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Henderson Alvarez was supposed to be an important cog of the Miami Marlins rotation this season, but on the day before the season, he and Nathan Eovaldi were moved to the 15-day disabled list thanks to shoulder inflammation. Alvarez appeared to be the first of the two to be ready for a return, as he began throwing light bullpen sessions in preparation for a mid-May return. But Alvarez suffered a setback and was shut down from pitching due to discomfort. Now, as part of the promotion of utility infielder Nick Green to the 40-man roster in order to replace the injured Donovan Solano, Alvarez has been moved to the 60-day disabled list.
Alvarez is now no longer available to the Fish until shortly before the All-Star break in mid-July. However, manager Mike Redmond said he would not have been able to pitch following the setback until the All-Star break anyway.
Manager Mike Redmond said on Tuesday that Alvarez is on a throwing progression, and that he wasn't going to be game-ready until after the 60-day period.
"It kind of worked out where he could go to the 60-day," Redmond said. "He's just starting the process of coming back, and starting to play catch and building his long-toss sessions. He's still a ways out. We're hoping that this is it, and we won't have any more setbacks."
The concern right now is that the Fish will have to go to at least two more months with the combination of Wade LeBlanc and Alex Sanabia when they were previously expecting one of those pitchers to be replaced soon. Sanabia is starting tonight and had a poor evening, giving up four runs on 4 1/3 innings with just three strikeouts and two walks to his name. LeBlanc started last night and also struggled, giving up four runs in five innings.
Alvarez posted a poor season in 2012, striking out just 79 batters in 187 1/3 innings and posting a 4.87 ERA and 5.18 FIP. He was looking to recover and hold off some of the home runs that plagued his time with the Toronto Blue Jays while working in Marlins Park, but his Marlins career will have to wait another few months to start.