Miami Marlins add more pitching help amid I.L. additions

The Miami Marlins added more pitching help to the team’s 30-man roster after players were put on the I.L. due to the Coronavirus.

Justin Shafer wasn’t the only player the Miami Marlins picked up off waivers on Monday as the team announced lefty Josh D. Smith of the Cincinnati Reds also joined the pitching staff.

In corresponding moves, the team announced that first baseman/designated hitter Garrett Cooper, outfielder Harold Ramirez and right-hander Jose Urena on the injured list. The Marlins roster and organization are under disarray after it was released that several members of the 30-man roster had tested positive for the Coronavirus while the team was in Philadelphia over the first weekend of the season.

Urena was supposed to start the team’s third game of the season in the rubber match versus the Philadelphia Phillies and was replaced on the mound by Robert Dugger. The Marlins won 11-6 on Sunday afternoon. The team did not leave Philadelphia as planned after the game and remained up north on Monday.

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“Smith, a left-hander, was briefly with the Marlins in 2019, appearing in six games in September. In limited action, he had an 8.31 ERA in 4 1/3 innings.” Joe Frisaro of MLB.com wrote.

The Marlins are in a holding pattern right now as the team, which was supposed to play the Baltimore Orioles on Monday night in the first home game of the season at Marlins Park, had to postpone the game due to the threat of the virus.

“MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told MLB Network that Tuesday’s game also was postponed and noted that depending on COVID-19 test results, the Marlins could return to playing as early as Wednesday at Baltimore,” Frisaro added.

Shafer gives the Marlins a veteran arm in the bullpen. The pitching staff figures to become even more important to the success of the team now that Ramirez and Cooper are on the shelf and the lineup losses two important power hitters.

The team could also reach into its taxi squad for help, which means Monte Harrison or Jesus Sanchez could be brought over from Jupiter, Florida to join the MLB roster.

“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,” Kevin Kraczkowski of Marlin Maniac wrote. “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.”