Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Straily closer to a return
Right-hander to begin minor league rehab
MIAMI — Dan Straily woke up Wednesday and felt nothing.
It was exactly what the right-hander and the Marlins were hoping for the day after he threw 29 pitches off the mound in what was viewed as a key step in his return from forearm inflammation that sidelined him late in spring training.
After passing that test, Straily received the goahead to begin a minor league rehab assignment. Straily is scheduled to pitch four innings Friday for High-A Jupiter on the road against the Daytona Tortugas, a Cincinnati Reds affiliate.
“I was really excited today,” said Straily, who was able to skip ahead in the build-up process because he had worked up to a regularseason pitch count before he was shut down.
It was the first indication that help is on the way for a Marlins team that has been forced to rely heavily on too many inexperienced players in the early weeks of the season.
While Straily’s return will give a needed boost to the starting rotation, several other key players may soon follow.
Starting catcher J.T. Realmuto, out since March 11 due to a back bruise, has been getting at-bats the past couple of days in extended spring training games in Jupiter.
Martin Prado played four innings in the field, and manager Don Mattingly said the veteran third baseman “is probably more confident than he’s been in a long time as far as being healthy, being able to get on the field, bouncing back. Hopefully he just keeps progressing and we get him back.”
Also encouraging, lefty Wei-Yin Chen will pitch three innings in an extended spring training game Thursday.
Chen, Miami’s highestpaid player this season, has been dealing with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. He has made only 27 starts in two seasons since signing a five-year, $80 million contract. Although he made four relief appearances in September, he hasn’t started a game since May 1.
In lieu of surgery, the strategy has been to gradually build strength in the arm.
“Wei-Yin has been slowly surprising us all spring, that he’s felt good every time out. He hasn’t had any setbacks. Hopefully that just continues,” Mattingly said.
Chen spoke during spring training of aiming for a return to the Marlins in May. A better indication will come when he begins a minor league rehab stint, which gives pitchers 30 days to return to active status.
The clock will start for Straily when he pitches Friday for the Hammerheads. But it hasn’t been determined how many rehabs starts he will need before rejoining the Marlins.
“They asked me to be honest, and I asked them to not set hard deadlines, and that way we can do this the right way,” said Straily, adding that the way he felt following Tuesday’s session gives him confidence he will be able to “move forward and come back as soon as possible, but responsibly.” ready to return to third base, where rookie
has been the club’s most productive and consistent hitter.
Going into Wednesday, Anderson led all major league rookies in hits (13), doubles (four), walks (nine) and on-base percentage (.462.) He ranked second in average (.317) and fourth in slugging percentage (.488).
Indications are that Anderson could see action in the outfield. He played exclusively in the infield in the minors after the Marlins drafted him in the third round in 2014.
Mattingly wasn’t tipping his hand, but indicated some creative use of personnel will be required.
“We’ll be working on that as Martin [Prado] gets closer, as JT [Riddle] gets closer,” Mattingly said. “You hit, you play. That’s the way it’s always worked.”
Brian Anderson