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The Miami Marlins thought they added to their rotation yesterday by trading for Jarred Cosart in their multi-player deal with the Houston Astros. It turns out they merely picked up a replacement; hours before Cosart makes his Marlins debut, the Fish tweet out the bad news about Henderson Alvarez.
ROSTER MOVE: • Henderson Alvarez to 15-day DL (retro to 7/30) with right shoulder inflammation • Dan Jennings recalled from @zephyrsbaseball
— Miami Marlins (@Marlins) August 1, 2014
The news on Alvarez was initially reported by friend of Fish Stripes Juan C. Rodriguez of the Sun-Sentinel.
#Marlins place RHP Henderson Alvarez on 15-day DL (retro to July 30) with right shoulder inflammation; LHP Jennings recalled
— Juan C. Rodriguez (@JCRMarlinsbeat) August 1, 2014
So far, that is all we know about the injury. A couple of starts ago, Alvarez left a game against the San Francisco Giants early, but it was with a known left leg contusion from a batted ball slamming into him. Otherwise, there had not been any real sign of injury or favoring of the shoulder in the last two starts. Alvarez was sharp enough to throw eight innings of two-run ball against the Atlanta Braves two starts back, but he walked four in seven innings against the Washington Nationals last time out in an ugly shutout effort.
Alvarez is no stranger to shoulder injuries. He sat out half of last season with right shoulder inflammation discovered just before the Marlins broke camp, but he returned with a vengeance last time around. This year, he owns a 2.43 ERA, 3.38 FIP, and made the All-Star team, making his 2014 a success up until this point. There is no timetable on a return for the right-hander, but given that he failed to come back at the right time last year and suffered a setback that threw him all the way to midseason in 2013, the Marlins will probably be cautious.
This is a painful blow to a roster that just improved slightly with Cosart coming via trade. He was expected to take Jacob Turner's spot in the rotation and slider Turner to the bullpen, where he was having some success despite the ugly ERA. Now Turner and Brad Hand will stick in the rotation as before, and Miami replaces the above-average Alvarez with the questionable Cosart.
Stay tuned to Fish Stripes for more details as they develop.