The Offishial Show Episode 156: Who Gets Squeezed Off Marlins Roster?

Fresh off a triumphant Marlins road trip, Ely digs into Pablo López (3:00). How will the MLB leader in earned run average perform once he’s required to pitch on “regular rest” instead of having the luxury of an extra day in between outings? Looking forward to Monday, active roster sizes are being reduced by two spots. Listen to why Bryan De La Cruz and Zach Pop are the players in the most danger of getting sent down to the minors (12:15).

Enjoy Episode 156!

Shortly after recording, the Marlins collected their 10th win of the season. They’ve gone 5-3 in one-run games so far, a stark contrast from how they started off in 2021.

López pitched on April 9, April 15, April 21 and April 27, getting five days of rest in between each outing. But he’s now lined up to work twice on “regular rest” against the Diamondbacks (May 2) and Padres (May 7). The Venezuelan right-hander has posted a 5.03 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in his 29 career starts on regular rest, significantly underperforming his overall numbers. These next assignments will tell us a lot about whether López can be physically relied upon for consistent greatness.

De La Cruz and Pop have three more minor league options apiece. Temporarily stowing them at Triple-A Jacksonville does not preclude them from having a major league impact later in the 2022 campaign or becoming valuable role players in future years.

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Fish Stripes is ranked by Feedspot as the world’s No. 2 Miami Marlins podcast (trailing only the pod that’s produced by the franchise itself). Our programs include The Offishial Show, Big Fish Small Pod, Fish Stripes Unfiltered and Earning Their Stripes. All new episodes are posted to FishStripes.com/podcasts. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podbean, Megaphone or wherever you normally get your pods from.