Prado, Cooper excited after being activated from disabled list
Third baseman, INF/OF have missed a large chunk of the season.
WASHINGTON — The Marlins activated third baseman Martin Prado and outfielder/first baseman Garrett Cooper from the disabled list Thursday before the team opened a four-game series against the slumping Washington Nationals.
Prado and Cooper have missed a large chunk of the season with injuries. Prado missed the first part while making his way back from a hamstring injury suffered last season. After returning and appearing in 24 games, Prado reinjured his hamstring and returned to the DL.
“I’m ready,” said Prado, who showed up to the Marlins clubhouse Wednesday in travel attire for the trip to Washington. “I couldn’t wait. I’ve got my bag ready.”
Cooper, too, is apparently prepared to rejoin the Marlins.
“Finally it’s go time — Washington D.C.,” Cooper wrote Wednesday on his Twitter account.
Cooper, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Yankees, appeared in only four games for the Marlins before being hit by a pitch in early April that broke his wrist.
The Marlins on Wednesday also placed rookie right-hander Sandy Alcantara on the 10-day disabled list due to an infection in his right armpit and activated Jose Urena from the DL to make Wednesday’s start against the Rays.
Alcantara said he started feeling some discomfort in his armpit the same night he made his first major league start for the Marlins.
“I felt a little bump,” Alcantara said. “Then the next day when I come here, it started growing.”
Rookie outfielder Lewis Brinson also was placed on the disabled list. Brinson was placed on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday with a left hip injury that stemmed from a diving catch he made in Colorado more than week ago.
Brinson said he’s been trying to play through his injury. But Tuesday night’s 16-inning marathon — a 9-6 loss to the Rays — took its toll on him, he said.
“A week ago it started bothering me a little bit,” Brinson said. “But it takes a lot to get me to stop playing, especially when I feel I can contribute. I think some rest will do it justice.”
It’s been a trying season for Brinson, who has struggled at the plate and has had his share of defensive lapses in center.
Even though the DL periods for Brinson and Alcantara will expire a couple of days before the All-Star break, which begins July 16, the Marlins could decide to wait until after the break to activate the two players in order to give them extra time to rest and heal.
Due to the havoc that Tuesday’s 16-inning marathon caused to the bullpen, the Marlins recalled left-handed pitcher Dillon Peters from Triple-A New Orleans to provide long relief help.