Miami Marlins Pick up Justin Shafer off Waivers

In the midst of a seemingly team-wide COVID-19 outbreak, the Miami Marlins have claimed Justin Shafer off waivers.

Newest Miami Marlins player Justin Shafer is a two-year major league veteran who appeared in 40 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2018 and 2019. He has struck out 41 in 48 innings, holding opposing hitters to a 1.646 WHIP and racking up a 2-1 record with a 3.75 ERA.

Shafer was initially drafted by the Blue Jays in the eighth round of the 2014 MLB Amateur Entry Draft, 234th overall off the board out of the University of Florida. A six-foot-two 205 lb. left-handed reliever, the Miami Marlins can plug him right into the bullpen rotation in the midst of a team-wide pandemic.

Despite starting out the 60-game schedule with a 2-1 record, the Marlins need all the help they can get if they do end up resuming their schedule on Wednesday in Baltimore. Monday’s game was cancelled after another swath of players tested positive for the Coronavirus, at least 11 according to CBS Sports.

The outbreak forced the Marlins to quarantine in place in Philadelphia as they await test results from another round of testing. With the Monday game cancelled, the Orioles didn’t fly to Miami, so Tuesday’s game has been presumably cancelled as well.

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In addition to the Marlins cancellations, Major League Baseball also cancelled the Philadelphia Phillies/New York Yankees series after the Marlins just completed a three-game set with Philadelphia.

To date, all of the players on the Marlins to have tested positive for COVID-19 have not been publicized. Jose Ureña, Garrett Cooper, Harold Ramirez and Jorge Alfaro have all contracted the illness. As for the other seven, it remains unknown outside of team- and testing-circles.

We’ll keep you posted here on Marlin Maniac. Thanks for reading.