This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola's Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
Pitchers are notoriously strict with their routines, and Marlins left-hander Ryan Weathers is no exception.
Weathers usually stops traveling in November so he can begin his offseason throwing program, but this winter came with a slight change of plans as he and his wife traveled to Scotland over the holidays for her first cousin’s wedding. Good thing everywhere Weathers goes, he brings along his resistance bands, weighted balls and baseballs.
Insistent on getting his work in, Weathers tracked down an email for Jason Derr, the founder of the Edinburgh Cannons of the Scottish National Baseball League, and asked if there was any flat ground for him to throw on. Derr recommended the Cannons’ home at Warriston Recreation Playing Fields, which also serve football and rugby.
On three occasions during the trip, Weathers and his father-in-law played catch -- once at Warriston and twice at Princes Street Gardens, an urban park situated between the Old Town and the New Town of the country’s capital.
“This is the first time that I've thrown in that capacity,” Weathers said. “Going back, my wife took some video. It was pretty neat. I would never think I would get to throw in Scotland, so it was pretty cool.”
Locals taking in the Christmas market stared at the pair in confusion. On the last day of the trip, a security guard came up to them and requested they stop:
“No, I promise. I'm not doing this out of leisure. I actually have to throw.”
“Well, how many more do you have?”
“I literally have like three to five more.”
“What are you throwing for?”
“I play baseball in America. It's actually my job. I promise I'm not lying to you. If I need to pull up a roster, I play for the Miami Marlins. I'm just literally getting my throws in.”
Born and raised in Tennessee and residing in Alabama, Weathers found the wintry weather of Scotland to be a challenge. He developed a newfound appreciation for what the Scottish players have to deal with in preparing for their upcoming season.
“Man, is it hard to throw up there with that wind,” Weathers said. “I wish I would have had my cleats; that would have made it a little bit easier. [I remember Derr saying], ‘As you can tell, it's kind of hard to really do anything right now with how much it rains and how cold it is.’ I was like, ‘You got that right! I am freezing right now trying to play catch.’”
Once Weathers arrived back in the States, there was no time for jetlag as he continued training. The 25-year-old considers himself old school when it comes to his offseason work. Following his last outing on Sept. 30 in Toronto, he didn’t throw a baseball until after Thanksgiving.
Weathers has been long tossing for the past few weeks, and his first day off the mound was Saturday.
Other than ace Sandy Alcantara coming back from Tommy John surgery, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone more eager for 2025 than Weathers.
Before missing three months due to a left index finger strain sustained on a fluke play, Weathers was making an All-Star case with a 3.55 ERA in 13 first-half starts. He returned to make three starts in September, closing out his season with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball against the Blue Jays.
Then there’s the new look to Weathers, who is 20 pounds lighter. Though Weathers had known his father’s side of the family had a history of Type 2 diabetes, it was only recently that he discovered his high insulin resistance. During the season, Weathers would grow frustrated when his clean eating led to weight gain. Now, he is following a Keto diet.
And with Miami’s trade of Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies, Weathers in particular will be asked to fill the void behind Alcantara.
“It'll be a good year for everybody to gain some experience,” Weathers said. “From my perspective, like last year, getting to pitch through a couple struggles in starts at the beginning, and pitching through that and starting to figure out where I work best in the zone, I think ultimately led to a little mini breakout. I want to pitch a full season, but just going into the season knowing that you don't have the safety net of Luzardo bailing me out, you've got to get to work. You've got to bring your stuff every day. So, I think it's going to be fun to see how we can work collectively as a group to man the pitching staff.”