Marlins links: 2018 Players’ Weekend and roster moves galore

Mismatch goes as expected

Rookie right-hander Elieser Hernandez had been on a nice streak of success out of the bullpen since the All-Star break. The Marlins rewarded him with a spot start while José Ureña serves his beanball suspension.

How’d that go?

Fish Stripes original GIF

Both Ronald Acuña Jr. and Charlie Culberson hammered no-doubt home runs in the early innings. Meanwhile, Miami’s offense couldn’t solve Sean Newcomb or the Braves relievers. Final score: 5-0.

Other notes from the series opener:

• Jarlin García took a sharp line drive to the leg in the fifth inning. He walked off the field after a quick examination under his own power, but with a noticeable limp. SiriusXM’s Craig Mish reports that Ben Meyer is being recalled from New Orleans, possibly to take García’s roster spot.
• The Marlins have determined that Kyle Barraclough is ready to return from the disabled list. The next five-plus weeks will be critical to re-establishing his trade value heading into the offseason.
• Handling mop duty (as he often does), Brett Graves pitched three more scoreless innings. He has yet to allow a homer in 20 ¹⁄₃ innings during his rookie campaign.

Better than you remember

Traditional stats tell you that Lewis Brinson sucked at the plate during the first half of the season. The results certainly did, but there’s more to it, as Mitch Custer explains.

Brinson (bruised hip) continued his rehab assignment with Double-A Jacksonville on Thursday. He seems to be on track to rejoin the Marlins when rosters expand next weekend.

Minor league scoreboard

Triple-A: Memphis 5, New Orleans 3

Double-A: Birmingham 6, Jacksonville 0 (completes suspended game); Birmingham 4, Jacksonville 1

High-A: Jupiter 9, Florida 8

Low-A: Delmarva 5, Greensboro 2

Short Season A: Williamsport 3, Batavia 2

Gulf Coast League: GCL Marlins 10, GCL Mets 9

Dominican Summer League: DSL Marlins 3, DSL Red Sox1 5

Thursday’s box scores courtesy of MiLB.com

Extra “teammates” motivate Marlins infielder

Miguel Rojas is in the midst of a career year, and his family finally gets to see it up close. Wells Dusenbury of the Sun Sentinel reports that many of his loved ones made their annual trip from Venezuela to Miami for the current homestand.

Rojas hit his 10th home run in front of them on Wednesday—he totaled only four during his first four major league seasons combined.

Players’ Weekend preview

Speaking of Rojas and Venezuela, check out the bat he’ll be swinging this weekend to represent his roots:

Photo by @DaniAlvarez_16/Twitter

Many Marlins players will take advantage of the loosened uniform restrictions with flashy cleats, including JT Riddle:

In case you missed it earlier this month, here’s the full list of nicknames.

Sneak peek at September alignment

Despite an impressive body of work in right field this season, the Marlins still envision Brian Anderson as their long-term third baseman, Don Mattingly says (h/t Joe Frisaro, MLB.com). So that’s where he’ll start most of the remaining games.

Martín Prado (quad strain) is ramping up baseball activities with the expectation of being activated next month, but his role will be scaled back. When he does get on the field, it would involve more work at first base.

Both Frisaro and Craig Mish openly wonder if Derek Dietrich might get traded prior to August 31 to ease the roster congestion.

Season series with Braves mercifully wraps up

These next three games will be the final three between the Braves and Fish in 2018. The division leaders have thus far won 13 of 16 while scoring nearly twice as many runs.

Friday’s probable starters are Mike Foltynewicz and Dan “Thunder” Straily. First pitch at 7:10 p.m.