos Carrasco allowing nearly an earned run per inning and underwhelming work from depth starters David Peterson, Tylor Megill and Joey Lucchesi, the Mets could certainly use some stability from Quintana in the second half.

The latest on some other health situations around the game:

• The Padres placed starter Seth Lugo on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 17, due to a right calf strain. Southpaw Ryan Weathers was recalled from Triple-A El Paso to replace him in the rotation. Signed to a two-year free agent guarantee, Lugo has made eight starts in his move back to the rotation from relief. He’s acquitted himself reasonably well, posting a 4.10 ERA with a roughly league average 21.3% strikeout rate across 41 2/3 innings. The 33-year-old righty is looking to reestablish himself as a starter and could retest the market next winter. His $15MM contract allows him to opt out of the final year and $7.5MM at season’s end.
• Jacob deGrom threw a 25-pitch bullpen session this afternoon, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. It has been three weeks since the two-time Cy Young winner hit the injured list with elbow inflammation. deGrom told Grant and other reporters he came out of the session feeling good, opining he’s “turned a corner” in his ramp-up. Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy indicated on May 9 the club felt deGrom was two to three weeks from a return to a big league mound. While it doesn’t seem he’ll be back within the next few days, all indications are the issue isn’t as alarming as it first seemed given deGrom’s health history. Last offseason’s big-ticket free agent addition has a 2.67 ERA with an elite 39.1% strikeout percentage in his first 30 1/3 innings in a Ranger uniform.
• The Guardians put starter Peyton Battenfield on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 18, with inflammation in his throwing shoulder. The rookie righty has been a member of Cleveland’s rotation since being called up in mid-April. He’s started six of seven appearances but struggled to a 5.19 ERA through 34 2/3 innings. The Oklahoma State product has a modest 18.5% strikeout rate and has given up seven home runs. He spent virtually all of last season with Triple-A Columbus, working to a 3.63 ERA over 28 starts. Battenfield’s next turn through the rotation was scheduled for Monday, so the Guardians will need to settle on a replacement for that series opener against the White Sox.
• The Braves placed reliever Dylan Lee on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 17, on account of shoulder inflammation. Fellow southpaw Lucas Luetge was activated from an IL stint of his own in a corresponding move. Lee was somewhat quietly among the best relievers in the game last season, when he worked to a 2.13 ERA while striking out 29.4% of batters faced in 50 1/3 innings. He’s not been quite at that pace this year but still carries a solid 3.10 ERA and 27.1% strikeout percentage in 20 appearances. Luetge, acquired in an offseason trade with the Yankees, has made just five appearances with his new team thus far thanks to a bout of biceps inflammation.

Carlton is now in line to make his team debut. The 27-year-old inked a minor league contract with San Diego over the winter. He’d previously spent his entire career with the Tigers, including a pair of stints at the MLB level between 2021-22. Carlton got into nine games over those two seasons, throwing 12 1/3 innings. He allowed six runs (four earned) with eight strikeouts and four walks.

Those were decent results for a middle reliever, though Carlton didn’t overwhelm hitters. His fastball sat in the 90-91 MPH range and he generated swinging strikes at a modest 7.8% clip. The righty allowed a 4.78 ERA in spite of a strong 27.3% strikeout rate and excellent 4.5% walk percentage through 58 1/3 Triple-A innings last season. He became a minor league free agent after being outrighted from Detroit’s 40-man roster during the summer.

Since signing with San Diego, Carlton has been lights out in Triple-A. He’s allowed only four runs (two earned) in 16 innings. The Florida State product has punched out 18 against five walks and induced grounders on half the batted balls he’s allowed. He’ll return to the majors for a third consecutive year as a result. Carlton still has two minor league options remaining, so the Friars can freely send him back to Triple-A without putting him on waivers.

Weathers has started four of six outings at the major league level this season. He’s posted a 3.42 ERA but is only striking out hitters at a 15.2% clip over 23 2/3 innings. The Padres already have a starting staff of Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha and Blake Snell. They’ll keep Weathers working in a starting capacity in El Paso behind that group.

Pomeranz hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since undergoing flexor tendon surgery that ended his 2021 season. He’d been on a rehab assignment last month but shut things down for a couple weeks after feeling some arm discomfort. It doesn’t seem an especially concerning issue, as Pomeranz is already back out on a rehab stint with El Paso. He’ll need time to get back to complete game shape, though. His IL stint backdates to Opening Day and only officially rules him out until the final week of May. It was unlikely Pomeranz would’ve completed his rehab work before then regardless, so it’s mostly a procedural transaction.

2:09pm: The Padres are calling up left-handed reliever Tom Cosgrove, as reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale (via Twitter). It’ll be the 26-year-old’s MLB debut whenever he gets into a game. Cosgrove was added to the Padres’ 40-man roster back in November to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft, so they only need to make a corresponding 26-man roster move in order to accommodate his promotion to the Majors.

A 12th-round pick by the Padres back in 2017, Cosgrove has opened the 2023 season with 7 1/3 shutout frames in Triple-A, fanning seven of his 26 opponents (26.9%) but also walking four of them along the way (15.4%). Cosgrove was a starter early in his professional career but moved to the bullpen coming out of the canceled 2020 minor league season and has seen his numbers take off since the switch to short relief.

In 2021, the lefty notched a 2.36 ERA in 26 2/3 innings at the Double-A level, and he turned in a combined 3.72 ERA in 55 2/3 frames between Double-A and Triple-A last year. He’s walked 10.8% of his opponents between Double-A and Triple-A but also has an impressive 33.4% strikeout rate between those two levels.

The Padres already have four lefties in their bullpen, with each of Josh Hader, Tim Hill, Ray Kerr and Ryan Weathers giving manager Bob Melvin a southpaw option. San Diego relievers rank 22nd in the Majors with a 4.71 ERA, although that number is skewed a bit by a handful of poor outings from Luis Garcia, Reiss Knehr and Nabil Crismatt. Most of the individual relievers in San Diego’s relief corps have been solid.

The Padres just had an off-day Monday, but the bullpen covered a combined four innings yesterday and a combined 11 1/3 innings in the team’s past three games overall. Cosgrove hasn’t pitched since April 22, so he’ll give them a well-rested arm to slot into the mix. He’s in the first of three minor league option years, so he could be shuttled between El Paso and San Diego several times this year.

Musgrove fractured the big toe on his left foot after an accident in the weight room in late February, and then suffered a minor shoulder injury during a rehab start that further delayed his return.  However, Musgrove only ended up missing roughly an extra week, and he now looks ready to go in his customary spot atop San Diego’s rotation.

Naturally, getting Musgrove back only further strengthens a Padres team that also got Fernando Tatis Jr. back the lineup after his PED suspension expired earlier this week.  Between these absences and several other injuries, it perhaps isn’t surprising that the Padres have gotten off a lackluster start, with only a 10-12 record heading into today’s action.

Musgrove will rejoin the rotation just as the Padres are about to enter a relatively light portion of their schedule, as from April 24 to May 29, the Padres have seven off-days.  As a result, San Diego will move to a five-man rotation of Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Seth Lugo, and Michael Wacha, with Nick Martinez joining Ryan Weathers as bullpen reinforcement.  Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune writes that the Padres’ plan is to try and keep Martinez somewhat stretched out in long relief roles, so make it easier for Martinez to step back into the rotation in the event of an injury or a rest day for one of the starters (possibly Lugo, who is still being re-acclimated to starting work after pitching as a reliever for the last few years).  Weathers could also be a multi-inning weapon out of the pen.

It’s probably unlikely that the projected starting five will last the rest of the season without another IL stint, so Martinez or Weathers are surely going to get more starts before 2023 is over.  At least in the short term, however, their usage in the bullpen will greatly help a relief corps that has been shorthanded by injuries.