Injuries & Moves: Smith to make Opening Day bullpen after trade
LATEST NEWS
March 27: RHP Burch Smith acquired from Rays for cash
Smith, who last appeared in the Majors in 2021, will be in the Opening Day bullpen. While the 33-year-old saw mixed results this spring (2.63 WHIP), he impressed bench coach Luis Urueta and bullpen coach Wellington Cepeda while pitching for their winter ball team in the Dominican Republic.
March 27: UTIL Jon Berti traded to Yankees for OF John Cruz Rays acquire C Ben Rortvedt and send OF Shane Sasaki to Marlins
Miami dealt its longest-tenured position player with an eye toward the future, adding two young outfield prospects. The Marlins were confident in their utility-player depth with offseason acquisitions Nick Gordon, Vidal Bruján and Jonah Bride. The Yankees needed a third baseman with DJ LeMahieu out, while the Rays required a backup catcher.
March 26: RHP Huascar Brazoban reassigned to restricted list
Brazoban, who was unable to report to Spring Training due to visa issues, appeared in 50 games last season out of the bullpen. The 40-man roster is now at 39, meaning Miami could add non-roster invitee Vladimir Gutierrez to the Opening Day roster should the club choose to do so.
March 23: 1B/DH Trey Mancini, C Curt Casali and RHP Mychal Givens won't make Opening Day roster
Mancini and Casali are no longer in the organization. Givens was reassigned to Minor League camp. It was going to be tough for them to crack the roster. Josh Bell is manning first base, with Luis Arraez and Jake Burger as backup options; Troy Johnston (Miami's No. 18 prospect) is expected to play every day at Triple-A Jacksonville. Christian Bethancourt and Nick Fortes are the 40-man backstops, with Will Banfield (No. 23 prospect) waiting in the wings. Givens, who signed a Minor League deal on March 10, needs more time to build up and increase his velocity after an injury-impacted 2023.
INJURY UPDATES
RHP Edward Cabrera (right shoulder impingement)
Expected return: Mid-April
Cabrera threw 39 pitches and everything from his arsenal except the slider in the March 26 intrasquad scrimmage at loanDepot park. Cabrera's MRI on March 11 revealed a right shoulder impingement, the same diagnosis that made him miss a month last season -- though this time around Miami caught it sooner. Cabrera experienced the tightness during his pregame bullpen and later on the mound during warmups on March 10. (Last updated: March 26)
LHP Braxton Garrett (left shoulder soreness)
Expected return: Mid-late April
Garrett threw a bullpen session on March 26 ahead of game action on March 28 in the Minor Leagues. Garrett, who had been dealing with general shoulder soreness at the beginning of camp, threw two innings/35 pitches in his second live batting practice on March 23. (Last updated: March 26)
RHP Eury Pérez (mild right elbow inflammation)
Expected return: Early May
Pérez played catch on March 23-24 after testing revealed no structural damage to his elbow. Pérez's recurring nail issue had forced him to exit for precautionary reasons after just 14 pitches on March 13 -- but the bigger issue came the following morning when he reported feeling soreness in his right elbow. (Last updated: March 24)
RHP JT Chargois (neck spasms)
Expected return: May
After being on no-throw status for a handful of days following a specialist visit on March 13, Chargois has begun playing catch and is doing weight room activities. He will remain in Jupiter, Fla., to build up. Chargois, whose spring workload got delayed when he experienced neck spasms on Feb. 23, gave up one run on two hits in his Grapefruit League debut on March 12. His velocity maxed out at 92.6 mph in the 16-pitch outing, less than his average fastball velo (96.2 mph) in 2023. (Last updated: March 24)
INF/OF Xavier Edwards (athlete's foot)
Expected return: Soon
Edwards, who hasn't appeared in a game since March 5, hit on the back fields on March 24. He had been participating in full workouts up to this point. (Last updated: March 24)
RHP Calvin Faucher (right shoulder impingement)
Expected return: Early April
Faucher threw live batting practice on March 23, but he will need three to four outings before he joins the club, according to manager Skip Schumaker. Faucher hasn't appeared in a game since exiting his March 6 Grapefruit League outing.
"He looked really good," Schumaker said. "He was up to 96 [mph]. His curveball was as advertised to me. It was the first time I've actually seen him to where he should be. You could tell that he wasn't feeling good maybe from the get-go when he was here. But I understand new organization, trying to make a team, the whole deal. He's a competitor, so he wanted to throw. I think now that he's healthy and you see what it can be, it was a real arm today. All the characteristics on all the pitches were somebody that we're going to really use, and [I'm] looking forward to him getting to Miami." (Last updated: March 23)
LHP Josh Simpson (left arm/elbow discomfort)
Expected return: TBD
Simpson, who hasn't pitched since Feb. 27, threw with batters in the box on March 23. He began feeling the discomfort shortly after that Feb. 27 outing, according to manager Skip Schumaker. He went on to compare Simpson's discomfort to A.J. Puk's left elbow nerve irritation from last season. (Last updated: March 23)
60-day injured list
RHP Sandy Alcantara (Tommy John surgery)
Expected return: 2025
Alcantara threw on flat ground on March 9 for the first time since undergoing the procedure. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Feb. 24 to make room on the 40-man roster for Tim Anderson.
Alcantara initially felt the discomfort on the 94th and final pitch of his Sept. 3 start against the Nationals and was diagnosed with a right forearm flexor strain. An MRI later revealed a right UCL sprain. He began a rehab assignment with Triple-A Jacksonville on Sept. 21 but shut himself down after experiencing forearm tightness. (Last updated: March 9)