Cabrera, Conine contribute in return from IL

PHILADELPHIA -- The Marlins reinstated right-hander Edward Cabrera and outfielder Griffin Conine from the injured list while optioning righty Adam Mazur and outfielder Joey Wiemer as corresponding roster moves on Monday afternoon.

A little more than 24 hours later, the pair contributed to Miami’s thrilling 6-5 victory over Philadelphia in 11 innings on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Cabrera, who had been sidelined since Aug. 31 with a right elbow sprain, allowed three runs over four innings in his first start since Aug. 30.

In the midst of a breakout campaign, Cabrera experienced tightness during that outing against the Mets, exiting after four innings. He would undergo testing and receive multiple opinions before resuming throwing on Sept. 10 and tossing three innings (about 50 pitches) in a simulated game Wednesday.

“It was a little bit after the injury,” Cabrera said via interpreter Luis Dorante Jr. about thinking a return was possible. “I do not remember the date. I don't like to think about it, but the most important part is that I'm here, I'm back. It was more to reduce that inflammation, trying to get back in the field and then just back to normal.”

Cabrera’s return to the rotation for the season’s final six games made Mazur the odd man out, with righties Sandy Alcantara (Friday), Janson Junk (Thursday) and Eury Pérez (likely Saturday) as well as lefty Ryan Weathers (Wednesday) lined up to start this week. After being recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville in late August, Mazur posted a 4.44 ERA in five starts.

Conine, who was Miami’s Opening Day right fielder, started in left field and batted eighth in the lineup. He went deep off righty David Robertson in a two-run eighth that kicked off the Marlins’ late rally.

And Conine did so in the same place where he dislocated his shoulder on a headfirst slide while he had gotten off to a strong start to his season (118 OPS+). He underwent what was believed to be season-ending left shoulder surgery on April 30. But he was ahead of schedule in his rehab and began an assignment on Sept. 7. In nine games, Conine slashed .292/.514/.583 with one double, two homers, nine RBIs, 11 walks and nine strikeouts for the Jumbo Shrimp.

“A good feeling,” Conine said of the homer. “Got in a good count. It was one of the cooler ones I've hit ever, given the circumstances. When I heard I was coming back to play here in this series, possibly, it was definitely in my head, like, 'How cool [would] that be if I could get one just given what happened, and coming back for it?' But also definitely was not trying to swing big or anything, just having good at-bats. Got a fly ball to the pull side, which is a good place to do that.”

With Conine back, the Marlins elected to send down right-handed-hitting Wiemer (.755 OPS in 23 games). Wiemer might be recalled from Triple-A Jacksonville after Dane Myers sustained a right knee laceration during Tuesday’s game.

Since Conine was on the 60-day IL, the Marlins made space on the 40-man roster by returning outfielder Derek Hill from rehab, reinstating him from the 10-day IL and designating him for assignment.

Despite being the club’s Opening Day center fielder, Hill landed on the IL four times during the season. He had been out since Sept. 2 with a right hamstring strain, beginning his rehab assignment on Saturday with Triple-A Jacksonville.

“I keep saying, those decisions are always difficult,” manager Clayton McCullough said. “But the harder they are, the better. That means we just have a different level of depth organization to pull from, and we have guys that come back off the injured list. It makes decisions tough, and that's a good thing.”