ST. LOUIS -- The Marlins optioned infielder Connor Norby and reliever Zach Brzykcy to Triple-A Jacksonville during Thursday’s off-day.
In corresponding moves, the club reinstated right-hander Max Meyer from the bereavement list. He started Friday's opener of a three-game series against the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Miami also recalled infielder Graham Pauley from Triple-A Jacksonville.
"Right now, [Pauley] was the right person to come up here and take Connor's place," manager Clayton McCullough said before Friday's game. "I think we'll just continue to evaluate things as we go from series to series, week to week."
Pauley slashed .237/.330/.495 with an .825 OPS and five home runs in 97 at-bats for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp this season.
In his return to the Majors, Pauley made an immediate impact by delivering the go-ahead RBI double in the Marlins' 4-0 win over the Cardinals on Friday.
"It was good," Pauley said. "One, great seeing all the guys today. It's been a little bit, so it was good to come back and see all their faces smiling and stuff. I think early in the game, I got those butterflies out, and then, as the game progressed, started to get more in the flow of things.
"[I] haven't been here, but I stayed in touch, and it's been a lot of fun watching these guys go out, compete every night and put together a lot of wins in June."
For McCullough, Norby's struggles ultimately led to the move, especially as his opportunities became more limited. The hope is that he can use regular at-bats in Triple-A to make adjustments to a swing that Major League pitchers have exposed.
"Connor's performance this year, while there's been some improvements in the walk rate and some other areas," McCullough said, "[The] big thing was that offensively, 'you just haven't performed well enough to take down a corner infield position at the Major League level.'
"Again, his playing time had started to diminish, and that was as much a result of some other guys really performing well. With where our team is right now, those guys will continue to get opportunities."
Through 65 games this season, Norby had a slash line of .205/.313/.325 with 12 doubles, four homers, 16 RBIs and 24 walks to 70 strikeouts in 233 plate appearances.
Norby, who was the club’s Opening Day first baseman, had seen reduced playing time of late with Kyle Stowers starting there on a regular basis in order to keep the hot-hitting Heriberto Hernández’s bat in the lineup in left field.
Leo Jiménez and Javier Sanoja, meanwhile, have split most of the third-base reps. During Spring Training, Norby battled Graham Pauley for the job and seemed poised to win it with Pauley nursing an injury most of camp. When Christopher Morel sustained an injury on Opening Day, however, that facilitated Norby’s move across the diamond to a position he was just learning. He wound up getting the majority of the work at first, with a club-high 41 starts.
When Pauley was first optioned on May 7, McCullough shared that, back then, he stressed that the move was not the end of the road.
"We knew there was a better player," McCullough said. "[He] just wasn't performing at a level that felt like him staying here was the best thing for him and us. [We told him] ‘Go down there, work yourself out, get out of this environment for a little while.’
“Like a pro that he is, he went down, just kept going and has played well in Jacksonville. Now he has an opportunity to come back here and help us."
Brzykcy, whose contract was selected from Triple-A Jacksonville on Monday, had yet to make his club debut.