Marlins News

Justin Nicolino’s latest stint in the Marlins rotation has come to an end, as Don Mattingly opted to use him in yesterday’s ball game in relief, apparently with the knowledge that Nicolino would be replaced in his turn in the rotation come Saturday. Like most of Nicolino’s outings, the relief stint went poorly, with Nicolino giving up a two-run jack to Curtis Granderson, a walk and a single before getting Jay Bruce to line out to end the seventh inning.

It has yet to be determined exactly who will be taking Nicolino’s place in the rotation but the odds-on favorite is Tom Koehler. Koehler has only give up one run in two starts for the New Orleans Baby Cakes since returning from the disabled list.

In the same Sun Sentinel piece linked above, Tim Healey mentions that Wei-Yin Chen has been throwing, but not from a mound and is still “a long ways off,” according to Marlins skipper Don Mattingly.

In case you missed the news from yesterday, a wide variety of Marlins were said to be on the market, according to a source within the Marlins organization who spoke with USA TODAY’s Bob Nightengale. Among the names brought up in some way shape or form were ::deep breath:: David Phelps, AJ Ramos, Kyle Barraclough, Giancarlo Stanton, Justin Bour, Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich, Martin Prado, JT’s Riddle and Realmuto. Don’t panic though: Junichi Tazawa appears safe.

Steve Silverman of Bleacher Report threw out a NL/AL All-Stars roster prediction article yesterday. Interestingly enough, he also has Stanton and Ozuna making the squad as the Marlins representatives but he has Stanton starting ahead of Ozuna in the final iteration.

Around the League

Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein wasted no time in designating for assignment catcher Miguel Montero after Montero called out teammate Jake Arrieta for failing to hold runners on board during Tuesday’s loss to the Washington Nationals. The Nats stole seven bases off of the Cubs pitcher-catcher duo.

The once hot Colorado Rockies have gone ice cold, losing their eighth straight after dropping Wednesday afternoon’s contest to the last place San Francisco Giants.

Seattle Mariners left-hander Drew Smyly has been lost for this season and perhaps the next as he will be forced to undergo Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL in his left elbow. Smyly was acquired in the off-season by Seattle in hopes of shoring up the middle of their rotation, but he was hurt during spring training and never even took the mound for them.

Your gratuitous Tim Tebow watch: In his first day with the High-A St. Lucie Mets, Tebow went 3-5 with a single, a walk and a two-run home run.