Meyer (shoulder) lands on IL with rest of season in jeopardy

MIAMI – In a day representative of the 2024 season, the Marlins made 11 roster moves ahead of Saturday afternoon’s 9-5 win over the Phillies at loanDepot park.

The headliner was right-hander Max Meyer landing on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder bursitis. In Tuesday’s start, Meyer set a single-season career high for innings (115) and starts (26) between the Minors and Majors.

After the game, Meyer, who graduated from prospect status last month, said: “I feel all right. I know everybody's going through some stuff right now. It's really hard to make it [through a] full season. Just keep sticking with my weight training program and my arm care, and [I] should be good.”

According to manager Skip Schumaker, Meyer said he felt “a little bit of a pinch” that affected his mechanics over his last couple of outings, especially last time out. After watching him play catch, Miami decided the right move was to place Meyer on the IL.

With just 20 games remaining, it’s not inconceivable that Meyer might be done for the season. If that’s the case, his return from August 2022 Tommy John surgery will be a tale of two pitchers. The hope is the bumps will lead to long-term success.

Though the 25-year-old Meyer went 19 months between MLB outings, a combination of his Spring Training performance (0.00 ERA) and starting-pitching injuries led to him making the Opening Day rotation. Miami optioned Meyer to Triple-A Jacksonville on April 15 to manage his workload once other pitchers got healthy, despite his 2.12 ERA through three starts.

In the Minors, Meyer worked on his changeup and two-seamer to complement his slider and four-seamer. At the time of his demotion, Meyer’s slider usage (49%) led Major League pitchers with at least 200 pitches thrown. Upon his return to MLB on July 27, Meyer made a conscious effort to incorporate the changeup in particular. But across eight subsequent starts, he compiled a 7.20 ERA and surrendered an MLB-high 12 homers.

“I think there's ups and downs,” Schumaker said of Meyer’s 2024. “The start of Spring Training and first part of the season were really encouraging. The league catches up to you. It's just what it is, and you have to make adjustments. …

“I don't think he's a finished product. And when he came back, I think he understands that he's not a finished product. Especially as a starter in the big leagues, you need more than a couple pitches to get through lineups two and three times. He has a really bright future in the league – don't get me wrong – but there needs to be some real development in the offseason, with the changeup and with the two-seamer just to mix in some different pitches, different eye levels, change of speeds, all that stuff.

“He still has a lot of work to do, and I think he knows that. Do I think it's in there? Of course I think it's in there. But I think he understands that this offseason is going to be big for him.”

Another key arm that will be sidelined for at least 15 days is right-hander Calvin Faucher, who has recorded six saves while taking over closer duties since the Trade Deadline.

Though Faucher experienced a right shoulder impingement during Spring Training, Schumaker said it’s “nothing like” then. The 28-year-old Faucher was feeling it in the bullpen and the more he threw, the better he felt and his velocity would tick up. Afterwards, however, Faucher wouldn’t recover as well.

Faucher will travel with the club on its upcoming trip to Pittsburgh and Washington, where he can maintain a throwing program. He could have kept pitching with the Marlins, but the organization didn’t want his injury to become something bigger.

In Faucher’s absence, expect to see Schumaker play matchups with right-handers Jesus Tinoco, Declan Cronin and Anthony Bender, who returned from a right shoulder impingement on Saturday. Schumaker went on to call Tinoco “our best guy” right now.

The Marlins claimed Tinoco, a member of the 2020 club, from the Cubs on July 30. With another clean inning Saturday, he has a 1.47 ERA and a 0.60 WHIP in 15 appearances for Miami – his third MLB team this season.

“Tino has had a great year,” pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr. said. “I had him over in Seattle, had him a little bit here. His slot has lowered. We added a four-seam fastball at the top. We added the changeup to go with his really good sinker/slider combo. He's strong, he's physical. He's been a horse for us. What a great find, right? Credit to him making those adjustments, too.”