Update on Alcantara injury. And Marlins owner Sherman addresses Ng as contract nears end
Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, who has been sidelined for 10 days, is now pain-free and has been presented two potential paths to a return, according to a source.
One potential avenue could have him possibly returning this season, provided he remains pain-free. In that scenario, he could pitch in games as early as next week.
But Alcantara and the team also could take a conservative approach, in which Alcantara would remain sidelined for four to six weeks and then be re-evaluated in October.
Surgery would be an option only if the injury worsens.
Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said prior to Miami’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday that Alcantara’s MRI revealed a UCL sprain. When the team placed him on the 15-day injured list, they called the injury a right forearm flexor strain.
Alcantara discussed options with Dr. Neal ElAttrache in a meeting in Los Angeles on Monday. ElAttrache has studied results of Alcantara’s MRI.
Alcantara played catch pregame Wednesday at Milwaukee’s American Family Field, his first form of throwing of any sort since the injury. Pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr., bullpen coordinator Rob Flippo and head athletic trainer Lee Meyer were among those who watched Alcantara throw in the outfield.
Alcantara said afterward he felt “happy to be back” and that his arm feels “100 percent good,” but he and Schumaker were both non-committal about if Alcantara will be able to return this season.
“I can’t say yes. I can’t say no,” Alcantara said. “I just gotta keep telling myself [to take it] day by day and take advantage of the opportunity.”
Schumaker added: “Watching him throw is a good thing. It’s a progression. We’re going to watch it every day and go from there.”
The earliest Alcantara would be eligible to come off the injured list is Tuesday.
Alcantara expressed some arm discomfort following his start against the Sept. 3 Washington Nationals. Alcantara said he felt the pain on the final pitch he threw in that game — an 83.8 mph curveball to end the eighth inning.
This is Alcantara’s first IL stint with the Marlins for an arm injury. He has been sidelined two other times in his Miami tenure, once in 2018 for an armpit infection and again in 2020 after testing positive for COVID-19. Alcantara also skipped one start earlier this season due to biceps tendinitis.
Alcantara, the 2022 National League Cy Young winner, has a 4.14 ERA through 184 2/3 innings. But his ERA has dropped to 3.20 in his 10 starts since the All-Star Break, a stretch in which he threw two complete games and pitched into the eighth inning four times.
Meanwhile, outfielder Jorge Soler — who has not played since Sept. 5 because of an oblique strain — is hopeful he can return in the final week of the season. Soler, who has 35 home runs and 71 RBI in 126 games this season, is expected to opt out of $13 million next season and become a free agent.
THIS AND THAT
▪ Marlins general manager Kim Ng’s contract expires after the season, and owner Bruce Sherman prefers not to say if she will be offered a new contract because he doesn’t want to distract from the team’s ongoing bid for a wild card spot. But it would be surprising if she’s not invited back.
Asked about the job she has done, Sherman said:
“Kim and the baseball operations team have worked diligently throughout the year to identify players that can help us succeed. Through continuous investments by our ownership group, our club has been able to make key additions to this promising roster that is now competing for the playoffs.
“The additions of Josh Bell and Jake Burger at the deadline have been a great spark to our lineup as well as great individuals in the clubhouse.”
The Marlins entered Wednesday’s game against Milwaukee 1.5 games behind Arizona for the NL’s third wild card spot. But the Marlins are tied with San Francisco and a half game behind Cincinnati, which also is chasing the Diamondbacks.
▪ Center fielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. — who’s hitting .252 (.298 on base) with 16 homers and 40 RBI in 82 games — has hit five homers with 15 RBI in his past 24 games, though a hot streak has been followed by an ongoing 5-for-24 stretch.
He said last month, that offensively he is “not even close to where I want to be at. I had a lot of goals for this season, and you get hurt. I feel I should be hitting .300, have my 20 homers. I want to hit 300 every year.
“I know I can hit 30 homers a year, hit .300 and steal 30 bags and play Gold Glove defense. If I didn’t get hurt, I would definitely be a Gold Glover easily. Hitting wise, I would probably be the best center fielder in baseball hitting wise.
“Next year, I play center field for the full year and we see numbers add up for a full year, and it can be a different story.”
▪ With Joey Wendle an impending free agent, the Marlins plan to try to upgrade at shortstop this winter.
Wendle is disappointed he couldn’t replicate the offensive success that he had in Tampa Bay, where he hit .274 (.330 on base) in 400 games. In 203 games as a Marlin, he’s at .244 and .280, including .224 and .259 in 120 games this season, with 20 RBI.
“It’s been a challenging year for me,” he said. “I’m more frustrated than anybody else about it. Just been unable to make some adjustments.”
▪ Schumaker is intrigued by the skill set of September call-up Xavier Edwards, who hit .351 (.429 on base) in 93 games at Triple A Jacksonville and is 13 for 44 (.296) as a Marlin, but with no walks. He has played most of his career at second base, but also has played some shortstop and third base, and Jacksonville used him some in center field this year.
“He takes really good at-bats,” Schumaker said. “It’s tough to teach ball/strike strike zone judgment. We tried a million things in San Diego and a little bit in St. Louis of trying to teach guys strike zone awareness and strike zone judgment. For me, you either have it or you don’t.
“Very rarely do you see these huge changes in strikeout percentage and walk rates. He’s got that. He knows what a strike is. He knows how to take a walk and have quality at-bats. He does the little things well. He bunts, right, left, takes good at-bats, can play second, can play center.
“He’s still evolving. To see if he can play the left side of the infield is the next step.”
▪ The Marlins’ Double A rotation, once loaded, is without a single pitcher who might be able to help them in their rotation next season.
Patrick Monteverde, a fairly soft thrower who was extraordinary early in the season at Double A Pensacola, was shelled for 13 runs in two starts in Jacksonville in late July and early August and then sent back to Pensacola, where he has a 2.97 ERA in 20 starts.
The other members of the Pensacola rotation: Evan Fitterer, who has a 4.40 ERA and 68 walks in 102 innings; Jonathan Bermudez (4.95 ERA), M.D. Johnson (5.67 ERA in 24 starts) and Luis Palacios (4.62 ERA).
There’s no clear-cut 2024 big-league rotation option at Triple A Jacksonville, either. Every starting pitcher in the Marlins’ Triple A rotation has an ERA of 4.97 or higher and none is a top prospect.
All of this means that the Marlins likely will need to add at least one veteran starting pitcher this offseason to protect themselves in case of injury.
Alcantara, Eury Perez, Jesus Luzardo and Braxton Garrett would headline a 2024 rotation, but Miami still doesn’t know if it can count on Edward Cabrera because of control issues or Trevor Rogers, because he was ineffective in 2023 (5.47 ERA) and injured most of this season (left biceps strain).
The Marlins assuredly will buy out Johnny Cueto for $2.5 million instead of paying him $10.5 million next season.
The longer-term minor-league pitching outlook is somewhat more optimistic, with Max Meyer returning next year from Tommy John surgery, Dax Fulton returning at some point from June elbow surgery and rookie first-rounder Noble Meyer looking solid in Jupiter (3.86 ERA in three starts).
Herald senior baseball correspondent Craig Mish hosts Newswire from 11 a.m. to noon weekdays on Sportsgrid. Follow him on Twitter at @CraigMish. Follow Barry Jackson at @flasportsbuzz
