The Marlins have designated Dan Straily for assignment

Miami Marlins veteran starting pitcher Dan Straily has been designated for assignment.

In a surprise move on Monday, the Miami Marlins have designated veteran starting pitcher Dan Straily for assignment. The team may still try to trade him without having to release him outright.

The move comes one day after the team announced that Wei-Yin Chen will begin the season in the bullpen. Craig Mish, Joe Frisaro and other sources broke the news.

By designating Straily, who has provided veteran stability the last two seasons in Miami, the team now has the option to trade him before releasing him outright.

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The two moves by the Marlins organization that means the team will begin 2019 with a very young starting rotation.

As of right now, the probable starting rotation will be Jose Urena, Sandy Alcantara, Trevor Richards, Pablo Lopez and Caleb Smith. After a spring that has shown that young pitching could be a viable option for the organization, tomorrow is her move forward with their future plan of building through trades and their farm system.

Urena has been named the Opening Day starter since the beginning of camp. He will be called upon to lead an inexperienced group that has been impressive this Spring, especially during the team’s 11-game winning streak in Grapefruit League games.

Per Mish, Straily is on waivers until Wednesday at 1 PM.

There had been talk this Spring about the Marlins using a six-man rotation to keep all four pitchers on the 25-man roster and for depth. The organization used 13 different starting pitchers last season.

The move to send Chen to the bullpen was to not only open a spot for either Smith, Lopez or Richards, but to also keep the veteran lefty on the roster.

He is due $20 million this coming season. The front office did not want to eat the contract and release him and finding a trade partner would be highly unlikely.

Straily had been a stabling influence in the rotation, posting a 15-15 record over two seasons, but spent time on the disabled list last season – at the start of 2018 with arm inflammation that forced him to miss time, and at the end of the season when he suffered an oblique injury.

Straily had also been the subject of trade talks as the MLB Trade Deadline came to an end.

There is no word yet as to how the rest of the rotation will shakedown excpet for Urena. The Marlins begin the 2019 season on Thursday with a series at home against the Colorado Rockies.