Marlins roster makeover: April 16, 2019

Losers of 11 of their past 13 games (and 13 of 17 overall to begin the season), the Marlins are making some impactful changes to their active roster prior to Tuesday’s game against the Cubs. The club announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Isaac Galloway from Triple-A New Orleans (first reported by Craig Mish, SiriusXM/Five Reasons Sports Network), optioned down shortstop JT Riddle (first reported by Andy Slater, 640 The Hurricane), recalled left-hander Jarlin García (first reported by Daniel Álvarez Montes, El Extra Base) and placed right-hander Austin Brice on the 10-day injured list with gastroenteritis.

Longtime organizational player Isaac Galloway finally broke through the majors late in the 2018 season. He has since gotten off to a torrid start with Triple-A New Orleans, slashing .297/.350/.730 while leading the team with eight extra-base hits. He wasn’t on the 40-man roster, but the Marlins had a vacant spot for him.

Struggling and recently banged up Lewis Brinson remains in Miami for now, though Galloway may cut into his playing time.

JT Riddle had the lion’s share of playing time at shortstop through the first few series, starting against all right-handed pitchers. However, he failed to take advantage (.156/.156/.344, 1-for-his-last-17). Manager Don Mattingly made it clear several days ago that Miguel Rojas would be the everyday option for the Fish moving forward.

This leaves Rosell Herrera as the de facto backup shortstop. He had previously been deployed as an outfielder.

Jarlin García fortifies the fatigued bullpen after allowing two earned runs in his 4 ²⁄₃ innings with the Baby Cakes. García hasn’t pitched since April 13, so his arm is relatively fresh.

Here is the fully updated Marlins roster. Blue names are left-handed pitchers/left-handed batters, red names are switch-hitters, and names below the line are on the injured list:

Marlins Communications