Marlins place Alvarez, Mathis, Kelly on 15-day DL
ATLANTA -- The Miami Marlins made a series of moves prior to Monday's game against the Atlanta Braves, starting with placing Opening Day starter Henderson Alvarez on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder inflammation.
Alvarez, who is also dealing with right elbow inflammation, missed the first three months of the 2013 season with the same shoulder injury. He was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA in two starts this year.
Manager Mike Redmond figured something may have been wrong health-wise during the final inning of Alvarez's outing Sunday, when it "just looked like he was having a tough time getting the ball down in the zone and even dropped down, tried some different arm slots." Alvarez, who turns 25 this week, also couldn't reach the mid-90s with his velocity.
"It's hard to say," Redmond said of a timeline for Alvarez's recovery. "I think right now it's more calming down the inflammation and getting him feeling good and healthy. How long it'll be? I don't know. That's kind of the unknown right now. It's really up to him and how quickly he feels better. We're going to make sure that he feels good and confident before he goes out and pitches again."
Right-hander David Phelps, who started the season as the club's long reliever, will start in Alvarez's place Friday night against the Mets in New York. Miami placed him on the paternity list Monday as his wife gave birth to a boy, Jack.
The Marlins recalled top prospect Jose Urena from Triple-A New Orleans as the corresponding move. The 23-year-old righty, who has yet to make his big-league debut, was expected to be with the club by Monday's first pitch.
"The plan is for us to be able to use him out of the bullpen for multiple innings for now," Redmond said.
In other roster moves, the Marlins placed both utility player Don Kelly (right fourth finger fracture) and backup catcher Jeff Mathis (right hand fracture) on the 15-day DL. Both suffered the injuries during Sunday's loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.
Miami recalled catcher J.T. Realmuto and right-handed reliever Carter Capps from the Zephyrs. Miami also selected the contract of infielder Reid Brignac from New Orleans and moved right-handed reliever Aaron Crow, who underwent Tommy John surgery last week, to the 60-day DL.
Realmuto, who made his major-league debut last season, was batting .385 with three runs through three minor-league games. Brignac, who lost out on the final bench spot to Kelly, was hitting .200 with three runs and an RBI.
Rather than take an offer elsewhere when the Marlins told him they would go with Kelly for the Opening Day roster, Brignac decided to stay on a minor-league contract.
"Just the time I spent with everybody all spring training long," Brignac said of his reason. "The relationships I built with the coaches, players and stuff. I didn't want to start over with a new organization. If I didn't get a big-league job with another organization, then I knew I was going to go to New Orleans."
In two relief outings, Capps went 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA. During his first appearance, however, the home-plate umpire issued consecutive balks because of his unorthodox delivery. Capps' coaching staff instructed him to intentionally walk the batter before being taken out of the game. He said it marked the first time in his career an umpire had a problem with his delivery.
"They just said they wanted me to make sure I dragged my foot and not get too elevated in the air, and make sure it's more on a lateral plane," Capps said. "As long as I do that, they have no problem with it. It was very strange."
After staying clear of the injury bug during spring training, it struck the Marlins in overwhelming fashion over the weekend to close out a 1-5 homestand to open the season.
"We talked all spring about how healthy we've been able to stay, and you always think about that and, 'Man I hope that doesn't catch up to you at some point,' " Redmond said. "You're going to have injuries. You just do. Every team deals with it, but you just hope that it doesn't happen all at once, which it did. To think that two guys -- broken hand, broken finger -- in just a span of a couple innings is just baffling. I'm still baffled. It is the reality, and good thing is we've been able to bring guys up that can help us, contribute."
You can follow Christina De Nicola on Twitter @CDeNicola13 or email her at cdenicola13@gmail.com.
