Marlins starting pitcher to begin season on IL with elbow inflammation

Touted young Marlins right-hander Eury Perez has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow and will begin the 2024 season on the 15-day injured list, per Craig Mish and Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Surgery has not been recommended, but Perez will be sidelined for several weeks while the inflammation calms down. It’s a tough loss to begin the season, though far from a worst-case scenario for the Marlins and their fans, who were bracing for the possibility of a more serious injury when Perez went for an MRI after experiencing elbow soreness.

Still just 20 years old (21 in April), Perez made his big league debut in 2023 and immediately looked like he belonged. In 91 1/3 innings, he pitched to a 3.15 ERA while striking out 28.9% of his opponents against a tidy 8.3% walk rate. He’d previously been touted as one of the very best pitching prospects in the sport, and that type of production against big league opposition before even turning 21 years old did little to sway that thinking.

It’s an immense relief that surgery isn’t on the table for now, but the Marlins will still be without Perez for a yet-to-be-determined period of time. The length of his absence will presumably dependent on how his elbow responds to the recent shutdown period. Only time will tell how quickly that inflammation might clear up. Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald notes that Perez will test his elbow playing some light catch this weekend, which could provide some more information.

Miami already announced left-hander Jesus Luzardo as the team’s Opening Day starter. Beyond that, the group won’t look much like the team envisioned throughout the offseason. That’s due in no small part to Perez’s injury but also because both Braxton Garrett and Edward Cabrera will start the season on the shelf due to shoulder issues. The Fish resisted trading from their stock of young arms this offseason and are likely glad they did so, given the injuries that have cropped up in camp.

Luzardo figures to be followed by former NL Rookie of the Year runner-up Trevor Rogers, reliever-turned-starter AJ Puk and former Padres first-round pick Ryan Weathers. Rogers is looking for a bounce-back after a pair of injury-plagued seasons. Puk was a starter in college and the minors but was pushed to the ’pen due to a series of injuries. The Marlins acquired him from the A’s in exchange for JJ Bleday last offseason and got a strong season of relief out of him; they’ll now try to stretch the big lefty out. Weathers came to the Fish in last summer’s Garrett Cooper swap with San Diego. He’s been an up-and-down depth arm with shaky results in the big leagues and Triple-A alike but was the No. 7 overall pick back in 2018.

If and when the Marlins need a fifth starter early in the season, that role could fall to righty Bryan Hoeing. He’s still in big league camp, while other 40-man options like Max Meyer, Darren McCaughan and Roddery Munoz have already been optioned out. Miami also reassigned non-roster pitchers Yonny Chirinos and Devin Smeltzer to minor league camp, ending their potential bid for rotation spots.

The Fish, of course, will be without ace Sandy Alcantara for the entire 2024 season. The 2022 National League Cy Young winner underwent Tommy John surgery in early October and will miss the entire 2024 season as a result. He’s expected back in 2025.