Marlins reinstate Avisail Garcia from COVID IL, make other moves

The Marlins announced a trio of roster moves Sunday morning, including the reinstatement of Avisail Garcia from the COVID-related injured list.  Miami also designated infielder Joe Dunand for assignment to create a 40-man roster space, while right-hander Cody Poteet was placed on the 15-day injured list due to a muscle injury in his right elbow.

Garcia returns after just a two-day absence, indicating that his placement on the COVID IL was precautionary or due to virus symptoms, but not an actual positive test.  The outfielder will return from his brief break and look to get his season turned around, as Garcia has slashed a meager .207/.237/.290 over his first 152 plate appearances in a Marlins uniform.

Pitching in his second MLB season, Poteet has a 2.42 ERA and 55.7% grounder rate over 26 innings in 2022.  Most of that work has come out of the bullpen as a long reliever, but two of Poteet’s last three outings were starts, as Miami has needed a replacement for the injured Jesus Luzardo.  Poteet’s last appearance on May 25 didn’t go well, as the Rays tagged him for five runs over three innings of work in a 5-4 Marlins loss.

With Poteet now sidelined for at least the next 15 days, there will be more speculation about which of the Marlins’ promising young arms could be called up to the big league rotation.  Since top prospect Max Meyer is recovering from ulnar nerve irritation, Edward Cabrera could be the logical candidate, as Cabrera last pitched on May 26.  Between a visa issue in spring training and then a biceps injury, Cabrera didn’t pitch until April 27, but he has since banked six minor league starts and a combined 3.90 ERA over 27 2/3 innings.

As for Luzardo himself, it isn’t yet clear when the southpaw could return from his forearm strain.  Miami manager Don Mattingly told reporters Sunday that Luzardo’s recovery is “not as good as we would’ve liked,” as the left-hander has yet to begin throwing, via MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola.  Luzuardo’s IL stint is backdated to May 12, so he is already beyond the 15-day minimum period.

Dunand made his MLB debut this season, appearing in three games with the Marlins and delivering a 1.064 OPS over his 11 plate appearances.  The Miami native doesn’t have a standout minor league track record, so the Marlins could be betting that another team won’t put in a waiver claim on the 26-year-old Dunand.  That said, Dunand also has a lot of experience as a third baseman and shortstop plus a few games at the other two infield positions, so a club in need of infield depth might check him out on the DFA wire.