Marlins notes: Henderson Alvarez to return Sunday, Tom Koehler shifted to bullpen
MIAMI -- Miami Marlins right-hander Henderson Alvarez will come off the disabled list to start Sunday's series finale against the Atlanta Braves.
Alvarez, who went on the 15-day DL on April 13 with right shoulder inflammation, will take righty Tom Koehler's spot. The 2014 All-Star was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts before experiencing the discomfort.
The 25-year-old tossed six scoreless innings on Tuesday in a rehab outing with Single-A Jupiter (76 pitches) and threw 71 pitches in a bullpen on Thursday.
Koehler, last year's fifth starter and the third arm in the rotation to begin 2015, entered Saturday 2-3 with a 4.62 ERA in seven starts. Batters were hitting .385 in the second plate appearance.
After just one of his first 14 big-league appearances dating back to 2012 were starts, Koehler had been a starter in his previous 52 outings until Saturday. He has a 17-24 record with a 4.17 ERA in 63 starts. Thanks to three scoreless innings on Saturday in his first relief appearance since May 16, 2013, in San Diego, Koehler lowered his ERA to 3.57 as a reliever.
"They told me when the phone rings and they say my name, be ready to go," Koehler said following Saturday's 5-3 loss. "I don't know what the role is necessarily. If I'm down there, I want to pitch. I want to help this team win any way I can. Yeah, I'm a little disappointed.
"I view myself as a starter and I feel like when you make every start throughout your career at every level, it hits your pride a little bit. But I understand this is what the team needs right now. It's also kind of a compliment that they think I can succeed in any role. All I can really do is go out there and try to give everything I've got every time."
Manager Mike Redmond hopes the transition into a relief role will help shore up the bullpen, which entered Saturday with a 4.59 ERA -- 24th in the majors.
"I'm expecting to use him in some big situations, too," Redmond said. "He's got the stuff (to be a late-inning guy). He's got a good fastball and curveball. I know he'll compete in any situation we put him in. So we'll see going forward where we can mix him in. But you saw today, he came in with first and second and got out of it. It's the type of stuff he has."
The Marlins will need to make a corresponding roster move prior to Sunday's game to activate Alvarez from the DL.
COSART READY
Right-hander Jarred Cosart, who exited Wednesday's game with a tight right hamstring, threw a successful bullpen of 45-50 pitches on Saturday.
Cosart is scheduled to start Tuesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He is 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA in seven starts.
"I let it go -- threw all three pitches like a game," Cosart said. "I tried to act like some hitters were in there. I don't want to get to Tuesday and have something come up when I was warming up and throw the bullpen under the bus. So I feel ready to go and I'll let (manager Mike Redmond) make that decision whether that's Tuesday or whenever."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
