MIAMI -- Marlins All-Star right-hander Max Meyer will be in no-throw status for the next two weeks, the club announced on Friday.
Meyer, who landed on the 15-day injured list with a neck strain on Monday, retroactive to Sunday, visited Dr. Robert Watkins IV in Los Angeles for further evaluation earlier in the week.
"At least with the further testing he got done, nothing new showed up," manager Clayton McCullough said. "Having to deal with this neck strain a little bit, I think he'll be able to keep his arm moving some, but it'll be on a limited basis. And then some of this is going to take a little bit of time to hopefully get it knocked out. In a couple weeks, we'll just kind of see how he's responded to everything, and at that point, how quickly a potential ramp-up and what that looks like."
McCullough said prior to the Marlins’ 8-5 loss to the Astros on Monday night at Daikin Park that Meyer first felt the issue in his start on July 7 against the Mariners. The Marlins skipped his last scheduled start before the All-Star break on July 12, and he didn’t pitch in the Midsummer Classic.
“He felt a little sensation in the neck area in that outing [versus Seattle],” McCullough said on Monday. “Went with the extra time, and he felt much better with that time down. He was able to get through his throwing and the bullpens, and we all felt -- he did, we did -- that he was in a good place to make that start after the break.
“Then, in the third inning of the game the other day in Milwaukee, he said he felt a similar sensation there, so we felt like it was worth going to get some further examination on that. He went out to L.A. to get that looked at, and as we get more information there, we will have a better idea on what the timeline might be.”
Meyer appeared off in Saturday's start against the Brewers in Milwaukee, allowing two runs in a season-low three innings while walking three. The 27-year-old Meyer has already surpassed his single-season career highs for innings and starts at the Major League level, and was taking the mound after a career-long 10 days between starts.
Until Saturday, Meyer had never gone longer than six days without taking the mound in a big league game. He had posted a 4.91 ERA in eight starts on six days of rest compared to 3.04 on the regular four days’ rest and 4.61 with five.
“I grinded through every single inning it felt like, put the 'pen in a tough spot, especially coming off a break like this,” Meyer said after Saturday's start. “Obviously, I wanted to go deeper. ‘Pen's got to pick up a lot of slack if I'm only going three innings and there's a one-run game. So, it was tough. Obviously, not my best one. Clean up the walks and then get back on it.”
This is the fifth straight year Meyer has missed time due to injury. In 2025, he went on the injured list with a left hip impingement in early June before having season-ending left hip labral repair surgery later that month.
Meyer sustained a right UCL tear during his second Major League start in 2022 and underwent Tommy John surgery, which made him miss all of 2023. He was sidelined with right shoulder bursitis in September 2024.
The Marlins started right-hander Ryan Gusto in Meyer's place for Friday's 4-2 loss to the Padres at loanDepot park, where he allowed one run over 3 1/3 innings on 57 pitches.
"It's less about what Gusto or anyone else did or did not do," McCullough said. "I think we'll just continue to look at when that spot comes open and what's the availability of the group and what we think going into that particular game gives us the best chance to win the game. He's throwing the ball very well and giving himself continued opportunities to pitch in a variety of spots."