Miami Marlins starter Jacob Turner placed on 15-day disabled list

Miami Marlins starter Jacob Turner earned his spot in the rotation during Spring Training after not making the roster immediately last season. Turner has struggled with command in the past, but after suffering from a strained right shoulder, the Marlins placed him on the 15-day disabled list on Wednesday.

Turner pitched six innings and gave up five runs while walking three and striking out one in his first start of the season against the Colorado Rockies last Thursday. Miami was confident Turner had turned things around and would be able to become the consistent major league pitcher he was thought to be coming up in Detroit's minor league system.

Since it is only the second week of the season, the Marlins didn't feel the need to take a chance and have Turner take a few days off before resuming baseball-related activities. Miami has plenty of pitching depth, and with Brad Hand and Kevin Slowey both in the bullpen with starting experience, it is better to let Turner get healthy than have him play the rest of the season injured. Turner reportedly aggravated the shoulder while he was in the batting cage.

Hand took Turner's spot in the rotation on Wednesday night against the Nationals, and is a candidate to replace Turner over the next two weeks. Hand was effective throughout the course of the spring, and while the Marlins would have ideally had him open the season in a minor league rotation, the fact that he was out of options forced the issue. The fact that Hand is a left-handed option is notable, because with a healthy starting five, the Marlins have five consecutive right-handed pitchers in a division featuring several key left-handed bats.

Should Hand struggle, Slowey, who opened the 2013 season as a member of the starting rotation, is a veteran option.

In the corresponding roster move, the Marlins recalled reliever Arquimedes Caminero from Triple-A New Orleans. Many felt that with the success Caminero had throughout the spring, he deserved a spot in Miami's bullpen. Caminero pitched in a pair of games and in four innings has given up just one run and three hits.

In 13 innings with the Marlins last season, Caminero posted a 2.77 ERA while striking out 12. With Hand likely to remain in the rotation, Mike Dunn and Dan Jennings will be the two lefties available to manager Mike Redmond. Caminero joins a bullpen that posted a 0.40 ERA throughout the first week of the season.