Cabrera (right middle finger blister) to begin season on injured list

JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins right-hander Edward Cabrera will begin the season on the injured list, with the expectation of missing the first two turns through the rotation, manager Clayton McCullough announced on Tuesday morning.

This marks the second consecutive year that an injury has prevented Cabrera from being in the Opening Day rotation. Last year, it was a right shoulder impingement.

Cabrera, who exited Thursday’s start after 12 pitches due to a blister on his right middle finger, had the nail removed on Friday to expedite his recovery, then he played catch on Monday. McCullough anticipates Cabrera pitching in a simulated game later in the week.

In each of his four Grapefruit League starts, Cabrera didn’t go deeper than two innings or throw more than 51 pitches.

“This felt like to give him a proper -- at this point, being down a little bit -- to give him a proper build-up where he can hit some innings threshold … get into a rhythm before rejoining us,” McCullough said. “With the way it laid out, a couple starts into the season, and then we'll be able to insert him at a point where he's got sufficient build-up and innings to go out there and pitch in a game.”

Blisters on that finger have given Cabrera trouble in the past. He landed on the IL for that reason in October 2021, and blisters affected at least three of his starts in ‘23, including two in which he left early. Cabrera said he also dealt with the blister last season and in his second spring start on March 7 (six runs on four hits and two walks with two hit-by-pitches in 1 2/3 innings).

Options on the 40-man roster to fill in for Cabrera include right-hander Valente Bellozo and Marlins No. 13 prospect Adam Mazur, both of whom were optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville earlier in camp but are continuing to build up to a starter workload.

Bellozo posted a 3.67 ERA in 13 starts during his rookie season in 2024, but he struggled in his final two Grapefruit League outings while pitching in relief (nine earned runs in 5 1/3 innings). Mazur started eight games for the Padres last season (7.49 ERA) before coming over in the Tanner Scott/Bryan Hoeing trade and making another eight starts for Jacksonville (5.21 ERA). He allowed just one run over five innings across three spring relief outings.

Then there’s swingman Connor Gillispie, who lines up in Cabrera’s spot and started Tuesday afternoon’s 4-4 Grapefruit League tie with the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.

After not permitting a run in eight spring innings spanning four outings, Gillispie opened Tuesday with back-to-back walks. However, he limited the damage to a sacrifice fly and did not issue another walk or give up another run in a four-inning start. McCullough called it “effective strike-throwing,” as Gillispie only threw 26 of 51 pitches for strikes.

“I think it was a mix,” Gillispie said. “I was just missing my fastball. My game is [to] throw it up, and I was just spraying it up. [I was a] little too excited, a little nerves, but I was able to get it dialed back in. …

“I think it's kind of one of those unspoken things. You feel it out. You see the writing on the wall. I don't want to put any added pressure on me. I'm just trying to seize my opportunity, help the team out as much as I can, kind of make mine stick.”

Gillispie, who was claimed off waivers from the Braves on Jan. 29, has made just three Major League appearances (no starts) in his career. All of them came last season with the Guardians (two runs over eight innings).

Despite a fastball in the lower-90s, it plays up. A perfect example of this came in the third inning, when Gillispie struck out back-to-back hitters in Willson Contreras (92.9 mph) and Brendan Donovan (93 mph). According to Statcast, his four-seamer gets 1.7 more inches of rise compared to others thrown at similar velocities.

“We've seen he's a terrific competitor, worker, very open-minded,” McCullough said. “He's had a very good camp to this point, someone we can see in a variety of roles: ability to plug in and start if we need to, length out of the 'pen, bulk innings, however that day might necessitate him. But he offers some real options.”

Worth noting

Right-hander Seth Martinez, whom the Marlins claimed on Saturday for a second time this spring, pitched a scoreless eighth inning with a strikeout.