Miami Marlins Option Starter Max Meyer to AAA Jacksonville

The Miami Marlins don't think that Meyer will be ready to contribute major league innings on Opening Day.

The Miami Marlins have made more roster moves to trim down the spring training roster. 

But one of them in particular, we think, will be only temporary. 

In addition to reassigning a lot of non-roster invitees to minor league camp, the Marlins optioned starting pitcher Max Meyer to AAA Jacksonville. 

Meyer, who turned 25 just yesterday, was Miami's 3rd overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft out of the University of Minnesota. 

He dominated the minor leagues in 2021, pitching to a combined 2.27 ERA in twenty-two starts in AA Pensacola (20) and AAA Jacksonville (22). Initially being assigned to Jacksonville in 2022, he missed a month with an elbow issue but eventually made his major league debut in mid-July, getting into two games and pitching a total of six innings before a torn UCL necessitated Tommy John surgery that kept him out of action for all of 2023. 

Meyer has been throwing without restriction this spring, and there was thought that the team's recent spate of rotation injuries - Edward Cabrera and Braxton Garrett have both been behind in their Opening Day preparations due to shoulder issues - would allow him to sneak onto the roster. 

But despite his stellar Grapefruit League results - no runs allowed in seven innings, with one strikeout and five walks - the team felt he wasn't yet at the point where he could contribute as a starter and chose to use one of his options to send him to AAA to continue building up. 

This move leaves the likely Opening Day rotation featuring two converted relievers, with both A.J. Puk and Ryan Weathers projected to make the Opening Day roster. Additionally, it means that there's four lefties among Miami's five starters, with only Jesús Luzardo being a righthander.