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Update: Jose Ureña was placed on the 10-Day DL, retroactive to June 21st, with an impingement on his throwing shoulder. Nick Wittgren was reinstated from the 10-Day DL.
After a chippy series versus the San Fransisco Giants, Marlins right-handed starter Dan Straily and manager Don Mattingly have been given suspensions by Major League Baseball: five games and one game, respectively.
Discipline was handed to the Marlins after Straily threw intentionally at Giants catcher Buster Posey on Tuesday in retaliation to Giants pitcher Dereck Rodriguez plunking Lewis Brinson. The Marlins rookie recorded the game-tying base hit in the previous game against known hot-head Hunter Strickland and exchanged words with Strickland later in that ninth inning.
Dan Straily to receive a 5 game league suspension and Don Mattingly a 1 game suspension for Tuesday incidents in SF.Straily will appeal.
— clarkspencer (@clarkspencer) June 21, 2018
Despite their involvement in all the drama, no Giants were suspended. Straily is appealing his suspension.
The Marlins may find themselves in need of a spot start. Other pitchers in Straily’s position have been unsuccessful in getting the length of their suspensions reduced. Further complicating Miami’s rotation plans, Wednesday’s starter Jose Ureña could be landing on the disabled list with an elbow issue.
It is important to remember that even though Straily won’t be allowed to play in the games while suspended, he will take up a spot on the 25-man active roster. If he sits out the full five games, the Marlins could either turn to one of their long relievers or recall a pitcher from the minor leagues (along with a corresponding move).
The depth available at Triple-A New Orleans includes top pitching prospect Sandy Alcántara, Jarlin García, Dillon Peters, Zac Gallen and Pablo López. Making room for one of them would either mean demoting a major league pitcher or placing Ureña on the 10-day DL.
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While it’s more likely that García or Peters makes the spot start, López lines up perfectly to debut in Straily’s or Ureña’s place. Alcántara has pitched well in New Orleans and was expected to be up with the Marlins by now.
The silver lining to these potential rotation losses is that the replacement options are all intriguing and encouraging.
Thank you for reading, until next time!