The surprise contenders from Miami took a hit, as the Marlins transferred right-hander Elieser Hernandez from the 10-day injured list to the 45-day injured list because of a strained lat muscle. The move means that Hernandez is done for the remainder of the 2020 season.
Hernandez suffered the injury Tuesday and was forced to leave his start against the Blue Jays in the third inning. The Marlins placed him on the 10-day IL the next day. Outfielder Harold Ramirez was activated from the IL to take Hernandez's place on the roster.
Hernandez, 25, had been outstanding through six starts this season:
If Hernandez had a qualifying number of innings in 2020, then his 6.80 K/BB ratio would've ranked second in the NL behind Yu Darvish of the Cubs.
It's not certain who will replace Hernandez in the Miami rotation. At the moment, the Marlin's starting pitcher for Monday has yet to be determined. Hernandez has been a key member of a rotation ranked 11th in MLB with a starters' ERA of 3.97. Right now, the Marlins are 16-17 and in third place in the NL East. Thanks in part to the expanded playoff field for 2020, however, Miami is presently the No. 7 seed in the NL playoff picture. The loss of Hernandez, however, will hurt their chances moving forward. Coming into Saturday's slate, the SportsLine Projection Model (@SportsLine on Twitter) gave the Marlins a 19.7 percent chance of making the playoffs.
