The Marlins on Thursday placed third baseman Brian Anderson on the injured list with a left oblique strain and recalled infielder José Devers (No. 8 prospect) from the alternate training site for his first call to The Show.
The 21-year-old Devers, who was on the taxi squad for the 2020 playoffs and during the first road trip of the season, has never appeared above Class A Advanced. In 2019, he slashed .322/.391/.390 with a .781 OPS at three Minor League levels and participated in the Arizona Fall League while competing against players several years older. His cousin is Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers. José Devers was part of the Giancarlo Stanton trade in 2017.
"José's going to be fine and give us good at-bats when he's in there," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. "He knows how to play. I know he's a young kid, but young kids that have played winter ball and things like that for the Dominican, they're not afraid of anything over here, and they don't seem to be too nervous. So José's a baseball player, he's going to be fine. He's going to be a good player."
In parts of nine Grapefruit League games this spring, Devers went 2-for-10 with one triple, one run, one RBI, one stolen base, three walks and two strikeouts. A middle infielder during his time in the Minors, he also received reps at third base at camp. According to MLB Pipeline, Devers has the best bat-to-ball skills among Marlins prospects and has had no trouble handling much more experienced pitchers throughout his career. At the alternate training site last summer, the left-handed hitter showed improved exit velocities and arm strength.
"I think it's pretty easy to see a very bright future ahead for José Devers," Marlins director of Minor League operations Geoff DeGroot told MLB.com during Spring Training. "It's been a great camp for him, and he's just showing exactly what we've seen from the beginning."
Although Anderson had gotten off to a slow start (.183/.246/.283 with a .529 OPS in 16 games), he is a middle-of-the-order threat and a Gold Glove Award finalist at the hot corner. He last played on Tuesday. In his absence, super-utility player Jon Berti will see the bulk of the action. Berti has appeared at third base 27 times (19 starts) in the Majors and 93 games (89 starts) in the Minors.
"We were hoping he'd be doing better today when they tried to do some stuff with him," Mattingly said of Anderson. "It just wasn't to the point where we felt even good that it was going to be a couple of days. If we had thought it would've been a couple of days, we could have played with it and got through it. But it seemed like it was going to be more than that.
"... We're just not in a spot to lose Andy for a four-week period, letting him go out there and trying to play and ripping something up. So we're going to be cautious with him, trying to hopefully get him back at the end of the 10 days. But honestly, we'll have him back when he's ready to be back. But we're hoping it's just a shorter period of time since we've kind of stopped this thing."
In Wednesday's 3-0 win, Miami fielded just a 25-player roster (13 pitchers and 12 position players) after optioning right-hander Nick Neidert (No. 10 prospect) to the alternate training site. Righty Jordan Holloway (No. 22 prospect) takes his spot on the pitching staff. First baseman/right fielder Garrett Cooper (groin), meanwhile, struck out swinging in a pinch-hit appearance in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 3-0 loss to the Giants. Cooper last started on Sunday, but Mattingly expects him back in Friday night's lineup.
Pitcher injury updates
• Elieser Hernandez (right biceps inflammation) is throwing at 90 feet without issue. The right-hander, who exited during his season debut on April 3, will begin bullpen work next week.
• Right-hander Sixto Sánchez (right shoulder inflammation) is throwing at 60 feet without issue. Marlins general manager Kim Ng on Wednesday had this to say about MLB Pipeline's No. 13 overall prospect: "We're definitely still a bit of a ways out."
• Righty Edward Cabrera (inflamed nerve in his right biceps) is throwing at 105 feet without issue. MLB Pipeline's No. 59 overall prospect has yet to make his MLB debut.
• Right-hander Jorge Guzman (right elbow inflammation) experienced a setback during a bullpen session last week. He has been shut down for the last couple of days. Miami's No. 29 prospect will resume throwing next week.
Who's on the mound Sunday?
With Neidert optioned to the alternate training site, his spot in the rotation will come around for the series finale.
"We haven't decided yet 100 percent," Mattingly said Thursday. "We're pretty sure, and as soon as we know, I will tell you on this one. So maybe something that happens today will give you guys a better indication of where we're going."