In midst of outbreak, Marlins add 2 pitchers
With a total of 14 players, staff and coaches testing positive for the novel coronavirus, the Miami Marlins are looking to find ways to fill out their roster.
The first such move came Monday afternoon, with the team claiming right-handed pitcher Justin Shafer and left-handed pitcher Josh Smith, both from the Cincinnati Reds, off waivers. The team announced both moves early Monday evening.
Shafer, who played his collegiate ball at the University of Florida, never appeared in a game for the Reds. He most recently pitched with the Toronto Blue Jays, registering a 3.86 earned-run average in 39.2 innings with the ball club. Smith made six appearances with the Marlins in 2019, recording an 8.31 ERA in 4.2 innings. The Reds designated both for assignment.
The moves come amid unprecedented roster flux. Nearly one-third of the team’s 30-man Opening Day roster has now reportedly tested positive for COVID-19.
Team CEO Derek Jeter released a statement confirming the cancellation of Monday’s night home opener and the need for a “collective pause,” but made no explicit reference to positive test results. Garrett Cooper, Harold Ramirez and Jose Urena were put on the Injured List, but the team has yet to definitively announce any positive coronavirus test results.
While 30 of the team’s top-level prospects and best reserves await at an alternate training facility in Jupiter — created for this very purpose — the scale of the outbreak requires major league-caliber additions if the Marlins hope to be competitive with the players who tested positive likely to miss multiple games.
It still remains to be seen where, when, how or if the Marlins will return to the diamond. They won two of their first three contests against the Philadelphia Phillies before Monday’s news shook their present outlook.
The additions of Shafer and Smith will likely be the first of many dominoes still to fall in the coming days.